The biggest change was in Yoo Seonjae. Yoo Seonjae’s days, which had been entirely for me, now became days for the child too. Making baby food for the child was added to Yoo Seonjae’s daily routine that used to start each morning with making my juice.
Even though I said I would do it, Yoo Seonjae said he was better at cooking and wouldn’t let me lift a finger. Knowing it was a trick to let me sleep more after being tormented by the child all night, I just smiled and went along with it. It was because I was grateful for Yoo Seonjae’s heart in considering me, even though he hadn’t slept either. And it was also true that he was better at cooking.
Even though I was planning to stay home for the time being, when I came out and hovered around thinking it didn’t seem right for Yoo Seonjae, who continued to work, to take care of the child more, Yoo Seonjae would pick me up and put me back in bed. Then I would lie in bed blankly, then peer at the baby crib next to me and look at Choco sleeping peacefully. And without fail, today was another such day.
“Choco.”
We decided on the child’s name together with Yoo Seonjae. ‘On.’
That was the child’s name. We decided to use both Yoo Seonjae’s and my surnames. Usually it’s common to use the alpha father’s surname, but Yoo Seonjae insisted that since this was a child we made together, both our surnames should be included.
Like the meaning of the name ‘On,’ we’re only a complete family when we’re all together.
With the child’s existence, we truly became a complete whole.
But I also wanted to call him by the name Choco a lot. They say it’s not good to call the prenatal name once the child has a name, but thinking of the time I lost my memory, the time I was separated from Yoo Seonjae, it was a name I just couldn’t throw away.
I couldn’t call him much by the prenatal name even after choosing it. Perhaps knowing my heart, Yoo Seonjae is still calling On “Choco” too.
Choco is a mild-tempered child. Everyone says the early childcare period is crazy with back sensors and infant colic and whatnot, but Choco was a baby who was happy to be held when held and smiled brightly when laid down. Yoo Seonjae was already saying the baby was being filial and bragged about mild-tempered Choco everywhere like a doting parent.
Uncle Irang was disgusted with such Yoo Seonjae, but kept buying things like Choco’s clothes and toys, saying he picked them up while passing by. Apparently Uncle Irang’s nephew’s grandchild is around the same age as Choco, so it catches his eye.
Our fathers’ visits increased too. If we used to visit our fathers’ houses before, now our fathers came in and out of our house at all hours. They were fathers who came with hearts full of love in their eyes wanting to see their grandchild, but Yoo Seonjae requested that our fathers refrain from visiting, saying too much ‘outsider’ traffic would be bad for the child. Even at our fathers’ hurt expressions at being treated as outsiders, Yoo Seonjae was firm.
“Don’t you know babies have weak immune systems? What if these germ clusters keep going in and out? Will you take responsibility if he gets sick?”
Even while being treated as not just outsiders but germ clusters, our fathers came in and out of our house until the threshold wore down.
It felt like our house had become the neighborhood’s gathering place, but I didn’t mind that either. When Choco smiles, everyone smiles. Just watching that warmed my heart.
The most unexpected ones are this couple though.
“On definitely has more of our family’s blood, right, Yeonwoo?”
“I wonder, I think he looks more like Yeoul.”
“What are you talking about? He’s Seonjae’s spitting image. Plus, his predicted trait is alpha. He looks much more like Seonjae.”
“Yoo Yeongjae, you really are blinded by love. Yeoul, in my eyes, On is your spitting image. I’ll take your side.”
Yeongjae hyung and Professor Yeonwoo apparently started seeing each other again recently. I don’t know what happened between them, but seeing them treat us with much more comfortable attitudes, I first thought it was fortunate.
I know well that I’ll have to live my whole life with a debt of gratitude to them both. So I hoped both Yeongjae hyung and Professor Yeonwoo would please be happy. Preferably together.
I’m so happy that wish seems to have come true.
“I think Choco is a lucky charm.”
When I whispered to Yoo Seonjae, perhaps he was thinking the same thing, as he smiled looking at Yeongjae hyung and Professor Yeonwoo.
After people leave and the noisy time passes, only then is it completely our time. We do everything together with Yoo Seonjae—feeding Choco baby food, bathing him, and putting him to sleep. Yoo Seonjae didn’t want to be excluded from any part of childcare.
