PIA 25

“Fine. If your grandmother is the problem, just say it’s my child. She’ll probably love it, and it’s not like you’re being treated like this because you got pregnant before marriage. Why complicate things when there’s an easy way out?”

“…”

Jeong Hee-seo’s words may sound arrogant, but there was nothing wrong with what he said. If Ji-an claimed that the child in his womb was the heir of the JM Group, he might even be carried around until childbirth.

But there was a major premise behind it. Looking at the silent Ji-an, Hee-seo, who was gazing at him without saying anything, gently spoke.

“Oh, you said you didn’t want to marry me.”

“Ah!”

The moment Hee-seo blurted out the fact, Ji-an felt like he had been hit on the head with a piece of iron.

This wasn’t a plot to cause a miscarriage. Even if he was taken away by his grandmother, he probably wouldn’t have suffered a miscarriage.

Ji-an tightly squeezed his knees.

Ah, you stupid fool…

This flow was a force leading to marriage.

Just as Ji-an became unfocused, the food started to come out with perfect timing. Thanks to that, he could hide his complicated expression from Hee-seo without being noticed.

The only thing Ji-an wanted to eat was raw pollack stew, but the food served was a sumptuous feast. The soup, which was already bubbling in the pot, was placed on the burner in the center of the table with the fire lit. The remaining space was filled with side dishes that were easy to eat on small plates.

Ji-an looked blankly at Jeong Hee-seo holding a ladle and pouring soup into a bowl.

‘In that case, am I being manipulated by the force of the storyline to follow along, dragging Hee-seo with me and offering myself up to him.’

That’s right. According to the order of the drama, marriage must come first. So that Madam Myeong Hyun-sook of JM could defend Seo Ji-an while framing Seo Ji-hyuk for the miscarriage. Madam Myeong Hyun-sook was the only person who could surpress Seo Ji-hyuk, the main protagonist in this world.

‘Hey… You stupid idiot… Why couldn’t you think in order?’

Ji-an kept hitting his head with his fist, but he felt a gaze and lifted his head, only to find Hee-seo looking at him strangely.

“… Eat.”

“…Yes.”

It was not like Ji-an developed a strong paternal love for the baby in his stomach, but he was too immersed in it. He was so concerned with the baby and miscarriage that he foolishly missed an important moment.

“…”

Ah, that aside, it’s delicious.

Ji-an spooned the soup into his mouth while thinking, and his eyes widened. The refreshing, savory broth of fresh pollack stew poured down his throat, refreshing his dried-out stomach. Ji-an shuddered involuntarily as he felt it being absorbed from his throat. The warmth spread throughout his body.

“Uhh…”

He didn’t know how long it had been since he had a proper meal. Whether it was due to possession or the side effects of the morning sickness, the once tightly blocked throat seemed to open up miraculously only in front of Jeong Hee-seo. The stomach, which had been protesting and refused to let anything in, cooperated as it transformed into a willing accomplice. The food tasted unbelievably delicious as a result of this unexpected cooperation.

Ji-an ate his food as if he had starved for a month. He cut off the white and delicious raw meat with a spoon and ate it, and scooped up two spoonfuls of white rice into his mouth.

Jeong Hee-seo put a cup of cold water in front of him as Ji-an gulped the soup and blew on the heated radish.

The meal was so delicious that Ji-an forgot about the drama that was unfolding and that Jeong Hee-seo was sitting right in front of him. As he raised his head while drinking water, he realized that Hee-seo was looking at him with his chin resting on his hand. The plate in front of Jeong Hee-seo was clean and rice was still untouched.

“Aren’t you eating?”

“I find it amusing to watch you eat. I thought I’d watch and eat.”

“… It’s uncomfortable. Just eat.”

Jeong Hee-seo laughed at the grumpy answer. He raised his hands as if he was surrendering.

“Okay. I won’t watch, so eat quickly.”

Relieved, Ji-an went to lift another spoonful of rice to his mouth. But as he looked up, he found Hee-seo in his line of sight. Jeong Hee-seo turned his head when Ji-an just rolled his eyes and glared at him while holding a spoon.

“…”

“…”

“Didn’t look, I really won’t watch, so eat.”

Though he had a face trying hard to suppress laughter, it was probably due to his mood. While Ji-an continued to eat, he kept glancing to see if Hee-seo was still watching him or not. As a result, Ji-an ended up being the one sneaking glances.

Contrary to his somewhat grumpy appearance, Hee-seo ate well. Despite looking like someone who might be seen in a tuxedo in a restaurant where classical music played, delicately savoring a rare steak with red juices flowing every centimeter, he was now spooning white rice vigorously and frequently sipping the soup.

