PIA 138 Side Story 1

“Jeong— Hae— Yi—”

Ji-an carefully wrote Poggles’s name in the Korean name field with a black permanent pen. He also meticulously filled in the Chinese character name field, one stroke at a time.

Though not as neat as Jeong Hee-seo’s tidy handwriting, he wanted to fill out the birth registration form himself since he had missed the moment of his birth.

That’s why Hee-seo had prepared practice sheets for him. On the graph paper, Jeong Hee-seo had written Hae-yi’s three Chinese characters, and Ji-an had filled dozens of lines below copying them. Thanks to that practice, he was able to write fairly presentable handwriting on the birth registration form.

After completing the name, gender, and other details, he confidently checked the box indicating the child was born within wedlock. At that moment, Jeong Hee-seo’s eyebrow twitched as he watched from beside him, but he paid no mind.

The pen that had been moving smoothly stopped at the field for the date and time of birth. Ji-an’s plump lips jutted out in a pout. Jeong Hee-seo, who had been resting his chin on his hand, pinched Ji-an’s puffed cheek and gave it a playful tug.

“What’s wrong? Are you still stuck on that?”

“…Can’t we change Poggles’s, I mean Hae-yi’s birthday even now?”

“No, we can’t.”

While repeating that it couldn’t be done, Jeong Hee-seo was firm on this issue. Although Ji-an usually won most conflicts with Jeong Hee-seo, this time it seemed there was no room for negotiation. Ji-an let out a strong huff, going “Hmph!”

Jeong Hee-seo insisted that the birthday was Hae-yi’s first decision upon entering the world and that it was non-negotiable. But why were the two of them in conflict over Hae-yi’s birthday…

To explain this whole situation, we need to go back a few days.

* * *

“Wow, I didn’t know hyung had such a cute side.”

Ji-an mumbled as he looked at the various mementos of Poggles—to be more specific, items commemorating the newborn’s birth—piled on the bed.

There was a framed print of his hand and foot, about 5 centimeters in size, inked and stamped, and even a three-dimensional sculpture of his hand and foot cast from a mold.

Not to mention the framed photos and albums from when he was born. It was amazing to see even the umbilical cord and hair preserved. The first shirt he wore, hand covers, socks, and hat were all neatly folded and preserved in pretty boxes.

These days, with Poggles’s 100th-day celebration approaching, there was a lot to discuss with Myeong Hyun-sook.

Whenever they went to the hospital for vaccinations or went out for a walk on nice days, they invariably stopped by grandmother’s house to talk about the 100th-day celebration. Myeong Hyun-sook had asked them to bring all the photos and mementos they had to show the guests on the celebration day.

So Ji-an had raided Poggles’s treasure trove for the first time. He had brought an armful of cute decorations that filled a large display case, albums from the bookshelf, and accessories stored in drawers, bringing them all to the bedroom.

Thinking of Jeong Hee-seo busily preparing all this alone with newborn Poggles made him feel somewhat sorry. Ji-an felt a lump in his throat from guilt, and was also moved by his thoughtfulness…

As Ji-an looked at Jeong Hee-seo with eyes brimming with tears, swept up in a wave of emotions.

“Ah, that was all done by Jeong Hee-young… noona.”

A somewhat dry response came back.

“Oh, really?”

“Jeong Hee-young’s obsession is remarkable.”

“Wow—”

As Ji-an looked at him with sparkling eyes, Jeong Hee-seo chuckled softly. Ji-an smiled looking at Poggles’ small items, and Jeong Hee-seo smiled watching Ji-an.

“At that time, I was so out of it that I didn’t care whether she did it or not, but in the end, it turned out to be a good thing. She said you would like it when you woke up, and she was right.”

It might be an unkind thing to say about newborn Poggles, but at the time, Jeong Hee-seo didn’t feel much affection for the newborn. Paternal love wasn’t something that would fall from the sky, and while he was feeling unfamiliar with the newborn he had just met, Ji-an was in an indefinite sleep.

Ji-an felt a heaviness in his chest just thinking about him at that time. So he deliberately smiled more.

“There’s nothing wrong with listening to noona, right?”

“Don’t tell Jeong Hee-young I said this.”

He still became childlike whenever his sister was mentioned. Ji-an laughed even more, thinking that the two of them would probably still bicker even when they became grandparents.

Ji-an fiddled with the small foot sculpture in his hand as he took Jeong Hee-seo’s hand.

“Hyung, let’s quickly register our marriage.”

“…”

Jeong Hee-seo flopped onto the bed, lying on his side. He didn’t give an immediate answer, which made Ji-an widen his eyes as his expression grew more insistent. Jeong Hee-seo raised his neat hand to rub his deeply furrowed brow.

“Haa… Ji-an-ah.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you like this, you young punk? You have no sense of romance. Why do you talk about marriage registration so dryly? Are you placing a delivery order?”

Jeong Hee-seo was repulsed by Ji-an’s tone, as if he wanted to get it over with immediately.

“Ah… there you go again. I really don’t mind not having a wedding ceremony.”

