Chapter 9: The left one is just for you

"Why do I keep thinking about this possibility?" Hana sighed. "Something like this couldn’t possibly have happened to the real me, right?" she asked again.

In the end, Hana returned to her hospital room, gathered her clothes, and cleaned the food cart she had just bought.

She was accustomed to cleanliness. If she had not been forced into this situation because she had no money, there was no way she would have been willing to do something as humiliating as this.

After she finished, Hana walked over to her three baby boys, who seemed to have grown noticeably chubbier over the day before.

She carefully picked up her second son and carried him over to the food cart.

"My second son, you’re quite shy because you were the second one to be born from Mommy’s womb. So you can’t sleep at the very top—you might feel embarrassed—and you can’t sleep in the middle either. You have to pay a little attention to your younger brother, whose life almost slipped away yesterday. His body is still weak, so he needs to sleep in the middle, and you’ll sleep at the bottom."

"But don’t worry. Mommy will push this cart very carefully. Mommy also promises you this. When you grow up, you can beat up your little brother as much as you want once he’s healthy. Understand?" Hana added.

Hana lowered her head and kissed the baby before placing him on the very bottom level of the cart. Because she was afraid the cart might jolt, Hana padded the bottom with her own clothes.

"All right, now it’s your turn... Mommy’s third son. Besides being shy, your body isn’t as strong as your older brothers’ yet. So you’ll be getting extra attention from Mommy for now. But remember one thing: you owe your two older brothers a lot, understand?"

Hana kissed her third son’s forehead again and carefully placed him in the middle of the cart.

After that, Hana turned toward her eldest son.

"My eldest son, you’ll surely understand Mommy. Mommy doesn’t want to embarrass you either, but I have no other way to take you home with your younger brothers. You have to endure the embarrassment for a little while and let everyone see this handsome face of yours."

"But it’s okay. You’re not the only one who’s embarrassed—Mommy is embarrassed too. Just like you. Okay?"

The baby in her arms seemed to understand what Hana was saying. He immediately opened his eyes wide and stared at her.

The baby’s previously calm expression suddenly changed, and he looked as though he was about to cry when Hana tried to place him on the top shelf. It was as if he knew that Hana really intended to make him endure the same embarrassment.

Hana was stunned to see her usually calmest son on the verge of crying.

"Shh... shh... shh..." Hana quickly whispered, trying to calm him down so he would not wake his two brothers.

She gently patted the baby’s bottom. During her stay at the hospital, she had learned a great deal from the nurses who brought her meals—how to properly care for a baby, from soothing them and feeding them to cleaning them after they relieved themselves.

"Mommy will give you more milk than your two brothers, okay? You only need to endure the embarrassment for a little while. Besides, you’re still a baby. No one will remember you when you grow up anyway," Hana coaxed the baby, who was beginning to pout.

Strangely enough, after being offered more milk, the baby finally laughed. His tiny hand, which had slipped free from the cloth wrapping him, gently slapped Hana’s firm breast.

Hana smiled in relief. "All right, all right. The left one is just for you, while the right one is for your two younger brothers, whose faces Mommy is hiding so no one else will see them. Happy now?"

After making sure her eldest son was willing to trade his embarrassment for that promise, Hana carefully placed him on the very top of the food cart.

Hana looked around, checking whether she had left anything valuable behind. Even though she knew perfectly well that she had nothing valuable in this room besides the remaining 170 dollars.

Hana wanted to cover her face when she left and pushed the cart. She was truly embarrassed. However, all of her clothes had already been used as padding for her second son, who was lying at the bottom.

She had nothing left.

Hana sighed. It seemed she would have to swallow her embarrassment if she wanted to get home quickly.

When Hana reached the hospital entrance, someone stopped her. It was the doctor who had helped her give birth the previous day.

"Ma’am..." he called as he looked at Hana, who was pushing the hospital food cart with a bright-red face from embarrassment. He shook his head slightly before approaching her.

"Doctor? What is it?" Hana asked, still keeping her head lowered.

"I bought some food earlier. There are plenty of cakes and some supplements in here," he said as he handed a plastic bag to Hana.

"For me?" Hana asked to make sure.

"Mm. All of us on the hospital staff know about your situation. With the money you have left, you’ll probably have to live frugally from now on for the sake of these babies," he said.

"There are also some baby clothes for your three sons. They aren’t new, but they’re still in good enough condition for them to wear. They need to change their clothes. Their skin is sensitive, so don’t force them to wear the same clothes all day," he continued, handing another plastic bag to Hana and making her take it despite her reluctance.

"Enough. As the doctor who helped you give birth, all I can do is give you some advice. Don’t engage in reckless relationships again. You won’t be the only one who suffers. These children will suffer too."

Hana raised her head and looked at the doctor before slowly nodding.

"Doctor, thank you," Hana said.

She never expected that she would be this happy to receive help from someone else simply because they pitied her truly miserable financial situation.

"I’m going inside now. I think that taxi outside belongs to you. It’s been looking at you for a while," the doctor said as he walked back toward the hospital entrance.

Hana looked at the taxi in front of her before turning back toward the doctor, who was already walking away.

"Doctor! Thank you for your help!" Hana called out without thinking, afraid that he might not hear her.

The doctor waved his hand without turning around.

Hana smiled, but quickly lowered her head when she noticed that many people had begun staring at her and her three babies in the food cart with strange and suspicious looks.

She pushed the food cart toward the taxi that the hospital worker had ordered for her earlier.

Hana just wanted to leave the hospital as quickly as possible.

She had absolutely no idea that the television screen in the waiting room was currently broadcasting a news report.

A news report about a man whose face she recognized all too well from before she woke up the previous night.