#127

『Ah, right! Ho-ppang. I’ll definitely remember next time.』

『Haha….』

It was still a bit awkward to call the baby that even when he was alone, so there was no way it would feel natural to talk about it in front of others. Jung-hyun looked sheepish and rubbed his slightly flushed cheeks with the back of his hand.

To tell the truth, he had come up with the fetal nickname only after arriving in the US. Compared to an average pregnant woman in Korea, he was quite late in naming the baby.

While reading a book about pregnancy he had brought from Korea, he came across a passage saying that a fetal nickname could provide good stimulation for the fetus’s brain, which is when he began to seriously think about it. Since it was the first name he was giving, he wanted something wonderful with a good meaning, and he agonized over it for so long that he eventually got hungry. That was when he remembered the ho-ppang (steamed buns) that Shin Ho-jae had bought for him.

Having no other suitable ideas, he started using it as a temporary name until he could decide on a real one, not knowing then that once a name sticks to the tongue, it is hard to let go.

For that reason, the five-month-old little child in his belly came to have the fetal nickname Ho-ppang.

Not only was the pronunciation cute, but because it contained a tense consonant, it met the criteria for a “good fetal nickname” he had read about in the book. Moreover, since it was the first food he had been able to eat after a long period of being unable to keep anything down due to morning sickness and stress, it was a meaningful name that he now liked very much. Above all, it reminded him of memories with Shin Ho-jae.

If even a fetal nickname was this difficult, he wondered how he would ever decide on a real name later. He was experiencing firsthand why people in the world outsourced their children’s naming to professional naming centers.

The sky was heavily overcast on his way out of the hospital. Instead of going straight home, Jung-hyun stopped by a nearby large mart to buy a bucket and some ingredients. Having suddenly craved egg and shrimp porridge, the yellow paper bag contained raw shrimp and eggs. Recently, things he wanted to eat would come to mind precisely, almost like a revelation. For Jung-hyun, who wasn’t particularly a picky eater but didn’t greatly enjoy eating either, it was a very strange experience.

In any case, the taste that had just come to mind was none other than the egg and shrimp porridge Shin Ho-jae had made for him. It was also the dish he made most often and failed every single time. While porridge is a dish that is arguably harder to fail than most, “failure” in Jung-hyun’s mind meant that it didn’t taste like that taste from back then. Just what ingredients did Shin Ho-jae use that he could never replicate that flavor?

I wonder how it will turn out today…. After arriving at the garage and moving the bags into the house one by one, Jung-hyun caught his breath and checked his phone, belatedly noticing an email that had arrived a day ago.

He hadn’t given his US phone number to anyone. Even his communication with Peter was being done through an email account he had created when he was young.

I finally found the luggage boxes. I think they were sent to my hometown house. My mom says she’ll send them via courier, so give me your address.

Jung-hyun frowned after reading the short email.

He didn’t understand why Peter was talking about something else when he had said he would go pick them up himself if he were given the address. Jung-hyun shook his head, placed the phone on the dining table, and began organizing the ingredients.

It was then that he felt a thump in his belly. Startled, Jung-hyun stopped what he was doing and carefully stroked his lower abdomen.

“…Ho-ppang.”

He softly called the fetal nickname.

“Are you doing that because you’re hungry? Telling me to hurry up and make the porridge? But I’m not sure if Daddy can recreate that taste… what should I do….”

Thump, thump.

Two times in a row this time. Jung-hyun let out a small laugh. Clear fetal movements had started appearing a while ago. Remembering the time when he was told the baby was too small and might result in a natural miscarriage, he felt nothing but gratitude that the baby had grown enough to assert itself like this.

“Alright. Don’t fuss. I’ll make it for you right now.”

Putting on an apron, Jung-hyun washed the prepared raw shrimp under running water and clumsily trimmed the vegetables. Then, he took a pack of instant rice from the cupboard and finished all the preparations.

Checking the recipe every now and then, he opened a bottle of spring water, poured it into a pot, and turned on the heat. There was a brief lull while waiting for the water to boil. Gurgle. Ho-ppang was making a fuss, even though it would take another 15 minutes to finish.

Jung-hyun popped a corner of a tasteless white biscuit he had bought for emergencies into his mouth, chewing slowly as he gazed out the window.

The days had grown significantly longer, so it was still bright outside even though it was past 7 PM. It was cloudy and overcast, but that had its own kind of mood.

Did the forecast say it would rain starting tonight? After finishing the porridge, he mustn’t forget to place the newly bought bucket in front of the air duct. Just in case, he should spread plenty of dry towels around it.

When would the Ho-ppang bed he ordered arrive? They said it would take about two weeks, so it should be coming soon. He felt that the baby’s room would only truly feel complete once the bed was there. He felt he was lacking in physical activity, so he decided to stretch before going to bed. He figured he would probably sleep soundly again today.

Everything was peaceful.

“…It’s strange. Everything is clearly going well, just as I hoped.”

Jung-hyun hesitated, stroking his lower abdomen out of habit. He had always kept these thoughts to himself, but he remembered the doctor saying that he should talk to the fetus a lot, even if it was just talking to himself.

After hesitating for a long time, Jung-hyun whispered very softly, so that only the Ho-ppang in his belly could hear.

“Then why does Daddy miss the other daddy?”

＊＊＊

Shin Ho-jae was standing in the middle of the street with a small box tucked under his arm.

