Chapter 44: Wedgwood and Whispers

Surely he hadn’t told them straight out that they didn’t need to meet at the hospital anymore because they had agreed to have regular s*x until pregnancy.

Chaewoo considered pressing further but decided against it.

Knowing Euigeon’s personality, it wasn’t as if badgering him would make him talk anyway.

“I bought a test and tried it, but it says I’m n-not pregnant yet.”

Wondering if Euigeon might be curious about this news, Chaewoo carefully brought it up.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

“There’s no rush, is there? The hospital tests showed nothing is wrong with either of us.”

The reply that came back was indifferent.

“That’s true, but…”

He had felt this for a while, but Euigeon seemed to have no interest in the Reset Partner arrangement itself, even though it was ultimately his own business no matter how much his family pushed it.

“Can I ask you something?”

Euigeon rested his chin in his hand and turned fully toward Chaewoo.

“Go ahead.”

“Why do you want to have a child already? You’re only twenty-four.”

As if contemplating the answer, Euigeon chose his words for a moment.

“That was pushed by my parents. Ah.”

He stared at Chaewoo, then walked toward the kitchen as if something had just occurred to him.

“I haven’t even given my guest a drink yet. I forgot because this is our first time sitting together with both of us dressed.”

He had been here for so long, and only now did he think of it… Chaewoo let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

“Would you like something to drink? I have almost every kind of tea. Or just fruit juice.”

“Hmm.”

Hearing him say that made him feel suddenly thirsty.

Chaewoo walked over to the kitchen himself.

“What kinds of tea do you have?”

“I have almost everything from Wedgwood.”

Euigeon filled the kettle with water and heated it.

And he opened the kitchen cupboard where the tea bags were organized to show him.

Various teas good for the throat, regular teas, and nutritional supplements in sticks were neatly arranged there.

Due to his mother’s influence, Chaewoo had also lived on teas good for the throat since childhood, so he knew quite a few varieties.

“You take surprisingly good care of your throat.”

“Well, my parents sent them. I take them when needed, or serve them when guests visit.”

Considering how many times he had been here, serving him a drink only now was a bit much.

“I’ll have Darjeeling.”

Looking at the neatly arranged tea collection, Chaewoo chose the one he used to drink often.

“Go sit down. I’ll make it and bring it to you.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll discard the first steep. Ah, I also have some chocolates that arrived last week; would you like some? They’re from near Market Square in Belgium.”

“Oh. The ones from that shop are incredibly delicious. Do you still have to wait in line to buy them there?”

“Probably. I haven’t been there in a long time either, so I don’t know for sure.”

This place was a goldmine for desserts.

To think he hadn’t known this until now.

Chaewoo felt slightly pathetic recalling the past days when he had to leave after rolling around on the sofa like a beast.

There was a brief lull in the conversation as they drank the tea Euigeon had brewed.

Thanks to the music flowing from the speakers, the atmosphere became much more comfortable.

Combined with the Belgian chocolate, which he had last eaten during his trip to Europe in the summer of his sophomore year, it was truly fantastic.

“It seems you only eat snacks instead of proper meals, Senior Seol.”

Euigeon also made a cup of tea for himself and sat down next to Chaewoo.

“That’s not true.”

“For someone who says otherwise, you’ve already eaten four chocolates.”

“…They’re delicious since it’s been a while.”

“Where were we? You asked why we wanted to have a child already, right?”

“Ah, right.”

He had forgotten what he asked because of the tea and chocolates.

Chaewoo scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“I don’t care about carrying on the family line, but I’ve heard that children have always been rare on my father’s side. The hospital says there’s no problem, but once they pass their late twenties, they just can’t seem to conceive for no reason. That’s why most of my paternal family marries early.”

He already knew from his uncle that Euigeon’s family wanted musically talented genes, but only now did he get a clue as to why they were trying to have a child so early, even resorting to a Reset Partner.

“Is it okay to tell me this kind of stuff?”

Chaewoo felt burdened, feeling as though he had learned too great a secret.

“You asked first.”

“Well… that’s true, but…”

Come to think of it, he had heard somewhere that Euigeon’s father met and married his mother, who was three years older, at the age of twenty-two.

In the music world, where studying abroad was common, marrying in such a haste was rare, so he had only thought of it as unusual.

His parents had a reason for marrying exceptionally early, after all.

“On top of that, since my great-grandfather’s time, our family has worked in music, so the family atmosphere is particularly sensitive about that too.”

Chaewoo nodded slowly.

Euigeon was completely dry, as if he were describing strangers, even though he was talking about his own family.

“Both my paternal and maternal sides are people who take it for granted that if we are to have children, we should have them during the best time and under the best conditions. Sometimes, it makes me wonder if I’m a stud.”

Although Chaewoo, who came from a Beta family, had never suffered from the pressure to ‘leave superior genes,’ he had heard plenty about dominant Alpha and dominant Omega families being obsessed with traits.

Recessive types easily lost self-control during ruts and heat cycles, and were deficient in controlling their pheromones in daily life.

Consequently, related incidents occurred consistently, and in cases of extremely low pheromone levels, they could become vulnerable to various diseases.

Although many problems had been solved due to the advancement of medicine, social assessment of recessive types was still filled with prejudice.

He had heard that was why dominant families were even more obsessed with traits.

