Epilogue
Enjoying the cool breeze that tousled his hair, Hyedam stretched his hand slightly to the side. A smile naturally formed on his face at the feeling of the refreshing wind filling his palm and slipping through the gaps between his fingers.
Tall trees lined both sides of the uncrowded two-lane road. It was the season when the cold winter passed and warm spring began—everything was brimming with vitality.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“Mm.”
“Should I close it?”
“No.”
“You’re going to be cold…”
Swoosh.
Only when Hyedam saw the hand about to press the button to close the convertible’s roof did he look at Leo in the seat next to him.
“You can’t catch a cold.”
“It’s fine. It’s fine. I won’t die from catching a little cold.”
Under his mother-in-law’s full support. It was called full support, but in reality, it was a situation where he’d been chased out by her. Her consideration in telling them not to even think about Byeol and Dal and to go out and enjoy their time alone together was appreciated, but being alone with just the two of them like this was so awkward.
He’d always been alone, but after marriage, Leo was always by his side. By the time he’d gotten used to spending time alone with him, Byeol and Dal were born, and after that, it had always been a large family.
Until before the children were born, a few caretakers visiting regularly was all there was, but now caretakers visited every day and two nannies always lived with them. On top of that, with parents who loved the children frequently visiting, their newlywed home was truly always bustling with the sounds of people living there.
The spirited alpha daughter Byeol and the quiet but delicate omega son Dal had completely opposite personalities and preferences. Unlike what he’d thought—what personality could young children have?—the two had personalities that were far too distinct.
Their official names were Olivia Lewis and Oliver Lewis, but everyone called them Byeol and Dal. With her black hair, black eyes, and fair skin, Olivia looked exactly like Siwoo. But her personality was exactly the same as Evan’s or Leo’s. Everyone had clicked their tongues at how she’d somehow hidden her pheromones so well in the womb, only for the rich cherry scent to fill the operating room the moment she was born.
With such a strong personality and sense of self, the only ones who could soothe Byeol as she cried boisterously, releasing pheromones full of her emotions, were Siwoo and Hyedam. Unlike Byeol, who became a well-behaved, good, and cute daughter only in Siwoo and Hyedam’s arms, Dal was just an easygoing baby.
With bright brown hair, sparkling green eyes, and a chubby cute body, Dal, who ate well, slept well, and always smiled, had the nickname “angel.” Shall we say he looked exactly like Evan and Leo, but had a personality like the angelic Siwoo and Hyedam?
This is fine. That is fine. It was okay to be held after Byeol, okay to get the bottle late, and even if his diaper was changed a little late, Dal never once showed irritation. Dal’s pheromone, which showed a bright smile to everyone who held and cared for him, whether in daddy’s arms or the nanny’s arms, was a sweet cotton scent just like his.
Even that was hidden among Byeol’s cherry scent from always being together, the cotton scent from the children’s detergent, and the milk scent from the formula they always drank.
Even Byeol, who was picky with everyone, was an angel only to Dal. As if displeased that Dal didn’t seem to claim his fair share well, she would sometimes readily give Dal even the pacifier she was sucking on.
Even while raising children, Hyedam would sometimes make time to watch movies or enjoy eating out alone with Leo, but that was only a few hours out of the day. But now, it had been over twelve hours since they left home. After freely enjoying his freedom, thoughts of the children suddenly came to mind, and Hyedam tapped his thigh with his fingertips.
“You can’t.”
“What?”
“You want to contact home right now.”
At Leo’s words reading his mind, Hyedam sighed. Now both children babbled well and rolled over well, and Byeol was even already sitting up on her own…
“You say it like you’re not the same?”
“I’ll be sad if you only think about the babies while traveling.”
Hyedam, who had been looking outside, chuckled at Leo’s hand stealthily grasping his. What should he do with this young husband who was now even jealous of the kids?
“That’s not true—I think about you the most.”
“Liar.”
When his large, warm fingers naturally intertwined with his own one by one, and Leo played around holding and releasing his hand tightly, Hyedam finally gave in and called his name, “Leo.”
“Yeah.”
“Should we stop by a cafe?”
I’d like to have a cup of coffee right now—a warm coffee, that is. As Hyedam added his honest words, he saw Leo’s eyes narrow and quickly shook off his hand.
“Don’t think weird thoughts.”
“What thoughts did I have!”
“I said I want to drink coffee. Coffee!”
“Mm… coffee.”
Why was he pointing at himself with his fingertip while saying coffee? On top of that, with the coffee scent that was secretly deepening, Hyedam shook his head from side to side. Then he changed the destination to the cafe that Siwoo had recommended.
