Be My Baby - Vol.1 Chapter 0 Part 1
The day after drinking is always difficult, especially for the head.
“Ugh… My head hurts…”
The moment he opened his eyes, Seonwoo groaned and pulled the blanket over his head as a terrible headache washed over him. His head was throbbing and churning, and his insides felt like they were about to turn inside out.
As expected, no matter how good it feels, excessive drinking is not good for the body. Why can’t he quit that shitty alcohol when he suffers from a hangover every time he drinks?
“My head…”
As he whimpered, clutching his head that felt like it was about to split open from the headache, he suddenly noticed an unfamiliar scent.
It was the scent of fabric softener coming from the pillow. A fresh and fragrant smell, as if it had just been washed, different from the detergent scent used in his company housing. The moment he opened his eyes to this scent, he saw an unfamiliar room.
A full-length window overlooking the entire city, white furniture, and marble walls and floors – completely different from the company housing in the research complex.
“Ah… Eunsoo…”
Seonwoo muttered the familiar name of an old friend and sprawled back onto the bed. It seemed he had gotten drunk last night while drinking with friends and was carried here. Among his friends, only Kang Eunsoo had a place like this.
But as he wondered if that guy was kind enough to bring him home just because he was drunk, the headache subsided, and now his muscles started to ache. Not just his back and waist, but even his legs were throbbing ominously.
What did I do again after drinking?As he seriously contemplated whether he had called hishyungand made a scene again, or maybe even got hit by hishyung‘s car, he heard the sound of the door opening.
Followed immediately by footsteps, Seonwoo quickly raised his head.
“Hey, yesterday…”
Seonwoo was about to ask what had happened, but he immediately closed his mouth the next moment. Then, with a face that said ‘What did I just see?’, he furrowed his brow and stared at the man who had entered the room.
It was definitely a familiar face, that was for sure.
But it wasn’t Kang Eunsoo, whom he had been expecting.
No, the fact that it wasn’t Kang Eunsoo wasn’t the problem. The problem was that it was Kang Eungyo.
As he wondered what on earth he had done yesterday, a dizzying memory flashed through his mind.
“Hyung! Give me your sperm!”
Like a movie trailer, just one scene, and unnecessarily clear and detailed at that, flashed through his mind.
Clearly, it was himself in what appeared to be this room, stripping off his clothes while shouting, and the man standing in front of him with a face that said, ‘What the hell is wrong with this guy?’
For a moment, he thought, ‘No way.’ As much as he wanted to insist that he wouldn’t have done such a crazy thing no matter how drunk he was…
He could have.
If it were him, he would have done it.
It wasn’t the first time he had called that person and made a scene asking for sperm when he was drunk. Each time, he regretted it, reflected on it, and deleted the number over and over again, but unfortunately, that person’s number was already engraved in his mind.
He had even requested, “Couldn’t you just change your number,hyung?” but each time,hyungflatly refused, saying, “Why should I go through the troublesome, bothersome, and meaningless act of changing my number because of an airhead like you?”
So, the conclusion is that he called again yesterday.
Usually, it would end with him making a scene over the phone, getting beaten up by his friends, and going home, but seeing as he was brought to this house, it seemed that yesterday, he finally came out to kill him.
As he swallowed a scream down his throat in the face of this appalling situation, the man who had approached right up to the bedside spoke to him with his usual smiling face.
“Finally awake, huh?”
“…”
“You were really drunk, are you okay? Yesterday, you finally sent your mind off to space, didn’t you?”
There was a blade at the end of his words. Seeing that face, clearly smiling yet not smiling, the blood drained from his face in an instant, and his teeth chattered. It seemed like today might be the day to prepare his coffin.
As he swallowed dry saliva, sensing that he might even fly out the window of this high-rise apartment if he wasn’t careful, the man’s gentle voice was heard.
“Well, it was fun though. You airhead.”
