Chapter 79

The lingering tension quickly dissipated, replaced by an air of tranquility. Grayson watched the cat purr contentedly as it rubbed its head against Dane’s chest, and a thought suddenly occurred to him.

He should have been born a cat.

As if oblivious to his thoughts, Dane kissed the cat’s head once more before gently placing it back down. Dane pointed a finger at Grayson, who was still standing there dumbfounded.

“Come on in, I’ll get you some coffee.”

Whether it was because he was a guest or not, Dane walked ahead, pulling out a chair from the dining table with one hand before heading straight into the kitchen. Grayson hesitated, then sat down on the awkwardly positioned chair, craning his neck to look into the kitchen. Dane filled the electric kettle with water and took out instant coffee from the cupboard. As if he’d never measured anything in his life, he tilted the large coffee container and poured coffee into a mug, then poured hot water over it, shook the cup roughly without stirring, and brought it to Grayson.

“Here.”

“Oh… thanks.”

Grayson made a polite gesture, but couldn’t hide his displeased expression. He’d never seen anyone make coffee like this before. But it wasn’t as if Dane was treating Grayson poorly. Seeing Dane nonchalantly drinking his own coffee made in the same way, Grayson had no choice but to shut his mouth.

Surprisingly, it’s not bad…?

Perhaps because making coffee like this was ingrained in him, the taste wasn’t too bad. Considering it was cheap instant coffee, it was reasonably palatable, and Grayson was surprised that it somehow worked even when made so carelessly.

“You can’t touch Darling, but I’ll let you take pictures later.”

Dane suddenly blurted out. Grayson, who had been lost in thought, paused and looked at him, and Dane, misinterpreting his reaction, added in a flat tone.

“He’s blind and deaf, so he’s extra sensitive. He gets startled when unfamiliar people touch him, so just take pictures.”

“Ah, um. I will.”

Grayson nodded as if he understood, hiding his expression as he pretended to drink his coffee. The cat was just an excuse; his real intention was to see Dane’s house, so he kept forgetting about Darling. In any case, he had achieved his initial goal, but he had no intention of being satisfied with that. Now that he was finally alone with Dane, he intended to find out as much as he could about him. What should he say to start? A conversation about the cat would be good to begin with…

Grayson had thought that far when he noticed something strange. Why did the living room seem so empty? He was puzzled for a moment, then soon realized.

“Don’t you have a sofa?”

Come to think of it, it was strange that he had been led to the dining table instead of the sofa. There seemed to be plenty of space in the living room. To Grayson’s question, Dane replied casually.

“I sold it. To put up the cat tower you gave me.”

“Really…?”

He had absentmindedly agreed, but then paused.

“The cat tower I sent? I thought it was supposed to be assembled for you.”

Even to Grayson, who didn’t know Darling well, the cat tower Darling was resting on looked quite old. Questioning the fact that he couldn’t see the fancy cat tower he had seen anywhere, Dane opened his mouth with a still indifferent expression.

“I can do it myself. It’s just a hassle to have someone else do it.”

“You’re doing it yourself?”

It looked quite complicated. Grayson was surprised, but Dane was calm, as if he was used to this kind of thing.

…Come to think of it.

Looking around the house again, he noticed subtle signs of wear and tear everywhere. The old house, which looked like it was 100 years old, must have required a lot of work. Grayson could easily imagine Dane climbing onto the roof to make repairs, and he came up with a suitable topic.

“Isn’t it hard to maintain the house?”

“It is hard.”

Dane readily agreed. The conversation flowed naturally from there. He talked about how the garage floor had cracked due to the earthquake and needed new cement, how there was a small garden in the back but the water bill was too high so he had removed all the grass, and how he had connected gas to the grill but it wasn’t working properly, which was a headache.

Grayson had quite a few trivial conversations with Dane about this and that. This was what he had wanted, but the problem was that the content was empty. Who would come all the way to someone’s house just to talk about home repairs?

It was time to get to the point.

Grayson found a suitable moment and opened his mouth.

“Come to think of it, I don’t see anyone else around. Did your family go out?”

He asked as casually as possible. It was a question he was curious about, but he asked it as indifferently as if he were talking about the weather, and Dane readily answered.

“I don’t have that kind of thing.”

Then he stared at Grayson with a cold gaze.

“Didn’t I tell you before? I’m alone.”

The air, which had been relaxed until now, became subtly tense. Grayson could immediately feel Dane putting up a barrier. He quickly smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“Did you? I must have forgotten.”

Grayson glanced at Darling on purpose and then looked back at Dane.

“But you’re wrong to say you’re alone, aren’t you? You have Darling.”

At those words, Dane turned his gaze to Darling. For a moment, emotion flickered across his otherwise indifferent expression.

“Ah… well, yeah.”

Dane said that, but Grayson felt a strange sense of unease. What was this? Something felt off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Why did he feel this way?

…Ah.

Suddenly, Grayson realized. Even Darling couldn’t hold this man back.

Just as he felt a sense of emptiness and hollowness, as if the ground was falling out from under his feet.

Ding-dong…

The sudden sound of the doorbell startled Grayson. Dane was also taken aback. Judging by the way he frowned, it was clear that he wasn’t expecting any visitors.

Dane clicked his tongue briefly and readily got up and headed to the front door. In the meantime, the visitor rang the bell once more. The lingering sound of the bell felt ominous for some reason.

Grayson stood up awkwardly and looked at the door, and Dane opened it. Beyond the open door, he saw a woman with brown hair whom he had never seen before. The moment he realized that her face, half-hidden by Dane, was covered in anxiety, Dane opened his mouth.

“Who…?”

Dane had his back turned, but Grayson could tell that he was frowning. He slowly got to his feet and moved towards Dane. As he got closer, the woman’s face came into clearer view. He confirmed that she was a lovely woman with a slender figure that could be encircled with one arm, and for some reason, his stomach twisted.

“Um, Dane. Do you not remember me? We met at a club about three months ago…”

At her stammering words, Dane scratched his head as if trying to remember. Seeing that she had come all the way here, it was clear that Dane had brought her home and had sex with her, but he couldn’t remember at all. The woman seemed impatient and quickly continued.

“You bought me a Cinderella that day. When I said I couldn’t drink alcohol well, you asked if this would be okay.”

“Ah…”

He vaguely remembered. He had been intrigued that she couldn’t drink even though she was good at having fun. He had bought her a non-alcoholic cocktail, exchanged a few meaningless jokes, brought her home, and spent the night. It had been a pleasant encounter, and he had been satisfied, so he had made her breakfast in the morning, called her a taxi, and hadn’t seen her since…

“Right? You remember?”

She asked again, her face brightening. Yes, Dane nodded.

“But what’s going on all of a sudden?”

Still not understanding why she had come here, Dane asked, and the woman took a deep breath and opened her mouth in a trembling voice.

“I’m pregnant.”