Living together, me being an omega, and things looking open to misinterpretation—I already knew all of that, so I wasn’t hurt or anything, but I thought I should be careful. About whatever it was.
For starters, going around to restaurants.
But even with a mask on, you inevitably have to take it off when eating, so there was no clear solution. It was one of Won Dogyeong’s few hobbies, so it felt wrong to tell him not to go.
I’d seen the photos that came up in searches before, but they were hard enough for even acquaintances to recognize, so I left them alone. They were taken from far away in winter with a scarf pulled up below his eyes, so you could barely see them. Even then, his face was half-hidden behind Won Dogyeong’s back.
Right, and that one was taken while standing in line in front of a famous pizza place.
Restaurants… the restaurant tour is definitely a problem.
When Haemin offhandedly said she didn’t know how people found out about these things, I silently agreed with her wholeheartedly.
That’s exactly what I’m saying.
As I looked back at the comments, I shook my head firmly and made an X with my hands, saying absolutely not.
“Ugh, I’ll cover up well. Just wait.”
Looking frustrated, Won Dogyeong pushed the strawberries toward me, telling me to eat them, then disappeared into the room in a flash. I crunched on the strawberry seeds and decided I’d give him a piece of my mind no matter what he came out wearing.
But unfortunately, that resolution became meaningless the moment Won Dogyeong came out of the room—I could only let out giggles and hollow laughter.
“See, see, with this much nobody will really know. I have some sense too.”
“Puhaha.”
Won Dogyeong was wearing gray sweatpants and a black hoodie with a black mask, and instead of the cap he always wore pressed down, he had on a dark sun cap that completely covered his face. It looked like he was even wearing sunglasses underneath.
Topped off by pulling the hoodie over his head, just looking at his head made him seem like some superhero wannabe who was old enough to know better but still hadn’t gotten a clue. You know, that rich hero in the iron suit.
Sure, you wouldn’t know who he was. Though he looked suspicious as hell.
“Admit it?”
“Dude, but you stand out too much.”
“You have to compromise that much too.”
“Haaa… do you want to see the ultrasound that badly?”
Won Dogyeong flipped the sun cap up as if to say “what are you talking about?” He hesitated, still finding his vision dark, then took off the sunglasses too and casually stuck them around his collar.
“I’m going because of you, Yeo Jeongwon.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, looking at how you act, even if the doctor tells you to be careful about this or that, to take your vitamins, I feel like you won’t tell me any of it. I need to go hear it myself.”
“I’ll come back and relay everything exactly as said.”
“Then let’s say I want to see the ultrasound. I want to see that too.”
Won Dogyeong shamelessly tilted his chin up and crossed his arms. It seemed he had no intention whatsoever of backing down.
He’s the dad too, so it felt a bit much to adamantly tell him not to come when he wanted to see the ultrasound. If he covered up that much, though suspicious, his face probably wouldn’t show.
I declared surrender.
“Let’s go, go. It’s at 10 tomorrow.”
He couldn’t hide the laughter escaping and grinned widely.
Annoying brat.
Only then did Won Dogyeong, who had been happily devouring the strawberries that were more than half left because he’d just showered, suddenly lift his head with an “Ah,” as if something had occurred to him.
“Shouldn’t we decide on a nickname?”
“Nickname?”
“You know, like Sprout or Sturdy, those kinds of things.”
I’d been so out of it that I hadn’t even thought about it.
“How do you come up with one?”
“Beats me?”
Won Dogyeong picked up his phone to search and scrolled down quickly. From what I’d heard here and there, it seemed like intuitive naming was common, but then what would this one be?
Since it appeared suddenly, Surprise?
Surprise… I got goosebumps at the ticklish name. Sorry, but Dad thinks that kind of name would be difficult.
“They say it’s good to mix tense or aspirated consonants. Babies hear those well.”
“Hmm.”
Little Jeongwon? Or Little Dogyeong? Shortened to Teuldo… why does it sound like a curse?
…Do I really have no sense for naming?
“They also make them from conception dreams. Did you have one?”
“No.”
“I didn’t either. I wonder if anyone around us did?”
“Well, we haven’t told anyone yet, so I don’t know.”
We wracked our brains and pondered for a while, but no brilliant ideas came to mind. Surprise would be too ticklish to call out, Little Whatever is too long and the sound is a bit off. Sprout and Sturdy are good names too, but they’re not really my taste.
“Should we decide slowly?”
“Yeah.”
We quickly agreed and after dinner spent another hour sitting at the table before clearing it. Looking at the clock, it was almost 9 already. I was heading to my room to get pajamas for a shower when Won Dogyeong grabbed my wrist and stopped me.