The man, already in a perfect suit with his hair neatly combed back, flashed a smile brighter than the dazzling morning sunlight.
But no matter how dull he was, this time, he couldn’t help but notice the meaning behind that smile.
It was clearly a death sign.
In other words, it meant ‘You’re already a dead man.’
With that, he had to realize the reality he didn’t want to admit even if it killed him.
He had caused an accident.
And a really big one at that.
“You have a hangover and you made quite a scene, so feel free to sleep a bit more before you go. Above all… your body must not be feeling well…”
Was it that he had gotten drunk again and rolled down the stairs, or had he thrown himself at this person’s car again? As he pondered, he suddenly lowered his gaze and saw exposed flesh. And the muscle aches that were throbbing and aching. Somehow, he had a very ominous feeling.
No way, all of it.
Yeah, no way…
Even if his brain had been pickled in alcohol and his frontal lobe had flown away, he wouldn’t have done such a thing…
But no matter how much he tried to deny reality, Seonwoo started to break out in a cold sweat in the face of such obvious evidence.
Eungyo, who had been smiling brightly while watching the sweat drops falling from Seonwoo’s forehead down to his chin, spoke kindly for the first time since they had met.
“I have to go to work now, so let’s talk later. Very, in detail, and honestly and openly. About that damn drunken fit of yours.”
Hyung, who had spoken his last words through gritted teeth, left the room with his usual refreshing smile.
The man’s back view, dressed in a deep navy suit that clung perfectly to his body, crossing the room like a model, boasted a perfect ratio that would make anyone drool as always, but today, he couldn’t just stare at it thinking how good it was.
What the hell did you do last night, Lee Seonwoo?
“Ugh… Ah…”
It wasn’t the first time he had caused trouble while drunk, but this time it seemed like he had really caused a major accident. He buried his head in the pillow, trying to recall his memories, but nothing came to mind.
He couldn’t remember at all, not even a little bit, why he was sleeping in that person’s, no, that man’s house in the first place, and how he had come to see him and followed him here.
“Lee Seonwoo, try to remember. What the hell happened!”
So…
Yesterday was an unremarkable, ordinary day.
He woke up in the morning, went to work, conducted experiments, had lunch, then returned to the lab and conducted more experiments. It was just another day where every day was the same, and every day was like one day, just an ordinary day.
The only difference was that he had come to the city center after a long time and met his friends.
And at that gathering, he did hear some very good news.
“…You broke up?”
He found himself asking that first, upon hearing the news of a broken engagement that came out like a side dish at the drinking table. With a face pretending to be surprised and sympathetic, out of courtesy.
To that question, Eunsoo, the younger brother of the person who had broken off the engagement, replied nonchalantly while drinking his alcohol as if it were no big deal.
“Well… That’s how it turned out somehow. Following Eunhan-hyung, now Eungyo-hyunghas also broken off his engagement. Thanks to that, father is furious and throwing a fit, while mother is so happy she’s throwing a party, which led to another big fight between father and mother, and that father of mine ended up running away from home… But it’s no big deal.”
It seemed like quite a big deal if both sons had consecutively broken off their engagements and the parents were fighting and living separately after a marital dispute… but… that was their family business. And he had been taught not to interfere in other people’s family matters.
So, that’s none of his business. What’s important to him is the fact thathyunghad broken off his engagement.
“Wow, how did that happen?”
“According tohyung, it was due to personality differences. I knew they wouldn’t work out anyway. My brother is way out of league compared to her.”
“Oh my… That’s too bad…”
Once again, he offered words of consolation out of courtesy. Eunsoo glared at him with his characteristic cat-like eyes and then furrowed his brow. He looked extremely annoyed.
“…Do you really think it’s too bad?”
“Of course.”
“Then could you please put away that infuriatingly bright smile?”
At Eunsoo’s pointed remark that his words and face were so disconnected it was nauseating, Seyoon, sitting next to him, added:
“You’re grinning from ear to ear right now.”
