BABY 3

Seojin only gave an awkward smile in response to the question Yeonsu threw at him. It was partly because she had hit the nail on the head, and partly because of his nature, which made him unskilled at lying or giving empty words.

Returning to the living room, Yeonsu checked the time and picked up her bag.

“My unnie told me to come over for dinner, but it’s a bit difficult for you to go, right?”

“It can’t be helped, I guess.”

Seojin stood up and headed to the front door to see Yeonsu out. Since he couldn’t accept the invitation while Jinseo was sleeping, Seojin simply shrugged his shoulders.

Yeonsu’s unnie, Hyesu, was a benefactor who knew his situation and had helped him a lot, so he usually wouldn’t refuse an invitation, but today there was no choice. Yeonsu understood this as well and merely nodded her head slowly while keeping her gaze fixed on the room where Jinseo was sleeping.

“Unnie told me to bring Jinseo over sometime. She said she’d cook something delicious. She said Jaewoo also asks every day when Jinseo is coming over to play.”

“Once Jinseo gets a bit better. I’ll contact noona.”

“Okay. Don’t feel too pressured.”

Yeonsu tapped Seojin lightly on the shoulder and turned the doorknob. Just as it seemed she was leaving, Yeonsu spun around and continued with a serious expression.

“If you’re going to meet Cha Junyoung again, tell me in advance. Go with me.”

“Why go through the trouble?”

“It’s not a trouble, so contact me. Okay?”

Yeonsu gave Seojin a playful glare and waved her hand lightly even as she closed the door. Seojin likewise gave a hand greeting before turning toward the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, he saw three packs of strawberries and some oranges—evidently put there by Yeonsu earlier—sitting quietly in the vegetable compartment.

Instead of taking out the fruit, Seojin pulled out a water bottle that was nearly empty and drained it completely. He felt sorry toward Yeonsu, but ever since Jinseo got sick, he had no appetite at all and didn’t feel like eating anything.

Returning to the living room, Seojin plopped down on the sofa. As he sat there resting his chin on his hand in the silence, the face of Junyoung, whom he had met earlier today, came to mind.

Comparing it to six years ago, his face hadn’t changed much, but somehow his personality seemed to have become even more of a wreck.

It was to the point that Seojin felt embarrassed for having had the positive expectation that Junyoung might have matured a bit and become more adult-like as he got older.

“Sigh…”

Of course, he must have been flustered. Showing up after six years and abruptly shoving it in his face that a child sharing his blood was sick—it must have been absurd. He probably never dreamed that I would have manifested as an Omega.

But it couldn’t be helped. The biological father was alive and well, and apparently only that Alpha could help with the child’s treatment, so what did the absurdity and confusion Junyoung felt matter? Seojin’s mind was occupied only with the thought that he had to save the child first.

After deciding to give birth and raise the child alone, Seojin had never once thought about informing Junyoung of the child’s existence—until now. That was the reason he sought him out.

At first, he was at a loss for what to do, but he was able to find out Cha Junyoung’s recent whereabouts more easily than expected. Because his mother was the chairwoman of a large corporation, his name appeared in news articles more often than one might think.

Yeonsu had immediately pulled out her cell phone on the spot and searched the three characters of the name ‘Cha Junyoung,’ and not long after, she told him what Cha Junyoung was doing for a living.

‘Cha Junyoung, they say he entered Sunwoo Department Store as a regular employee last September? He’s eating well and living well, not even knowing his own son is sick. What a bad bastard.’

The scathing insults were a bonus.

‘Seojin, if you meet this guy, get the child support you haven’t received all this time first. Got it?’

He didn’t put much weight on Yeonsu’s subsequent words. He was simply relieved by the fact that Cha Junyoung was in Korea. If by any chance he had moved abroad, pheromone treatment would have been completely out of the question.

However, knowing what he did for a living didn’t mean he could meet him easily. To the worrying Seojin, Yeonsu suggested one method.

‘Ah! Wouldn’t Hyunho know his number? They were in the same major after all. I think those two were close.’

It was to contact a classmate of Cha Junyoung who had done a team project with him in the past to get the number. Since Seojin had deleted Junyoung’s number as soon as the team project assignment ended back then, he desperately needed someone’s help.

Fortunately, Hyunho knew Cha Junyoung’s number. He even gave it to him very willingly. Getting the number like that was all well and good, but the problem was that Cha Junyoung didn’t seem likely to be cooperative.

‘I feel like I’ll get blocked as soon as I contact him.’

‘He’s definitely the type to do that. Hmm… Ah! Wouldn’t it be better to just go and see him instead?’

