Trapped in a Pregnancy Contract 78

#78

After being discharged from the hospital, Yeojin arrived at the mansion and looked around the interior with wonder.

“Wow! The house is really big. Hyung, did you become rich? Is that why you live here?”

At Yeojin’s question, Yeoul hesitated for a moment. Though he was supposedly an eight-year-old with no memories, Yeoul couldn’t bring himself to agree, so he deflected the answer.

“It’s because circumstances came up.”

“What does ‘circumstances’ mean?”

Yeojin tilted his head.

“…”

Instead of answering, Yeoul stared intently at Yeojin. His round pupils were strange, as if deep suspicion was blooming in them.

“Hyung?”

This made Yeojin look frightened. Soon after, Yeoul softened his hardened expression.

“It means the situation or reason for things, but you’ll understand later.”

“I see…”

Now that he thought about it, Yeoul could see that Yeojin was in terrible shape. With his unkempt hair and stained face, he needed a bath first.

“Let’s take a bath.”

“Ah… right. Mom always said we should wash up after coming in from outside.”

Yeoul took Yeojin to the bathroom. Wondering which bathroom to use, he decided the master bathroom might be inappropriate, so he headed to the external bathroom on the first floor. After washing up, he gave Yeojin new clothes and dried his hair. Yeojin, wearing a sweater, looked at his clothes with fascination.

“Wow. This seems really nice. It’s super soft.”

Yeojin rubbed the t-shirt.

“Yes… it is nice clothing.”

One thing Yeoul had realized while living with Eun Sajun was that even the smallest things were different from the world he used to live in. One day, he wore a plain white shirt without even a small logo to dinner. As luck would have it, they had kimchi stew that day, and some splashed on him.

So he sent the shirt for professional cleaning. But the red stain was so large and deep that it didn’t seem like it would come out. With the intention of compensating for the shirt, he looked for the tag to find the logo and price—it was a 1.5 million won shirt from a little-known Italian brand.

When Yeoul was at a loss over the large amount, Eun Sajun defended him, saying not to worry about such things as it was just the price of coffee.

‘Don’t worry about the white shirt, worry about our baby instead.’

He seemed to mean not to stress over trivial matters. So Yeoul realized that the baby created by their contract was more important than the laundry bill for a white shirt, and he calmed his mind.

So the clothes Yeojin was wearing now were surely worth over a million won.

“Hyung. You’ve really become a princess.”

Yeojin’s eyes sparkled brightly.

“What do you mean, princess…”

Embarrassed, Yeoul touched his earlobe.

“Are you married, by any chance?”

“No, that’s not it…”

At Yeojin’s innocent but direct question, Yeoul waved his hands. Suddenly, he thought it might feel good if he were really married to Eun Sajun, but he dismissed the thought as greedy.

“Ah, that’s too bad. I thought you might be married.”

After whining, Yeojin soon touched his stomach.

“Hyung, I’m hungry.”

At Yeojin’s plea of hunger, Yeoul nodded.

“Okay, okay. Let’s eat.”

Yeoul quickly took Yeojin’s hand.

“What do you want to eat, Yeojin?”

“Me! Curry!”

“Okay. Let’s have curry.”

His taste seemed to have reverted to childhood too. Yeojin, who used to enjoy curry, stopped eating it after entering high school, saying it was for children’s palates. In contrast, Yeoul still liked curry. They had actually had curry for dinner yesterday.

So they moved to the dining room and started eating. Yeojin ate the curry enthusiastically. Yeoul watched him intently.

“Is it good?”

“Yes. It’s delicious.”

That’s a relief. Yeoul picked up a pickle that was served with the curry and placed it on Yeojin’s spoon. Yeojin ate it immediately. Yeoul looked at Yeojin meaningfully and then smiled. Just as Yeojin was almost finishing his meal…

“The CEO has returned from work.”

At the housekeeper’s voice, Yeoul felt like he was facing a mountain he had to climb. With a somewhat tense face, he got up and left the kitchen. Just then, Eun Sajun came into the house. Perhaps because he had been briefed in advance, he acted nonchalantly, as if seeing Yeojin didn’t affect him much.

“Ah, hello.”

Yeojin awkwardly greeted him. Eun Sajun looked down at Yeojin with a cold gaze, but soon a smile appeared on his lips.

“Yes. Hello.”

But his smiling face was somewhat stiff and extremely awkward. Only Yeoul, standing between them, was sweating nervously.