At those words, he hurriedly took out his phone and looked at his face on the screen, only to see his own face with the corners of his mouth uncontrollably turned up. Even his eyes were crescent-shaped. Moreover, his eyes, which were usually described as dead fish eyes, were sparkling.
“Ah… I didn’t mean to smile…”
Even though he said that out of embarrassment, the corners of his mouth refused to come down. Thinking why this guy was so tactless, he tried slapping his cheeks, but it was no use. Seeing his own face smiling so excessively, he felt awkward and rubbed his cheeks with his palms. Seyoon asked with an exasperated look:
“Are you happy?”
“Come on… No way…”
But with this face, it wasn’t convincing at all. With the corners of his mouth that seemed like they wouldn’t come down for a while, he quickly changed the subject.
“Ah… Let’s drink. Drink! I don’t have to go to work tomorrow, so I can drink as much as I want. Let’s drink!”
Along with those words, he put down his phone and raised his glass, but no one joined him in raising their glasses. They all just glared at him with faces that said, ‘Where’s your conscience?’
“Ah…”
Under the cold gazes of his friends that seemed to say ‘Just try drinking,’ he put down the glass he had raised halfheartedly, and only then did his friends’ gazes leave him.
The conversation started bustling again. The conversation among high school friends who had gathered after a long time was just ordinary. Starting with trivial recent news, moving on to recent exercises and hobbies, and then work stories, and so on.
In a way, they were stringing together seemingly meaningless, small talk, when suddenly the topic turned to him.
“By the way, how’s that experiment you were working on going?”
At Seyoon’s sudden question, his hand that was about to pick up the beer glass paused.
“Experiment? What experiment?”
“When we met last time, didn’t you say you were working on infertility treatment? What was it called back then? Project Al? Didn’t you say you were working on something like that?”
Chewing on squid indifferently, he responded to the mention of a project that had already been terminated a year ago.
“That one, it flew away.”
“Why?”
“We were almost at the success stage and did clinical trials, but… after creating the egg, it turned out there was a component needed for implantation, and when we reported that, they arbitrarily terminated it.”
The original purpose was clearly that egg, but the research institute terminated the project that was the original goal due to the development of an implantation inducer accidentally obtained while creating the egg. Even now, thinking about it made him feel regretful, and as he jabbed at the side dishes with a disgruntled expression, Seyoon made an exasperated face.
“Again?”
“Yeah. Again.”
At those words that made him recall painful memories, he just thinly shredded the squid.
Five years ago, while researching brain cell regeneration, they accidentally discovered genes that induced violent behavior in criminals and got caught up in that, leading to the early termination of the brain cell regeneration project. History had repeated itself.
This time, too, they were in the middle of a project to create an egg equivalent to an artificial uterus for infertility treatment, but they ended up finding a substance that could increase the implantation rate to over 90%, resulting in the forced termination of the experiment, known as the Al Project.
Strangely, he tended to have many projects forcibly terminated like this whenever he conducted experiments. As he viciously shredded the innocent squid, Seyoon shook his head.
“Even the National Genetic Engineering Center can’t help it. If it doesn’t make money, it’s bye-bye.”
“Can’t be helped. It’s true that over 60% of infertility cases are due to implantation issues.”
He added that it was contributing tremendously to the rise in birth rates anyway, as he surreptitiously reached for his beer glass. But Seyoon mercilessly swatted his hand away.
He looked at Seyoon with an aggrieved face at that stern gesture that said ‘don’t even dream about it’, but Seyoon didn’t budge. He just silently pushed the glass away as if nothing had happened.
“So, what are you researching now?”
“Back to brain cell regeneration.”
“Didn’t you say liver and heart could also be regenerated?”
“Yeah. But the brain is difficult. The egg project was also stopped.”
Suddenly remembering made him feel a bit frustrated.