Unlike Woo-seok, he didn’t get a single drop of soup splattered on his white shirt. The fact that not a single chewing sound could be heard was also fascinating. Ji-an found his attention drawn to the color of his lips as they moved, and the tip of the red tongue that was slightly visible.

Ji-an was absentmindedly licking his lips when Jeong Hee-seo scooped up a large piece of fish meat from the soup pot and gave it to Ji-an.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes, very.”

“The food here is clean. They use only good ingredients. Try this too.”

Jeong Hee-seo said while pushing the bowl of beef pancakes on one side towards Ji-an. He didn’t even look at him. Ji-an, who felt strange for some reason, couldn’t answer and just hesitated and glanced while holding his chopsticks.

“I told you I won’t look. Why aren’t you eating and keep hesitating?”

Startled, Ji-an was caught.

“Uh, well, it’s just that… I saw the Japchae (Korean noodle dish) in front of Hyung-nim, and I wanted to eat it.”

“…”

Seeing Jeong Hee-seo raise an eyebrow, it seemed that even the term ‘Hyung-nim’ didn’t sit well with him. He didn’t like being called ‘you’. He didn’t like being called General Manager either. But calling him ‘Mr. Hee-seo’ was not an option. Hee-seo hyung was too gross.

Ji-an ignored Jeong Hee-seo’s gaze and slyly accepted the plate of japchae he handed him.

There were already more empty dishes on the table as he glanced and ate absentmindedly for a while. Ji-an ate as much as he could because he didn’t know when the morning sickness would return, but he had reached his limit. Ji-an found it difficult to even sit upright, so he leaned against the back of the chair.

Jeong Hee-seo wiped his lips with a napkin and finished with tea after finishing his meal. Ji-an, who had been eating quietly, unaware that he had finished two bowls of rice or more, tidied up the slightly messy area in front of him discreetly.

“You can’t go home, you don’t have any money. What you need is a quiet place to stay for the time being, away from grandma’s eyes, and some financial support.”

After finishing the meal, Jeong Hee-seo went straight to the main point. Ji-an noted in his mind that Hee-seo really dislikes beating around the bush.

“Yes… If you happen to have any unused real estate… just until my grandmother calms down a bit. I can really use it quietly, like a new home. Without leaving a trace.”

Ji-an was so shameless as he spoke that he couldn’t make eye contact properly. He had grown up without even asking a classmate for an eraser back in elementary school, let alone requesting to borrow real estate for free. And asking for financial support was another matter entirely.

Jeong Hee-seo thought for a moment and shook his head.

“You can’t live alone. Live with me.”

“I can’t be so audacious as to live in your family’s main house. It’s impossible for me to fit in there with all your family members.”

“I have no intention of taking you there either. I haven’t even imagined putting you into my family.”

“Right. That’s what I’m saying.”

Ji-an almost trembled as he imagined himself standing in the gap of Hee-seo’s family. He was on the verge of committing a major indiscretion in front of a potential sponsor.

The conclusion of Ji-an’s thoughts while eating was… If he could delay the flow toward marriage as much as possible, ideally, as much as possible, then wouldn’t it be possible to safely give birth to the baby? It would be perfect if the episode about marriage came out after the episode of having a baby. Oh, am I not a genius?

So, entering the main house was absolutely out of the question. Given Madam Myeong Hyun-sook’s driving force in bringing JM to a global scale, she was also the most dangerous figure number one who should be avoided. The moment she noticed him, she might have Ji-an standing in front of the wedding hall, wearing a wedding suit…

Ahemm, Hee-seo’s throat clearing brought Ji-an’s attention back.

“It will take some time to prepare a place, so let’s go to a hotel today.”

“…A hotel.”

“Together.”

Together? Even though he didn’t ask… Wasn’t that too decisive?

“You need my pheromones.”

Jeong Hee-seo continued as he looked at Ji-an’s complicated expression.

“Watching you eat with your face buried in the bowl, I thought I had picked up a puppy that was starving to death. You’re eating properly thanks to my pheromone, right? How many days has it been? You didn’t eat properly.”

“One… one week?”

Jeong Hee-seo clicked his tongue as he watched Ji-an counting on his fingers.

“I’m responsible for 50% of the cause, and I don’t want to deal with the rest. Really. I just hate it, that kind of thing.”

If you want to compose a sonata of conflict, you could simply extract what’s resonating in Ji-an’s mind right now. The more time Ji-an spends with Hee-seo, the faster the path to marriage seems to be…

What to do. The food is just too delicious. How did it become so delicious when Jeong Hee-seo’s pheromones weren’t even MSG?

“But… Why do you dislike me so much?”

Jeong Hee-seo asked with a truly puzzled expression.