PIA 84

It was a busy Saturday morning at the top of the hill.

From dawn until the afternoon, a line of trucks continuously arrived. After the truck that delivered a mattress said to be used by some royal family, the last visitor was a rather pretty truck painted green and yellow.

The back doors adorned with a furniture brand’s logo opened, and cute pieces of furniture were unloaded one by one by the installation technicians.

‘It looks expensive. It seems to have arrived too quickly to be custom-made…’

Ji-an, after admiring a swing decorated with intricately carved wooden birds, followed the technicians back into the house. The furniture had arrived not long after he had handed over the task of decorating the baby’s room to Jeong Hee-seo. But seeing the scale of it, he wasn’t sure if he had made the right decision.

The heavy feeling in his chest that he had felt when first coming to this house had somehow lightened considerably. After about ten days, perhaps he had fallen into a routine… They say humans are creatures of adaptation.

Maybe he had an unexpectedly brazen side to him, or perhaps he was running away from the heart of the problem. Whether due to the intense pheromones or not, Ji-an was becoming somewhat desensitized.

Jeong Hee-seo stood quietly on the landing, watching the furniture being carried into the room. Ji-an approached and stood beside him, fidgeting.

“Hyung-nim. How much did you buy?”

“Just the basics.”

“It doesn’t seem like it…”

Ji-an whispered, watching the workers climbing the stairs like a line of ants, carrying the furniture. Compared to the slightly anxious Ji-an, Jeong Hee-seo had a perfectly composed expression as he looked down at him.

After some time, a technician came out of the room and called them in.

“Would you like to check the placement inside?”

The two followed the kindly-looking installation technician towards the baby’s room. The warmest room with the best lighting, furthest from the stairs and deepest in the house, between the bedroom and the study, was the space for the baby.

“We’ve placed everything as requested, and we’d like you to confirm before final fixation.”

Ji-an’s round eyes scanned the furniture one by one. Though he hadn’t wanted to keep anything, it was all undeniably pretty. The wardrobe with natural motifs carved into the wood, the baby swing, bed, and chair all harmonized perfectly.

Jeong Hee-seo seemed to share Ji-an’s impression, silently stroking the furniture with his hand.

Under his large hand, the baby’s furniture looked just like toys. From a distance, he looked like an emperor who had fallen into a land of tiny people. Finding it amusing, Ji-an broke into a bright smile. Jeong Hee-seo gazed at him intently.

“…It’s pretty.”

Standing in front of the baby’s bed, a sudden surge of emotion welled up in his chest.

The small bed with railings made of high-quality carved wood on all four sides was a cradle, but it also looked like a lonely sailboat on a vast ocean. He kept imagining the child who would lie here and grow up without him.

Already feeling emotional due to the pregnancy, his body urged tears even more. He tried to focus on more detached thoughts. Feeling like he might start crying at any moment, Ji-an bit his lip hard.

“It’s like a prison. A beautiful prison. It even looks like a birdcage.”

Ji-an made a random comment to hold back his tears, and the furniture installer let out a dry laugh.

“That’s a unique way to put it. But I suppose it’s a safe prison. Are you satisfied with the arrangement?”

“Yes, well, it’s all fine with me. It looks well done.”

As Ji-an blinked to clear the moisture from his eyes, he felt a warm gaze and turned to see Jeong Hee-seo looking down at him. For a moment, he felt overwhelmed and couldn’t speak. Then, Jeong Hee-seo slowly parted his attractive lips.

“I like you.”

The tears retreated immediately. Ji-an stared at him, momentarily frozen.

“…”

He was simply gazing at Ji-an quietly. His eyes, seeming brighter than usual in the sunlight, were fixed calmly on him. Neither broadly smiling nor expressionless, his face bore a gentle look as he stood before Ji-an.

Did he hear wrong?

It was the technician’s cough that woke Ji-an from his daze. His ears burned as if they were out of control. Ji-an quickly turned his head away.

“Just, uh, finish up as it is.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

It was unclear whether the technician’s awkward expression was due to his flushed face or Jeong Hee-seo’s words. Ji-an stretched his lips to the side and sidled away from Jeong Hee-seo like a crab. It certainly didn’t seem like he had misheard. As Ji-an subtly shifted his position, Jeong Hee-seo followed and spoke again, this time in a slightly louder and clearer voice.

“I like you, Ji-an.”

Just then, the sound of the electric drill abruptly stopped. It was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, cutting through all the tool noises. Ji-an stammered with a very flustered expression.

“H-hyung-nim…? What are you doing…?”

He was outright smiling now.

“Should I say it again?”

“Pardon?”

Ji-an’s eyes wavered as if in an earthquake.

“I like…”

Jeong Hee-seo couldn’t finish his sentence. Ji-an had stood on tiptoes and covered his mouth with his hand.

