No matter how ignorant I was, I wasn’t to the point of ignoring my innate preferences. I was truly someone who liked women more than men. Even during elementary school art class when we were told to draw pictures imagining our future families, I always drew myself holding hands with a woman.
But well, honestly, it was also an undeniable fact that I had possessed gay Nam Heejae’s body and was feeling helplessly drawn to Baek Sahyun.
Now that things had come to this, if Baek Sahyun blatantly acted seductively, I might fall for it spectacularly. I might accept it well, thinking, turns out I was gay all along.
Then what about Baek Sahyun, who was a man and an alpha? Would that bastard also recognize me as…, a beloved spouse? As the one and only partner to exchange sincerity with and support?
As I stood still absorbed in my worries, Chae Eunwoo spoke to me.
“Why such a serious face? There doesn’t seem to be anything problematic.”
“Hm?”
Only then could I recognize Chae Eunwoo looking at me with a furrowed expression. He let out a sigh. Just as I was about to apologize thinking he felt bad about being ignored, he beat me to it.
“If you have worries, tell me.”
Chae Eunwoo, who spoke as if doing me a favor, wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
“I’m well-versed in this area.”
“…You?”
“I studied pretty hard because I wanted to work part-time as a babysitter at a rich family’s house.”
“Why suddenly a babysitter?”
“Children born as alphas tend to feel secure with omega pheromones. So there are quite often parents who hire omegas with good conditions as babysitters for big money.”
It was a type of employment that was hard to imagine in the world I originally lived in. Chae Eunwoo added.
“My background may be humble, but well. Still, since I got into Korea University, doesn’t that guarantee my identity and intellectual level?”
Chae Eunwoo was truly a guy with strong survival skills. The fact that he could make such employment plans from the age of twenty felt amazing to me. As expected, the protagonist seemed different in some way.
“You’re amazing. You’re even younger than me, but somehow you seem much more like an adult.”
When I said my thoughts without filtering, Chae Eunwoo laughed, telling me not to stroke his ego. Since he said he had a next class and pressured me to ask quickly if I had questions, I just threw it out there.
“Since your perception seems to be at level 100, Eunwoo, I’ll just speak without hiding it. Actually, your guess is right. I agreed to give birth to Baek Sahyun’s child.”
“……”
“I’m adding this out of concern you might worry, but it’s not that breeding stallion thing you mentioned before.”
It actually was, but if I told the truth, Chae Eunwoo would probably scold me to break the contract immediately. But the excuse seemed to have no effect as Chae Eunwoo already had tears welling up in his eyes.
“Hyung….”
It was an expression that seemed to view my life with pity. Before the atmosphere could become stranger, I quickly brought up my first question.
“Can I really do that with Baek Sahyun…, and give birth to a child?”
“What?”
“And can I become a proper father? Well, the Chairwoman agreed to take good care of the child, but…, now that I think about it, if it’s a child I’m giving birth to, I’d like to see their face occasionally. Is that an unreasonable request?”
The more I spoke, somehow the end of my voice trailed off. It might have been because Chae Eunwoo’s face was noticeably hardening. I hurriedly finished my explanation.
“Actually, I think it would be better to have an honest conversation with Baek Sahyun even now.”
“…About what subject?”
“Whether we can really sleep together and have a child. Also, whether I could meet the child occasionally as a father. I think watching from afar would be okay too.”
Then Chae Eunwoo was silent for a moment, then shook his head from side to side and answered.
“It’s a waste of time. I don’t know about hyung, but he’s already devoured you every which way in his imagination. If you look at how Baek Sahyun sunbae acts, the answer is obvious.”
“How does he act?”
Since it was an unexpected answer, I naturally tilted my head. Chae Eunwoo added an explanation. A gaze followed as if scolding me for not knowing something so easy.
“Think about it. He was deliberately hiding, then suddenly appeared and threw a fit as soon as our dating proof shot went up.”
“Ah, that thing you posted on SNS back then?”
“Yes. Just how jealous must he have been to throw away his pride and come running? Are you that bad at grasping situations? Baek Sahyun is already in a state of wanting to date you like crazy. I don’t know if you’re oblivious or stupid.”
“Probably both. I’m a bit oblivious and stupid and all that.”
Jealous…. Muttering that word, I recalled the commotion from not long ago. If all of Baek Sahyun’s somewhat violent behavior, expressions, and threatening way of speaking stemmed from jealousy, it seemed to make sense.