The liver cell regeneration, which was expected to be the most difficult, progressed surprisingly quickly, and even the heart, which was thought to be impossible, could be regenerated through a very delicate process, although it took a long time. However, the brain and uterus were still at a standstill.
Other organs could be regenerated even if they were surgically removed or severely damaged in accidents. But the uterus and brain couldn’t be touched.
Moreover, in the case of the uterus, perhaps because other organs had become stronger, it had become weaker and more sensitive in contrast. Miscarriages occurred or implantation itself failed even with a little stress, leading to the development of a substance to forcibly assist implantation.
“Well, isn’t it greedy to try to conquer everything in the first place? Still, since artificial uteruses have already come out, it’s right to start with brain cell regeneration first.”
Of course, since that’s the bigger project, the research institute is saying they’ll push it through to the end this time… but his position is a bit different.
“…I want to have a baby.”
At the confession that flowed out very softly through his lips, the guys at the table all widened their eyes and stared at him simultaneously. Their eyes said, ‘What is this guy saying now?’
So he decided to answer that question.
“I want to have a baby…”
The moment he voiced his long-standing wish for the first time, the quiet table started to buzz again. One more drink here, order more side dishes, and by the way, who’s getting married this time? Et cetera.
As the atmosphere became rowdy as if his confession hadn’t been heard at all, he tried to pull over his friend’s beer glass. But Seyoon snatched that glass away again and finally acknowledged him.
“If you want to have a baby, get married. No, even if you don’t get married, you can use an artificial uterus. Gene combination and artificial insemination are so easy now, you just need to buy an egg, right?”
Of course, it was an era where one could have a child without getting married if they had the money. With life expectancy reaching 120 years, and cell regeneration, including organ regeneration, becoming commonplace, one could maintain youth and delay aging for a long time if they had money and time.
As a result, the birth rate hit rock bottom even more, and the trade of eggs and sperm, as well as childbirth using artificial uteruses, had also been legalized. Only on the condition that genetic manipulation would only touch on aspects related to genetic diseases and crime.
In other words, simply put, if you have money and time, you can give birth to a perfect child through an artificial uterus who is healthy, beautiful, smart, and doesn’t get sick, through genetic screening and manipulation.
But…
“I want to give birth to a naturally born child…”
At that small murmur, silence began to flow over the noisy table once again.
In an atmosphere that had become so quiet it perfectly fit the expression ‘like cold water had been poured over it’, this time he grabbed a handful of almonds and peanuts and ate them. In the suffocating silence, Seyoon asked.
“…Without any intervention at all?”
“…”
“Looking at your parents and grandparents, your genes themselves should be good… Ah, I mean, just the brain. But shouldn’t you still do some tweaking?”
Seyoon’s words meant, why are you doing such a risky thing when you can have a child with a good physique, outstanding beauty, excellent brain, and athletic ability through gene combination and rearrangement, and as a bonus, have a child with a 0.001% chance of getting sick or becoming a criminal?
That opinion was quite understandable, but his opinion was still different.
“I like naturally born children. Mom and Dad said they like that too.”
Ironically, his parents, a couple of genetic engineers who were the first in the world to successfully achieve artificial insemination through gene combination, didn’t touch their children at all.
Far from genetic plastic surgery, his parents had natural pregnancies and natural deliveries for all three sons, and raised them by letting them loose on his grandfather’s farm in Daegwallyeong. They eventually came down from the mountain to enroll them in elementary school, but basically, they tended to let the children roam free. They were busy, but their motto was ‘everything naturally’.
And having grown up almost like a wild child under such parents, he too had developed a strong obsession with wanting to have a natural pregnancy for his child.
So, in response to his belief that he would definitely have a natural pregnancy, Seyoon expressed his opinion with a serious face.
“I’m sorry, but in my opinion, your child needs a little, no, a lot of tweaking.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you remember what your nickname was in high school?”
“…Airhead?”
