#Side Story 4
“Well then, we’ll be leaving.”
After parting with Han Seungwon, Idam sat in the back seat with Taemin. Secretary Kang was in the driver’s seat, and the sedan naturally left the hospital.
“When we get home, let’s have a meal first.”
Taemin held Idam’s hand tightly. At the same time, Idam’s white cheeks turned pink.
“Yes, that sounds good.”
They had originally planned to eat at the hospital, but Taemin suggested having a proper meal at home, so they left immediately.
“And for the cooking…”
Just as Taemin was about to continue, his phone vibrated. He paused briefly to check the screen.
“I need to take this call for a moment.”
After asking for understanding, he started a work-related call. His expression, which had been infinitely gentle towards Idam, became serious.
Idam took in Taemin with both eyes.
How strange.
It felt like a new world had unfolded after waking up from a long sleep.
He was sure he had been living in an orphanage. Especially yesterday, he had gone up the mountain behind the orphanage with Teacher Han Seungwon and his friends to catch butterflies. Idam had caught the most, everyone was amazed, and Teacher Han Seungwon had praised him too. He had ended the day feeling good, but…
Overnight, he had become twenty-one years old, and had an alpha named Ji Taemin as his husband. He even had a baby. It was bewildering and surprising, but also exciting in a way.
Because the moment he first faced Taemin, he felt a tingling sensation as if struck by lightning. It was like meeting a prince on a white horse. He had always wanted to be a beta, so it was shocking to hear he had manifested as an extreme heat omega, but in the end, he was very pleased.
Because Taemin was his ideal type.
In fact, Idam hadn’t specifically dreamed of an ideal type before. So when his friends talked about their ideal types, he would mumble awkwardly. But the moment he saw Taemin, he felt as if his soul was being swallowed, and he judged that it wouldn’t be wrong to define this person as his ideal type.
Yeo Idam… you’ve lived well until now.
Idam’s self-esteem was rocketing up due to Taemin’s existence.
After looking at Taemin with a pounding heart, Idam turned his gaze to the window, feeling suddenly shy.
“Oh?”
He could see Teacher Han Seungwon, whom he had just met, walking down the street. He felt regret for not being able to talk properly when they met earlier. Although seven years had passed, his appearance was exactly the same as the person he had seen yesterday, without any changes. He wondered how he was doing now. He had missed the timing earlier, but he decided to actively strike up a conversation if he got the chance to meet him again in the future.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
Taemin, having finished his call, followed Idam’s gaze out the car window. The scenery had changed, and Teacher Han Seungwon’s figure had already disappeared.
“Oh, I was just looking at the street.”
“If there’s anywhere you want to go, just tell me.”
“No, there’s no particular place.”
“Alright. Let’s rest at home first.”
Taemin grasped Idam’s hand. At the same time, Idam felt another tingling sensation as if electrocuted by lightning.
* * *
“Wow…”
Idam’s mouth gaped open at the sight of the traditional Korean house mansion unfolding before his eyes.
Judging from Taemin’s appearance and the spacious hospital room he had been admitted to, he had expected him to be quite wealthy, but the mansion was more splendid and spacious than he had imagined. He wanted to look around the luxurious garden first, but it was too large, so he gave up and entered the main building. It felt like entering a high-class exhibition hall.
It was another surprising moment to realize that he had been living in such a place.
After receiving guidance from Taemin about the location of the living room and dining room, they stood in front of a sliding door. Small dolls like teddy bears and rabbits were dangling from the handle, giving it a cute feel.
“This is Jimin’s room.”
“Jimin?”
“Our baby. You gave birth to him.”
“Ah…”
It was a name he had heard from Taemin yesterday. Come to think of it, when he first woke up, he seemed to remember a baby in Taemin’s arms. But his gaze had been so focused on Taemin that he couldn’t remember the baby’s face clearly.
Taemin opened the door. A baby room full of toys and picture books unfolded.
“Wow.”
Idam marveled once more as he looked around the room. It was a space mostly composed of forsythia yellow, with cute color schemes, furniture, and accessories. It was so much to his taste that he wanted to use it himself.
“Wow! It’s really pretty.”
“It’s a room you worked hard to decorate.”
“Me? Ah… that’s why I liked it.”
Idam found it fascinating.
“Now, let’s see Jimin.”
Taemin smiled and approached the baby crib.
“Jimin, daddy’s here.”
“Baba!”
A cute voice tickled Idam’s ears. He approached the crib as if enchanted. Under the round mobile, a baby wearing a yellow space suit was lying down. Marshmallow-like fair skin, big eyes. He was like a fairy itself.
Even with a seven-year time gap, he could recognize more than anyone that this was a being mixed from himself and Taemin. A fluffy feeling bloomed in his chest and soon overflowed.
“Babau!”
Jimin waved both arms towards Idam. His wriggling fingers were quite energetic.
“Wow! He’s really cute.”
Idam tried to pick up Jimin, but his hands were clumsy. Jimin also seemed uncomfortable and his expression hardened.
“Idam, not like that…”
Taemin quickly picked up Jimin with stable hands. Jimin’s face brightened.
“When holding a baby, you need to support the back of the head first and make them comfortable. And…”
Taemin continued to explain to Idam. Actually, this method was what Idam had taught him before. It felt strange to be teaching this back to Idam, not knowing that such a day would come.
“Ah, I see.”
After hearing the explanation, Idam carefully picked up Jimin once more.
“Bababa! Waa! Waa!”
