PIA 129

“You.”

Jeong Hee-seo said as he filled in the last blank space for the guardian’s name.

“It looks like you.”

“How would you know that, Hyung? The nurse seems to know what she’s looking at. To my untrained eyes, it just looks like bread dough—”

“Exactly.”

The nurse, overhearing their banter while taking the form, pressed her lips together to stifle a laugh. Ji-an, now huffing about whether his face looked like dough, couldn’t stop her from letting out a little chuckle. At that, Jeong Hee-seo broke into hearty laughter, almost encouraging her.

“Now, now, don’t forget to do the exercises I mentioned every day until D-day. Good physical condition helps with recovery and gives you strength to play with the baby.”

The nurse, who had also burst into laughter, bowed her head to compose herself and continued.

“Your son seems to take after both of you, with long limbs and looking sturdy. He might start walking right after birth. The leg strength in the ultrasound is just…”

However, the previously excited atmosphere suddenly became quiet. Jeong Hee-seo put down the papers he was examining and looked up, startled. Ji-an was staring at him with wide eyes.

“…”

He looked at Jeong Hee-seo with a face demanding an explanation, but Jeong Hee-seo was just stroking his lower jaw with his large hand. He also had a perplexed expression.

“Um, did I make a mistake?”

“Nooo.”

They had asked to keep the gender a secret beforehand, but it seems this information hadn’t reached her. Ji-an’s shoulders drooped. Of course, this nurse must deal with countless couples. Suddenly realizing that he too had become part of this world where numerous people come and go, Ji-an lifted the corners of his mouth again.

“It’s okay. Everything’s fine.”

So Poggles was a boy! He turned to meet Jeong Hee-seo’s eyes, who had been watching him. Feeling that Jeong Hee-seo was thinking something similar, Ji-an was about to speak when Jeong Hee-seo beat him to it.

“I hope he takes after you.”

“I hope he takes after you, Hyung.”

The nurse gave them a warm smile as they said the same thing as if on cue.

It was truly a peaceful, ordinary moment.

Ji-an never thought he could have such a daily life. The anxious and frightening memories from when he first came to this world and met Poggles now felt like a distant past. He couldn’t believe it had been less than a year.

As they left the hospital, a long limousine glided along the road and stopped right in front of Ji-an. Anyone could see that this luxurious, gleaming car was here to pick him up. Above all, the man standing next to him seemed to match perfectly with this unfamiliar car.

Jeong Hee-seo grabbed the car door handle, showing an unusually tense expression.

“Ahem, …get in.”

Even clearing his throat for that short phrase.

“What’s this?”

Although Ji-an knew, he pretended not to as he quickly climbed in when Jeong Hee-seo opened the back seat door.

As Ji-an shifted to the inner seat, wiggling his hips, Hee-seo got in beside him. The driver started moving without any specific instructions. It was clear that everything had been arranged beforehand. The car, completely out of place in the busy city center, carried the two of them down the road.

Ji-an bit his lip and stared intently at Jeong Hee-seo’s profile.

“…”

“…”

He had suspected something since they left home to make it to the afternoon hospital appointment. It was suspicious when someone going to the hospital was fully dressed in a suit with his hair neatly combed back. Thinking they might go to a nice restaurant in the evening, Ji-an had put on neat clothes, pretending not to notice.

But a limousine? There’s a limit to how much one can pretend not to know.

The engagement party that had been full of worries had spectacularly failed, and the main couple that had been like a time bomb had disappeared before their eyes. These days felt like a dream, almost too good to be true. Every day was full of events and surprises.

Now, sitting in this limousine, he wondered what more Jeong Hee-seo could be planning.

Unable to hide his shaking shoulders and sparkling eyes, Jeong Hee-seo finally let out a short sigh.

“Yes, you’re right about what you’re thinking.”

His face as he turned to Ji-an looked almost upset.

“I admit I was in a hurry. …There was so little time.”

“It’s because you overthink things, Hyung. You don’t need to do this for me… You could have just given it to me suddenly while having dinner at home. That would have been more of a surprise event.”

“That’s not okay, Ji-an. That’s way too plain.”

Jeong Hee-seo carefully examined Ji-an’s face.

His eyes moved from the plump, fair cheeks to the full lips, and the round, gentle eyes. He wanted to build good memories for his lover step by step, but he felt regretful and sorry that they couldn’t follow the usual order of things.

“I never thought I’d feel so frustrated about this. To think I’d be caught by Ji-an of all people.”

“Huh!” Ji-an’s eyes widened.

“Wouldn’t I be an idiot not to notice a limousine appearing? Plus, you’re dressed so handsomely?”

“This is normal for me. I thought you wouldn’t notice from the clothes.”

“…There’s a subtle difference, you know.”

Ji-an almost found himself agreeing with the serious reply.

