Chapter 55: The Fireworks and the Planned Pregnancy

Yoonwoo settled onto the steps in front of the central library with Yeon-chae. It was a prime spot, offering an unobstructed view of the fireworks.

As they waited for the show to begin, the steps filled with people, their hands laden with snacks. Music reverberated throughout the entire campus.

Yoonwoo patted his full stomach with one hand, his face anxious as he repeatedly checked his wristwatch.

“Here, have this while we wait.”

“Oh? Oh.”

A warm French fry slipped into his mouth. Though it was spring, the late night spent outdoors had left him feeling a bit chilly.

The comforting warmth filled his mouth, seemingly relaxing his entire body. After swallowing, he murmured, “This warmth is nice.”

Yeon-chae, eyes wide, asked, “Are you cold?” Yoonwoo nodded.

“It’s a little nippy.”

“Ah… just a moment. I’ll get my jacket from the car.”

“No, it’s fine. Eating this has warmed me up.”

Instead of replying, Yeon-chae gazed down at the hoodie he was wearing, lost in thought. Yoonwoo’s face contorted in distaste.

“You’re not thinking of taking that off for me, are you?”

“…”

“You’re not, right?”

“Yes…”

Yeon-chae hesitantly replied, subtly hiding the hand that had been gripping the hem of his hoodie behind his back.

“I’m wearing a T-shirt underneath,” he added in a meek, almost inaudible voice.

“Then I’ll just go to the car to get my jacket…”

The moment Yeon-chae opened his mouth, a “Pop!” echoed from the sky.

“Wow!”

It was a small firework. With a limited budget, it was nothing like the grand festivals held in Yeouido.

Though the display was more noise than spectacle, with only a few fireworks, their scattered, intricate patterns adorning the sky were endearing.

Yoonwoo gasped, “Wow,” and grabbed Yeon-chae’s arm in admiration.

“Look at that. It’s really cute.”

After a long while of his solitary excitement, the fireworks display ended. It was brief, almost comically so after their wait, yet Yoonwoo’s heart still fluttered with excitement.

Involuntarily, he shook Yeon-chae’s arm and leaned against him.

Only after the fireworks had completely ceased did Yoonwoo realize he had been clinging to Yeon-chae, his arm wrapped around his waist the entire time.

It was almost as if he had embraced Yeon-chae within his arms. Though Yeon-chae’s broad shoulders hadn’t quite fit within Yoonwoo’s grasp, making it seem less like an embrace to others, Yoonwoo still felt needlessly abashed.

“Ah, sorry.”

Yoonwoo startled, quickly pulling himself upright.

Yeon-chae merely blinked, his face etched with surprise. His unfocused pupils wandered, staring blankly into space.

“Yeon-chae?”

He waved a hand in front of Yeon-chae’s eyes. Yeon-chae’s head slowly, stiffly, turned to look at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Yes…”

Yeon-chae’s earlobes were flushed red as he mumbled his reply.

“You said you’d take off your hoodie for me earlier. I guess you must be cold.”

He playfully chided him with a smile, then tilted his head back to gaze at the sky once more.

In the black night sky, where the fireworks had vanished, not a single star was visible.

Still, the moonlight shone brightly. The night breeze was pleasant, and the band music, sounding as if it would never end, continued to blare loudly.

“Still, it’s nice to make a memory together, isn’t it?”

A reply did not readily come. Yoonwoo turned his head to look at Yeon-chae.

Yeon-chae’s face remained half-dazed. He stared silently ahead for a while, until Yoonwoo, growing bored, stretched and suggested, “Shall we head home soon?” It was then that Yeon-chae spoke in a quiet voice.

“Yes. I like it.”

“Hm?”

“I like it, Hyung.”

However, Yeon-chae’s gaze seemed distant, and Yoonwoo momentarily lost his words in response.

“Don’t I look like I’ve gained a bit of weight in my stomach?”

“Where?”

“I feel like I’m showing some belly fat.”

“It’s not noticeable at all.”

As June began, the weather quickly grew warmer.

Yeon-chae, also feeling the heat, ordered an iced Americano today. For a while, he had only sought out jujube tea or ginger tea, so Yoonwoo had repeatedly coaxed him to drink regular coffee. Recently, he had hesitantly started ordering Americanos again.

It was a moment when there were no customers. Having slept poorly and feeling particularly tired today, Yoonwoo sat with Yeon-chae at his table to rest his aching legs.

Now, entering his fourth month, his stomach had begun to show slightly. Yeon-chae continuously denied it, shaking his head, but every time Yoonwoo caught his reflection, he could clearly see it.

He also thought that with his belly finally showing, it felt a little more real. The baby was always eerily quiet, never causing morning sickness.

This often made him doubt if there truly was a baby inside him.

“It seems there really is a baby in here.”

“Of course there is.”

Yeon-chae frowned, as if asking what kind of nonsense that was. Yoonwoo clicked his tongue, then extended both index fingers to gently press between Yeon-chae’s eyebrows.

“You’ll get wrinkles. Smooth your forehead.”

