Chapter 56: The Roommate Proposition

All that nagging, that endless lecture I’d subjected Seowoo to for thirty minutes, was about to return to me like a boomerang. I should have just sat back, watched quietly, and eaten popcorn, no matter what Seowoo did.

Seowoo’s ‘incident’ had merely been falling in love with a third-generation chaebol heir, despite only intending to have some fun. Even then, their relationship seemed deeply passionate, visible even from a KTX train, and thankfully, things worked out well, leading to marriage and a child.

The mere thought of how confidently Seowoo would lecture me, delivering a full-blown tirade once they learned of my own monumental blunder, made my head ache.

“When you tell them, I’ll go with you.”

My worries, which had been spiraling endlessly, were cut short by Yeon-chae’s words. Yoonwoo lifted his head, a somber expression on his face.

“What? No.”

“Why not?”

‘Why not?’ he asked. What was he supposed to say, going hand-in-hand with Yeon-chae before his parents and Seowoo? ‘There’s a baby in my belly, and he’s the father. He was in rut, but it wasn’t a one-sided assault; I was a bit drunk that day, and actually, I was the one who initiated it. Oh, and by the way, I’m an Omega now. Haha…’

Yoonwoo grasped his hair, swallowing a groan. ‘Excessive exposure of private lives is detrimental to everyone’s mental health.’

Yeon-chae, having sipped his iced Americano, set his coffee cup down. The glass clinked against the table with a resolute ‘thunk.’ His expression was equally resolute.

“It’s our baby, after all. It’s only right that we tell them together.”

It wasn’t an incorrect statement. Feeling swayed, Yoonwoo nodded as if entranced.

“That’s true, but…”

“And since it happened because of my rut, it’s my fault, isn’t it? I should be the one getting scolded, not you, hyung.”

“Huh? No, it’s not. I was drinking too, so…”

‘The truth about me being the one who initiated it should definitely be taken to the grave.’

“So, I’ll be your shield.”

“A shield…”

‘A good word.’

He pictured his parents’ and Seowoo’s angry faces floating before his eyes, only to be blocked by Yeon-chae’s broad back. Yoonwoo’s face gradually brightened.

“Anyway, once the baby is born, we’ll be seeing them often. Won’t we?”

‘Why would we meet often?’ Puzzled, Yoonwoo still nodded along with Yeon-chae’s serious query.

“Is that… true?”

“Of course. So, while we’re there to greet them, should we buy a Korean beef set?”

“Hey, that’s too expensive. What money does an undergraduate student have?”

“It’s fine. Still, it’s our first time meeting them.”

“Just get a fruit basket or something. No, wait, are fruit baskets more expensive these days?”

“I’ll buy both, then.”

“Ah, what are you saying….”

He almost succumbed to Yeon-chae’s suggestion and agreed in the moment, but then his mind snapped back to reality. ‘Indeed. What in the world am I saying right now!’ Yoonwoo yelled as if screaming.

“Hey, what are you doing!”

“Huh?”

“Do you think we’re going to introduce ourselves as if we’re getting married right now?”

“Marriage?”

“Yes!”

“Marriage?”

“Huh?”

Yeon-chae’s eyes instantly widened. His clear cheeks flushed brightly, and a fleeting, unusual glint appeared in his eyes. Startled by the sudden reaction, Yoonwoo blinked in confusion.

However, the next moment, Yeon-chae’s expression calmly reverted, as if nothing had just happened. Yoonwoo fell into doubt, wondering if he had misread Yeon-chae’s expression.

With a somewhat prim expression, Yeon-chae steadily sipped his iced Americano.

“Yeon-chae?”

A bewildered Yoonwoo cautiously called Yeon-chae’s name. Yeon-chae shrugged and replied nonchalantly.

“Shall we? Well, there are many good things about marriage, after all.”

His tone was as casual as remarking on the high fine dust levels today. It seemed he must have misheard. Yoonwoo tapped his ears and, with as calm a face as he could manage, asked again.

“Huh? Huh?”

His voice creaked as he repeated the question.

Yeon-chae, still with an unperturbed expression, began to analyze the agenda.

“If we first present the idea of marriage to your parents and then bring up the pregnancy, you might get scolded less, hyung.”

“That’s… true.”

It seemed less likely to get scolded than saying, ‘Mom, I didn’t even know I’d presented as an Omega, had a one-night stand with an Alpha, got pregnant, and since he’s only twenty-one, I’m not going to marry him.’ Yoonwoo nodded with a reluctant expression.

“We can also just tell Seowoo that the baby happened while we were dating.”

“That’s right…”

It was about 5% less embarrassing than explaining he got pregnant after a one-night mistake with a junior, not even knowing he was an Omega. But using such reasons to propose marriage as a solution seemed a bit… off, didn’t it?

Yoonwoo, whose values were in disarray, stared blankly at Yeon-chae. Yeon-chae’s full lips curved into a reassuring smile, his face gentle and soft.