* * *

After Eun Sajun finished his meal, the three moved to the living room and sat side by side on the sofa. Especially, Yeojin was sticking close to Yeoul’s side. At the same time, Yeoul was very conscious of Eun Sajun’s reactions. Given the uncomfortable situation, it was very difficult to start speaking. However, he painfully mustered up courage.

“Um, CEO. Could Yeojin stay here for a few days? He has nowhere to go right now.”

Even to himself, making such a request seemed too selfish. Although Yeojin had done terrible things to him, he couldn’t coldly leave him alone when he had regressed to this childlike state.

Eun Sajun’s gaze felt cold for a moment. This made Yeoul even more nervous. But soon after, Eun Sajun’s lips curved up gently.

“Why just a few days? We don’t know when he’ll recover. Let him stay here until he regains his memory.”

“What? Really?”

Not expecting such easy acceptance, Yeoul’s eyes widened.

“Yes.”

“But, are you really sure it’s okay?”

While it was good news for Yeoul, he felt like he might be imposing too much. Eun Sajun firmly held Yeoul’s hand.

“Well, where else would you have your brother stay?”

“Ah…”

It was true that Yeojin, who wasn’t mentally sound right now, had nowhere to stay. So he couldn’t give a proper answer to Eun Sajun’s question.

“See?”

“But… I… I feel like I’m imposing too much…”

“Don’t think that way. We’re not just any ordinary relationship.”

At his gentle voice, Yeoul felt his heart flutter once more. It felt like they had become closer than anyone else.

“Then, I’ll show your brother to his room.”

Eun Sajun stood up. He treated Yeojin kindly, who was rolling his eyes around like candy. Yeojin also seemed to feel at ease with Eun Sajun’s demeanor and let down his guard.

The room where Yeojin would stay was the innermost room on the first floor. It might have been a guest room, as it was plain, but it was furnished adequately for everyday living with a bed and table.

“How is it, Yeojin? Do you like the room?”

“Yes, yes! I like it.”

Yeojin’s eyes sparkled as he looked around.

“Wow! It’s really nice.”

Yeoul watched Yeojin contentedly, but a part of his heart felt complicated.

* * *

Two weeks passed like that.

At first, Yeojin had found life in the mansion unfamiliar, but now he seemed to have adapted and started showing natural behavior. He was exactly like the young Yeojin that Yeoul remembered. Of course… it wasn’t perfect.

Eun Sajun didn’t seem uncomfortable with Yeojin either. In reality, he rarely encountered Yeojin. This was because he seemed busy with work again and spent a lot of time at the company.

Today too, after finishing their meal, Yeoul helped Yeojin brush his teeth. After wiping his face with a towel, Yeojin looked out the window and made a suggestion.

“Hyung. Shall we go for a walk?”

“A walk?”

“Yes, yes! The weather is really nice today.”

Perhaps because it was becoming March, the sunshine felt warmer than before.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Yeoul nodded.

* * *

They went out to the garden for a walk. Under the mild sunshine, the breeze seemed to carry the scent of flowers, and it felt like the energy of life was surging. Yeoul walked with Yeojin, feeling the gentle air. Although he had been staying at this mansion for almost three months, he had never taken a proper walk. So this was the first time he was directly walking through the garden that he had only seen like a painting.

Even though spring was coming, winter’s breath still remained, showing bare tree branches and a dry pond. It was expected that when buds sprouted and it got warmer, an even more beautiful space would unfold. Thus, with a pounding heart, he took one step, two steps.

“Huh? There’s a mountain here?”

Yeojin’s eyes rounded as he looked at one spot. Beyond a low wall made of stacked stones, a mountain was visible. Yeoul was also surprised, not knowing there was such a mountain behind the mansion.

“Let’s go over there.”

“What?”

Yeoul tried to stop Yeojin from heading toward the mountain. But Yeojin crossed the wall with light, nimble movements.

Just as Yeoul became urgent and tried to follow, he felt a hand grabbing his wrist.

“Where are you trying to go?”

It was Eun Sajun. It was confusing why he was suddenly here when he had left for work early this morning. Moreover, Yeoul hadn’t even noticed his approach.

“Ah, Yeojin suddenly went toward the mountain…”

“Is that so? Stay here. That mountain is more dangerous than you think. I’ll go find him.”

“What? Ah…”

In the past, Yeoul would have insisted on going to find Yeojin himself, but thinking of the baby in his belly, he couldn’t act recklessly.

“Yes… I understand.”

At Yeoul’s answer, Eun Sajun was heading toward the mountain but stopped his feet. Then he gazed steadily at Yeoul.

“The baby noticed too, right?”

“What?”

“That Geum Yeojin is pretending to have amnesia.”