Sitting at an outdoor cafe in Europe, Hyedam drank a cappuccino and fully enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Just a year ago, he couldn’t even dream of overseas travel. For someone who, when it came to travel, could only dream of Jeju Island at best, he was now riding a private jet and leisurely enjoying coffee in the middle of Europe.
“I think I know why Komom and Daddy liked traveling.”
Hyedam looked at Leo, who, unlike himself enjoying cappuccino, was drinking espresso—still not something he could handle yet. Sometimes like a child, sometimes like a friend, and sometimes the handsome face of his pair who protected his side—he never got tired of looking at it. He liked this comfortable appearance more than the groomed look from when he went to work.
His hair was left to fly however the wind wanted, and he wore a comfortable sweater instead of a suit that seemed to confine people. Plus, sunglasses. The gazes of passing people touched on Leo at least once.
“But those two avoided crowded places.”
“That was because people’s stares were uncomfortable. Komom likes shopping more than you’d think. You know, right?”
At Leo’s words tinged with laughter, Hyedam couldn’t help but laugh softly. All of Byeol and Dal’s things at home were gifts from Komom. Whether it was a family trait or not, they said Leo also enjoyed wearing pink clothes when he was little, and all the pink-colored items Komom bought were steadily becoming Dal’s things.
Strong-willed Byeol would shake her head at just the sight of pink, and her choice was always blue or green. Rather, it was Dal who enjoyed pink. Shall we say that the only thing the easygoing Dal coveted in everything was pink-colored items?
In any case, with Luna and Komom’s help, Hyedam, who had escaped the swamp of shopping, was always grateful to those two.
“Should we go to nature next time?”
“Do you want to see lions, elephants, and giraffes? Or aurora camping?”
It seemed like it was time to get used to it by now, but whenever they had conversations, their standards were so different. Most of what Hyedam thought of was what he’d encountered through videos. But Leo’s standard was things he’d directly done himself.
“Let’s see animals with the babies.”
“Then aurora camping first. But right now isn’t aurora season, is it?”
Clicking his tongue at Leo’s initiative in immediately picking up his phone to search, Hyedam ate a little cake.
“Tell me what else you want to do.”
Hyedam had been enjoying his leisure without talking to Leo since he seemed focused on searching, but unable to withstand Leo’s gaze as he propped his chin on the table and looked at him, he turned his head to look at him.
“Are you trying to go from Fool Ondal to genie of the magic lamp?”
“I can use it infinitely, not just three times. That’s better, right?”
“What are you going to do if I ask you to pluck the moon?”
“I can’t pluck the moon, but we can go there.”
If only he wouldn’t speak—since Leo was someone who would grant any wish if he just said it, Hyedam scooped up plenty of cake with the fork he was eating with to block his mouth. Whether he disliked sweet things or didn’t want to eat it, Hyedam successfully pushed the cake into Leo’s mouth as he slightly turned his head, then seized the moment to bring up the topic.
“What do you want to do?”
While he couldn’t rashly answer because of the cake filling his mouth, Hyedam blocked even his answer with the words, “Ah, you don’t have anything? You mean you’re sufficiently satisfied right now?” As he smiled broadly while looking at Leo, who was looking at him with a seemingly solemn expression and narrowed eyes conveying that he was wrong, Hyedam picked up his coffee cup.
“I wonder if I’ll be able to eat coffee to my heart’s content tonight.”
When he slightly moved his crossed leg to tap Leo’s leg, a groaning sound was heard. He had pushed in a bit too much cake—Leo, who had diligently eaten the cake, emptied the small espresso cup in one go.
“If you let me eat the bread I want without limit.”
Looking at Leo making a counter-proposal to his own proposal, Hyedam pressed his lips tightly shut. Then a sigh flowed from Leo’s mouth.
“I’m really curious, but why exactly do you act that way whenever you see my dimples? They’re just common dimples.”
He asked what he’d had questions about every time but had missed the timing to ask and repeatedly failed to inquire about.
“When your dimples show, have you ever properly looked at your expression in a mirror?”
At Leo’s words as he cupped his chin with his hand and stroked his mouth area with his thumb, Hyedam slightly shook his head. He wasn’t someone who always lived looking in mirrors, and honestly, Hyedam wasn’t someone with much interest or skill in self-care either.
“Then I’ll let you see to your heart’s content tonight.”
Seeing Leo make a cocky expression along with a wink, Hyedam instinctively bit down on his lower lip. It seemed he needed to play a lot outside, play for a long time, eat meals, and exhaust Leo’s stamina as much as possible before going in.