His eyes were drawn to Jeong Hee-seo’s hand touching his left chest. Ji-an imagined the small box in the inner pocket. Thinking about the ring Jeong Hee-seo had chosen for him and how it would have felt to keep that box close to his heart made Ji-an’s throat tingle deep inside.

He suddenly rose up, hugged Jeong Hee-seo’s neck, and kissed his cheek. Jeong Hee-seo laughed softly.

“Just pretend you don’t know anything. You can cry later when all the lights go out at the restaurant and the violin starts playing.”

“…Really? No way?”

Ji-an couldn’t hide his horrified expression, prompting Jeong Hee-seo leaned in to kiss him.

“It won’t be that cliché. Look forward to it.”

Ji-an frowned, unable to hide his embarrassment. Really? You’re kidding, right? He asked repeatedly, only to have his nose playfully pinched.

Jeong Hee-seo wasn’t one to tell him to look forward to something unless it was extraordinary. Whatever was coming, it felt like something amazing was waiting. Ji-an wanted to calm down and be elegantly happy, but he couldn’t help his body fidgeting with curiosity.

The limousine, which had been slowly cruising through the city, finally stopped in front of a hotel that held deep meaning for both of them. Ji-an got out of the car and stared at the hotel entrance for a moment. Although the doors hadn’t changed, they looked different today. Maybe it was because he was looking at them with meaning.

So much had happened since he first opened these doors.

“Do you remember when we first met Grandmother in front of here?”

Ji-an made a heart shape with his hands and danced playfully.

“I remember. How could I forget?”

“I think I fell for you that day too.”

Ji-an said there was never a moment when he didn’t like Jeong Hee-seo. Jeong Hee-seo smiled, wrinkling his handsome nose, fully agreeing with Ji-an’s words.

Jeong Hee-seo had wanted to give the ring at the perfect moment, but it felt meaningless to search for that moment. Every moment with Ji-an, every second they spent together, felt like the perfect timing.

Ji-an wasn’t surprised when Jeong Hee-seo suddenly hugged him. Unexpected skinship was now a daily occurrence, and he was getting used to people’s stares day by day.

“The way you brazenly told Grandmother I was just a friend you were seeing these days.”

Ji-an tiptoed and hugged Jeong Hee-seo’s neck in return, and Jeong Hee-seo tightened his grip around Ji-an’s waist.

It was a perfect moment. The scenery of this moment, the sound of his lover’s laughter in his ears, even the wind swirling around them felt perfect.

Vroom— Before they could grasp the situation at the sound of an engine behind them, Jeong Hee-seo instinctively threw himself to the side while holding Ji-an. They felt the headlight’s glare brush past their faces. Jeong Hee-seo rolled a couple of times, his arms wrapped around Ji-an’s head and waist.

There was no time to feel their hands and faces getting scratched as they tumbled to the ground. The next moment, a loud crash and someone’s scream hit their ears.

“Ah!”

The sound of shattering glass filled the air. Ji-an opened his tightly shut eyes and squirmed his stiff body in shock.

“Ji-an, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

It was hard to judge what had happened, and his head was spinning. His ears were ringing. Ji-an nodded reflexively and slowly raised his upper body. Although his startled heart hadn’t calmed down, he wasn’t hurt anywhere thanks to Jeong Hee-seo’s full-body protection.

“Your arms? Legs?”

Jeong Hee-seo acted like a person who had lost his soul. He reached out and frantically felt Ji-an’s unharmed arms and legs. Ji-an instinctively rubbed his belly where Poggles was, then reached out to touch Jeong Hee-seo’s forehead.

“Hyung, what should we do… You’re hurt.”

His perfectly straight forehead had been cut by something sharp and was bleeding. Ji-an’s face turned pale immediately when he saw the bright red blood on his fingertips.

“Ji-an, let’s go to the hospital. I’ll call an ambulance now.”

He held Ji-an’s shoulders with both hands and examined him as if looking at each hair. His eyes were shaking, and his once-neat hair was in disarray. His scratched forehead was covered in dust, and blood that had quickly started to dry was sticking to it messily.

“I’m okay, Hyung. Calm down. I think you’re the one who’s hurt.”

Ji-an grabbed Jeong Hee-seo’s trembling arms. The moment they confirmed that neither had any serious injuries, their held breath escaped in a heavy sigh. Only then did the surrounding noise rush back in.

Turning their heads towards the sound of murmuring and someone shouting, they saw a car that had crashed into the hotel’s main entrance. Not only was the large revolving door completely shattered, but the car’s hood was also crumpled like paper. Sparks flashing between the wisps of white smoke looked threatening.

Ji-an suddenly felt Jeong Hee-seo’s arm stiffen and tense under his grip, as though he were bracing for something. Unconsciously, he followed Jeong Hee-seo’s gaze.

The crumpled driver’s side door creaked open, and Seo Ji-hyuk was struggling to crawl out.