By Zephyria The subtle atmosphere shattered. Kwon Tae-hee finished spreading the oil on his thigh with his palm and slowly lowered his body.
“I’ll buy it for you, so wait.”
Knowing that ordering through a delivery app would save him the trouble of going outside, Kwon Tae-hee chose to move himself. He needed time to quell his excitement. He tidied up the fallen towel, brought Seo Jeong-won the pajamas to wear, and then turned away.
Left alone in the powder room, Seo Jeong-won, who was breathing shallowly, glanced at himself in the mirror and quickly shook his head. He rubbed his eyes to erase the face that remained strongly imprinted in his mind like a scene he shouldn’t have seen. He roughly rubbed his cheeks and washed his face again with cold water to cool the heat rising there. By the time he calmed his racing heart and put on his pajamas, his hair was mostly dry.
Seo Jeong-won, shaking his hair that felt only slightly damp rather than wet, went out to the living room. The space, which was more like a garden than a flower bed, was silent. There was probably someone residing there, but at least he couldn’t hear even the slightest noise.
He naturally went to the fish tank and followed the swaying fish with his eyes. As he envied the leisurely swimming fish as always, he saw something rapidly approaching from the corner of The Garden of Tedium Startled, he turned his head and saw a tall figure striding closer.
Kwon Tae-hee was holding a white plastic bag with a large logo of a jokbal (pig’s feet) restaurant, an image that didn’t suit his sophisticated appearance. Seo Jeong-won stared at him through the window as if possessed. Kwon Tae-hee also stopped his busy steps and stood there, meeting his gaze.
His stomach, which had finally calmed down, churned again. Seo Jeong-won rubbed the back of his neck with his palm and avoided his gaze. After waiting a little, he heard the sound of the front door opening. The sound of slippers dragging across the floor, too. The sound echoing in the quiet space was quite loud to ignore, so he eventually turned his head.
“…You’re back?”
“Yes, I’m back.”
Kwon Tae-hee felt a ticklish sensation in his chest at the greeting he heard every time, and approached Seo Jeong-won. He naturally pulled his cheek and pressed his lips against his soft skin, checking if he had lost his appetite.
“I still want to eat it. I’m hungry.”
“That’s a relief.”
Kwon Tae-hee smiled contentedly at Seo Jeong-won’s answer. The two moved side by side. Kwon Tae-hee was always overprotective, saying that he should be careful even when walking in the living room without even a low threshold.
As soon as they entered the dining room, the packaged food was placed on the long table in its bag. Seo Jeong-won reached out to unpack it himself, but was immediately seated. Kwon Tae-hee, who clearly wasn’t used to it, skillfully unpacked the food and neatly arranged it.
“I felt strange.”
“…Yes?”
“It’s the first time Jeong-won said he wanted to eat something, so I went out to buy it. While waiting for the order, I felt very ticklish.”
The hand handing over the wooden chopsticks was beautiful. Seo Jeong-won stared at the neat and tidy fingertips before slowly raising his head.
“I will do anything for Jeong-won from now on, if there’s anything you want.”
“…Why?”
“Because you’re someone I have to take responsibility for. You’re going to be my spouse. Of course, I’ll be Jeong-won’s spouse too.”
The words responsibility and spouse were very vague to express their relationship. So at that moment, Seo Jeong-won wanted to hear something more definite. He wanted to know what kind of feelings he had for him.
“You don’t… like me, do you?”
Although the question was clear, the end of the sentence trailed off. It wasn’t because he was nervous, but because he suddenly thought it was ridiculous to ask in this situation.
“Not now, but I plan to. I will definitely come to like Jeong-won.”
“…”
“I’ll try, so Jeong-won, please try too. I want to start anew. Forget all the bad things I’ve done or said, and don’t worry about anything. Let’s only think about the two of us… no, the three of us.”
A large, warm hand cupped his cheek and gently rubbed it. Seo Jeong-won leaned his face against the palm, which was softer than a newly sprouted seedling, and scoffed inwardly. If people’s hearts could be moved by effort, he should have tried it sooner. But he couldn’t bring himself to say it, and barely swallowed the words that had risen to his throat.
“The order is reversed, but let’s think of it as getting married and then dating. I will be a good spouse to Jeong-won. I promise.”