Unlike when he was in Taemin’s arms, Jimin snuggled into Idam’s embrace with a much brighter expression. It was proof that he had a strong attachment to Idam as usual.
“Jimin is really small. How old is he?”
“He’s 7 months old now.”
“Ah, so he’s not even a year old yet.”
A wonderful husband and a cute baby. His heart swelled, feeling like he was living the ideal married life that everyone dreams of.
“Waa, baba.”
Jimin reached out to Idam as if craving affection. So Idam called out the name of this small life form as if knocking.
“Jimin.”
“Gurgle!”
Jimin smiled brightly. He was more lovable than the stray cats that often visited the orphanage.
“He’s really pretty! Like a fairy.”
The corners of Idam’s mouth lifted joyfully.
Taemin, facing these two, also smiled. He could feel that the fourteen-year-old Idam was truly innocent.
The current Idam was in a state without the past of experiencing the shadow of being an extreme heat omega. So Taemin decided to hide everything about the pheromone disorder, as well as about his grandfather and father, from the current Idam.
Because he wanted to see an Idam who was happy even with his past, if only for a moment.
* * *
“CEO, has the madam’s memory not returned yet?”
Secretary Kang, driving the sedan, looked at Taemin sitting in the back seat through the rearview mirror. Although they had been busy all day, Taemin’s face had been briefly bright on the way home, but when he heard the question about Idam’s memory, shadows fell across it.
“No.”
It had been two weeks now, and despite hospital visits, Idam’s memory was still in limbo.
Thus, fresh days continued. The fourteen-year-old Idam was purer and excessively brighter than expected, and required a lot of care. Still, Taemin, with his thick rose-colored glasses for Idam, found him only pretty.
“I’m worried, CEO. How is the madam’s cafe doing now?”
“The employees are doing well, so there’s no big problem. Only, we can’t offer the signature egg sandwich menu, so sales have dropped slightly.”
“Oh my, when will the madam’s memory return…”
“It will return when the time comes. I’m trying to think slowly. There’s no point in being hasty anyway.”
Taemin wore a bitter smile. Secretary Kang nodded as if agreeing with Taemin’s answer.
“Then, is the madam staying at the mansion all day with Jimin now? At fourteen, he’s a first-year middle school student, can he take care of Jimin well?”
“Well, rather than taking care, it’s more like they’re playing together. By the way, what’s the status on finding the bastard who injected Idam with poison?”
“We’re investigating. We should know their identity today or tomorrow.”
“Why is it taking so long?”
Taemin spoke with a sharp voice, frowning. Secretary Kang looked anxious, as if realizing his mistake.
“There was a power outage during the CCTV analysis and the madam’s phone forensics, causing a program error, so time was delayed for recovery. I’m sorry. We’ll handle it quickly.”
“Hurry up. We need to catch that bastard as soon as possible and teach him a lesson.”
Taemin looked out of the car with a complicated expression.
The sedan had stopped at a signal, and Han River Park was visible. It was crowded as if there was a festival, and colorful fireworks were blooming in the sky.
He remembered chasing Idam here before. It was also the moment he realized he was in love with Idam. He had been such a terrible person back then. How deep must Idam’s pain have been?
So Taemin thought that it might be better if Idam’s memory didn’t return like this.
Starting anew… wouldn’t that be good?
But he also felt ambivalent, unable to let go of the Idam who had shouldered the pain.
* * *
“W-what is this…”
When Taemin returned to the mansion and opened the bedroom door, he was very flustered.
The cabinet door was wide open, and the accessories inside had all fallen over. The frame hanging on the wall was upside down. The blanket on the bed was crumpled, and there was a drawing that looked like a worm on it. Judging by the crayons lying around, it seemed to be the work of Idam and Jimin. Moreover, many of Jimin’s toys from the baby room were scattered on the floor.
Originally, Idam would clean up immediately if Jimin made a mess, but now he was making as much mess as Jimin. At first, it was bewildering and hard to adapt to, but now he had reached a point where he just accepted it.
Amidst this chaos, Jimin was lying in front of the curtain, babbling. Looking closely, Idam’s bare feet could be seen under the curtain.
“Bababa!”
Jimin was pressing Idam’s instep with his small hands.
“Hehe! Our Jimin found daddy!”
Idam pulled back the curtain and smiled brightly. Jimin also giggled as if he was out of breath. At the same time, Taemin’s body stiffened. Idam’s face was a mess with drawings that looked like worms. Taemin hurriedly looked at Jimin’s face too, but fortunately, it was fine.
“Oh, mister, you’re back? We were playing hide-and-seek!”
Idam, holding Jimin, greeted Taemin with a bright smile. Jimin’s eyes were also sparkling with vitality.
“W-why is your face like that?”
“Oh, earlier Jimin and I were playing drawing, and Jimin kept wanting to draw on my face, so I allowed it.”
“Oh… Does that wash off?”
“I don’t know. It’ll work out somehow. Jimin, did you have fun?”
At Idam’s question, Jimin clapped his hands with a big smile. Jimin was more active now with the fourteen-year-old Idam than he had been with the previous Idam. It seemed he had directly learned from Idam’s uncontrollable brightness. They were almost like friends.
Taemin was dumbfounded, but they also looked happy, so he let out a hollow laugh.
“Let’s wash your face first. From now on, don’t allow drawing on your face again. What have you done to that pretty face.”
Taemin touched Idam’s face. But Idam kept repeating that it was fine as long as Jimin was happy.
Taemin couldn’t say anything more, finding such an Idam both foolish and lovable.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