“Yeah,Airhead. Even if we put aside the nickname, I think your genes definitely need tweaking, considering how you went around happily with that nickname.”
“That’s…”
He was about to answer that he liked it because it was a nickname given by Eungyo-hyung, Eunsoo’s second older brother and the one who had just broken off his engagement yesterday, but he shut his mouth tightly because Eunsoo was right next to him. Then Seyoon, who had been watching quietly, clicked his tongue.
“Anyway, think seriously about tweaking your genes. You know, you originally intended to go straight to university, but you came to our school because your grades in social studies, language, music, art, and physical education were seriously lacking. Haven’t you learned anything even after passing the university courses first and then attending high school?”
Despite the serious advice from Seyoon, who had been forced to act as his guardian during high school, Seonwoo tilted his head as if nothing particular came to mind.
His face seemed to say, what’s wrong with attending high school at the age for high school when you can skip grades by subject anyway, and if your basic academic skills are perfect, you can simultaneously progress through bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral courses even during high school for special subjects?
And in Seonwoo’s case, he actually thought it was fortunate that he didn’t go straight to university, so he didn’t feel wronged or regretful at all. So as he was about to say that he didn’t mind at all, this time Minwoo, who had been quiet, took the baton.
“Is that all? You can’t drive, you get lost at school every day. I found every nook and cranny in our school looking for this bastard.”
“That’s right. Every winter, this guy would catch a cold by himself and groan. Everyone else would get better quickly without medicine even if they caught it, but this guy was particularly bad, suffering for a month. Gastroenteritis, food poisoning, eye infections, he caught every trendy disease by himself.”
That’s why your nickname wasAirhead, at his friends’ teasing, Seonwoo pouted his lips.
That’s because that school itself was a place where upper-class children born through special gene rearrangement and combination gathered. In schools attended by ordinary people who couldn’t even dream of touching expensive technologies like gene combination, epidemics were still going around.
So he was about to say that you guys are the strange ones, but before that, Seyoon stopped their words first.
“Well, high school days were fun thanks to this guy though.”
At Seyoon’s words that it was because he was so lacking, Seonwoo frowned, feeling upset, but Minwoo nodded as if he understood.
“That’s true. After seeing guys who were good at everything, it was interesting to see a guy who was only good at one thing.”
“Come to think of it, this guy had his own merits too. Whenever there was a sports competition, everyone wanted to have him on their team. If this guy was in, you couldn’t guarantee the win or loss, but the entertainment was definitely guaranteed.”
Following Seongjae’s words, Eunsoo, who had been quiet, added one more snarky comment.
“That’s right. It was so funny.”
His friends snickered, saying it was hilarious how he would mess up everything he did whenever he participated in a game, being clumsy and oblivious. As Seonwoo stuck out his lips, Seyoon, who knew him very well, continued seriously.
“Anyway, think carefully. I understand what you’re thinking, but in a world where even with natural pregnancy, they put it in an artificial uterus exactly at 5 months. Moreover, for someone like you with an SPN S grade, having a natural birth could be seen as an enormous loss to the country.”
“What does the country have to do with my genes?”
When he retorted, asking why he should care about that, Seyoon shot back immediately.
“It’s not that the country cares, it’s that your genes are too precious.”
“Isn’t that a violation of human rights?”
When he said that such a statement shouldn’t be made by you, of all people, who are a lawyer, Seyoon clicked his tongue.
“So, that’s a metaphor, and to put it bluntly, be careful because only the loser part of your genes might go to your child.”
“Grandma and Grandpa said I was cute because I was lacking.”
Hearing Seonwoo’s answer, typical of a child who grew up receiving only affection from his grandparents, Seyoon looked up at the ceiling as if frustrated. Then he soon let out a long sigh with a face of self-reflection. His face seemed to say, what am I even talking about with this guy?
“…Fine, do as you please.”