The words, sweeter than sugar, that pierced his ears lessened the guilt the two felt. Hearing that the reason Kwon Tae-hee decided to marry him was because of the baby, not because he liked him, made him feel much lighter. Seo Jeong-won only slightly curved his lips into a smile and nodded.
“I’ll try too, Executive Director. Thank you for saying that.”
Now, this level of lying was easy. Seo Jeong-won reassured him with an insincere answer and picked up the chopsticks. He picked up a piece of meat with a glossy sheen and put it in his mouth, chewing it. The soft, salty taste filled his mouth. He didn’t even feel the unique smell of the meat.
“Is it good?”
“It’s good. It’s really good.”
He was hungry. His chopsticks moved quickly today. He put as much meat as he could into his mouth and chewed busily. It was then. Thump— A rather large reverberation was felt in his stomach. Seo Jeong-won, surprised by the fetal movement he felt at an unexpected moment, let out a small scream and bounced slightly. Kwon Tae-hee covered the arm that was unknowingly hugging his stomach with his hand.
“What…”
The timing was also cruel. As if the baby was letting Kwon Tae-hee know of its existence, it thumped again.
Kwon Tae-hee’s eyes widened. He blinked in surprise, then carefully removed Seo Jeong-won’s hand and covered the spot with his own hand.
Thump, thump, thump. Whether it liked the menu or Kwon Tae-hee’s voice, the baby moved actively. Seo Jeong-won had never felt so many fetal movements before, so he was just as bewildered.
The beautifully shaped lips curved softly. He repeatedly called Danpung, the baby’s nickname, in a voice filled with awe. Each time, the baby seemed to answer, drumming around in his stomach.
“It’s lovely even though I can’t see it. How pretty will it be when it’s born?”
His voice, which flowed out in a low tone, was full of affection. Seo Jeong-won stared intently at Kwon Tae-hee’s profile as he leaned down and stroked his stomach. It was so beautiful that he couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation. He was like a painting drawn with great care.
“I hope it looks like Jeong-won.”
“…”
“Jeong-won, what about you?”
“…I hope it looks like me.”
So that it wouldn’t resemble you, who will be leaving soon, in any way, so that you wouldn’t be reminded of me even inadvertently. Hiding such thoughts completely, Kwon Tae-hee burst into laughter as if he was truly enjoying the answer that was given as if he was shy.
“You said I was pretty before, was that a lie? It sounds like you don’t want it to look like me at all, so I’m disappointed.”
“It wasn’t a lie. Executive Director is the prettiest person I’ve ever seen.”
“I’m excited to hear you say that to me, Jeong-won.”
Seo Jeong-won, who met eyes with Kwon Tae-hee, who slowly raised his upper body, opened his lips that had been twitching and boldly laid out the words that came to his mind.
“I hope the baby’s height resembles Executive Director. But not the personality…”
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.”
Seo Jeong-won lowered his head at the light tone that still had laughter in it. He felt like the current situation would be vividly etched in his mind. As a terrible and fluffy memory at the same time.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
That night, he fell asleep in the bedroom with Kwon Tae-hee. He received a generous pheromone shower, but fortunately, it didn’t lead to the next act. The words “I still don’t want to” became a solid shield that stopped Kwon Tae-hee.
Seo Jeong-won couldn’t sleep deeply because he was worried about Kwon Tae-hee, who was tossing and turning all night. He received a call early in the morning and hurriedly prepared to go to work. Even in the rush, Kwon Tae-hee pulled up the blanket that had been pushed to his feet and covered it up to his neck, and pressed his lips firmly on his cheek for a kiss.
“I’ll be back.”
Long, straight fingers gently stroked his hair and moved away. Silence came in an instant with the sound of the bedroom door opening and closing. Seo Jeong-won, who had been tightly closing his eyes as if he hadn’t woken up, jumped up and sat down.
Today is the day. It was just a vague thought, but it was accompanied by a strong impulse. Seo Jeong-won tried to calm his agitated heart. If he was even slightly clumsy, he would surely ruin things. So he had to be calm.
“Ha, hoo, hoo…”
He calmed his anxiety by exhaling and inhaling deeply. He can get out. Even if he can’t get great revenge on Kwon Tae-hee, he can shock him. Considering the affection he had been showing for the baby, it seemed like he could inflict even the slightest bit of pain.
But even that feeling would soon fade if his existence disappeared.