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Go Ha-jin understood immediately what Chae Woo-seok was referring to. He meant the question Chae Jun-seok had raised, why Ha-jin had claimed that Woo-seok knew nothing about the pregnancy.
“There was no reason for both of us to take the risk. You really didn’t know, and even if something went wrong… I could just take all the blame myself. Why drag both of us into danger?”
Lately, Go Ha-jin had started thinking that he could read Chae Woo-seok a little. The more time they spent together, the more he could vaguely recognize the emotions that appeared on Woo-seok’s face. Not perfectly, but well enough.
Yet the expression on Woo-seok’s face now was impossible to decipher.
It felt heavy. Suffocating. Simply meeting his eyes made it feel as though an enormous boulder had been placed on Ha-jin’s chest. Those eyes, deep as an abyss, seemed capable of seeing straight through every word coming out of his mouth.
“Did it never occur to you that if you’d at least given me a hint, we might have come up with a better plan?”
“I just…”
He was right.
If Ha-jin had told Woo-seok beforehand and explained the situation, that sharp mind of his might have devised something far better. And if Woo-seok had openly admitted in front of everyone that he already knew, then the two of them would have become accomplices.
Even if things fell apart later, Ha-jin wouldn’t have had to shoulder all the blame alone.
If the truth came out, ‘Your son knew I wasn’t the heir to a real estate empire, and the fake pregnancy was something we planned together’, who would still blame Go Ha-jin alone? Chae Woo-seok would end up bearing even greater responsibility.
“I just… felt like I couldn’t do that.”
But he couldn’t explain why.
The instant Chae Jun-seok’s attention shifted toward Woo-seok, Ha-jin had moved on instinct. It hadn’t been calculation or rational judgment.
“I just… I just couldn’t.”
Even through Woo-seok’s prolonged silence, that was all Ha-jin could say.
Normally he would have babbled endlessly to lighten Woo-seok’s stern expression.
Not this time.
Watching him, Chae Woo-seok felt turmoil churning inside him. It resembled anger, or perhaps irritation—a tangled mass of emotions too difficult to define. Whatever it was simmered deep within him.
One thing was certain.
The negativity wasn’t directed at Go Ha-jin.
It was directed at the situation.
Unable to identify it himself, he said nothing more. Instead, he acted on impulse.
“Wh- mmph!”
Woo-seok pulled Ha-jin against him by the waist and pressed his lips onto the slightly parted mouth before him. Cradling the stiffening back of the startled man, he slowly slipped his tongue inside.
Unlike his usual bold personality, Ha-jin’s tongue hesitated before timidly brushing against Woo-seok’s.
That tiny, clumsy gesture seemed to convey countless unspoken things.
As though comforting him after an exhausting day.
As though saying that everything was over now, that he would carry all the hardship alone.
‘That ridiculous fool… Who does he think he is, trying to shoulder everything himself?’
Only then did Woo-seok finally understand the emotion raging inside him.
It was guilt.
Remorse.
Guilt toward the man who had been forced to face everything alone.
Anger at himself for standing one step behind, watching Ha-jin struggle through danger like an idiot.
He tightened his embrace around Ha-jin’s back.
It was a night filled with uneasy relief.
****
“So, Dr. Kim?”
Apparently the situation was serious enough that even Chae Il-joo, who rarely bothered to leave his seat of authority, had accompanied them to the hospital.
Go Ha-jin’s face flushed bright red with embarrassment.
This wasn’t acting.
It was genuine.
Lying on the examination bed with his abdomen exposed while so many people surrounded him was mortifying.
Chae Il-joo, Lee Ah-seong, Chae Jae-yi, Chae Jun-seok and Tae Seol were all present, along with bodyguards, doctors in white coats, and even the hospital director.
“Do you really have to make such a fuss? Just run the test already.”
Standing beside him, Chae Woo-seok quietly reached over and took Ha-jin’s hand.
His actions were far gentler than his grumbling voice suggested.
“…We have to be certain. They’re saying he’s pregnant.”
With so many people listening, even Lee Ah-seong refrained from making snide remarks and merely urged Kim Oh-hyeon to announce the results.
Because the patient belonged to the influential SHS family, the hospital had mobilized extraordinary resources. To outside observers, it looked as though the entire Chae family treasured their omega son-in-law enough to appear in force.
“That’s…”
The moment Kim Oh-hyeon opened his mouth, everyone’s attention fixed on him.
“Ahem…”
Pretending to clear his throat, Go Ha-jin subtly shot him a meaningful glance.
