116
A few days later, Yeon Ji-ho was quickly discharged from the hospital.
There were several reasons, but the main one was that the hospital was too large for someone as conspicuous as Set to receive tests quietly.
Thanks to Ji-ho regaining his health after meeting Set, the doctor agreed to his request to be discharged so he could move to a hospital closer to home. After tidying up the hospital room in the morning, Ji-ho and Set left and took a taxi home.
“I can walk by myself.”
Ji-ho said to Set with an embarrassed face. This was because Set had embraced Ji-ho as he got out of the taxi, as if escorting a noble lady from a carriage. Because of this, the taxi driver, who was processing the card payment, looked at the two with strange eyes.
“I’m doing this because I’m cold, Ji-ho.”
Set stood close to Ji-ho’s side, saying something nonsensical. Of course, it was true that Set was wearing thinner clothes than Ji-ho, but that was because Set felt the cold less. They had tried putting a fleece ordered online on him, but he ended up sweating profusely and had to take it off.
So even now, with autumn long gone, Set was wearing just a long-sleeved T-shirt. He wore only a white tee and black training pants, but his appearance was not at all diminished.
After getting the card back from the taxi driver, Set quickly moved to support Ji-ho’s waist and tried to enter the house. He couldn’t do so immediately because of the supermarket auntie they met right in front.
“…Student Ji-ho?”
The supermarket auntie’s eyes widened as she saw Ji-ho and Set beside him. She kept looking back and forth between Ji-ho and Set, unable to hide her surprised expression. Seeing this, Ji-ho tried to speak first, but the auntie beat him to it.
“Ah, is this… the baby’s father?”
The auntie seemed unsure even as she asked. It was understandable. There had been previous rumors spread by Hadad claiming to be Ji-ho’s husband.
Since that day, Ji-ho had been avoiding contact with the neighbors as much as possible, so he didn’t know how or how much the rumors had spread. Given how small the neighborhood was, Ji-ho was worried that unnecessary gossip might reach Set’s ears. Ji-ho hurriedly nodded.
“Yes, the child’s fa-”
“I’m Ji-ho’s husband.”
Set answered a step faster. He wrapped his arm around Ji-ho’s waist more visibly and stood close so that Ji-ho’s heavy body could lean on him a bit. As Ji-ho was pulled against him with an “Oh,” he looked up at Set, who was continuing to speak to the auntie.
“I’m also the child’s father.”
Ji-ho covered his mouth, still finding it strange to hear Set speak so formally. If he hadn’t, he might have burst out laughing.
“Ahhh! Ji-ho, so he’s your husband…”
The auntie kept glancing at Ji-ho. This was because she had previously mistaken Hadad for the husband and received harsh words from Seon-rok. Receiving her gaze, Ji-ho smiled softly and said:
“Auntie, this is the first time I’m properly introducing him. This is… my husband.”
Ji-ho introduced him as his husband for the first time, trying to calm his pounding heart. It felt completely different from when he had stumbled over his words to the doctor.
As Ji-ho looked at the auntie with nervous eyes, she glanced at Set once and blinked. Then, covering her mouth, she let out a laugh.
“I wondered why Ji-ho’s belly was already so big, but it’s because the baby’s father has such a strong build?”
Ji-ho, who didn’t think his belly was that prominent, unconsciously stroked it. Set silently reached out and placed his hand over Ji-ho’s.
“Oh my, it’s definitely going to be an alpha. Whether it’s a girl or a boy!”
“You think so?”
“Of course! My daughter was an alpha. Huh? I had such a hard time giving birth to her. Her head was this big.”
Only after listening to the auntie gesticulating and talking could Set and Ji-ho finally enter the house. The auntie kept chattering about her childbirth experiences to Ji-ho right up until they went inside.
Entering the house, which was sunk in darkness and silence, Set immediately sat Ji-ho on the sofa and turned on the lights first. A cold draft blew through the house that had been empty for a long time.
