Chapter 419
Dan-Han led A-Yeong into one of the private rooms in the restaurant where Mrs Lin was waiting for them. He held open the door for her to walk in while he fell in line behind her.
“President Lee,” Mrs Lin stood up the moment they stepped in. “Ms Su.” She called.
“Good morning, Mrs Lin.” Dan-Han greeted and A-Yeong greeted with a bow, before scanning her eyes through the room in search of her daughter. It had only been a few hours, but she missed her greatly.
It had been so difficult leaving her again yesterday. As a matter of fact she had not wanted to leave without her, but Dan-Han had promised she would see her again, and she felt he was talking about this morning.
She had barely been able to bring herself to sleep as her heart kept beating wildly with joy and anxiety.
“Where is she?” She asked with an excited smile, her neck craning as and she behind the sofa Mrs Lin had been seated before they walked in.
.....
The private room had two short sofas placed opposite each other with a table standing between. Glasses, plate, forks, and napkins were meticulously arranged at the top.
A-Yeong observed as Mrs Lin looked at Dan-Han, who in turn looked at her.
“She isn’t here, Ms. Su.” Dan-Han said, making A-Yeong snap her head to meet his gaze. Confusion framing her face as she wondered why they hadn’t brought her. Didn’t he say she’d meet her again?
“Why?” She asked.
“Take a seat.” Dan-Han gestured to the space beside him as he lowered himself to the sofa behind them, while Mrs Lin occupied the space she had been seating before their arrival.
A-Yeong shuffled her gaze between Dan-Han and Mrs. Lin before reluctantly taking her seat. Her eyes darted to the table when Mrs Lin placed a brown file on the table. She opened it and pulled out some sheafs of papers which seemed to be documents, and handed it to Dan-Han.
“All documents have been verified. And with the help of the people you called, I was able to acquire the deed for adoption” Mrs Lin said to Dan-Han who received it.
“Good.” He replied as he pulled out the paper.
“All that is required are the signatures.” Mrs. Lin said while Dan-Han stretched the documents towards A-Yeong who looked at him with disbelief.
“You have to sign, Ms. Su.” Dan-Han told A-Yeong and her eyes widened as her gaze darted between Dan-Han and Mrs. Lin.
“Is this for real?” She asked in shock surprise, and Dan-Han nodded with the tinge of a smile tugging up his lips. She looked at Mrs.Lin who in turn gave her an affirmative nod.
A-Yeong looked at the papers and her eyes welled up, tears quickly trickling down her cheeks. She looked at the paper in her hand and it felt surreal most especially the part that she could now take her daughter with her and would both live together.
Her hands quavered as she continued to look at the document and Dan-Han passed her a pen.
“Here you go, Ms.Su,” He said, handing out the pen to her and A-Yeong slowly reached for it. She looked at Dan-Han and she wrapped her arms around him taking him by surprise as he stiffened.
“Thank you. Thank you, president Lee. Thank you.” She said as she kept hugging him. Her joy was out of bound and she didn’t know what else to say aside from words of thanks.
Dan-Han who had not been expecting a hug from her gave a terse nod as he patted her arm. A-Yeong sniffed as she pulled away.
She turned back to the papers and she quickly scribbled down her signatures at the appropriate places and passed it back to Dan-Han who sighed as a witness, before handing it back to Mrs Lin.
A-Yeong got off her seat and walked over to Mrs.Lin who she also gave a big hug. “Thank you. I’m really grateful. I can’t thank you enough.”
“It’s okay, Ms. Su. I’m happy you got your child back.” The lady said with a smile. She was genuinely happy for her.
Had there been any lingering doubts about the abandonment of her child, it was completely gone seeing how genuinely happy A-Yeong was about getting her daughter back.
She pulled out an handkerchief from her bag and gave it to A-Yeong to wipe her tears, the girl hurriedly did.
A-Yeong shuffled her gaze between Mrs Lin and Dan-Han who was now seated opposite them. “Is that all? Do I need to sign any other thing?” She anxiously inquired, and she looked at Mrs Lin who Dan-Han was also peering at.
Mrs Lin smiled and shook her head. “No. That would be all. Thanks to President Lee, things we fast in less than 24 hours.”
“Really? So I can take her home with me?” A-Yeong asked, her eyes already gleaming with joy and excitement.