“Shh, shh, please be quiet. Everyone’s working.”

Jeong Hee-seo obediently closed his mouth, still smiling. While it was true that he had impulsively expressed his feelings for Ji-an, he had absolutely no intention of embarrassing him. Instead, he just pulled up the corners of his mouth even more.

Ji-an had succeeded in stopping his voice, but he couldn’t block the feeling of his smile against his palm.

“…”

Their gazes collided. Neither Jeong Hee-seo with his mouth covered, nor Ji-an with his twitching lips, spoke a word, but countless messages were exchanged through their eyes.

“We’ll secure the dresser to the wall for safety.”

With the worker’s nonchalant voice, the room soon filled with the sounds of drills and hammers.

After an hour-long installation and thorough cleaning with the technicians’ busy help, the baby’s room was completely set up. The two-week moving process, long in some ways and short in others, had come to an end.

The house was already filled with the scent of the two of them, thanks to the belongings they’d gradually brought in and the things they’d bought to fill in what was missing.

Jeong Hee-seo surveyed the quiet living room, now empty of visitors, with a pleased expression. Even Ji-an’s footsteps seemed like sunlight filling the house – he was seriously smitten.

“They say you should eat jajangmyeon on moving day.”

“You care about such things too, hyung-nim?”

Ji-an, who had been picking up scattered trash, perked up at the mention of jajangmyeon.

“I might not, but I thought you would. So, shall we eat jajangmyeon?”

“And tangsuyuk too. Oh, but I also want malatang. Should we have both?”

“Whatever you want.”

“Shall I show you how to find good delivery places in an unfamiliar neighborhood?”

Ji-an took out his phone, opened a delivery app, and chattered excitedly with sparkling eyes. Hee leaned his body against Jeong Hee-seo’s side and pushed the app screen right in front of his nose.

To be honest, Jeong Hee-seo wasn’t listening to a word. He was too absorbed in running his fingers through his young Omega’s shiny hair and staring at his lips.

Then Ji-an, who had been chattering excitedly, suddenly looked as if he’d realized something and dropped his shoulders, saying, “But we can’t get delivery here.” His good mood quickly evaporated, and a cloud of gloom settled over his face.

At this, Jeong Hee-seo rose resolutely. It was his fault for buying such a house. As Ji-an, who had been leaning on him, tilted precariously and gave him a puzzled look, Jeong Hee-seo spoke in a determined voice.

“I’ll go buy it. Send me the store address and menu by message.”

“Huh? Let’s just go together.”

“It’s hot outside. And you need to eat in the newly moved house for it to become a memory. Lay out the newspaper in the living room and wait.”

Before Ji-an could stop him, Jeong Hee-seo grabbed his car keys and headed towards the entrance. Ji-an was left sitting dazed on the sofa, staring at the empty entryway. Jeong Hee-seo had a tendency to be unstoppable when he was committed to a concept.

Where did he even get the idea to eat on newspaper?

A tickling sensation rose in Ji-an’s chest. For some reason, he was at a loss for words. As he sent the restaurant address via message, he considered adding something but then decided against it.

…It felt like he might accidentally confess that he liked him too.

“Where was that newspaper…”

Since he was doing all this for Ji-an, it seemed only right to play along. And honestly, Ji-an felt a bit excited too. His face flushed as he found the newspapers in the utility room and laid them out in the living room.

Just as Ji-an had finished all the preparations and was sitting quietly, the doorbell sound came from the living room wall pad. Since it was coming from the large gate outside the garden, Ji-an got up with a puzzled expression.

There shouldn’t be anyone coming.

Since the driveway gate could be opened from the inside with the same key when leaving, it couldn’t be Jeong Hee-seo. And it wasn’t a workday for the staff either.

Ji-an approached the wall pad and turned on the security camera. On the screen, he saw a tall, slender woman standing outside. Behind her was a low-bodied sports car. The high-end car indicated that its owner was no ordinary person.

“…”

As she took off her sunglasses and looked directly into the lens, Ji-an recognized who she was. His mouth went dry in an instant. Just as he debated whether to call Jeong Hee-seo, he glanced at his phone lying on the sofa.

The doorbell rang loudly again.

Ji-an pressed the intercom button and carefully spoke.

“…Who is it?”

The woman outside the screen seemed startled by Ji-an’s voice. After a moment of contemplation, she looked straight into the lens and smiled brightly.

“Hello. I’m Hee-seo’s older sister.”

She was as quick-witted as Jeong Hee-seo. She seemed to have grasped the situation just from hearing Ji-an’s voice.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you open the door? It’s so hot out here… Oh my, we need to plant more trees outside.”

Her pretty eye-smile was identical to Jeong Hee-seo’s.