M 156

Ki Tae-jeong’s voice didn’t waver at all, but from the faint sound of his aides calling him, he could tell that he was moving very urgently.

Only then did Sehwa feel a little better. The blocked breathing seemed to gradually clear. He was no longer alone. There was someone who could come straight to his side when told the child was sick. Since there was someone who asked nothing and just comforted him saying he did well… It’s okay. Calm down, it’s okay. Hae-rim will be fine too.

“Now you know how to use a thermometer, right?”

“…Yes.”

And absurdly and embarrassingly, this emergency room commotion was an accident caused by his stupidity in not being able to distinguish between Celsius and Fahrenheit.

‘Oh, it’s a normal temperature.’

A nurse who had rushed in saying let’s take the temperature first since they’d contacted the pediatrician tilted his head in confusion.

‘Really? But he vomited twice…’

‘What color was the vomit?’

‘First it was milk, and then it was clear liquid…’

‘He’s been fine since then?’

‘Yes. He didn’t vomit, but I measured his fever twice…, ah. I also took my temperature with that thermometer and he was burning up…’

‘Really?’

When he explained haltingly and pointed to the thermometer the nurse was holding, the nurse said ‘Hmm… by any chance’ and pointed to the screen.

‘Did it show like this?’

‘Ah, yes!’

‘Ah, you must have accidentally pressed this button. If you press here long, it switches between Fahrenheit and Celsius.’

Fahrenheit? Celsius…? Wondering what that meant, he tilted his head sideways, and the nurse pressed a small button just above where you hold it several times.

‘Like this.’

Watching the tremendous numbers change moment by moment in a daze, Sehwa finally blushed and bowed his head deeply. Oh, what should I do…?

‘I’m, I’m sorry…’

‘Oh no, it’s fine. But since he vomited twice, we’ll do a simple examination when the doctor comes.’

‘I, I didn’t know well… It’s my first time raising a baby…’

‘It’s okay. It’s a mistake novice caregivers often make. Quite a few people come rushing in scared.’

‘Still…’

‘Hey, it’s better than the baby actually being sick. He did actually vomit too.’

Saying the father’s face seemed more feverish than the baby’s, the nurse laughed good-naturedly. Sehwa felt both relieved and embarrassed, unable to lift his face for a while, then belatedly realized he had called Ki Tae-jeong here. While crying loudly too.

This is terrible… He must have already left, right? Maybe he’s almost here? Even if he’s right in front of the hospital, he should tell him to go back, that she’s fine so absolutely don’t come. If he encountered Ki Tae-jeong here now, he felt like she’d die of embarrassment.

‘Wait a moment. Let me make a call…’

Just as he grabbed the phone she’d set aside and was about to press the call button, the waiting room door burst open.

‘…Sehwa.’

Ki Tae-jeong, with sweat beading on his forehead as if he’d run at full speed, rushed in with an extremely serious expression.

‘Are you okay?’

‘Ah, Major…General…’

‘Don’t worry.’

‘…’

‘Nothing will happen, and even if there is, I’ll figure something out…’

Through the wide-open door, the sound of military boots running toward them at regular intervals could be heard. Warrant Officer Choi’s voice echoed loudly through the speaker, declaring this vicinity a controlled area from now on.

‘Um… well… Major, General.’

‘Kyaa! Booo, awoo!’

Hae-rim, who had been fast asleep, seemed happy to see a familiar face in an unfamiliar place, squealing and struggling. He meant for someone to quickly hold him and rock him. Ki Tae-jeong seemed slightly flustered seeing Hae-rim looking so healthy, and Sehwa gestured to the nurse as if asking him to explain the rest, then quietly bowed his head.

Looking at the problematic thermometer, Ki Tae-jeong was silent for a long time, and Sehwa couldn’t bring himself to speak either. Hae-rim’s cheerful babbling, excited to have two people who cared for him, filled the embarrassing waiting room.

“I’m sorry for bothering you when you’re busy…”

“I told you it’s fine.”

Rather than making a big deal of it or teasing her, which would have made his feel more comfortable, Ki Tae-jeong kept praising him for doing well. He repeatedly said that especially not taking a taxi alone and asking the security guard for help was really the right thing to do.

“Call me right away if anything happens in the future too.”

“…But.”

“Even if pressing the thermometer button was a mistake, the fact that Hae-rim vomited twice is real. Fortunately there was no problem this time, but next time might be different.”

