The truce ended. The relationship between Eunho and Yi-beom returned to how it had been before. Yi-beom still didn’t come out of his room, and even when they occasionally crossed paths, he didn’t say a single word.
In the meantime, Eunho stopped waiting around only for Yi-beom. He became certain that no matter how long he waited, Yi-beom wouldn’t soften his heart and accept the child. Yi-beom was the kind of person who followed through once he decided something, and Eunho, his lover of five years, knew that better than anyone.
Still, it’s okay.
While crossing the living room, Eunho looked toward Yi-beom’s door. Unlike before, it was slightly open, leaving a small gap.
Even if it’s just that much, it means Ahjussi is still thinking about me.
Day or night, Yi-beom’s door remained open at least a little. It was because of the promise he’d made to leave it open.
Even in the middle of the night, if Eunho peeked his head through the gap and mentioned food, Yi-beom would somehow get it for him, no matter where he was. He’d already gotten more than ten things that way. From king crab to tiramisu to spicy braised chicken. The baby inside his belly roamed across East and West, craving all sorts of food.
“You’re awake?”
Jinwon and Younguk, who had been waiting nearby, greeted him. Because they brought food every night, the two of them practically lived in the house now.
When Eunho skipped toward them, Younguk burst out laughing. “Aigo, you run just like our princess.”
“Is the princess doing well?”
“She says she likes it better without her dad around.”
Younguk muttered gloomily.
“She says the bed feels bigger and nicer. And that her mom doesn’t get bothered either…”
“……”
“How can she say that? I raised her like a precious jewel, worried she’d fly away if I even breathed wrong.”
Seeing such a big man shrink in on himself, Jinwon smacked him on the back, calling him pathetic.
“Yap… no, you’re just yapping nonsense.”
Snapping like that, he casually lifted Eunho into his arms and walked toward the swimming pool. Younguk, his mood already lifted, hurried after them. Then he placed a palm-sized tube floating on the water from somewhere. Even while bickering, the two moved in perfect sync.
“Only until you eat, okay?”
When Eunho nodded, Jinwon put a tiny pair of sunglasses on him. They were custom-made to fit a rabbit perfectly.
Swimming was a new hobby he’d picked up. In a pregnancy book Jinwon had brought, there was a line saying exercise was essential for expectant mothers. When Eunho asked Professor Hwang about it, the professor said the exercises in the book might strain a rabbit’s body, and instead recommended swimming.
“If you were a real rabbit, water wouldn’t be ideal, but Eunho student is technically a Beastman.”
Only after receiving Yi-beom’s permission was Eunho able to start swimming. Of course, all he really did was float around on a tube.
With his short legs, Eunho dragged the tube closer and slipped his hips right into it.
Leaning back and tilting his head, he looked up at the sky. The breeze was cool, and the sunlight warm.
“Perfect weather for a date…”
If he weren’t pregnant, he’d probably be out right now, pretending to be newly in love with Yi-beom and enjoying a date. Or maybe they’d be swimming together.
“I miss you, Ahjussi.”
Murmuring softly, Eunho looked toward the window across from him—the one facing Yi-beom’s room.
“No. No.”
He quickly turned his head away. If he kept looking, he’d miss Ahjussi even more. He had to wait until Ahjussi gave up first. Taking a deep breath, Eunho deliberately stared out toward the sea.
At that moment, something entered his field of vision.
“Huh?”
Eunho abruptly sat up. Plop—the sunglasses that had been perched on him fell into the pool.
He blinked his eyes. As his vision cleared, two figures came into sharp focus.
“Ahjussi…?”
Yi-beom was walking side by side with another woman.
***
Why the hell did you call me all the way out here? Kwon Su-hee glared at the man walking beside her. The man openly radiating annoyance was her cousin—Kwon Yi-beom.
He didn’t resemble her in the slightest. Starting with their looks. If they were from the same bloodline, you’d think they’d at least share something—eyes, skin, anything—but even their impressions felt completely different. If there was one thing in common, it was that after the world turned into the Beastman era, they both became tiger Beastmen.
A gust of wind tousled Yi-beom’s hair. He roughly swept it back. Su-hee stared at the fierce face revealed beneath and muttered,
“Even a guy like that has a lover…”
“What?”
“Nothing.” she mumbled.
“It’s just—you look even more like trash after not seeing you for a while.”
“You think I’d be any different?”
Yi-beom shot back irritably. He was already on edge from avoiding Eunho for days. Su-hee, who had heard from Jinwon early on that he’d had trouble with his lover, let out a dry laugh.
He really was an oddball. The Kwon family—including Su-hee—didn’t keep lovers for long. Partly because they weren’t the type to pour their hearts into relationships, but mostly because of their jobs. Lovers easily became weaknesses.
