By Zephyria Seo Jeong-won, who had been about to leave his seat with gusto, was helplessly blocked and made to sit down again. The food that had filled the table was quickly cleared away, and a cup of lightly brewed tea was placed in front of him. Warm steam rose slowly, creating white heat haze.
And from then on, Kwon Tae-hee rattled off plans that were barely audible. Judging from the main topics being obstetrics and gynecology and ultrasounds, it seemed he was saying he would have tests related to the baby done again. Seo Jeong-won didn’t feel like responding, so he turned his head. A pleasant voice flowed gently through the air. Then, in a rather firm tone, his name was called.
“Jeong-won.”
“……”
“Wouldn’t it be better to cooperate?”
The soft question aroused hostility. Cooperate with what? Just sitting here was cooperating with everything he ordered. Seo Jeong-won looked at Kwon Tae-hee with a slightly twisted gaze, and his shapely lips curved into an arc.
“Seo Gyu-won might not be there when you visit the columbarium again, you know.”
“……Ha.”
“So at least pretend to listen.”
There were no vulgar or harsh words mixed in, but it was a clear threat. Seo Jeong-won couldn’t ask if he was crazy and only trembled with his clenched fist. Eventually, he changed his attitude and lowered his fiercely glaring eyes.
“……I heard you. You said we should go to the hospital.”
“And?”
He couldn’t answer the next part. Because he couldn’t remember anything else.
“Listen carefully.”
Kwon Tae-hee sighed a little irritably and leaned back, tilting his upper body backward. He looked into the black eyes that were shaking with a mixture of embarrassment and bewilderment before slowly continuing.
“Soon you will meet my parents, and I said we need to decide on a fetal name. Because we need to call the baby with affection until it is safely born. I think it would be good if Jeong-won came up with it, what do you think?”
“……”
“Think about it.”
“I will.”
At the end of his answer, a blatant gaze stuck to him.
“Think of about three, not just one. Don’t make it up haphazardly, and not something common either.”
“……Executive Director.”
“Yes, Jeong-won.”
Seo Jeong-won was about to argue that he was making too many demands, but he eventually shut his mouth. Then, something suddenly occurred to him, and he urgently called out to Kwon Tae-hee again.
“Please let me stop by the flower shop for a moment.”
“Why?”
“……The fish. I think the fish are going to die.”
Kwon Tae-hee looked at his pale face and recalled a few days ago. He remembered him worrying about the fish even then, when his cheeks were flushed and he was breathing heavily after their kiss in the hospital room.
Another week had passed since then, so they might have died as he feared. But even the death of something trivial would clearly have a significant impact on Seo Jeong-won now. He decided it would be better not to let him witness it, if possible.
Taking him there wasn’t a problem, but the travel time bothered him. It was his first pregnancy, and the risk of miscarriage was high in the early stages, so was it really necessary to send Seo Jeong-won, taking that risk?
It would be enough to just bring what he wanted.
He had only just managed to keep him by his side for a reason other than Seo Gyu-won, and he didn’t want to get rid of that.
“I’ll send someone to the flower shop to bring the fish tank, so wait at home.”
“……”
“It’s because you can’t see for yourself what condition you’re in right now. So don’t be stubborn.”
Kwon Tae-hee sighed. Seo Jeong-won moved his lips, but eventually decided to follow his lead. He figured that even if he refused, he wouldn’t listen, so it was easier to give up.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
As promised, Kwon Tae-hee had the fish tank from the flower shop moved to his house. In the sleek and luxurious house, the cheap glass fish tank with tropical fish swimming around, shimmering in the midday sun, stood out. He had thought that maybe some of them had died, but the number of fish in the tank hadn’t decreased at all. On the contrary, the population had increased.
Seo Jeong-won gently stroked the wall of the fish tank with his fingertips. He was quietly watching the fish swimming when he was startled by a sudden presence and turned around.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Chief Jung checked his pale face and immediately apologized. Seo Jeong-won, looking thinner and more precarious than he had at the funeral, gasped for breath and bowed his head.
“Hello, General manager.”
“Yes, we meet again.”
“Thank you for coming that day… I was out of my mind, so I couldn’t even greet you properly.”
Seo Jeong-won bowed deeply, offering his belated thanks.
“It’s nothing. I sincerely pray for the deceased’s soul to rest in peace.”
“……Thank you.”
Chief Jung waited for Seo Jeong-won to compose himself a little before continuing with what he had prepared to say.
