“Hey, Lee Hyedam.”
Before Junseok’s voice calling from afar could reach him, what stimulated Hyedam first was the smell of food. Before he even opened his eyes while stretching after waking up, his body moved first, and staggering into the bathroom, Hyedam grabbed the toilet bowl. After a few dry heaves that drained his energy, Hyedam slumped down on the tiled floor and swept back his disheveled hair.
So the reason for all this… it’s not indigestion after all.
Things he had forgotten while asleep came tangling together all at once. As the doctor’s voice telling him to visit an omega center for an accurate diagnosis came to mind, Hyedam covered his face with both hands.
Even without going to the hospital, he could tell well enough from the reactions happening in his body. It’s not something he’d experienced before, but he knew about these things.
“Are you okay? Still like that? I told you to go to the hospital…. If you don’t fix stomach problems quickly, they last a long time.”
“I’ll go.”
After roughly washing his face dry, Hyedam stood up, gripping the sink.
“Sure you will. When did I tell you to go, and when did you say you’d go.”
“I’ll tell them I’ll be a bit late today and stop by the hospital on my way to work. Don’t nag.”
To Junseok, who was holding a spatula in one hand, apparently having come from making something, Hyedam snapped irritably for no reason. Why are you frying eggs from the morning? Since when did you start taking care of my breakfast? You could just leave me alone to go on my own like usual.
“Don’t put it off, really go to the hospital.”
“I will. I will. I said I’m going. And don’t make that. I feel sick to my stomach.”
“You need to eat breakfast before you go.”
“Since when did you start taking care of my breakfast? I don’t know what tests they’ll do or how, so I should go on an empty stomach. What if I eat and then can’t get tested?”
Anticipating that he would urge him to eat since he’d already prepared everything, Hyedam made the first move, then pushed Junseok out of the bathroom he’d entered, quickly washed up, and fled his place like he was running away.
No matter how much he agonized over this overwhelming situation he couldn’t readily tell anyone about, there was no answer, and unable to make any decision, Hyedam’s steps headed toward the office.
* * *
“Not answering your phone, even turning it off….”
Thinking the office would be empty since he’d arrived earlier than usual, as soon as Hyedam set down his bag, Leo burst out from the team leader’s office door, startling him.
“Ah, no. I was drinking with Junseok and, and I didn’t turn it off on purpose, the battery….”
Suddenly facing Leo in a situation where he wasn’t mentally prepared yet, Hyedam hastily rattled off excuses. Unlike his loud voice interrogating him, when Leo gently clasped his hand, Hyedam snapped his mouth shut.
Pat.
At the moistness he felt on his cheek, Hyedam hurriedly raised his hand to touch his cheek. Flustered, Hyedam’s eyes looked around in confusion. What if someone sees? He didn’t realize at all that his hand had already been grabbed and he was being led into the team leader’s office.
“What if someone sees!”
Hyedam’s muffled cry was swallowed up in Leo’s embrace as he pulled him tight.
“No one saw. You didn’t even know your phone was off while hanging out with your friend? I held back wanting to be with you and let you go because you said you wanted to meet your friend, but if you cut off contact like this….”
“I’ll be more careful from next time.”
I already got nagged by Junseok this morning, and now you’re going to nag too? Don’t do that. I’m in a very anxious state right now. You just stay still.
Even though he coldly cut off his words, Hyedam took a deep breath of the coffee scent from Leo, who, as if knowing his feelings right now, hugged him tight without complaint. The nausea that seemed like it would become familiar yet never did disappeared in an instant, and his fluctuating, anxious emotions settled down calmly.
Fully accepting the warm, broad embrace and the hand gently patting his back, Hyedam closed his eyes. And he focused on the sound of his steadily beating heart.
Soon even the worries circling in his head disappeared and a comfortable feeling arrived, so Hyedam wrapped his arms around Leo’s waist.
“But will you let me go now? I came to work in such a rush that I couldn’t check your schedule.”
“Let you go?”
“Yeah.”
Even though they were hugging each other, Hyedam brought up telling him to let go for no reason. Even though he already knew, Hyedam couldn’t completely erase the assumption that it might not be. It wasn’t confirmed for certain yet. He hadn’t done a proper test, and there were things like phantom pregnancies and whatnot, weren’t there?
As soon as he touched Leo, his unstable condition completely returned to normal. In this state, he could hide it as much as he wanted. It’s not like it showed outwardly, and the nausea could be dismissed as an upset stomach, and since Leo had many appointments, they didn’t always eat together anyway.