“If we get married and live together, raising the baby will be much easier. Have you thought about how we’d raise them if we lived separately? Would we take turns every week? Even then, it would be difficult for each of us to handle alone. A baby doesn’t just sleep at night and wake during the day, you know. You’d have to take care of them all night without sleep.”

Yoonwoo, who had never specifically considered childcare, was speechless. He worried about the demanding nights and the toll it would take on him, making sleep a distant luxury.

Still, getting married for those reasons felt a bit… off, didn’t it? Yoonwoo cautiously offered an alternative.

“Can’t we just live together without getting married and raise the baby together? Like roommates?”

“Hyung.”

Yeon-chae’s fine brow furrowed sharply. Yoonwoo had forgotten, accustomed to Yeon-chae always smiling at him, but Yeon-chae’s face was chilling and intimidating when expressionless. Yoonwoo instinctively hunched his shoulders, reviewing what he might have said wrong. ‘A roommate arrangement seemed far more realistic than marriage…’

“I’m conservative, so premarital cohabitation is out of the question.”

“You’re conservative, but you made a baby before even getting married?!”

He protested at the absurd reply, but as if he didn’t like Yoonwoo’s answer, Yeon-chae just sipped his iced Americano with a prim, sullen face.

‘Should I really be considering marriage seriously?’ Yoonwoo felt inwardly anxious. Unable to gauge how serious Yeon-chae had been, he found it awkward to bring up the subject himself, so he merely observed.

He didn’t know if Yeon-chae had merely thrown it out as a passing thought, or if he’d realized how absurd it was upon reflection. But after that day, Yeon-chae never mentioned marriage again. Yoonwoo, who had been tensing up on his own, finally felt his energy drain away after nearly a week.

‘Why make such a serious joke?’

He concluded his contemplation on where his life would go if, not content with having a baby at twenty-three, he also went and got married. Yoonwoo let out a long sigh. Instead, he was quite fond of the roommate idea he’d suggested. As Yeon-chae had argued, raising the baby together would likely be better for the child.

“Roommates?”

It was when he’d muttered to himself about craving *galbijjim* and had been promptly led by Yeon-chae to sit before the dining table in Yeon-chae’s officetel. After losing himself to the steaming *galbijjim*, emptying two bowls of rice, and patting his full stomach, he subtly brought up the topic to Yeon-chae.

He even emphasized that while it was an idea he’d blurted out in his confusion over Yeon-chae’s sudden marriage ‘joke,’ it wasn’t such a bad solution after all.

Once again, Yeon-chae adamantly opposed premarital cohabitation, citing his conservative nature. However, he couldn’t respond to Yoonwoo’s sharp retort.

“You and I aren’t getting married, nor are we dating, so how is it ‘premarital’ cohabitation?”

“…”

“This is just roommates. No, we wouldn’t even be sharing a room, so housemates. It’s like a dorm, isn’t it?”

“…Yeah, I guess.”

Yeon-chae gave up on replying, pressing his lips together and only rolling his eyes. He looked utterly displeased, though Yoonwoo couldn’t discern why.

However, when he considered the roommate option, another hurdle appeared. Yeon-chae’s duplex officetel was spacious, but both the lower and upper floors were studio-style, meaning they couldn’t have separate bedrooms. It wasn’t as if Yoonwoo could live in the living room, Yeon-chae in the upstairs bedroom, and the baby’s crib be placed in the kitchen.

As he pondered whether they should move to an apartment or villa with at least two bedrooms, the issue of money arose.

‘I want to contribute to the child-rearing expenses, but how much money would I need to move as well?’

Even if Yeon-chae’s father had set aside child support, Yoonwoo couldn’t just accept it without contributing. However, when he considered the child support and moving expenses, no matter how much Yoonwoo crunched the numbers in his head, he couldn’t find a solution. It was an endless loop with no answer.

“That won’t work either. I don’t have enough money to help with moving.”

Yeon-chae raised an eyebrow at Yoonwoo, who mumbled with a deflated expression.

“Move?”

“If we don’t move, then what? The baby and I live in the living room?”

“The living room?”

“Your place only has one bedroom upstairs. So I’d have to live in the living room.”

“That won’t do.”

“Right.”

“Why would you use the living room when there’s a perfectly good bedroom?”

“Right… huh?”

“I’ll change the bed. A king-size… No.”

Yeon-chae squeezed his eyes shut then opened them, his lips twitching as he composed himself with a gentle expression.

“…I’ll put in two single beds. There will even be space for the baby’s crib next to them.”

“Oh, that could actually work. The bedroom is spacious, after all.”

Considering the small amount of money he had saved from his part-time jobs, he would have enough to change the bed. Yoonwoo’s face brightened slightly. At the same time, he felt a sudden urgency. He didn’t know why Yeon-chae, who had always been negative about living together, had suddenly changed his mind, but he couldn’t predict when he might change it again.

So, Yoonwoo smiled subtly, as if to confirm it definitively.

“Then we’re really roommates, aren’t we? It’ll be like living in a dorm. Right?”

He wanted to seal the deal, to stamp it before Yeon-chae could change his mind. ‘So, hurry up and say yes.’