“That seems a bit unfair.”
“What’s unfair?”
“Because Yeoul carried him the whole time, Choco spent more time with Yeoul, right?”
“Hm? Well… I guess so.”
“But if even childcare has Yeoul as the primary caregiver instead of me, that’s too unfair.”
I’m not sure if that’s… something to judge as fair or unfair, but Yoo Seonjae seemed quite serious.
“I need to take care of him more.”
“……”
“To make up for the time we were apart.”
“……”
“If I had been the one pregnant, I would have experienced all the morning sickness and side effects.”
“Seonjae.”
“The pregnancy dream, the first fetal movement—I would have dreamed them and felt them all. It’s such a shame.”
This is absurd. This isn’t worrying about me, it’s just jealousy.
“I don’t like just the two of you being close without me, Yeoul.”
See?
Absurd, I laughed hollowly while ruffling Yoo Seonjae’s hair.
“Where is there a person who’s jealous of their spouse and child? They’re both yours.”
“Mine?”
“Of course, I’m yours, you’re mine.”
“What about Choco?”
“Choco is Choco’s.”
“Why? Tell me Choco is mine too.”
“No. I’m yours, but Choco is Choco’s.”
“Yeoul.”
“What? Am I alone not enough?”
“No! How could you say that?”
Yoo Seonjae looked down at me with puppy-dog eyes and pouted his lips.
Cute.
Come to think of it, I think Yeongjae hyung is right. Choco’s face is in Yoo Seonjae’s face. Choco is Yoo Seonjae’s spitting image.
Smooch.
When I kissed him with a sound, Yoo Seonjae’s cheeks puffed up. My heart beat pit-a-pat again because of Yoo Seonjae shyly blushing and lowering his head toward my lips.
Feeling his tongue leisurely sucking my lips and carefully caressing inside my mouth, I wrapped my arms around Yoo Seonjae’s neck. The richly wafting pheromones pleasantly enveloped my whole body.
“Ah.”
At the exclamation I let out without realizing, strength entered Yoo Seonjae’s arms holding me.
“Yeoul.”
“Yeah, honey.”
“Choco is sleeping.”
“Haha, right.”
Yoo Seonjae carried me just like that, left the baby room, and headed to our bedroom. After gently laying me on the bed and looking at me intently, passion filled Yoo Seonjae’s eyes.
“Honey. I can’t hold back.”
“Mmm, then don’t.”
As if those words were a signal, Yoo Seonjae took off his clothes. Looking at his revealed naked body, I also quickly took off my clothes.
“Ahh, Yeoul.”
The warmth transmitted from our touching skin felt good. I hugged Yoo Seonjae tightly.
“We’ve grown a lot.”
“Hm?”
Yoo Seonjae murmured while leaving short kisses on my neck with little smooches.
“At first, we didn’t even know what to do, so we both fumbled around a lot.”
“Puhaha.”
Yoo Seonjae stopped sucking my neck and laughed loudly. He raised his head and looked down at me, his eyes curving beautifully.
“So. Is the all-grown-up Yoo Seonjae not interesting, Han Yeoul?”
“As if.”
I spread my arms toward Yoo Seonjae and smiled brightly.
*
“Um, Seonjae. Is it okay for us to come to a place like this?”
“What’s wrong with it? We’re adults now too.”
To me asking in a trembling voice in the hotel lobby, Yoo Seonjae answered pretending to be nonchalant. He’s acting like it’s nothing, but I knew Yoo Seonjae was trembling too. It’s not even our first time staying at a hotel, so why are we so nervous about this?
On high school graduation day, we decided to stay at a hotel with our fathers’ permission, saying we wanted to leave the farewell to our uniforms as a memory. We persuaded them saying we wanted to try a ‘hotelcation’ to commemorate becoming adults, but our fathers already knew that hotelcation wasn’t just a hotelcation.
“…It’s a suite room.”
Right away, just the room they booked showed that our fathers were looking forward to this night more than we were.
The hotel staff who looked at us with suspicious eyes as we entered the hotel in our school uniforms responded kindly as soon as we showed our IDs. Becoming an adult is a good thing. I thought while walking, following Yoo Seonjae who silently received the staff’s service. Ah, we’re really adults now.