Perhaps understanding his name, Hae-rim puffed out his lips with a “booo.”

“Really now. Are you happy? Making daddy worry in the middle of the night.”

“Awoo, booo, ooo…”

“Why did such a little thing vomit, why.”

Ki Tae-jeong held Hae-rim with one arm and patted his plump, pale cheek with the other hand. With his height and build much larger than Sehwa, Hae-rim in his arms looked like a small baguette. Especially wrapped in a white poncho, it looked even more so.

“Sehwa.”

“Yes?”

“Should I stay with you today?”

Ki Tae-jeong suddenly asked while wiping Hae-rim’s drool covered mouth. It was a question that was almost a statement because the end barely went up.

“Yes…?”

Sehwa reflexively looked up at Ki Tae-jeong, then flustered by his straight gaze staring only at him, he lowered his eyes again. Stay together? What does that mean?

“They said to watch carefully tonight since it could be serious if he vomits while lying down.”

“That’s… that’s why I requested the sitter to come again…”

“If I’m here, I can take him to the hospital right away if something happens. You’d probably be anxious just being with the sitter too.”

“…”

“I’ll stay in the living room.”

“…”

“If you don’t like that either, I can work in the car.”

Ki Tae-jeong replied casually, saying that this kind of thing happens all the time when he’s on a mission, and that his cars are big anyway, so it’s okay.

Sehwa couldn’t readily agree and quietly put his hands behind his back. He wanted to hide his hands that kept fidgeting from nervousness. Though it might be clearly visible from his perspective…

It wasn’t that he disliked the suggestion to stay together. It was just that what happened a few days ago when he spent the night in the parking lot automatically came to mind. Even though he was dazed until the next day from antidepressants and sedatives, he clearly remembered that Ki Tae-jeong’s car only left after morning came. But seeing him not say a single word about waiting for him all that time, acting as if it was nothing… thinking of himself acting so childishly that day made him feel embarrassed and sorry.

“You were startled, you must have been very scared. I want to keep saying things like that today… How about it?”

Sehwa’s shoulders jerked as he had been rolling his eyes not knowing what to do.

“I’ll dote on you, so stay with me. Just tonight.”

Soldier Ki Tae-jeong, who couldn’t stand not recovering what was lost, pestered him like a scoundrel. He’d act infinitely light as if nothing had happened, so he should pretend to be dragged along by him as always. Just pretend not to know without worrying about anything…

Why does he feel like he’s going to cry again? Sehwa’s downcast eyelashes trembled. He suddenly wanted to ask. That day when they parted like that in the parking lot. What did Ki Tae-jeong want to say while waiting for him? What was he thinking while unable to call out to him, waiting for him in the same spot all night long?

Ki Tae-jeong, who came running breathlessly after receiving his call, says he can wait again. He remembers exactly the words he blurted out while crying carelessly, gives it back as it was, and says with his eyes that he’s sorry.

He wants to tell Ki Tae-jeong to stay over… not in the car, not in the living room, that it’s okay to be by his side. No, that he would like him to. He still doesn’t know when it’s normal to accept him. But he wanted to take a step closer as much as Ki Tae-jeong was trying. Even though days had passed since they fought while crying and couldn’t look at each other’s faces because of the awkwardness, he wanted to be honest like him, who had come running at once with just one phone call.

“I said it because I’m worried, so don’t feel burdened.”

Seeing Sehwa unable to answer readily, Ki Tae-jeong gave his grounds to refuse. It was a cheerful tone.

“Call me if anything happens. I’ll be at the office.”

“…”

“I’ll take you home. You don’t mind that much, right?”

It’s not that he minds… Sehwa looked at Ki Tae-jeong’s broad back as he started walking ahead, then squeezed out his voice.

“Major…General.”

Even though it was such a small voice that even he could barely understand, Ki Tae-jeong immediately turned around.

“What?”

“…”

“Are you okay?”

“Me? Yes…”

“It seems like you’re the one not feeling well, not Hae-rim.”

Carrying the child rolled up like a baguette under his arm, he approached with big strides.

“You must be too shocked.”

Watching the large hand approaching his cheek as if to take his temperature, Sehwa squeezed his eyes shut.

“…I’ll go.”

“Go? Where?”

“To your residence, Major General… I’ll go.”