M 218

Side Story 3 Episode 21

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Lee Sehwa started wailing, claiming it was because he was hungry. Ki Tae-jeong, who had been silent for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words, finally responded a beat late.

“Ah, uh. Uh-huh… Okay. What do you want to eat?”

Ki Tae-jeong gently urged, tenderly wiping away Sehwa’s tears with his fingers, telling him not to cry.

“Should I buy you something?”

“…….”

“Or should I cook for you? I’ll make it.”

Lee Sehwa clumsily sat up and rubbed his face roughly with the back of his hand. That’s it! I don’t even know! I’m going crazy, I really don’t know…! He was annoyed that tears and snot were streaming down his face without a clue, and somehow, Ki Tae-jeong’s subtly excited demeanor began to bother him. Could he be happy that someone who could barely swallow gruel a week ago suddenly wanted to eat something? Well, he had always been pleased whenever Sehwa asked him for something. Like a man desperate to shower him with money and time. It was a normal thing for Sehwa and something to be grateful for… but why did that man seem so annoying today?

“Honey?”

“…I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? You said you were hungry.”

“…That’s it, I’m hungry, but I don’t know what I want to eat.”

“…Hmm.”

Ki Tae-jeong swept back his bangs that had fallen down in his frustration. Even in this situation, his face, deep in thought, was undeniably beautiful, and unlike Sehwa, who was so thin he looked like he could break if you touched him, he showed off a perfectly sculpted body…. So Sehwa’s nose tingled again. Not with emotion, but with a feeling of sorrow over even this.

He’s already well over thirty, but why is the Lieutenant General so pretty? And why does he keep calling me pretty, pretty? Is he making fun of me?

Besides, Ki Tae-jeong didn’t have a single stray hair, even after just waking up from sleep. Forgetting that he had been rolling around on the bed until just now, sleeping soundly for a long time, he felt unfairly frustrated with the man who had been sleeping soundly next to him while he was starving.

“Let’s go to the kitchen together. If we look around, something specific might come to mind… Oh.”

It was rare. Ki Tae-jeong couldn’t finish his sentence, taken aback.

“…Honey?”

But at this moment, it was understandable. Sehwa had pushed him away with a sharp look in his eyes that he had never seen before.

“Honey, no, Sehwa.”

“…….”

“What’s wrong?”

No, can you even call this pushing him away…? Sehwa seemed to want to push him away hard, but Ki Tae-jeong’s body, like a mountain, didn’t budge, so it only ended up being a light tap. Perhaps that made him even more upset, as Sehwa’s white cheeks puffed up sullenly, and his lips pouted into a triangular shape. Far from being threatening, he was so cute that Ki Tae-jeong almost bit back the curse that rose up without him realizing it. The usually gentle Lee Sehwa had never been irritated with him like this before, so it seemed like he shouldn’t act cute or tease him like usual right now.

“Or maybe you… Ah!”

This time, Ki Tae-jeong was genuinely surprised and just stared at his chest. Sehwa had resolutely slapped his pectoral muscles.

“Sehwa, why?”

He was about to turn his back and lie down, but when he heard Ki Tae-jeong’s voice, he seemed to get even more frustrated and slapped him a couple more times in a row.

“…….”

Ki Tae-jeong stared blankly at Sehwa, who had lain down huffing and puffing, and wondered if he was dreaming. Whether Ki Tae-jeong did so or not, Sehwa, as if telling him not to even think about hugging him from behind, wrapped himself up in the blanket like a cocoon and began to mutter to himself.

Tae-jeong, with a slightly bewildered look, peeked at Sehwa’s round head sticking out from the blanket cocoon. Just as a young animal wouldn’t hurt even if it hit you a few times with its cotton-like paws, he didn’t feel any impact at all… but still, he felt like he had to pretend to be hurt right now, so he belatedly sighed, “Ouch.” Sehwa stomped on the mattress with his feet and completely hid inside the pile of blankets.

“Honey. I won’t be sleeping, so tell me right away if you think of something you want to eat.”

“…….”

“Tell me right away if you want to do something, too.”

“…….”

“Ah! Should I give you a massage… No. Okay, sleep comfortably.”

Sehwa, buried inside the blanket like a hermit crab, kicked his feet slightly as if telling him to be quiet. Ki Tae-jeong suppressed a laugh and lay down next to the round, white blanket cocoon. He had heard that pregnant people experience severe mood swings and say things they wouldn’t normally say… but he didn’t expect it to change this much.

He shouldn’t be thinking about how cute someone who is having a hard time because of pregnancy is, or be grateful that he’s snapping at him unlike when he was pregnant with Hae-rim.

He crossed his arms and stared at Sehwa’s back for a long time when suddenly, the end of the blanket was slightly lifted. It seemed like he was belatedly worried that he might be cold since he was sleeping in only his underwear. Far from being as sweet as usual, it was a cold-hearted gesture, but Lee Sehwa was still lovely. He simply couldn’t help but love him.

“Honey, I’m here.”

“…….”

“Don’t cry alone when you’re having a hard time.”

“…….”

“You can hit me or get angry until you feel better. Okay?”

There was no response from the hermit crab who had suddenly become a tyrant. Was he okay now? After hesitating for a moment, Ki Tae-jeong dug into the gap he had made and hugged Sehwa tightly, only to get hit on the back of his hand a few more times.

And a few days later.

When Sehwa first started complaining, Ki Tae-jeong was so overwhelmed by how cute he was that he wanted to shoot himself in the head for having such a thoughtless idea at the time.

The worries of Lee Sehwa’s spouse and the father of his child grew day by day. Unlike when he couldn’t swallow anything, Sehwa these days was trying to put food in his mouth enthusiastically, no, aggressively. But he was still not satisfied. He would take a bite, no, chew it and taste it, and then shake his head, saying that it wasn’t it.

It was fortunate that he wasn’t completely unable to eat like before, so there were no problems with his health…. But he was worried because he was having a hard time. The fact that he couldn’t find anything that he liked, no matter what he tasted, made him feel exhausted from repeating expectations and disappointments.