“Will I be ugly if I get wrinkles?”

“Why are you so obsessed with your looks? Don’t worry, you’re pretty even without obsessing. I hope the baby takes after you. They’ll be as beautiful as an angel.”

“No, they won’t. I hope they take after you, Hyung.”

“Hey, why would they take after me when they could inherit these genes? Besides, I was really an ugly duckling when I was little.”

Yoonwoo chuckled, recalling an anecdote his mother used to tell: when he was one or two years old, if she took him out in a stroller, neighborhood kids would flock around, teasing him about being an ugly baby.

Seowoo, who walked beside his mother, pushing Yoonwoo’s stroller, would reportedly beat up any kids who teased Yoonwoo, even though he was the one who teased Yoonwoo the most when they got home. Perhaps he just didn’t like others doing it.

“What do you mean you were an ugly duckling, Hyung? You weren’t at all. You were so cute.”

Yeon-chae again furrowed his brows, taking Yoonwoo’s fingers, which were still tracing his forehead, in both hands and pulling them down. All Yoonwoo’s efforts to smooth out the vertical wrinkle had been in vain.

“No, when I was a baby, I was so chubby that the skin around my hands and arms would always fold in bulges, like a stuffed animal. I even got heat rash on my wrists, you know? I was a total piglet baby…”

“Ah, that must have been truly adorable.”

“Yeon-chae, though.”

Yoonwoo tilted his head, looking at Yeon-chae, who was admiring him with a wistful expression. He felt a sense of bewilderment after listening to Yeon-chae’s thoughtless replies.

“How do you know I wasn’t an ugly duckling when I was little?”

“…Ah…”

“Did I show you pictures?”

‘I don’t think so.’ Yoonwoo searched his memory, but nothing came to mind. Yeon-chae, whose face had seemed to stiffen for a moment, then smiled widely at Yoonwoo, his eyes crinkling.

“No, I just said I thought you would have been?”

“Hm?”

“How would I know how cute and pretty you were when you were little? We didn’t live next door to each other.”

“…Right?”

“Of course.”

“Right…”

Somehow, Yeon-chae’s voice seemed to carry a chill, but Yoonwoo nodded, dismissing it as his imagination. Yeon-chae mumbled in a small voice, “What he remembers, really…” However, when Yoonwoo asked what he said, Yeon-chae just smiled brightly and said it was nothing.

“But the baby seems really docile. No morning sickness, no trouble at all.”

As he gently touched his belly, the thought suddenly occurred to him. Seeing how docile the baby was, they must take after Yeon-chae. It would be great if their face was just like Yeon-chae’s.

Yeon-chae had kindly said it would be good if the baby resembled Yoonwoo, but Yoonwoo’s consistent belief was that such genes should be passed down through generations.

Perhaps the initial struggles were indeed because he had been separated from Yeon-chae. Instead, he occasionally experienced food cravings. His desired foods kept changing categories.

Fortunately, Yeon-chae was very accommodating to Yoonwoo’s requests. The meals he prepared were often far more delicious than those from most restaurants, which made Yoonwoo truly enjoy life these days.

However, they couldn’t continue like this indefinitely. First, Yoonwoo had a colossal task looming before him.

“I think it’s time we slowly confess to our families.”

He brought up the problem they had been delaying. Yeon-chae put down his coffee cup and nodded with a serious expression.

“You’re right. We need to ask for child support.”

“Hey. That’s not what I meant.”

Yoonwoo glared, demanding to know why he immediately brought up money. Yeon-chae looked bewildered but was perceptive enough not to ask what he *did* mean.

“Our parents will be shocked. We can’t tell them after my belly is already big.”

Ideally, he wanted to tell the baby to go tell them directly in fifteen years or so. But it was clear they would be found out long before fifteen years, even before fifteen months. If Yoonwoo tried to hide it clumsily, his mother would undoubtedly beat him until his back was black and blue.

His parents were one thing, but telling Seowoo was an even greater worry.

“I’ll die before I say it was a drunken mistake. Should I just tell Hyung it wasn’t an accident?”

He racked his brain, groaning as he tried to devise a plan. Yeon-chae blinked, his face innocent, and replied,

“Then should we say it was a planned pregnancy?”

“Does that even make sense!”

“But you were the one who suggested it first.”

Yeon-chae’s indignant protest came back. However, Yoonwoo had been causing an earthquake in his pupils for a while now, leaving him no room to acknowledge Yeon-chae’s grievance.

He was recalling Seowoo’s dating days.

For reasons unknown, after a massive fight with his husband, Sihyung—who was then either his lover or just a casual partner—Seowoo had tearfully fled all the way to Tongyeong, where their parents lived.

If they had fought and broken up, they should have just lived their own lives. Yet, Sihyung had insisted on going after him. While Seowoo made a fuss, finally dragged back by Sihyung’s wrist, Yoonwoo had relentlessly criticized and lectured him.

What had he said, specifically, when Seowoo got pregnant before marriage?

‘Don’t you know how to use contraception? Huh? Do I have to teach you? They sell things called condoms at convenience stores?!’