93
As soon as he saw Hadad, Yeon Ji-ho panicked and tried to break free from his grasp. However, Hadad didn’t let go easily this time, unlike before. He maintained a gentle smile on his face while tightening his grip on Ji-ho.
“Let go of this,” Ji-ho said in a low voice, his expression hardened unlike Hadad’s. In response, Hadad smiled smoothly and addressed the people sitting on the wooden platform instead of Ji-ho.
“I think Ji-ho is angry because I was away for a while. Haha… This is why you need to stick close during pregnancy.”
“That’s right, that’s right. If you don’t do it properly now, it’ll last a lifetime. My husband too…”
Ji-ho’s face reddened with anger as the conversation treated Hadad not just as the baby’s father, but practically as his husband. Fearing that he might say something inappropriate to the elders if he wasn’t careful, Ji-ho roughly pushed away Hadad’s hand and strode away from the front of the supermarket.
Hadad looked at Ji-ho’s retreating figure with a troubled expression, then bowed his head to those sitting on the platform.
“I’m sorry. It seems I need to calm Ji-ho down first.”
“Hmm? Sure, go ahead. At this time, everything is irritating and annoying for them, you know.”
Still smiling, Hadad listened to the people’s advice and eventually followed Ji-ho. As they watched him leave, the people began to speak one by one.
“I wonder where such a person suddenly appeared from.”
“Ji-ho must have brought him, I guess.”
“Who’s talking about that now? Ji-ho’s husband looks like he could be on TV.”
Meanwhile, Seon-rok was standing a step away, arms crossed, carefully observing the entire scene. Tapping his forearm with his index finger, Seon-rok recalled Ji-ho’s face from earlier.
At first glance, he seemed angry, but upon closer inspection, his expression seemed somewhat frightened.
Seon-rok had seen such an expression on Ji-ho’s face only once, long ago. It was when Ji-ho was still in school.
‘Soo, Soo-cheol. Isn’t that Ji-ho?’
On a day when he had gone to see off Soo-cheol as usual and was returning together, Seon-rok had seen Ji-ho crouched alone under a tunnel. His uniform was a mess as if he had rolled around somewhere, and his usually neat hair was disheveled.
When Seon-rok, with wide eyes, hurriedly approached, the young Ji-ho was so startled by the approaching shadow that he jumped. But when he looked up and realized it was Seon-rok, he finally showed a relieved expression.
‘Oh… Was it you, uncle?’
‘What happened to you? Why do you look like this?’
‘Just… got into a fight with some kids.’
Ji-ho’s face, smiling bitterly as he said he had fought, looked like he had been beaten one-sidedly at a glance. Seon-rok, who had always been close to Ji-ho’s parents, calling them “brother,” couldn’t imagine how heartbroken they would be if they saw this.
‘Ji-ho, should uncle punish those kids for you?’
‘It’s okay, uncle. I read in a novel that poetic justice is a very old cliché. Bad people will be punished someday.’
So… they’ll all be punished too. Someday.
Ji-ho’s face as he said this was a mix of anger and fear. Having seen that expression before, Seon-rok couldn’t ignore Ji-ho when he saw him walking home alone after his parents’ sudden death.
The Ji-ho that Seon-rok knew was that kind of child. A child who knew how to be angry about unfair things he experienced, but hated affecting others because of it more than anyone. A child who hadn’t learned well how to reach out for help first.
And now… that child had the same expression as the one Seon-rok had seen under the tunnel long ago. That’s why Seon-rok didn’t hesitate, even knowing that what he was about to do might be meddling.
“Brothers, that man from earlier is not the baby’s father.”
“What?”
“Huh?”
Seon-rok snorted. The people who had been chattering on the platform looked at Seon-rok with sparkling eyes, as if he were the protagonist of a morning TV drama.
“He’s Ji-ho’s stalker.”
***
Yeon Ji-ho, who had arrived at his house first walking quickly and then almost running, looked around anxiously. Fortunately, it seemed Hadad hadn’t followed him.
