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Join the Server“How much farther do we have to go….”
It was just as he was about to ask how much farther they had to go.
About five minutes after the car started moving, Eun-gyeol suddenly pressed the brake gently and slowed down.
The car came to a smooth stop in a quiet residential neighborhood.
Han-geon’s eyes widened.
This was a place he had often passed by and admired.
“…What?
This place… whose house is this?”
As if arriving in front of an unfamiliar house wasn’t surprising enough, Eun-gyeol even drove into the garage beside it and parked the car.
Then he lifted Eun-han, who had started yawning repeatedly from sleepiness, straight out of the car.
Han-geon, still bewildered, got out as well, following Eun-gyeol almost absentmindedly.
Han-geon’s eyes, filled with questions, slowly swept over the house.
The large two-story home was impeccably clean and elegant.
Inside the yard was a neatly trimmed lawn, and in one corner, he could see a grill for barbecues.
The lights inside the house were brightly on.
Was someone inside?
He had never heard that anyone they knew lived this close.
Just as he was about to ask again whose house this was, Eun-gyeol opened his mouth with a gentle expression.
“Han-geon.”
“…Huh?”
“You promised me earlier, remember?”
At the sudden, cryptic remark, Han-geon blinked rapidly.
“Promised… what?”
“I said I hoped you’d just happily accept my gift, and you said you would.”
“I did….”
It took him a few seconds to fully process those words.
Han-geon stared blankly at Eun-gyeol’s face, and then his eyes slowly widened.
His expression gradually filled with shock.
It was inevitable.
To begin with, calling this a “gift” was just too—
“Hey, Cha Eun-gyeol….”
“Han-geon.
You’ll accept it… without getting mad, right?”
Eun-gyeol smiled shyly.
A pretty dimple formed at the corner of his smiling mouth.
At the same time, he looked a little anxious as he gauged Han-geon’s reaction.
Han-geon, still looking stunned, slowly opened his mouth.
“Why would I get mad.
It’s just that… I’m a little… overwhelmed.”
“We need our own space too.
Not my place or my parents’ place, but a home just for the three of us.”
“So… this house… you… bought it?”
Han-geon’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
This quiet neighborhood, lined with beautiful and upscale houses, was a place he had passed through several times while idly thinking it would be nice to raise a child somewhere like this.
But the housing prices were so high that he had never even seriously considered it.
Come to think of it, Eun-gyeol had once asked him casually while sitting in the driver’s seat whether he would prefer a place like this over an apartment.
And Han-geon had absentmindedly nodded and replied, “Yeah, it’s nice.
The baby could run around freely.”
“I was going to buy houses next door for my parents too, but… they firmly refused.
They said they want to live in the place they’ve always lived for the rest of their lives.
It’s close enough anyway.”
“…Yeah.”
“Do you… not like it?”
“No, it’s not that at all.
It’s just… it’s so sudden.”
Han-geon finally managed to squeeze out those words after standing there with his mouth hanging open.
He was honestly overwhelmed.
He had received a gift he never expected, and its scale far exceeded anything he could have imagined.
That didn’t mean he disliked it.
Both of their family homes were nearby, the daycare was close, it was a quiet and private residential area, and it even had a wide lawn and yard.
Although Eun-gyeol was watching his reaction anxiously because he had unilaterally decided on a place to live, there was, objectively speaking, no reason for Han-geon to be angry.
Instead, the dazed feeling quickly transformed into deep emotion.
How had Eun-gyeol read his heart so carefully, down to this extent?
The heart that could never fully relax anywhere and always kept a step of distance.
The heart that blamed itself for being ungrateful for what it had been given.
“So I prepared it secretly.
It might seem a bit childish, but I wanted to surprise you and make you happy….”
Despite all the clear evidence of how much thought and care he had put into understanding Han-geon’s heart, Eun-gyeol was still busy watching his expression.
“I checked all kinds of conditions, and you always seemed to like this area whenever we passed by.”
“…..”
“Of course, I know I need to fully consider your opinion too.
If you don’t like it, just tell me honestly.
I’ll look for another place right away.
So….”
No matter how much he added, Han-geon’s stiff expression didn’t relax, and perhaps thinking it was because he was angry, Eun-gyeol started to look restless and flustered.
Watching him, something slowly welled up inside Han-geon.
He didn’t know how to express what he was feeling right now.
This was the first time he had ever felt this way.
Struggling to contain the surging emotions while still forcing himself to stay calm, Han-geon quietly reached out and wrapped an arm around Eun-gyeol’s shoulder as he held the child.
“…No.
I’m not mad.
Let’s just go inside quickly.
I want to look around the house.”
“Mm.”
At Han-geon’s faint smile as he gestured toward the house, the tension coloring Eun-gyeol’s face quickly melted away as well.
The three of them slowly opened the front door and stepped inside.