“Why?”
“Can’t I touch just once?”
“Touch what?”
“…The baby.”
Ah, my stomach. These days when I’m alone, I habitually fiddle with my lower abdomen several times, so I could understand wanting to touch it.
But nothing’s changed yet. It’s just my flat, smooth stomach. At night lying in bed, I’ve even tried listening closely to see if I could hear any small signs, but of course I couldn’t hear anything.
“Here. Touch it.”
I tried to pull his hand and place it on my stomach, but Won Dogyeong carefully led me to the living room and sat me on the sofa. Then he slipped between my legs and sat on the floor, starting to tap my stomach with his hand. It wasn’t even at a ticklish level—it was such a soft touch you could doubt whether he was even making contact.
Short strands of hair hovering around my stomach filled my vision. His sharp eyes that had been fierce earlier had softened and were sparkling gently.
I pushed him back slightly and pulled out the shirt I’d tucked into my pants, unfastening the buttons from the bottom hem. Nothing could be felt yet anyway, but still, if he was going to touch it, it would be better to touch the bare skin.
“I’ve touched it too, but I still can’t really tell yet.”
“…Aren’t you taking it off a bit too casually?”
Won Dogyeong’s gaze followed my hands unbuttoning one by one, then he raised his head and looked up with dissatisfied eyes.
My prediction that he’d dislike embarrassing words was wrong after all. Won Dogyeong was the bold type when dating. The embarrassment was my share. I pretended to be nonchalant and deflected.
“If you’re not going to touch it, I’ll put it back on.”
“I’ll touch it. I will.”
With a sulky face, he pushed the shirt aside and spread his palm over my flat stomach. As warmth touched a place that rarely felt another’s hand, my body flinched slightly at the unfamiliar sensation.
“It’s amazing.”
“What do you feel?”
“No, it’s just so amazing that there’s something inside here.”
It’s an emotion I too felt at all hours during the past week. Even after a week, it’s still amazing. You’ll feel the same.
“Can I put my ear to it?”
“If you want.”
I was intrigued. I’m curious about this too. It’s not like I can put my ear to my own stomach.
Won Dogyeong carefully turned his face to the side and pressed his ear to my stomach. Naturally wrapping his arms behind my waist made it look like I was being held by him. Ticklish warmth hovered over my stomach, making me secretly wiggle my toes. Even trying not to be conscious of it, I couldn’t help but be conscious of this position.
“How is it?”
“I can’t really tell. Just rumbling sounds… Are you hungry?”
“Not at all. Isn’t it because I’m digesting?”
He laughed softly and concentrated again as if trying to hear something. His lowered eyelashes fluttered as they moved up and down. His seriously closed lips mumbled, wondering what thoughts he was having.
As I looked down at that sight, I unconsciously placed my hand on his short-cropped hair. The ends were prickly. He looked up sharply with surprised eyes. Today too, his face was smoothly pretty.
When I awkwardly stroked his hair with stiff movements, Won Dogyeong’s neckline and ears visible above his clothes quickly flushed red.
The feeling of having the fact that he liked me confirmed so immediately and so visibly was quite embarrassing.
My face heated up as if it would burst, and I lightly bit the inside of my mouth.
“…It’s not like it doesn’t affect me. I’m conscious of it too.”
It was a belated answer to his petulant question.
He seemed to wander for a moment about what I was talking about, then understood and obediently leaned his face into my hand. Then, with a light flush on both cheeks, he opened his eyes drowsily and looked at me.
Facing this docile lamb-like expression I’d never seen before, I even felt as if I had seduced an innocent young man.
Haemin, Kim Minwoo was right to call him a fox cub.
Even so, my heart softened a little at that clear face. With my hand still on his prickly hair, I smoothly spilled out unorganized thoughts.
“The reason I avoided you for a month, kept thinking about that time… it was because of that.”
“Mm.”
“I want to keep getting along well with you.”
“Mm, me too.”
“Just so you don’t misunderstand, it’s not because you’re the baby’s dad.”
“…Then?”
“It’s like you said. Because I… c-care about you.”
He, who had been obediently entrusting his face to my touch, opened his eyes wide. Feeling my face heat up all over again, I hurriedly covered his eyes with my other hand and continued while looking at the innocent sofa armrest.
“It’s true that I never saw you that way until now. But even if the child hadn’t been conceived, if you had told me you liked me, I would have seriously thought about it.”
“……”
“You seem to think I live thinking only about work… but that’s not entirely true. There aren’t many things with higher priority than you for me.”
“……”
“…So I’ll consider it positively.”