“Ah, we need to turn on the boiler.”
“Ji-ho, stay still. Rest here.”
“What? But Set, you don’t know how to turn on the boiler. I should…”
“I can do it.”
Set, who had come here in summer, had never turned on the boiler before. Moreover, due to the pension-style structure of this place, one had to go all the way to the back storage room to turn on the boiler. Ji-ho was about to go himself, dragging his heavy body, if Set hadn’t insistently made him sit on the sofa.
After stopping Ji-ho, Set saw him looking with worried eyes and immediately put his hand in his pocket. What came out in his hand was a white smartphone.
“This is enough.”
Set shook the phone with a faint smile, and Ji-ho finally understood why he was acting so confidently, letting out a chuckle. It seemed that ‘the internet’ had quite an impact on Set.
Set, who not only consulted the internet but also got a brief explanation from Ji-ho, soon went outside. After waiting for a while, warmth started to rise in the house.
“…?”
However, even after turning on the boiler, Set showed no signs of returning. Ji-ho, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa waiting for him, finally stood up.
He was planning to cook something after a long time.
Although his body was heavy, it wasn’t completely immobile, and the doctor had said that moving around a little was good. So he thought he could manage to cook. As Ji-ho was considering the menu, he remembered that there were no ingredients in the house except for frozen ones.
“Ah.”
Ji-ho, who made a small sound, went to the freezer and opened the door wide. What he took out was frozen shrimp that he had put in before. And a handful of garlic too.
The ingredients Ji-ho took out were modest, almost unremarkable. It couldn’t be helped since he hadn’t cooked here for such a long time. Even though he occasionally called a housekeeper, Ji-ho, who had severe morning sickness, could barely swallow the food they prepared, so he insisted on asking for cleaning but not cooking.
However, Ji-ho had an ingredient that could perfectly transform these modest ingredients. It was olive oil.
“I can make aglio e olio quickly.”
Great chefs might put more effort even into this, but Ji-ho wasn’t one. He simply defrosted the frozen shrimp in the microwave and quickly prepared the garlic.
While boiling the pasta with salt, Ji-ho heated the frying pan and sautéed the garlic with olive oil until it turned golden. Just as he added the shrimp at the right time, the timer indicating that the pasta was cooked properly went off.
After checking the doneness of the pasta with pasta tongs, he quickly transferred the noodles to the pan where he had been sautéing the garlic and shrimp. The cooking was almost finished.
“…But why isn’t he coming back?”
Ji-ho, who thought Set was late because there might be something else to take care of besides the boiler, glanced through the large window where he had pulled back the curtains. He was hoping to see Set.
But since the boiler room was at the back of the house, there was no way he could see Set. As Ji-ho was giving the pasta a final stir in the pan, he finally turned off the heat and took out his phone.
He easily called Set. He had recently activated a phone for Set under his own name, so now even phone calls were possible.
Trrrrrr…
The familiar dial tone continued. But only the dial tone could be heard; Set’s voice didn’t come through.
“…”
At that moment, Ji-ho’s heart sank. Something felt strange. It was almost like a premonition.
Ji-ho grabbed his coat, which he had temporarily taken off on the sofa, and was about to rush outside. He thought he should check the boiler room first.
After putting on his shoes and rushing out, Ji-ho hurried to the boiler room while holding his belly. The boiler room was inside the storage room, which was dark because the light hadn’t been fixed yet.
“Set?”
Ji-ho called out to Set, just in case. But there was no answer. Instead, something suddenly caught Ji-ho’s eye.
It was a phone discarded on the floor.
Set had said that even if he was away from Ji-ho for a while, he could contact him with this, so it reassured him. There was no way someone like that would carelessly drop his phone like this.
It was when Ji-ho picked up the phone with trembling hands. Ah. Ji-ho’s mouth opened.
“Hadad…”
The last app that had been opened was displayed on the unlocked phone screen. It was the call history.
[Restricted Number] 1 minute 42 seconds, 1:49 PM