In addition, since children were rare in Euigeon’s family, they had plenty of reason to be impatient.

“A bit old-fashioned, isn’t it?”

Euigeon shrugged.

“I guess everyone is like that. My parents were also on the old-fashioned side. Hiding that I’m an Omega was actually my parents’ wish too.”

“I think that was a good choice.”

“Ah. But what was that officetel last time? It didn’t look like your family’s house, so why do you live on your own here again separately?”

“That room was obtained by my parents… but there are too many eyes watching at my family’s house and the officetel.”

“Surveillance, you could say. School life, practice, grades, stuff like that. Since they’re abroad, they hear about me through others.”

“Ah.”

He naturally thought of Park Myeong-seon, who was said to manage the family’s personal affairs.

And also the various trophies placed without a single speck of dust in the display cabinet inside.

In contrast, this studio apartment had no fancy display cabinets, nor any music-related awards or trophies.

Except for the excessively high-performance speakers, it looked like an ordinary college student’s studio.

Though now, a giant bed occupying the living room had been added to it.

“I can’t rest when I’m over there.”

“So that’s why you got a separate room.”

Expectation sometimes suffocated a person.

Chaewoo also sympathized to some extent.

Although he was grateful for their unsparing support, he had secretly found his parents’ unconditional investment and expectations burdensome.

Of course, that was an old matter that didn’t apply now.

“Why didn’t I think of that? Even though it took over an hour from my house to school, I never thought of living on my own. Not now, but when I was a freshman.”

Of course, knowing that commuting by public transportation was inconvenient, his father had immediately bought him a car, but even more than that, living on his own near the school would have been much more comfortable.

Perhaps the reason he didn’t bring up the idea of living on his own was because he subconsciously knew his parents wouldn’t allow it.

“That’s because normally, Senior Seol, you would have followed what your parents said, been introduced to a good Alpha, and married, so you couldn’t have thought of such a creative idea as living on your own.”

“Hey, who follows things so blindly like a child…”

Chaewoo flared up, but he felt stung inwardly.

Because in truth, it was all correct.

“Aren’t you hungry? Shall we order something to eat?”

As they bickered back and forth for tens of minutes, alternating between assignments and conversation, time passed faster than expected.

The tea had gone cold, and the playlist had stopped at some point.

Euigeon suggested ordering delivery, so they ordered simple street food.

“Don’t you see your parents often?”

Chaewoo spoke a while later, watching Euigeon unpack and set up the delivered food.

Having said he would eat, his appetite vanished upon actually seeing the food, so instead of sitting at the table, Chaewoo hovered around, asking questions and offering various remarks.

Euigeon bit a chopstick askew and turned around, staring intently at Chaewoo.

“You seem to be very curious about me today? Enough to forget your hunger.”

“It’s not that much.”

“If you don’t want to eat, forget it. Let’s test how comfortable the new bed and cushions are together instead.”

“Ah, no. I’m going to eat now.”

As if he had heard something he shouldn’t have, Chaewoo quickly sat down.

Perhaps because they had only ever faced each other while naked, eating something together was still unfamiliar.

Was Euigeon completely unfazed?

Sitting as if having a meal with an ordinary senior.

He himself felt beyond strange, awkward, and uncomfortable.

“Aren’t you eating? Do I really have to feed you?”

Even Euigeon’s blunt tone, as usual, was hard to adjust to right now.

Chaewoo reached out stiffly.

“I’m going to eat now.”

Even though he watched him pick up food with chopsticks and put it in his mouth, Euigeon clicked his tongue, saying he ate very little.

****

Perhaps because midterms were approaching, the library was crowded with students.

Even though it was still early, the individual seats were fully occupied.

Only the large tables where groups could sit together were empty here and there.

Kim Yunso complained as she placed her bag on a wide table.

“I scheduled the practice room at such an awkward time. Past self, why did you do that?”

“There’s no helping it if you want to fit it into a break.”

Chaewoo also took a seat next to her and opened his book.

“Huh? Hello, Senior Yunso.”

A junior from the vocal department who had come to borrow a theory book spotted Kim Yunso and greeted her as if they had seen a ghost.

“Look at you, what’s with that reaction upon seeing a senior? Huh?”

“It’s just because it’s been so long. You didn’t even come to the last department event. Oh, Senior Chaewoo is here too.”

“Yeah, hey.”

“What’s that in your hand? Music Literature A? That’s a mandatory elective.”

“What about it?”

The junior examined the book in hand as if wondering what the problem was.

“Our Chaewoo-saurus got a perfect score in Music Literature A during his sophomore year. He probably even has the exam guide.”

“Really? Senior Chaewoo…”

Chaewoo gave Kim Yunso a look, wondering why she was suddenly bringing that up.

The junior, completely worn out by the vast exam scope, looked at Chaewoo with eyes full of respect.

“It’s not really an exam guide. There’s just a style of answer that the professor prefers.”

“What is it? The exam scope is enough to make even the devil cry, so I’m having a mental breakdown right now.”

“Ahem, you rascal. Beg more desperately.”

Kim Yunso scolded.

“Senior. Please. Sob. Save this foolish mortal.”

“I’ll look for it when I go home and show…”

“Wait, wait.”

As Chaewoo readily offered to share his past notes since it wasn’t difficult, Kim Yunso cut him off.