“I received a call that Executive Director has just left. If you get ready and come out, I will escort you right away.”
“Yes?”
“You have an appointment for an obstetrics and gynecology examination today. Weren’t you informed?”
“……Ah.”
That’s right, he had. He had definitely heard it from Kwon Tae-hee in the morning, but he had completely forgotten. He was supposed to go to the hospital with him today. He said they needed to confirm the exact number of weeks and get the necessary checkups. Since they hadn’t decided on a fetal name, Kwon Tae-hee was referring to the thing in his belly as ‘our baby.’
“……It’s creepy.”
“Excuse me? I didn’t hear you correctly.”
“No, it’s nothing… I’ll be out soon.”
He had been so diligent about taking contraceptives and birth control pills, but he was still pregnant. It was truly a disgusting and terrible thing.
He went into the bedroom and stayed holed up in the corner of the dressing room for a long time. He didn’t want to confirm the fact that another being was growing inside his body. Nevertheless, he couldn’t keep the man waiting for him outside indefinitely.
He moved unsteadily, washed his face once more, and took out clothes from his bag. In fact, they weren’t much different from what he was wearing now. Except that they were a little more wrinkled. He rubbed the distinct wrinkles with the palm of his hand and went outside, where Chief Jung extended his hand with a polite smile.
“Am I late…?”
“No, I will escort you.”
At the firm words, Seo Jeong-won followed without answering. I wish I was late. It would be even better if I didn’t go at all. He left the house with such futile thoughts.
The hospital wasn’t far from Kwon Tae-hee’s house, so they were able to arrive within the appointment time, as Chief Jung had said. Kwon Tae-hee, who had arrived earlier and was waiting for him, came into Seo Jeong-won’s view as he looked out the window. Even from a distance, he was a man who looked truly precious. He had such a noble and dignified appearance that one would never dream he would do such shady and dirty things.
“Did General manager know my Hyung?”
“……”
“Did you know that I’m his younger brother…?”
“……”
“……You knew.”
Seo Jeong-won muttered bitterly. They weren’t close enough to feel betrayed or disappointed, so he quietly accepted his attitude of not showing that he knew.
“……We’ve arrived.”
“Thank you.”
Seo Jeong-won bowed his head toward the driver’s seat. Before his hand could even touch the door trim, the door opened. A cold breeze and a familiar scent washed over him.
“You’re here?”
His handsome face softened gently. His expression was full of affection, as if he were looking at something he liked, but Seo Jeong-won knew it wasn’t genuine. He didn’t resist the hand that wrapped around his shoulders as soon as he got out of the car. What good would it do to push him away? Then he would realize the weight of the two pieces of paper he had signed again. He didn’t want to repeat the tiring situation.
“How are you feeling today?”
“……I slept well, so I feel better.”
“You’re being compliant today.”
He knew it was the result of his arguing with him for the past few days, but it was really… should he say ruthless, or petty and mean?
“What do you want for lunch?”
“……Anything is fine.”
Last night, Seo Jeong-won had spent hours poring over the contract that Kwon Tae-hee had brought him again, word by word. At first, he had focused only on the act of physical intimacy rather than the onset or absurd pregnancy, so he didn’t realize that the contract contained such detailed information about the child. He now realized that the clauses related to pregnancy and childbirth were set up to be more advantageous to Kwon Tae-hee than to him, the mother.
“Executive Director.”
“Yes, Jeong-won.”
Regardless of Seo Gyu-won’s survival, from the moment the pregnancy was confirmed, all rights, including parental rights and custody of the child, belonged to Kwon Tae-hee. The moment he left Kwon Tae-hee, even his visitation rights would be revoked.
“……No, it’s nothing.”
Seo Jeong-won briefly met the eyes of Kwon Tae-hee, who was looking down at him, and then shook his head.
“Why? What are you curious about?”
He barely managed to bring out the question that had been lingering in his mouth.
“I was wondering if Hae-seop Hyung, no, Song Hae-seop, would be raising the child if I gave birth.”
“Ah.”
“……”
“I didn’t tell Jeong-won that I had ended my relationship with Song Hae-seop.”
He let out a long sigh of regret, as if he had suddenly realized it.
“Is that why you couldn’t talk to me about it first?”
“……”
“I was insensitive. I should have told you that in advance.”
At the regretful voice, Seo Jeong-won lowered his gaze and blinked slowly.
He must have thrown him away easily again. Like his Hyung, Song Hae-seop too. He was chilled to the bone by his insensitivity, not having any idea what the problem was.