PIA 151

“Is he really that smart?”

“Or maybe he understood everything we said…”

“He probably sensed the atmosphere.”

Jeong Hee-seo directly denied Hae-yi’s cleverness but didn’t refute that he might have picked up on the mood. Ji-an wanted to insist again that sensing the atmosphere was also a sign of intelligence, not just because Hae-yi was their baby.

Hae-yi stretched out his small feet and poked at Jeong Hee-seo’s suit jacket chest pocket. They had removed his socks when putting him in the car because he seemed uncomfortable, but with all the crying, they forgot to put them back on. Ji-an gently fiddled on Hae-yi’s chubby toes.

“What should we do? I think he’ll cry if we put him back in the car.”

“The weather’s nice, should we walk home?”

They had already turned direction right in front of their house. Their home was the closest to Jeong Hee-seo’s company, and from there, it was quite a distance to Jeong Hee-young’s house and grandmother’s house in that order.

“I really think he recognized the road.”

“Okay, I get it. Ji-an, you’re right, our baby is smart.”

“I’m serious, hyung. They say even dogs recognize the route if you walk them on the same path regularly. Hae-yi is human after all.”

They often took Hae-yi to the company area for lunch with Jeong Hee-seo and then back home, so it was plausible that Hae-yi could recognize the route. As Ji-an continued his rational suspicion, Jeong Hee-seo laughed and agreed.

“Then shall we buy some drinks and walk?”

Ji-an turned towards a takeout shop without waiting for his answer. He knew both his and Hee-seo own preferences so well now that an answer wasn’t necessary.

The early autumn evening weather was cool, and there was a pleasant scent of grass on the way up to their house. The sound of insects signaled that autumn had indeed arrived. Ji-an walked backwards up the familiar slope, facing Jeong Hee-seo who was carrying Hae-yi.

“Hyung, you know.”

Jeong Hee-seo, who was struggling with Hae-yi stealing his straw, looked at Ji-an.

“Yes?”

“I never told you that I met the ‘other’ you in the middle of winter.”

There was a moment of silence. Even as Hae-yi brought the straw he held in both hands to his mouth, Jeong Hee-seo kept his eyes on Ji-an. He was someone who quickly grasped the meaning behind whatever Ji-an said, but this time he seemed at a loss for words.

He furrowed his brow slightly before relaxing it and asking. He seemed a bit tense.

“How was it?”

“Well, when I fell asleep and went back there… it was clearly the world I had lived in for over twenty years, but in just a few months, it had become such a strange place. Just because you weren’t there. So without hesitation, I went to find you. I thought I’d feel more stable if I could just see your face. Like Hae-yi’s comfort doll.”

Hearing his name, Hae-yi also looked at Ji-an. The two pairs of eyes were so alike.

“The you there was so identical, your face, your voice, your personality, all the same… but everything was different. Clearly different.”

Their steps had stopped without them realizing. Ji-an took Jeong Hee-seo’s hand.

“In the world I came to, there’s only one you.”

This wasn’t the first time Ji-an had thought about that moment while climbing this hill. The memory of running up the hill in desperation was vividly etched in his soul. It was a moment when he was desperately searching for the way back home.

It didn’t matter how long he had spent in the original world. The home he was looking for was here, now, where this man in front of him was. This path they were climbing together was the way home, and Hae-yi in his arms was his family.

“Well, Hae-yi’s comfort doll is also one of a kind in this world.”

Hahaha. While laughing at his joke meant to ease the tension, Ji-an thought it made sense. Hae-yi’s comfort doll that he hugged while sleeping was one of tens of thousands of mass-produced items, but it became the only one when it came into Hae-yi’s arms.

It became a unique doll in this world, tamed by Hae-yi’s hands and imbued with his scent. Ji-an had even felt mystified when Hae-yi uncannily recognized and rejected a new identical doll they bought when they thought the original was lost.

“You’re also the only one for me, Ji-an.”

Jeong Hee-seo whispered, pressing his lips to Ji-an’s forehead. The tension had eased, but he couldn’t laugh comfortably. It was always like this when he felt the weight of Ji-an having crossed worlds.