Accepting Yeonsu’s logical words, barging into the company was what happened today. The information desk employee looked at him suspiciously and didn’t let down their guard, yet they still placed a call to Junyoung’s desk.

‘A person named Yoo Seojin wants to see you, and he asked me to tell you that you will definitely regret it if you don’t come down…’

Fortunately, that threat worked, and he was able to meet Cha Junyoung. Since he had informed him of the child’s existence and conveyed what he wanted for now, it couldn’t be said that there was no harvest at all. Of course, it didn’t deviate one bit from Seojin’s prediction that Cha Junyoung would be uncooperative.

Seojin shook off thoughts of Junyoung, who was only spouting nonsense about scams and extortion, and carefully entered the room. Jinseo was still fast asleep on the bed, oblivious to the world.

Carefully lying down beside him, Seojin gently stroked the child’s hair. Jinseo, who twitched for a moment at the touch, instinctively burrowed into Seojin’s arms. Seojin patted his back slowly while holding the child.

“Jinseo, Papa will make sure you don’t hurt, no matter what.”

Muttering a sentence that was quite solemn for a promise, Seojin squeezed his eyes shut. Perhaps because the tension had finally fully released, drowsiness gradually washed over him.

Slowly exhaling the breath he had taken in deeply, Seojin pulled Jinseo even closer and completely released the strength in his body.

Thinking that he must somehow meet Cha Junyoung one more time to have a proper conversation.

In the morning meeting, Junyoung was torn to shreds again today by Team Leader Baek. It was also one of the routines of the new employee Cha Junyoung, who had only been with Sunwoo Department Store’s Planning Team 1 for a little over three months.

Inevitably suffering from a “fire illness” since morning, Junyoung headed to the pantry while grinding his teeth. He intended to pour some cold water into his stomach first and then smoke a cigarette in the rooftop garden.

When he entered the pantry, several people from other teams were chatting while drinking beverages near the showcase refrigerator. After exchanging a brief silent bow with the people, Junyoung took ice and cold water in a paper cup in turn and gulped it down.

The people’s gazes landed on Junyoung as he discarded the paper cup and hurriedly left the pantry. However, Junyoung didn’t care much and headed for the elevator. Fortunately, thanks to the elevator arriving quickly, he was able to reach the rooftop garden before his temper exploded.

Perhaps because the weather had become much warmer with it being the end of March, there were quite a few people in the rooftop garden. Junyoung took a spot in a corner that felt cramped, rather than a place overlooking the city landscape crowded with skyscraper-like buildings.

Inside the company, one couldn’t avoid people’s eyes no matter where they went, so this place had become Junyoung’s regular spot.

Life was good back when he spent every day like a grasshopper, a wealthy unemployed person, after somehow graduating from university… Junyoung smacked his lips bitterly.

“Phew…”

There was only one cigarette left in the cigarette pack he pulled out of his pocket. He had intended to go down after smoking only one anyway, but he didn’t know why the fact that only one was left was so annoying.

Biting the cigarette between his lips and lighting it with a lighter, Junyoung took a deep breath and then exhaled it along with the smoke, “Phew.” He wanted to throw away the employee ID hanging around his neck right this second and whine that he couldn’t do this anymore, but because it was obvious that the Black Card in his wallet would be suspended, he had to swallow his regret.

Taking another deep breath and exhaling while blowing out cigarette smoke, a vibration rang inside the hand holding his cell phone. Frowning instantly, he wondered if Team Leader Baek was already looking for him when he’d only been away from his seat for a few minutes.

“…”

He squinted his eyes and glared at the screen, but instead of the name ‘Team Leader Baek Ha-jung,’ a nine-digit phone number starting with the area code 02 appeared on the screen.

He thought it might be spam and was about to hang up, but somehow a familiar feeling wouldn’t go away.

Where did I see this number?

While he was thinking hard, the vibration continued to ring. Junyoung had no choice but to move his finger and answer the call. He intended to hang up immediately if it was a strange call.

“Hello.”

—Is this Mr. Cha Junyoung’s cell phone?

“Yes, that’s right.”

—This is the Korea Genetic Research Institute. I’m calling to inform you of the results of the paternity test you requested.

Junyoung, who had been indifferent until just a moment ago, instantly changed his complexion and straightened his body. It was because he had only now realized the cause of the deja vu.

It was the phone number of the company where he had personally requested a paternity test not long ago.

“Wa-wait a moment. Phew… 30 seconds… no, just 10 seconds. Let me take some deep breaths.”

Junyoung, who quickly stubbed out the cigarette in his mouth in the stand ashtray, gnawed on his parched lips with his upper teeth.