89
“So, who’s the baby’s father?”
The sound of simmering braised hairtail filled the table deliciously.
Saying that braised hairtail tastes better when simmered slowly, they had set up a portable gas burner and were diligently simmering it on low heat. Seon-rok, who was lazily stirring with a ladle to prevent the seasoning from sticking, asked casually.
“I know. Last time, Jang Soo-cheol and you, Ji-ho, had a secret without me.”
“…Pardon?”
Soo-cheol was just walking to the table with freshly made rolled omelet. Holding the steaming omelet, Soo-cheol flinched at Seon-rok’s voice, quickly turned around, and went back. It seemed he was running away.
Yeon Ji-ho had thought Soo-cheol would have naturally told Seon-rok about his trip to the ‘other world’, but apparently not. Yeon Ji-ho wore a troubled expression at Soo-cheol’s retreating figure, subtly passing the explanation to him.
“Well, you see, uncle.”
“Yes, uncle’s ears aren’t blocked.”
“…I went somewhere far away for a while…”
“Where?”
He felt awkward to immediately mention the other world, and now he had nothing to prove it. Moreover, unlike Soo-cheol, Seon-rok had no interest in fantasy or novels.
While Yeon Ji-ho was hesitating to answer, Soo-cheol, who had returned with a thick rolled omelet topped with zigzagged ketchup, sat down next to Seon-rok. Soo-cheol, who had been silent the entire way home, finally broke his silence.
“It’s about that man named Set we saw before.”
“…Set? Ah, Ji-ho’s friend? Mr. Set?”
“He’s from another world.”
Soo-cheol said it as if it were nothing and snatched the ladle from Seon-rok’s hand. Seon-rok, who didn’t immediately understand Soo-cheol’s words, just blinked and ended up handing over the ladle.
“What? Another world?”
“Ji-ho traveled to another dimension.”
“You, didn’t I tell you to stop reading those novels? Ah, that damned rental shop. Ji-ho, stop teasing me and tell me what’s really going on. What on earth happened?”
Seon-rok had a very normal reaction for an ordinary person. Well, this was the right way to react. Soo-cheol, who had accepted it so calmly back then, was the unusual case.
Still, Soo-cheol breaking the ice gave Yeon Ji-ho courage. Seeing Soo-cheol’s subtle eye signal, Yeon Ji-ho spoke firmly to the still puzzled Seon-rok.
“The baby’s father is Mr. Set.”
“Huh? Didn’t you say Set was a beta back then?”
“He is a beta… but he’s from another world, uncle.”
With Yeon Ji-ho joining in on the ‘other world story’, Seon-rok raised an eyebrow. He asked with a somewhat hurt expression.
“Are you two making fun of me?”
“No.”
“We’re not teasing you.”
“…Then?”
By then, the braised hairtail was almost done. Soo-cheol picked up a side plate and served Seon-rok a piece of cut hairtail first. The red-seasoned braised hairtail had no fishy smell at all.
Meanwhile, Yeon Ji-ho continued to explain.
“Actually, the story about him coming from abroad was all a lie. One day, when I opened my wardrobe…”
As Yeon Ji-ho’s explanation continued, Soo-cheol was busy serving hairtail onto each plate. He was particularly generous with Yeon Ji-ho’s portion.
“Huh. It’s hard to believe.”
“I understand. …It’s okay if you don’t believe me.”
“You believed this right away?”
Soo-cheol, who was quietly pouring broth over the hairtail on Seon-rok’s plate, shrugged. He said softly,
“It’s Ji-ho. Not just anyone else.”
At Soo-cheol’s words, Yeon Ji-ho lowered his head. Seeing this, Seon-rok let out a deep, heavy sigh.
“…If anyone other than you, Ji-ho, had told me this, I would have asked if they were crazy.”
“Uncle, it’s okay if you don’t believe me. It’s just… I just didn’t want to lie for no reason.”
Every year on the anniversary of Yeon Ji-ho’s parents’ death, Seon-rok and Soo-cheol still made time to go to the columbarium with Yeon Ji-ho. When Yeon Ji-ho was a minor, it was because he didn’t know anything, and after he became an adult, it was because they missed them too.
He didn’t want to lie to such people. If Yeon Ji-ho’s parents were still alive, he might have confided in Seon-rok and Soo-cheol first about his pregnancy. That’s what they meant to Yeon Ji-ho.
“It’s alright. You’re not the type to lie… More importantly, Jang Soo-cheol, you! Why didn’t you tell me about this?! You could have given me a heads up!”
“If I had told you, you wouldn’t have believed me.”
