By Zephyria Smack. Lips parted with a ticklish sound. Seo Jeong-won’s cheeks were slightly red. Kwon Tae-hee kissed him again, charmed by the lovely sight. He was careful not to deepen the kiss, sliding his lips over his soft cheeks and neck in turn.
“Shall we just cuddle today?”
“……Yes.”
Kwon Tae-hee climbed onto the bed and settled in. He pulled Seo Jeong-won close, letting him lean his back against his chest, and slowly released his Pheromone. He pressed his lips firmly against the pale nape of his neck, and the thin shoulders twitched.
“How do you feel?”
“I feel… good. Is it because I’m pregnant?”
“It’s more because you’re an Omega. Instinctively, you know that you need me, and my Pheromone.”
Seo Jeong-won nodded at the quiet explanation. He gently placed his palm on the back of Kwon Tae-hee’s hand, which was covering his stomach.
“So, Executive Director, I really need you.”
“That’s right.”
“Then… does Executive Director need me too?”
At the quiet question, Kwon Tae-hee’s hand, which had been stroking the bulging belly, stopped moving. He chuckled softly and pressed his lips against the back of Seo Jeong-won’s neck again.
Need? Seo Jeong-won was no longer something he just needed. He had to keep him by his side no matter what. But if he revealed these inner thoughts, the fragile man would only feel repulsed, so he was hiding them carefully.
“Don’t think strange things.”
“……”
“How’s your stomach?”
“Just… not good. And my phone, I don’t remember where I put it. Do you have it, Executive Director?”
He hadn’t noticed the absence of his phone until this moment. He was dumbfounded by his own carelessness, but he also thought that it was an unavoidable situation. He didn’t have anyone he contacted regularly, and most days he didn’t receive a single call or text. He couldn’t remember the last time he had received someone’s concern, and now that even his Hyung was dead, he was truly an orphan.
“Phone… come to think of it, you didn’t have your phone.”
Kwon Tae-hee reacted as if he really didn’t know. His reaction seemed so genuine that it made Seo Jeong-won feel foolish for suspecting that he had gotten rid of it or was keeping it. At least, that’s how it felt to him.
“I’ll buy you the same one you were using tomorrow.”
But he refused his offer to buy him a new one. Even if it was the same model, he felt like he would install some other device on it. Even if he didn’t have such intentions, he couldn’t help but be suspicious.
“…No, I only realized it was gone today. I’ll tell you if I need it.”
“Okay. If you’re feeling up to it, Jeong-won, shall we have lunch and go for a walk today?”
“Really, really?”
He wondered if he had revealed his excitement too much, but he couldn’t control his emotions. The end of his voice trembled slightly. Seo Jeong-won nodded and answered again that he wanted to go.
“Let’s do this a little longer before we go out.”
“……Yes, thank you.”
At the generous permission, Seo Jeong-won bowed his head without turning around. He hoped the Pheromone shower would end soon. He wanted to go out before the sun set, because if it got dark, the walk might be postponed under the pretext of it being night, or the walk time might be shortened.
It was his first outing in a while. Knowing or not knowing his anxious heart, Kwon Tae-hee was annoyingly relaxed. He wished he could receive a Pheromone shower rapidly. Thinking that, he was released from the embrace about an hour later.
Kwon Tae-hee took him to Han River Park, which was not far from the house. Seo Jeong-won was so busy looking around that he didn’t even notice his cheeks were cold from the chilly river breeze. Everything he saw was unfamiliar, as he had only seen it in dramas, movies, and variety shows.
“You’re acting like it’s your first time here.”
“……Yes? Ah, it is my first time. I guess it shows.”
Seo Jeong-won smiled awkwardly and lowered his head, his ears quickly turning bright red. Kwon Tae-hee knew he should say it was a joke, but he closed his mouth, thinking that his blushing face was pretty.
“I like that you have a lot of firsts, Jeong-won.”
“……”
“I also like that you’re experiencing most of them with me.”
Kwon Tae-hee, who was holding Seo Jeong-won’s hand, started walking slowly. While his head was turning this way and that, busy looking around, Kwon Tae-hee made sure he didn’t bump into any pedestrians. They walked for about ten minutes and rested for about the same amount of time.