The address written in his phone’s memo was nothing more than a single zip code.

『Sorry. He absolutely refuses to give me the detailed address of his vacation spot, so what can I do? This reply took three days to get.』

Saying so, Peter had given his own address first. While most of Jung-hyun’s luggage was piled in the warehouse of his hometown house, Peter said there were some luggage boxes he had forgotten to send that remained at the house where Peter lived alone.

Because of this, Shin Ho-jae had come to a small town near New York, carrying a single lonely box. When he pressed back from the memo, a photo with ’86’ written on it appeared as the phone’s wallpaper.

After his phone was broken by Kwon Ki-hyuk, Du-min bought the latest model with the cash Kwon Ki-hyuk had left behind, but Ho-jae decided to activate and use an old spare phone.

It was a decision made because he tended to use things for a long time and the old phone was still usable, but in truth, there was a bigger reason. This phone was the device he used during his time in Canada. Since he hadn’t transferred the photos, all the photos uploaded by the ’86’ account at the time were saved. Since they were photos Jung-hyun had taken while thinking of him, just looking at them made it feel as if he were close by.

Ho-jae caressed the ’86’ on the wallpaper as if stroking it with his hand, then put the phone in his back pocket.

Still, he had to be grateful that he could at least specify a location now, compared to when he had no clues at all.

First, he needed to find a place to stay nearby, and from the day after tomorrow, he had to take an entry test with a scout Peter had introduced him to.

As soon as he heard that Jung-hyun was in the US, he desperately wanted to pass the test and be active in the US. Even he thought the motivation was simple, but what could he do? Jung-hyun was in the US. And he was ready to do anything as long as he could be near him.

『This is the cheapest room in my house. It’s a small room with just a bed, and you’ll have to share the living room and kitchen with me, but you have your own bathroom.』

Ho-jae had found the cheapest room through a home-sharing service he looked up online. When he said he wanted to see the room in person before signing the contract since he was nearby, the landlord, a young man, readily agreed.

『It’s nice.』

Ho-jae replied simply, looking around the small space that was barely enough to be called a room. It was a room consisting of a single cot and a coat hanger to hang outerwear, but it had a window and a private bathroom, so it was more than enough.

『How long did you say you’d be staying? …Oh dear, Crunch. You shouldn’t be here.』

A moist brown nose suddenly poked through the slightly open door. A large brown dog, having succeeded in opening the door with its long snout, quickly entered the room and sniffed Ho-jae’s legs.

『I’m sorry. He hates climbing stairs, so he usually stays on the first floor. That’s strange…. He’s not usually the type to be this fond of people.』

『Is his name Crunch? I don’t mind if he comes into the room. He’s cute.』

Ho-jae smiled and petted Crunch’s short fur. At that, Crunch lifted a front paw and tried to hug Ho-jae. When he stood up, he was a very large dog that reached up to Ho-jae’s chest. He had quite a bit of weight; if it had been someone other than Ho-jae, they might have fallen on their backside.

As Ho-jae petted his face and chin, Crunch panted and rubbed his face against him. Eventually, Ho-jae sat down on the bed and let Crunch lean against him comfortably. Seeing this, the grey-haired landlord, Lucas, shook his head and laughed.

『Don’t tell me Asian men are your type?』

『Maybe he’s only like this with Asian men?』

『Yeah. Someone who moved into our neighborhood recently is also an Asian man. Crunch loves him so much.』

At those words, Ho-jae stopped petting Crunch and looked up.

『…An Asian man moved into this neighborhood recently? What kind of person is he?』

『There is. A very beautiful Omega man.』

Omega. It still felt awkward to use that word to describe him, but if it were true that Jung-hyun had manifested as an Omega, the Asian Omega man Lucas mentioned could be Jung-hyun.

『What is his name, by any chance?』

『But why are you asking? Sorry, but give up on that dream. That person is an Omega who is taken and pregnant.』

『Ah….』

Scratch, scratch. Crunch scratched Ho-jae’s knee. It was a protest asking why he had stopped petting. Ho-jae resumed stroking the dog’s neck, hiding his disappointed face.

If he’s a pregnant Omega man, then it’s not Jung-hyun. Then again, things wouldn’t be solved this easily.

Right? Ho-jae looked into Crunch’s light brown eyes, speaking in Korean. Crunch panted and stared intently at Ho-jae’s face as if he had something to say.

『But even though it’s been over a month since he moved in, I’ve never seen the husband’s face once. It’s a bit much to ask since it’s a matter of privacy. But does it make sense to leave a pregnant Omega alone for a month? There would be pheromone issues and things like that. I’m a Beta, so I don’t know for sure.』

『I guess so.』

Ho-jae nodded as if it were someone else’s business. Pregnancy…. Now that Jung-hyun had become an Omega, was such a thing possible? He couldn’t quite imagine it.

『Actually, that’s why I’m hoping… that maybe I’ll have a chance?』

Ho-jae looked up at Lucas’s face. Now that he looked, it seemed Lucas had been wary of Ho-jae’s interest because he was someone Lucas liked. A small smirk escaped him.

If there was one thing that had changed after realizing his feelings for Jung-hyun, it was this. He had genuinely come to want to support the love of people in the world, whom he previously hadn’t cared about in the slightest.

With those thoughts, Ho-jae offered words of support without any suspicion.

『I hope it works out for you, Lucas.』

128 – Puck Drop