Even as Ji-an tried to burrow into his arms with a grinning smile, this time Jeong Hee-seo grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away, saying it wouldn’t work.

“How many times have we glossed over this? I can’t give in either. We need to have a wedding ceremony, Ji-an-ah.”

“What’s the point of doing that? If it’s for the photos, we can just hire a photographer separately…”

“Ji-an-ah.”

Jeong Hee-seo’s eyes became square. It was the expression he made when talking about something he absolutely wouldn’t compromise on, like hospital visits or taking medicine he didn’t particularly like. Ji-an had no choice but to shrug his shoulders exaggeratedly.

“Okay, fine. Then let’s just register the marriage first and have the wedding ceremony later.”

“…”

“Ah, I promise we’ll have a wedding ceremony, really. I just don’t want to register Poggles as born out of wedlock.”

“I agree on that part. Then we’ll write a contract saying we’ll definitely have a wedding.”

“Come on, hyung… Is there so little trust between spouses? Can’t you trust me that much?”

Jeong Hee-seo’s firm expression crumbled in an instant. The word ‘spouses’ was a trump card, an unbeatable term. Ji-an bit his lower lip and grinned mischievously.

“I just want to make you mine quickly, but you don’t understand my feelings. Again, I’m the only one in a hurry. I want us to be spouses—”

Ji-an couldn’t finish his sentence. Jeong Hee-seo swallowed all of Ji-an’s playful words. He pressed his body against Ji-an, devouring his lips, t0ngue, and heavy breaths. As they fell onto the mattress, Ji-an was trapped between strong arms. The warm weight of Jeong Hee-seo’s body pressed down on him. It was a welcome sensation.

“Mmm…”

There were surprise kisses several times a day. Yet they hadn’t grown used to sticking together at every eye contact. Ji-an was busy trying to catch his breath. When he breathed rapidly, Jeong Hee-seo’s scent dizzily filled his nostrils. It was exciting even without pheromones.

Whether kissing while drinking tea, hurriedly pecking lips while preparing breakfast, tasting of tea, fruit, or even the sharp taste of mouthwash, it was strangely sweet. Even just the scent of breath was sweet, so very sweet.

Just as Ji-an was about to cling to Jeong Hee-seo’s neck in the heightening mood, he pulled away and leaned back. He raised his handsome eyebrow crookedly and smiled like a delinquent.

“I don’t trust you. You’ve already lost my trust, Seo Ji-an. You deceived me yesterday too.”

“Oh come on, that’s because you keep buying weird things. No matter how healthy it is, how can I eat that raw— Ah!”

Ji-an was startled by the hand that suddenly slipped under his T-shirt. The large hand caressed his ribcage and began fondling his chest.

“I’m trying to fatten you up to eat you, but you won’t listen. If you won’t even listen about something as simple as eating, how can I trust you?”

“Ah, wait— Hyung, this is cheating, ah!”

As a thumb pressed against his n1pple, a hand moved to his armpit. Ji-an swallowed a gasp urgently, his face flushed red.

Uncontrolled laughter burst out sporadically. Straddling Ji-an’s squirming body, Jeong Hee-seo teased his n1pples and tickled him, pretending to scold him. Even Jeong Hee-seo, who was sitting on top to discipline Ji-an, couldn’t hold back his laughter and bit his own lip.

Even as Ji-an was being tickled, his n1pples were hardening. This was another form of temptation. It was impossible to be seriously angry.

“Ah, stop, stop! Stooop…! I surrender, I surrender!”

“Will you listen now?”

“I’ll have a wedding ceremony― I will, I want to! Please, hyung, honey― darling, stop!”

The tickling hands suddenly stopped, and Jeong Hee-seo raised his hand to cup Ji-an’s flushed cheeks. He held Ji-an’s panting face, still filled with laughter, and kissed him. He greedily svcked on the mouth filled with clear saliva, then gently l1cked his lips.

The kiss was so tender that it left Ji-an yearning as Hee-seo pulled away. Forgetting the torment he had just endured, Ji-an looked up to see Jeong Hee-seo’s warm, wavering eyes.

Lately, Ji-an was perfecting his ‘Jeong Hee-seo user manual.’ From their first meeting, Hee-seo had told him to learn how to use him well. Keeping that in mind, Ji-an had studied hard, and things were turning out just as Hee-seo had said.

He had become an easy man who would fall for just a word or two.

Smiling softly, Jeong Hee-seo hugged Ji-an tightly and showered him with kisses. His wet lips touched Ji-an’s forehead, cheeks, ears, and chin. Ji-an embraced Hee-seo’s shoulders, trying to ignore his lower body that was starting to send signals. Jeong Hee-seo whispered in his ear with a moist voice.

“Alright. Let’s register our marriage first, as you said. We should register our baby to the world first.”

Ji-an chuckled with a sense of victory, and Jeong Hee-seo bit his nose hard.

“So hurry up and choose a name.”

“Hmm, a name.”

“Yes, Poggles’s name. You’re the one who wanted to name him, remember?”