Kwon Tae-hee, who had grabbed Seo Jeong-won’s hand as he was playing with his feet on the bench and put it in his pocket, asked quietly.
“Jeong-won, how about you start studying again?”
“……Yes?”
“I think you were going to go to college, I’ll help you, so take your time to prepare. You’re too young to just sit around after giving birth.”
“Ah……”
As Kwon Tae-hee said, he had been preparing. He had postponed it after taking over the flower shop and becoming stable, and then completely gave up after hearing that his Hyung was in a coma. Studying itself felt like a luxury. At that time, it was hard enough to live day to day.
“Thank you.”
“You have plenty of time, so think about it slowly.”
“Yes.”
The small head went up and down. The leisurely flowing river and the city skyline turning red due to the quickly setting sun were different from what he had seen in Seonam, so he stared at them for a long time. Then, he suddenly had the thought that he wanted to disappear. Of course, if he moved without any plan, he would be caught quickly.
“It’s nice to take a walk, Executive Director.”
“……”
“Please take me out sometimes.”
Living in the same place every day, he finally felt like he could breathe comfortably when he came outside. His mind, which was always in a mess, seemed to be clearing up.
“Okay. Let’s come out again.”
If this one time became two times, and that was repeated, then someday the day would come when he could come out alone. Then, he might be able to leave Kwon Tae-hee naturally.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
After that day, Kwon Tae-hee kept his promise. He took Seo Jeong-won to the Han River quite often. And he started going to work two days a week. Seo Jeong-won thought the time had finally come. He didn’t know if him disappearing would hurt Kwon Tae-hee, but he thought he could give him even a tiny bit of shock.
So, even though he didn’t have a proper plan or money, he was waiting for the right timing to execute it recklessly. It was easier than he thought to lower Kwon Tae-hee’s guard. Seo Jeong-won received Pheromone showers from him quite often and shared intimate skinship. He didn’t know how much the sexual contact had worked, but just by not refusing it, his attitude had changed a little.
Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like he would soon be able to go out the front door alone. So now was the chance. He had to execute it as soon as possible. If he missed this time when the morning sickness had completely subsided, he might never be able to escape him again.
“Haa……”
Seo Jeong-won spent most of his days worrying about how to escape him. Should he say his stomach hurt? But even if his morning sickness got worse, he would postpone going to work, so if he said his stomach hurt, wouldn’t he say he would work from home until the day he gave birth?
It was a method he could never use when they were together, but if he went to work… it might be okay. Preferably when he had an important meeting to attend. Seo Jeong-won paced in front of the living room window, imagining the same scene in his head several times. If he said his stomach hurt and acted like the baby was going to be in danger right away, he wouldn’t tell him to wait.
“Jeong-won.”
He was in the middle of thinking that. Seo Jeong-won’s body jumped in surprise at the sudden voice.
“Yes?”
“What were you thinking about that made you so surprised?”
“Ah.”
He was so focused on planning his escape that he didn’t even hear him coming down. Seo Jeong-won smiled awkwardly and shook his head, saying it was nothing. His gaze was intentionally lowered.
“Shall we go out for a bit after dinner?”
“A walk? I’d love to—”
That’s when it happened. He felt a small vibration in his stomach.
“Jeong-won?”
“……I’d love to.”
“What’s wrong? Does your stomach hurt?”
He took his hand off his stomach without realizing it and shook his head. He denied that it was anything like that and approached Kwon Tae-hee. He grabbed his arm naturally before he could reach out his hand.
“I’m just so happy.”
These days, Kwon Tae-hee often stroked his stomach. Today, he was afraid that Kwon Tae-hee would pretend to be a good father and touch his stomach, so he took the initiative in case he noticed the baby’s movements. Even if it was a bad thought, he didn’t want him to feel the baby’s kicks.
“I’m just so happy… because you’ve been taking me out so often these days.”
“Tell me right away if anything feels even slightly off. I’m worried.”
“……Are we going out after dinner? Can I eat dinner now?”
“Don’t force yourself to eat if you don’t want to. Shall we go for a walk and get ice cream today? I heard that pregnant women want to eat all sorts of things, but you don’t say anything.”