But even so, it was uncertain whether his emotions could be called romantic feelings. To put it bluntly, he also seemed like a bastard who was just throwing a tantrum because things weren’t going his way.
Wasn’t the original Baek Sahyun also that type? The more the other person tried to escape from his grasp, the more obsessed he became and the more he burned with fighting spirit.
Jang Woohyun, where are you.
That’s when it happened. Just as my conversation with Chae Eunwoo was ripening, a text arrived from Baek Sahyun.
No, looking closely, what I checked was one of the texts that had already arrived. After confirming 17 missed calls and 48 unread texts piled up in the status bar at the top of my phone, I gaped.
Now that I thought about it, yesterday Baek Sahyun had added one request.
“From now on, whenever you go somewhere, tell me your destination without fail. If telling me every time is bothersome, reinstall that location tracking app. I saw you deleted it last time?”
“…Did you inspect my phone?”
“How could I not? When you’re going to be the other father of my child. I have to inspect from time to time whether you’re doing reckless things.”
“Fuck. Do you really have to go this far?”
“Yeah. In order to raise the child properly later, the father needs to have his mind together first. Jang Woohyun, you’re still in an immature mental state, so you need my help.”
I wanted to protest that he had to do it in the form of surveillance and restraint, but feeling tired of arguing with him, I just nodded without complaint.
However, I ended up forgetting to contact Baek Sahyun in advance even as I woke up this morning and headed to the library. Since it was a library I had been habitually visiting since starting school, I didn’t feel the need to report my whereabouts.
Hey. Sahyun-ah. I couldn’t answer the phone because I was at the library. But honestly, don’t you think going this far is an illness? Morbid jealousy of wives, morbid jealousy of husbands. You know, stuff like that.
Just as I was about to send a text containing both an apology and a lament, my phone buzzed.
I came to pick you up, so come out. I parked the car outside.
I hurriedly raised my head and scanned the hallway windows here and there. When I saw a familiar silhouette standing with a car parked on the road in front of the library, I couldn’t help but jump up from my seat in a fluster.
“I’ll contact you later, Eunwoo-ya! Thanks for the consultation!”
“…Hyung?”
After patting Chae Eunwoo’s shoulder and leaving a farewell greeting, I hurriedly opened the door and came out. Having come from somewhere, Baek Sahyun stood before me dressed neatly. Passersby glanced at him.
Baek Sahyun shot out.
“Woohyun-ah, why aren’t you keeping your promise? Did you forget the conversation we had yesterday?”
“Well, you see, I tried to keep it as much as possible….”
“Don’t tell me you’re playing with me? Is it fun to watch me worry?”
His tightly closed lips and drooping eyes clearly gave off a hurt feeling, making me naturally feel sorry.
In fact, all I did wrong was not go along with his pathological obsession, but I couldn’t help it when he kept making expressions as if he was hurt.
“Hey. I forgot. I forgot. You also know my memory is fucking terrible. When you get old, you naturally forget things occasionally.”
“Then why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“Because it’s a library, I put it on silent mode. Would you like it if the person who’s going to be your child’s father became famous as a library troublemaker, with posts going up on the internet?”
The topic changed as if even Baek Sahyun himself didn’t want that when he judged for himself.
“…You’re always with Chae Eunwoo whenever you don’t answer my calls.”
“Mm.”
“And every time, just the two of you.”
I had no answer to give back about that either. Because it was true that I had been with Chae Eunwoo.
Not just today, but Chae Eunwoo was no different from an enthusiastic teacher who helped with my assignments together.
“You’re not even going to make excuses?”
Baek Sahyun, who removed dust near my temple, muttered softly. I hastily retorted.
“It’s not like we were alone because it was a library, man. Unless we were side by side with dozens of people.”
“But you were still focused only on each other.”
“…We were focused on books, okay? You’re the one who gave me homework to read, so why are you being like this, really.”
“Can you be confident you didn’t exchange a single word?”
“That’s not true, but….”
“Right, Woohyun-ah. That’s exactly why I’m worried.”
“……”
“Once you exchange a few words in one space, affection sprouts quickly. Then you two will go eat together, go drink coffee together, and won’t you end up rolling in bed too?”
His imagination was excessive. But seeing his expressionless face, it seemed he was probably serious.