“…..Wow.”
Han-geon couldn’t help but stop in the entryway.
Only a short exclamation escaped his lips.
It was completely different from the penthouse Eun-gyeol currently lived in.
That place was so meticulously clean and modern that it almost felt devoid of human warmth, to the point where one might doubt that Eun-gyeol himself had decorated it.
The moment he stepped into this house, designed with warm wood and white tones, the first impression that hit him was that it felt cozy.
The interior was neat and stylish, yet homey and comfortable.
Anyone could tell at a glance that it was a house meant for two parents and a baby.
Soft mats spread generously across the floor to keep a child from getting hurt.
A cute baby room glimpsed through a slightly open door.
Furniture with all the corners rounded.
A living room and kitchen that radiated the unmistakable scent of family even from afar.
Han-geon took a deep breath.
He finally understood the name of the emotion that had overwhelmed him so violently just moments ago.
The heat rising in his throat was excitement.
It was gratitude and emotion for the brilliant beginning of ‘his family,’ for taking a true step forward as a real family at last.
“Cha Eun-gyeol….”
His voice trembled thinly as he called Eun-gyeol’s name.
He was still confused about where to begin or how to put it into words, but he desperately wanted Eun-gyeol to know this overwhelming joy he was feeling.
He wanted to say thank you.
Just then, Eun-han squirmed in Eun-gyeol’s arms and let out a whiny sound.
They had said he hadn’t napped much at daycare today, and it seemed he was already sleepy.
“Oh, Eun-han, are you sleepy?
Shall we sleep with Daddy now?”
“Huaah, aaah, huaaang….”
“Okay, okay.
But even if you’re sleepy, you have to wash up first.”
Eun-gyeol soothed the child with practiced ease and headed into the child’s room.
Han-geon followed him, his heart pounding.
It was the first space he got to see inside this house.
The moment he saw the room decorated with colorful car-themed wallpaper, a smile spread across his face.
A car-shaped crib, countless toys, thick mats, and a full set of children’s books neatly lined up.
Even Eun-han, who had been fussing, stopped whining and stared around wide-eyed at the beautifully decorated room.
Watching Eun-gyeol open the child’s wardrobe and take out freshly washed pajamas, baby lotion, and diapers, Han-geon felt another wave of awe.
When had he prepared all of this so meticulously?
“I’ll wash Eun-han, so take your time looking around the house.”
Eun-gyeol said with a bright smile as he headed toward the bathroom.
Han-geon nodded slowly in response.
He headed first toward the kitchen, the closest space in sight.
Surrounded by a kitchen fully stocked with appliances and household items, Han-geon opened the refrigerator with a pounding heart.
Inside were various fruits and vegetables, and several familiar-looking containers of side dishes.
They were his mother’s homemade dishes.
The moment he saw them, a smile naturally spread across his face.
To surprise him, everyone, including Eun-gyeol, had prepared this together.
How could anyone be this happy?
The gratitude that poured into his chest all at once overflowed until it felt almost painful.
He didn’t know why, but suddenly memories from around this time a year ago came back to him.
It was the time just before giving birth, when he was packing up the goshiwon and agonizing over where he should go to have the baby.
That winter had been exceptionally cold.
Even after the winter that froze both body and heart passed and spring arrived with blooming flowers, his frozen heart hadn’t thawed.
Clutching his aching heart, Han-geon endured a cold spring.
Looking back, the period when he ran away while pregnant had been nothing but winter for him.
Going back and forth between a goshiwon where he could barely lie down, going alone to obstetric appointments, and raising the child by himself.
More painful than the horrific imprinting pain that came rushing in every night was the loneliness that frequently clawed at his heart.
The desolation and helplessness of knowing that it was just him and Podo in the world.
Even so, Han-geon had forced himself to act as if he was fine and pulled himself together.
He told himself he didn’t even have the luxury to feel lonely.
There were days when he couldn’t even dare to admit that he was struggling because of the responsibility he felt toward his child.
He constantly whipped himself forward, believing that he had to be strong, that only then could he properly raise Podo alone in a harsh world.
But now…
“Eun-han, look at this.
The bubbles are all foamy.
Should we make goblin horns with the bubbles?”
From the bathroom came Eun-gyeol’s gentle voice as he chatted with the child.
Eun-han’s giggling and clapping echoed along with it.
Those sounds tapped gently and lovingly against Han-geon’s heart, soothing the version of himself from a year ago who had clutched his frozen heart and cried silently alone.
Now, they had a warm home of their own like this.
And no longer alone, he had the most precious family in the world.
Parents who never withheld love and support.
A child so precious it hurt to even think about him.
And a steadfast partner who tried to place all the beautiful and desirable things in the world into his hands and took joy in doing so.
The emotions swelling endlessly finally burned all the way up his throat.
Han-geon closed his eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath in and slowly let it out.
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