In this world, the only place Ji-an could lean on was Jeong Hee-seo himself. Jeong Hee-seo had never once found this frightening or burdensome. He was just filled with a heavy sense of responsibility, boundless affection, and a desire to be Ji-an’s shelter. Like a common song lyric, Jeong Hee-seo wanted to protect Ji-an forever, until the end.

The evening breeze, now a bit chilly, flowed around their feet. Jeong Hee-seo spread his arms wide and embraced both Ji-an and Hae-yi. Enclosing them in his warm embrace, even their cool ankles seemed to warm up from the heat.

Ji-an mumbled, his cheek squished against Hae-yi’s feet, trapped in his embrace.

“It’s cold. Hae-yi’s feet are cold. Let’s go home quickly.”

As Ji-an said this while rubbing Hae-yi’s feet, Hae-yi giggled, letting out a clear laugh. Jeong Hee-seo kissed them both repeatedly in turn. Yes, let’s do that. Let’s go to our home, he whispered.

Even without the sickeningly sweet lovey-dovey ness of just the two of them, these mildly sweet days were nice too. Ji-an felt for the first time that he had a complete sanctuary of his own in his embrace. That alone was enough.

* * *

“I want to have the wedding soon.”

On a weekday night.

They had gone out for a late-night snack, catching Jeong Hee-seo after his late return from work. In front of steaming udon soup on the red plastic table of a street food stall that only opened at night, Ji-an suddenly urged for marriage.

Jeong Hee-seo, who was loosening the tie around his neck, smiled.

“Sounds good. That’s music to my ears.”

The paparazzi had unexpectedly brought about a positive result. Ji-an had finally become enthusiastic about the wedding. Jeong Hee-seo had hoped that Ji-an would never know about the rumors behind his back, but once Ji-an became aware of the paparazzi’s existence, it was natural that he would also learn about the rumors they were spreading.

Ji-an had uncovered all the rumors about him and was furious. Not only had his personal information like family background and qualifications been spread, but the stories concocted based on his past with Jeong Han-joo were enough to fill a novel. It seemed almost miraculous that Jeong Hee-seo had been able to block all of this until now.

In their scenario, Ji-an was just an unsuitable partner, a gold-digger after Jeong Hee-seo’s wealth, and Hae-yi was merely an illegitimate child.

While he could ignore the rest, denying Hae-yi was unbearable. Above all, he feared that even a fragment of such dirty thoughts remaining in the world might hurt Hae-yi later. Even if it wasn’t true at all, he didn’t want to show even a single sentence to Hae-yi. Of course, the man by his side would never let that happen.

Looking into Ji-an’s sparkling eyes, the man threw his characteristic joke with a satisfied face.

“Should we do it tomorrow while we’re at it?”

His words weren’t entirely unrealistic, though not completely plausible either. Ji-an’s words had lit the fuse of a fully prepared explosive. It added a rocket to Jeong Hee-seo’s already wild horse-like drive.

Before autumn had fully set in, a wedding date was set.

Jeong Hee-young was delighted that the wedding hall at JM Hotel, which had been vaguely reserved and left empty indefinitely, would finally be used. Of course, she added that she was even happier that Ji-an would officially become part of the family.

Her only complaint was that they couldn’t have Hae-yi as a flower boy…

“Look— He just took five steps! I’m telling you he can definitely be a flower boy! If Yi-seo holds his hand beside her. Just imagining the two of them walking in melts me, it really does.”

“It was three and a half steps, doting aunt.”

“Ji-an. Hae-yi is a prodigy. We should make him a national representative. Where in the world is there a child who walks this early? Why are you parents so stingy with praising your child?”

She said she lived for the joy of seeing Hae-yi these days, that she had forgotten how adorable babies this age could be. She wanted a second child but said it had become scientifically impossible, and she rambled on about Hae-yi’s uncle’s circumstances, which Ji-an was not at all curious about.

“A child should be raised with gentle hands, like molding pottery. When they do well, you should tell them so. Don’t be overly humble just because you’re their parent.”

Myeong Hyun-sook smiled all over her face, cheering for Hae-yi, saying she heard enough about what children can’t do from others. She too showered Hae-yi with affection, cherishing this unexpected great-grandchild, and also held Ji-an in high regard.

“Yes, grandmother. You’re right, Hae-yi did take five steps. I was foolish.”