Their eyes met.
Then Ha-jin deliberately flicked his gaze toward a certain man standing farther away.
‘Your beta boyfriend’s over there. You know what happens if you say the wrong thing.’
Kim Oh-hyeon sighed.
“…This here is the fetus. It’s still extremely early in the pregnancy, so it may be difficult to see, but he’ll have to be extraordinarily careful. Above all, you must minimize stress.”
Ha-jin had expected exactly those words.
Still, only after hearing them did he finally relax.
Everything had already been arranged in advance.
Kim Oh-hyeon had protested fiercely, insisting he could never do such a thing, until Chae Woo-seok stepped in with threats far cruder and more intimidating than anything Ha-jin had attempted.
“Our Dr. Oh-hyeon really is talented. You can actually see something that tiny? I can’t make heads or tails of it.”
Woo-seok casually patted the doctor’s shoulder.
Kim Oh-hyeon privately wished he could resign from medicine that instant.
At first he had assumed Woo-seok was simply another victim fooled by the swindler Go Ha-jin.
Now he realized the pair were exactly alike.
No, in comparison, Ha-jin almost seemed adorable.
The ultrasound image had already been swapped out, and if the deception were discovered, his medical career would likely be over.
Yet somehow…
He found the entire affair fascinating.
He had no idea what they were planning, but he wanted to know how it would end.
Of course, curiosity wasn’t the only reason he cooperated.
Ha-jin’s blackmail had started it, but Kim Oh-hyeon had never enjoyed serving the Chae family generation after generation. Lee Ah-seong, Chae Il-joo, and Chae Jae-yi accounted for most of his stress.
Deep down, he didn’t entirely mind helping someone strike back at them.
Like cheering for an underdog protagonist facing an impossibly powerful enemy in a movie.
Not that Go Ha-jin could truly be called weak.
“So… you’re saying the pregnancy is real?”
The first to speak was Chae Jae-yi.
“Yes. If you look here, this is the fetus. I’d guess the conception happened almost immediately after the wedding…”
Kim Oh-hyeon pointed at something on the monitor, though to ordinary eyes it was impossible to distinguish. Everyone simply accepted his professional opinion.
“That’s impossible… How could… at this stage…”
“Chae Jae-yi! Watch your mouth!”
The Chae family seemed to have reached their conclusion.
As Chae Jae-yi sputtered in disbelief, Chae Il-joo sternly silenced him before approaching Ha-jin.
“Our dear son-in-law has suffered enough. Let’s head home.”
“…Yes, Chairman.”
With a warm smile and gentle voice, Chae Il-joo patted Ha-jin’s head.
What he truly thought remained unknown, but outwardly they resembled a harmonious family.
Perhaps that image itself was the point.
The real war would begin now.
“Come on, hyung.”
The rest of the family departed first.
As Go Ha-jin finished preparing to leave with Chae Woo-seok and reached the hospital exit.
“Excuse me.”
A crooked, casual voice stopped him.
It was Kim Oh-hyeon.
Feeling guilty before the doctor had even spoken, Ha-jin apologized first.
“…I’m sorry. I never meant to drag you into this. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”
He truly hadn’t intended to cause trouble.
And he genuinely meant to keep further complications away from the doctor.
“Who said anything about that?”
“…Huh?”
“I have no idea what you’re trying to accomplish, but give it your best shot. We’re something like friends by now, so I guess I can cheer you on. Next time, though, try asking for help instead of threatening me.”
Apparently Kim Oh-hyeon wasn’t used to this sort of heartfelt conversation.
Awkwardly finishing his piece, he lightly patted Ha-jin’s shoulder before walking away.
Woo-seok immediately frowned.
“That bastard just put his hands on you…”
“Come on! He helped us. We’ll need him again.”
“Well, if he wants to stay alive, he’d better keep helping.”
For some reason, Chae Woo-seok seemed to become more childish every day.
****
“Get divorced.”
“…Excuse me?”
The moment they sat down after returning home, the unexpected words made Go Ha-jin wonder if he had misheard.
“I don’t mean immediately. Have the baby first, then quietly leave this house. As if you never existed.”
Lee Ah-seong’s icy tone left no room for negotiation.
Chae Il-joo’s silence only reinforced his agreement.
As Ha-jin bit the inside of his cheek and searched desperately for a response, he suddenly felt warmth envelop his hand resting beside him.
Startled, he looked toward its source.
“I refuse.”
It was Chae Woo-seok.
“I’m not getting divorced.”
His voice carried its usual stubborn defiance.
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