章節 30: Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Cho Shiye's mom, Ahn Yumi, was the 13th concubine of Count Cho Yun-shik. Ahn Yumi was one of Count Ahn Lee-kyung's children from her concubines.

While children who were born out of concubinage weren't extremely excluded, their lives were mostly sealed as another concubine of someone their family chooses as the nobles mostly sees marriage as a bargaining chip.

And Ahn Yumi's marriage didn't differ either. She married him as soon as she turned 19 after fully differentiating into an omega, not even being able to go to college due to her mother's deal with Cho Yun-shik's father.

Cho Yun-shik was already 25 years old at that time and had 12 concubines and a husband. He felt pity for Ahn Yumi so, against his father's wishes, he made her go to the college she dreamed of.

Ahn Yumi was able to enroll at the imperial college and live in the dormitory that the college had provided with the full support of Cho Yun-shik. She would often talk to him in which he would respond to almost every single day despite his busy schedules.

She fell in love with him. His kindness and genuine care for her made her swoon and despite the physical distance of the two of them, Ahn Yumi made sure to shower him with love in which Cho Yun-shik would respond kindly, despite him not having any sort of interests towards her.

Soon after she graduated at the age of 24 years old, she performed her duties as one of his wives and their 'love' soon bore fruit as Ahn Yumi became pregnant with Cho Shiye 2 years later.

During this time however, Cho Yun-shik had inherited his father's title after the people under his family's rule voted him as the successor which made me extremely busy and made the little time he spent with her once a month became nonexistent.

Ahn Yumi was driven into a spiral of grief and due to her hormones running wild because she was pregnant, she lashed out at Cho Yun-shik after she caught him mingling with one of his concubines.

Her actions made the tiny affection that Cho Yun-shik had for her disappear as he banished her into her mansion and never came to see her again.

Ahn Yumi was devastated to say by the least as she slowly became crazy, she would cry every night and throw tantrums, destroying everything around the house that the servants had to put her down just to stop her and even threatened to kill the baby on her stomach if he didn't meet her but it all ended in failure as she drowned on her miseries.

She couldn't bring herself to kill her child, which is a proof of their 'love', a love that the two once shared, the undeniable love they had for each other that would soon come back once Cho Yun-shik cooled down and visited her again.

Sadly, that didn't happen as even when she gave birth to their child, he didn't even bat an eye and continued on with his life. Naturally, Cho Shiye grew up secluded from her half siblings under her mother's care.

Ahn Yumi took good care of Cho Shiye, making sure that the child that's the proof of their love grew up with everything she could ask for, despite her not being able to see her father but one day, she knew that if he just take a look at their cute little child, he would come back.

Cho Shiye grew up seeing her mother cry herself every night and drown herself in alcohol due to her father, Cho Shiye once resented her father but her mother would correct her, citing reasons that the 3 year old Cho Shiye would understand.

However, she still couldn't understand.

Her mother would tell her stories about how kind her father was, how he's treated her with love and kindness but because of her craziness, she made a mistake and now he hates her but she kept telling Cho Shiye that he'll come around. That he'll be back and they'll be a complete gally family.

Everyday, she could see how much her mother was suffering because of her love for him. Every single day she would be awakened by her mother's loud cries as she cried because she misses.

Cho Shiye hated her father.

*****

A few weeks before Cho Shiye's birthday, her mother died due to falling off the stairs because she's way too drunk.

Cho Shiye saw her mother and thought her mother had passed out so she decided to sit beside her, reading a story book that one of the maids had given her to pass the time.

She knew her mother didn't want to be disturbed when she passed out drunk so Cho Shiye didn't try to move her or make a noise. But, as time passed, Cho Shiye noticed that her mother seemed awfully quiet.

Cho Shiye looked at her mother, who had a peaceful look on her face as she tugged her.

"Mama." Cho Shiye called out, softly tugging Ahn Yumi's dress. "Wake up." She called out but her mother remained unresponsive.

Cho Shiye started pushing her with force but her mother remained silent, she bent over and slapped her mother's face and only then did she notice that her mother didn't seem to be breathing.

Stricken with panic, Cho Shiye held Ahn Yumi's arms and pushed it back and forth to wake her up but she didn't wake up. Cho Shiye's eyes started to swell up as she, with her small little hands, hit her mother.

"Mama, wake up!" Cho Shiye cried out. "Stop playing around, mama." She spoke, her voice cracking up as her sobs became louder. "Mama..!" Her vision became blurry with tears.

She's scared. She didn't know what to do as she tried to wake her up. She tried every means to wake her mother up but to no avail, everything failed.

She couldn't remember how long she cried that day but before she knew it, her mother was declared dead. Cho Shiye had lost the most important person in her life at such a young age. She lost her mother.

Cho Shiye spent the days in a blur, her birthday had come and passed but the emptiness in her heart which reminds her that her mother, who would smile at her whenever she looks at her, who would hug her tightly every chance she gets, and would laugh with her when she's down, cry with her whenever the two of them would watch a movie together, and helped her through was gone and there's nothing she could do about it.

Kim Hae-yoon hugged the crying Cho Shiye in her arms tightly, she didn't know what Cho Shiye had gone through but wanted to be there for her, even as a shoulder to cry on as she soothed Cho Shiye with a hum.

Hearing the familiar tune, Cho Shiye cried loudly as all the memories that she thought were gone came rushing back to her. She's still young when her mother died but the cherished memories they spent together were still kept.

"Shiye, it's alright. I'm here for you." Kim Hae-yoon whispered softly as Cho Shiye's eyes opened wide as she remembered the way her mother would comfort her whenever she hurts due to running around the garden way too much.

"M-mama…" Cho Shiye cried out and held Kim Hae-yoon's body. It's warm, reminding her of the comfort of her mother's hugs as she clutched Kim Hae-yoon's body deeply.

This time, she's not alone.

Kim Hae-yoon held her back tightly, rubbing her back and kissing her forehead. Whispering words for Cho Shiye to feel and hear that she's there, there for Cho Shiye to reply on.

"I'm here." Kim Hae-yoon whispered with a comforting smile. Cho Shiye looked at her face and felt her chest starting to feel warm as she smiled through her tears.

"Yeah." Cho Shiye replied.