Chapter 24 Part 1

Chapter 23.

When Lee Jun cut her off decisively, Haein looked at him reproachfully but couldn’t bring herself to leave.

Knowing this, Lee Jun said nothing more. He had already pushed Chaeheon away as much as he could. He acted as if there was nothing he could do even if Chaeheon resented him. He hadn’t given Chaeheon any reason, merely telling him not to approach because they had broken up, so he had nothing to say even if Chaeheon was angry with him.

The only problem was that, contrary to his expectations, Chaeheon was being kind to him.

‘He doesn’t even know why I’m doing this…’

“…is it okay?”

“What did you say?”

Lost in thought, he hadn’t heard Haein’s words, which still lingered. When he asked again, Haein burst out, her face twisted in a tearful scowl.

“Then what do I do? He said he’d come looking again.”

“Come looking?”

What was she talking about?

“He came by the house earlier. He said he’d come again next time. Maybe he knows. Otherwise, why would he say he’d come?”

At Haein’s anxious voice, Lee Jun fell silent and processed the situation so far. Hae Sol’s father knew Chaeheon. He hadn’t known at first, but somehow he’d also learned that the person Haein was dating was Chaeheon’s friend. He’d found it strange that someone she met by chance was so well-acquainted with Chaeheon, and he had always intended to mention it. But everything was turned upside down when Haein became pregnant.

Hae Sol’s father hadn’t considered Haein a serious partner from the start. He told her to abort the child, and Haein had agreed and broken up with him, only to give birth to Hae Sol.

“He came looking?”

“He’s definitely suspicious.”

“Are you sure? Did you hear it directly from him, face to face?”

“Not exactly, but otherwise there’s no reason for him to come looking for me.”

As Haein shook her head and mumbled, Lee Jun squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his eyelids. Although he had been drunk, his condition had been fine after a good night’s sleep, but it was slowly deteriorating.

“Just calm down for now. There’s nothing certain yet.”

“What if he finds out I gave birth to and am raising Hae Sol? What if, the moment he’s sure, he says he’ll take Hae Sol?”

“How would he know that?”

At Lee Jun’s calm question, Haein seemed speechless, only biting her lips.

“I understand your anxiety. I… I’ll also look into things, so stop worrying.”

He no longer had the composure to listen to Haein’s crying.

“Sorry. I’ll make you coffee.”

Lee Jun simply nodded, his gaze fixed on the monitor. Fortunately, Hae Sol was playing quietly without bothering Lee Jun, allowing him to work at ease. However, Lee Jun fiddled with the warm body nestled in his arms and let out an inaudible sigh.

Hae Sol was just a baby who knew nothing, but when he sought Lee Jun like this, it felt as if he was filling the void left by his father. It was truly heartbreaking.

“You really shouldn’t think of your uncle as your dad. Ah, but is that okay?”

Since he was raising Hae Sol now, he was no different from a father.

He recalled the day Haein told him she was pregnant.

[He told me to abort it.]

[What?]

[He told me to abort the baby. He said he had no intention of marrying me.]

He thought Haein was crying like that because the baby’s father refused to take responsibility.

[But the hospital said if I abort this baby, I won’t be able to get pregnant again.]

Haein, a recessive Omega like himself, had been told that getting pregnant was a miracle. That’s why she gave birth to Hae Sol. The reason she hadn’t told Chaeheon was out of fear that he might become interested in Hae Sol and figure out who the father was. And then… what if, unlike when he told her to abort the child, he decided to claim Hae Sol as his son and take him away? His own father hadn’t been any different, had he? He had acted as if he would live with their mother forever, only to betray her and tear their happy family apart.

In this tangled situation, what disturbed him most was his own heart. Lee Jun lifted Hae Sol and met his gaze.

“What should I do?”

He hadn’t wanted to break up either; that much was true for him too. The problem was that he enjoyed meeting Chaeheon again, attending classes with him, and drinking together. The problem was that he was wavering because of him.

Even by the next day, Lee Jun couldn’t organize his thoughts. He had originally thought that since Chaeheon was going to study abroad, he could simply stop contacting him, but the situation had changed. He was now attending school with Chaeheon, and Chaeheon had smelled the baby scent on him.

Given how things had turned out, it would be best to just come clean, but his feelings remained. Separate from his affection for Chaeheon, he didn’t know everything about him. He had seen a different side of Chaeheon when they went to Club IN this time.

There was nothing more dangerous than vaguely assuming he knew Chaeheon, or relying on Chaeheon’s emotions to reveal information about Hae Sol.

“I need to make sure.”

It would be better to tell him only after securing some kind of promise from him, and even then, only if it was absolutely necessary to tell him.

“You’re doing it again.”

Startled by the sudden voice, Lee Jun turned around. Chaeheon was already there, propping his chin with his hand and watching him. His eyebrows were furrowed, as if displeased, but Lee Jun didn’t know why.

“What?”

“You get so lost in thought you don’t even notice someone coming up beside you.”

Lee Jun looked at the coffee placed in front of him. Indeed. He hadn’t even noticed it being set down right before his eyes.

“What were you thinking about?”

“You.”

Thoughts like whether he could trust Chaeheon enough to tell him.

At his short answer, Chaeheon’s reaction vanished. As Chaeheon remained still, lost in his own thoughts, Lee Jun silently stared at the coffee before reaching for it. It seemed Chaeheon had given it to him to drink, so he didn’t refuse. He didn’t bother to pay for the coffee separately. Knowing Chaeheon, he probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

“Tell me in detail.”

“If it was something I could tell you in detail, I wouldn’t have waited for you in the first place.”

Lee Jun shook his head, indicating he couldn’t speak. With the straw in his mouth, he simply pursed his lips.

“Now that you say that, I’m even more curious.”

Chaeheon drank his own coffee, the straw held between his teeth, and mumbled. It was as if he was implying that Lee Jun’s act of drinking coffee to avoid answering was nothing but an excuse.

Even after seeing that, Lee Jun truly had nothing to say. No matter what he said, he lacked conviction.

“Chaeheon.”

Perhaps infected by Lee Jun’s serious mood, Chaeheon’s face, too, had lost its smile, becoming expressionless as he met Lee Jun’s gaze.

“You…”

What could he say to start?