“Unfortunately no. You can’t take her with you yet.” Mrs Lin replied making the smile on A-Yeong’s face suddenly waver.
“Why? Is there something else?” She sharply inquired.
“Yes. We have to get this approved by the right people. But you don’t have to worry. I’m sure with President Lee’s help, we can get it done by tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” That wasn’t so far. She had feared she was about to say something that might scare her, but it was tomorrow. Tomorrow was a bit long, but it was nowhere compared to the years of yearning she had endured.
“I can wait till tomorrow.” She urgently declared. “I’ll wait.” She firmly said, her smile returning to her face.
Dan-Han sighed inwardly when he saw the excitement in her eyes and he wondered how she’d feel when he told her she wouldn’t be able to wait till tomorrow. She definitely won’t be as happy as she looked now, that he was certain of.
He glanced over at Mrs Lin. “Thank you for your help, and as per your request, I’ll keep you my word.” He said, while the woman nodded.
“Thank you, President Lee for helping out on such a precarious situation. You definitely have your mother’s heart.” She said. The late Mrs Lee was one who had always helped in diverse situations such as this when she was still alive, and Dan-Han’s action’s had once again reminded her of his mother’s good works.
Dan-Han tersely nodded before slipping his pen into his inner breast pocket, before rising to his feet.
“And president Lee remember what I said. It would be better if you don’t apply for the reinstatement of her parental right.”
“Why?” A-Yeong frowned when she heard that.
Mrs Lin turned to her and replied, “Because it will be bothersome. Such reinstatement isn’t always approved by the court. What matters is you have your child, and you both can live together as a family. The papers shouldn’t matter. It doesn’t add any value to your relationship with your daughter. All that matters is she knows she belongs with you and you with her.”
A-Yeong wasn’t sure she was convinced by that, but she had to admit she had a point. What mattered was she had her daughter back, and not what the papers said.
A-Yeong nodded. “Thank you.” She said.
“It’s no problem. I’m only concerned about the well-being of the kids and I’ll do anything to keep them wherever they’ll be happy, and in this case, she’ll be happy with you, her mother.” Mrs Lin told her.
A-Yeong couldn’t stop her eyes from welling up one more time as she hugged the woman, feeling eternally grateful in her heart. She turned to Dan-Han and deeply bowed to him with gratitude.
Dan-Han knew there was no stopping her in her rounds of appreciation because she was truly grateful and happy.
“I’ll see you, tomorrow.” Dan-Han told Mrs Lin before walking out with A-Yeong who was all smiles and grins, tears still rolling out her eyes even as they made their way to the car.
He held out his hand and stopped A-Yeong just as she was about to step into the car. He pulled out a small envelope from his jacket and handed it to her.
“What is this?” She asked even as she was already opening it. She snapped her head up to him, her brows furrowed when she saw a flight ticket.
“What is this?” She suspiciously asked.
“Your flight ticket back.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Su, but you can’t stay till tomorrow.”
Can’t stay till tomorrow?
“Why?” She asked, not understanding why she had to leave immediately. The ticket was probably for the next flight out of the country.
“I can’t leave now. I want to take her with me.”
“And I’ll bring her to you. But if you really want a chance of completely having your daughter back, then you’ll listen to me and head back home.”
“Why?” She angrily demanded, still not understanding what was going on.
“Because Ji-Tae would probably be making a head count soon. And if you don’t clock in, he might jeopardize all the efforts we’ve made. He’s my cousin, so I know how he works.” Dan-Han told her.
Dan-Han sighed when she suddenly looked sad and lost.
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll have someone bring her over to you when I pick her up tomorrow. So do not worry. Everything will be fine.” He assured her.
“But what about Ji-Tae. He’d come for her again right?” She was certain he was. The man was a psychopath.
“I’ll advise you stay with the Su family henceforth. Your grandfather will be able to protect you and his great grandchild. The elder isn’t an ordinary man. You should talk to him.” Dan-Han advised and A-Yeong readily nodded, instantly making up her mind to come clean with the family.
Hei-Ran had offered to speak to their grandfather, but she also had to do the same, for the sake of her child.
“Thank you, President Lee. I can never repay you, so I’ll eternally be in your debt. May God really bless you for me. I mean really bless you.” She prayed.