“Robert will take care of my schedule.”
“It’s my job too.”
“This is also your job.”
What kind of my job is hugging in the team leader’s office? This is why I hate dating at work. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before someone catches us.
Even while thinking that, unable to let go of Leo, Hyedam tried putting strength in both arms to pull him tight like he always did.
“Our poor thing, it’s troublesome if you’re like this from the morning.”
“What time is it now?”
“8:32.”
“Then let’s stay like this for exactly 8 more minutes.”
At Hyedam’s murmur, instead of answering, Leo hugged him tight. Feeling like the sound of his heartbeat could be heard through his whole body, Hyedam grumbled that it hurt. When Leo let out a small laugh, the resonance was transmitted completely.
Hyedam leaned his face against Leo’s shoulder, feeling drowsy. Just as drowsiness was about to wash over him, Hyedam’s cell phone rang.
“Let me go.”
At first he ignored it, but the sound of messages continuing to pile up could be heard.
“No.”
“Messages are coming.”
“You said to stay hugging like this for 8 minutes.”
“What if it’s urgent?”
“Is there something more urgent than me?”
Having a conversation with no substance at all, finally letting go of Leo who’d been holding him, Hyedam took out his cell phone from his pocket. Even while he hesitated, the messages kept increasing.
“Huh?”
Hyedam’s eyes widened as he checked the messages coming up in the chat room with Seoyun and Stella.
A photo of a newborn baby and the continuing conversation between Stella and Seoyun.
Though next month was the due date, perhaps curious about the world, Stella’s explanation that the baby was born a whole month early was overshadowed by the photo of the incredibly tiny baby that kept catching his attention.
Until just a moment ago they’d been hugging face to face, but because he’d turned around to check his phone, now Leo’s chin, who was hugging him from behind, pressed on his shoulder. He must be checking his messages too.
“The baby… is pretty.”
Unable to readily join their conversation, Hyedam just zoomed in and out on the baby photo while speaking softly. He didn’t know how to bring it up, but perhaps now was his chance.
“Our poor thing is prettier.”
“What are you talking about? The baby is prettier.”
Hyedam moved his hand holding the phone so he could see the baby photo better.
“No.”
At the perfunctory answer with no emotion in it at all, Hyedam finally let out the words, “Look properly.”
“I did.”
“Don’t you like babies?”
At his lukewarm reaction, Hyedam’s lips, asking directly, went dry.
“Not really….”
“If it was a baby that looked like you, it would be really pretty or cool or….”
“Enough. You don’t have a lunch appointment today, so what do you want to eat for lunch? Did you eat breakfast?”
It’s not like he’d expected an answer that he liked them or thought they were cute. He knew that he didn’t particularly like children.
“Isn’t the baby really too pretty? Look at the sleeping pose. But it’s really small.”
“I suppose so. What did you eat for breakfast?”
He wanted to ask more in detail, but because of Leo who kept changing the subject, Hyedam couldn’t continue this conversation any further.
“But why don’t you like babies?”
“Do I have to like them?”
At the question thrown back, Hyedam nodded slightly. At least now that he knew Leo’s thoughts clearly, from now on he had to decide and act according to his own will. Though he hadn’t thought this relationship would last long anyway, the time given was too short.
“Team Leader-nim, it’s 8:40.”
Turning off his phone and putting it in his pocket, Hyedam tried to remove Leo’s hands that were touching his waist and stomach.
“Let’s stay like this a little longer.”
“It’s time to work though.”
“Hey, listen. Mr. Lee Hyedam, Leo Lewis’s boyfriend.”
Hyedam, who had been slowly removing Leo’s fingers one by one, smiled bitterly at his words. As expected, what you need is a beta boyfriend, right?
“I have a prior appointment with Luna-ssi for lunch today, so I won’t be able to have it with Team Leader-nim.”
“You’re going to be like this?”
“There’s an additional order, so we agreed to have lunch together and receive additional files afterward.”
“Who said you could?”
“Should I not go?”
“That’s too much.”
Even while saying that now he had to go out and start work, Hyedam couldn’t readily escape his embrace. Leo also didn’t lift his chin from Hyedam’s shoulder, whether he was removing his fingers one by one or tapping the back of his hand.
Knock knock.
What separated the two who’d been hesitating was the sound of Robert’s knock.