With trembling hands, Ji-ho repeatedly grasped and lost hold of the gate handle. Finally, after clenching and unclenching his fist several times, he managed to open the door properly. It was the first time the creaking sound had sounded so welcome.
He had expected his pregnancy to become gossip from the moment he bought the test kit at the supermarket. It was such a small village, and naturally, people were very interested in what happened in their neighbors’ houses. Especially for Ji-ho, who was considered young for this village, it was bound to attract more attention.
But he hadn’t expected Hadad to act like this. Only now did Ji-ho recall the character of Hadad he had seen in “The Star of Hadad.”
“…Some protagonist.”
Now that he thought about it, “The Star of Hadad” was a very narrow-minded and biased novel written solely from the protagonist’s point of view. Hadad wasn’t a born protagonist, but simply someone who understood and knew how to handle group psychology.
Although he had run away today, he would have to go out tomorrow morning and tell them properly. That man is not the baby’s father.
The things he had heard at the hospital and the subsequent events had exhausted Ji-ho mentally. On top of that, he had been up all night yesterday and had been out all day today, so he was getting a headache and feeling sleepy.
As Ji-ho was touching the door lock to open the front door, enduring the throbbing headache,
“Ah, so that’s how you’re supposed to swipe it?”
“…!”
Startled, Ji-ho’s breath caught as he turned to the side. There was Hadad, peeking out with a mischievous expression, staring intently at the keypad Ji-ho had been touching. Ji-ho, who had only pressed two digits of the password, quickly removed his hand from the door lock.
How did he get in? How long had he been beside him?
He couldn’t even guess. Fear filled Ji-ho’s eyes. If his own home couldn’t be a safe place to protect him… where was he supposed to go?
“There’s no need to be so surprised, Ji-ho. It hurts when you look at me with that face.”
“H-how… how…”
“Hmm?”
Hadad tilted his head. It might have been an amusing question to him. As Hadad, who was called an even better sword master than Set, approaching someone like Ji-ho without making a sound was something he could do with his eyes closed.
Ji-ho was scared. Scared that Hadad might easily enter not just this place, but his house, even his room. All his worries quickly turned into stress and invaded Ji-ho’s mind.
“Don’t be afraid, Ji-ho. I’m someone who always keeps his promises.”
“…”
“I told you, didn’t I? That I won’t harm you.”
Had he said such a thing?
However, not feeling any trust in Hadad’s words, Ji-ho soon ignored him and tried to go inside. Carefully covering the keypad with his hand so the password wouldn’t be visible. At that moment, Hadad spoke arbitrarily from behind.
“You’ll accept it soon.”
“…What do you mean?”
“That child in your belly. It’s Set’s, isn’t it?”
Fluttering, Ji-ho’s head turned back. Hadad was looking at him with a crooked smile. As Ji-ho’s eyes filled with fear, Hadad chuckled and said,
“Don’t be scared. That’s not very important anymore. If we raise it as your and my child, it becomes our child.”
“…I won’t raise it as your child.”
“Hmm? No, Ji-ho. Think about it again. That’s not a very good idea.”
As Ji-ho looked at him with wary eyes, Hadad shrugged and stepped back a little. He seemed to know that approaching further now would only have a negative effect.
However, even as he retreated obediently, Hadad warned quietly,
“My promise not to harm applies only to Ji-ho and ‘my’ child.”
Ji-ho’s shoulders tensed up. Hadad, delightedly observing Ji-ho’s reaction, uttered his final words.
“I hope the day comes soon when our family can all live together. Right, Ji-ho?”
Eventually, Hadad’s figure disappeared in an instant. Seeing Hadad vanish in the blink of an eye, Ji-ho hurriedly pressed the keypad with trembling fingers and entered the house.
Boom.
As the front door closed, the house was filled with darkness. Ji-ho stood leaning against the front door, and then, without realizing it, his knees gave way. Barely managing to steady himself on the floor, Ji-ho covered his mouth as he felt the urge to vomit.
“Ugh, urgh…”
Eventually, he threw up on the floor. Having not eaten much, it was mostly bitter stomach acid that dirtied the floor.
Ji-ho’s cheeks trembled as his breathing became rough from the consecutive vomiting.