“Still! All this time, seeing Ji-ho’s empty house, I was so… Ah, really!”
Seon-rok beat his chest with a frustrated face while looking at Soo-cheol. Seon-rok must have had his own worries too.
Yeon Ji-ho had lived as a reclusive loner for a long time, and it was Seon-rok who had brought him out of his shell. The reason Yeon Ji-ho had many friendly aunties and uncles at the market, even if he didn’t have peers his age, was because of Seon-rok.
For such a person to leave his house empty for a week, a month, Seon-rok couldn’t help but worry. Soo-cheol seemed to know something, but whenever asked, he kept his mouth shut, which was frustrating.
“Alright, I get it. But if you two make secrets without me again, I’ll just run away with Ssol!”
“Uncle, we don’t have any more secrets. Neither of us goes out much anyway…”
As Yeon Ji-ho smiled weakly, Seon-rok quickly erased the sulky expression he had been putting on. Instead, he placed a thick piece of hairtail meat he had personally deboned onto Yeon Ji-ho’s rice bowl and said,
“Let’s eat first. Ji-ho, you’re in big trouble now. A child having a child, really!”
“…I’m in my mid-twenties now, uncle.”
“In our eyes, you’ll always be a child! Oh, look at how plump this hairtail is. I told you the fish from this place is better than that other shop.”
Yeon Ji-ho stared down at the piece of hairtail placed on top of his white rice. The hairtail, slightly coated with red seasoning and sprinkled with chopped green onions, was steaming appetizingly.
Finally, Yeon Ji-ho picked up his spoon. Seon-rok and Soo-cheol were already eating heartily, and Yeon Ji-ho was about to put a spoonful of rice with the hairtail Seon-rok had deboned for him into his mouth when…
“Ugh.”
A sudden wave of nausea made Yeon Ji-ho drop his spoon. The clanging sound of the metal spoon falling seemed unusually loud.
Yeon Ji-ho covered his mouth involuntarily, feeling the two people sitting across from him stop eating and stare at him with surprised eyes. He couldn’t say anything and just barely managed to cover his mouth.
Seon-rok broke the silence.
“See, I told you we should have made what Ji-ho wanted to eat!”
Seon-rok slapped Soo-cheol’s thick shoulders repeatedly. Of course, Soo-cheol didn’t seem to find Seon-rok’s slaps particularly painful.
However, Soo-cheol ignored Seon-rok and simply placed a piece of warm rolled omelet on top of Yeon Ji-ho’s rice bowl.
“…Ji-ho, what do you want to eat tomorrow?”
“Oh, come on. What’s the use of asking that now? The kid has nothing to eat right now. Ji-ho, can you eat the rolled omelet? Hm?”
Yeon Ji-ho’s eyes stung for some reason, and he could only move his lips. Although he had no family or anything else here, it felt like he had finally come home.
What if Set had been by his side? He probably would have been restless seeing Yeon Ji-ho unable to even take a proper spoonful. Yeon Ji-ho managed to swallow past the lump in his throat and said,
“If there’s no… ketchup…”
“What? Wh-what, ketchup? Ah!”
Seon-rok quickly used his spoon to scrape off all the ketchup sprinkled on top of the rolled omelet. Then he replaced the ketchup-covered omelet that Soo-cheol had given with a piece of bright yellow rolled omelet.
Looking at that bright yellow omelet, Yeon Ji-ho took a breath and brought it to his mouth along with some white rice. The warm omelet with green onions and onions mixed with the subtly sweet rice, swirling in his mouth.
“How is it? Can you eat that?”
“…Yes.”
“Whew, that’s a relief. From what I’ve seen, pregnant people absolutely can’t eat what they can’t stomach. Ji-ho, do you know how many weeks along you are?”
“Not yet. I think I’ll need to go to the hospital.”
At those words, Seon-rok hesitated for some reason. Then he casually asked Yeon Ji-ho,
“When you go, you’ll go to an omega-specialized obstetrics clinic, right?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
“…Ji-ho, then what about the baby’s father.”
Seon-rok gave him a worried look. It was understandable. Unlike beta clinics, omega-specialized obstetrics clinics typically require the partner alpha to accompany them. It was rare for an omega to go to an obstetrics clinic alone unless there were unavoidable circumstances.
“Set… he’s in a difficult situation right now.”
“When will he be able to come?”
“…I’m not sure.”
At Yeon Ji-ho’s quietened voice, Seon-rok also fell silent. Then Soo-cheol, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, spoke up.
“Don’t you… need alpha pheromones?”
“…”
“Ji-ho, how do you intend to have the baby alone as an omega?”