“Is your dear lover doing well?”
Su-hee snorted and added,
“I heard you fought.”
“You already know, so why ask?”
Yi-beom’s brow twisted again in irritation. Watching his expression change by the second, Su-hee thought, So that bastard really is human after all.
“You fought with that tiny thing?”
“Mind your own business. I’m already annoyed because too many people are paying attention to my kid.”
Yi-beom glanced toward the house. Two of the very people “paying attention to my kid” were already stationed there. He narrowed his eyes as if he could see them from here.
“I want to wipe them all out.”
…Honestly, if it were Kwon Yi-beom, he just might. Watching his ominous gaze that looked ready to tear the house down at any moment, Su-hee clicked her tongue.
“I didn’t ask because I was curious.”
“Then?”
“Father was curious, so I asked.”
Yi-beom stopped walking and turned to face her. One of his brows lifted.
“…Why would your father care about my dating life?”
“Do you really need to ask? You’ve been keeping a twenty-year-old by your side for five years. Of course he’s curious.”
When news about Yi-beom first spread, Su-hee hadn’t believed it. Kwon Yi-beom? With a twenty-year-old? And not even a woman but a man? She’d laughed it off as ridiculous rumors.
Has Kwon Yi-beom lost his mind?
But he really had gone mad. It wasn’t enough that he’d snatched someone ten years younger—apparently, a few years ago he’d even brought him home to live together. Naturally, the entire family’s attention shifted there. There was no topic juicier than a male lover with a ten-year age gap.
Despite everyone’s worries, Yi-beom and his lover got along well. Too well, actually—so well that strange rumors spread about Yi-beom being head over heels. People said he never let him out of his sight. That they were like newlyweds. Every time Su-hee heard that, goosebumps ran all over her body. Part of her still couldn’t believe it.
Shameless bastard.
Su-hee scooped up sand with the top of her shoe. Before Yi-beom could stop her, she kicked it up and scattered it.
“You should be worshipping him if anything—why are you fighting? Do you even know how old you are?”
“You talk awfully casually for someone who supposedly knows my age.”
His low voice rang out. Brushing off his pants lightly, Yi-beom turned away again.
“Enough. Tell me what you found out.”
Continuing to walk, Yi-beom shoved the toe of his shoe deep into the sand. When he jerked his foot up, sand flew into the air. At that exact moment, the wind blew toward Su-hee.
“Ah!”
Her eyes stung. “You fucking—” She tried to glare at him, but couldn’t even open her eyes properly and just blinked rapidly.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Ah, fuck! Whose fault do you think this is!”
As she rubbed her eyes hard with the back of her hand, she felt grains of sand rolling around. “Ahh!” she cried, tears spilling out.
“Don’t just stand there—blow some wind or something!”
Yi-beom frowned deeply and stepped closer to her.
“Put your hands down.”
“No, blow first!”
“I can’t blow if you don’t move your hands.”
It was the first time since childhood that they stood this close. Just realizing they were breathing the same air made Su-hee feel foul. Judging by Yi-beom’s equally sour expression, he felt the same as he shoved her hands away.
To avoid meeting each other’s eyes, both of them turned their heads. From a distance, it looked exactly like they were kissing. And in that distance, Eunho was watching.
“Ah.”
Watching them from the pool, Eunho let out a low groan.
“What is this…?”
They definitely kissed. Not a peck—a kiss, a real kiss. Yi-beom’s arm was wrapped gently around her shoulders, his head tilted to deepen it. Eunho stared without blinking as the two kept their lips pressed together for a long time.
As if she enjoyed the kiss, a long tail swayed over the woman’s pants. Judging by the pattern, it looked like a tiger tail.
“A tiger… Beastman…”
His heart dropped with a heavy thud. His feet trembled violently, and Eunho clutched the tube tightly.
Is this part of Ahjussi’s plan too…??
There was a high chance it was. He hadn’t seen Yi-beom even once since this morning. Even so… breathing grew shallow, yet Eunho couldn’t look away from the two of them.
“They’re kissing?”
Eunho’s body shook. Even if it was because of the surgery, this wasn’t okay. How could he kiss someone else right in front of him? And so deeply until now!
If you were going to kiss, you should’ve just touched lips and pulled away! A sharp hiss escaped Eunho as his ears knocked together restlessly. Then—splash—he jumped out of the pool.
How could you do this to me!
His excitement wouldn’t calm down. His stomach churned and his head felt numb. The scene he’d just witnessed filled his mind. Kisses here, kisses there—those two kissing appeared in the living room, in the windows, in the garden.
Before he knew it, tears pooled in Eunho’s eyes. He shook his ears, trying not to cry, but it was useless.