The moment Seyoon, who had given up saying it’s your life after all, what do I care, lowered his gaze, he saw Seonwoo, sitting across from him, already sipping beer from his own glass. And not just beer, he had neatly mixed it with soju too.
“…You, where did you put what I just said?”
Just as Seyoon was about to launch into a lecture, asking if he still hadn’t come to his senses even after causing so many accidents every time he drank, Seonwoo flinched and started gulping down the alcohol.
Seeing that movement filled with the determination not to let this glass be taken away, Seyoon just gave up on everything.
“This is what you drank, okay? I don’t want to know if you drink yourself silly and cause trouble. You drank it, so you solve it.”
“I won’t drink enough to get drunk.”
“You said that last time too.”
And what did you do last time? At Seyoon’s face that seemed to ask this, Seonwoo quickly averted his gaze. Then this time, he slowed down a bit and just drank beer.
Today, I’ll go home on my own two feet, absolutely not being dragged along.
With that resolution, he ate as much of the side dishes as possible and drank as little alcohol as possible. And in between drinks, he didn’t forget to congratulate his hyung on breaking off his engagement.
Yeah, he remembers up to that point.
He clearly remembers ordering grilled dried pollack, stir-fried tripe, and beef jeon while drinking his third glass of beer. And he clearly remembers feeling good because the jeon was so delicious… but…
At some point after that, his memory was cut off cleanly.
Yes, that’s what happened.
It was completely cut off.
In analog terms, the film was cut, and in digital terms, that sector was erased.
As if it had been formatted, very cleanly.
“This is driving me crazy…”
What on earth did he do while drunk that made hyung come out to the drinking place himself?
He clearly did something obnoxious, but he doesn’t know what it was.
You drunk bastard, what the hell did you do last night?
As he tossed and turned under the blanket, unable to recall the memory of last night no matter how hard he tried, suddenly one person who could testify about yesterday’s events came to mind.
“…Seyoon. Jeon Seyoon.”
The others might not, but if it’s Seyoon, he would explain the situation properly and factually. Because he’s a cold-blooded person without even a fingernail’s worth of consideration, harsh and heartless.
Thinking he should hurry and make a call, he tried to get up abruptly to find his phone, but a terrible back pain shot up his spine, causing him to tumble back onto the bed.
It hurt terribly. Enough to make his hair stand on end and his teeth grind.
It hurt so much that he briefly considered just going back to sleep, but he figured the pain probably wouldn’t improve dramatically even if he slept and woke up again.
Since it was impossible to sleep anymore with this much pain anyway, he decided to give up cleanly and, groaning, carefully raised his body to look around.
He saw a phone placed on the bedside table next to the bed. The phone with a case depicting a Golden Retriever was definitely his.
It felt more welcome than meeting a first love he thought was dead, but he still carefully reached out his hand to pick up the phone and found Seyoon’s number to dial. After waiting for a moment, the call soon connected.
“What?”
It was a voice asking why he was calling and making a fuss from the morning. So he quickly got to the point.
“What did I do yesterday?”
“…Huh?”
“What kind of trouble did I cause yesterday? Tohyung.”
When he specified the other person so bluntly, Seyoon paused for a moment before continuing.
“…Trouble?”
“…”
“…Asking if you caused trouble tohyungis like asking if you breathed yesterday?”
At Seyoon’s retort asking why he was asking a question not worth asking, Seonwoo rolled on the floor with his hands instead of his feet.
“So, what kind of trouble did I cause?”
“The usual thing you always do.”
“So what is that usual thing?”
“Give me your sperm.”
For a moment, the conversation stopped.
Certainly, that was something he always did. Even when he wasn’t drunk.
So there’s nothing strange about it. However, the problem here is…
“…How did I end up meetinghyung?”
“You don’t remember that either?”
“That’s why I’m calling you.”
When he asked back why else would he be making phone calls from the morning, Seyoon said “I see” in understanding. Then soon, as if drinking something, he continued slowly.
“Fortunately, yesterday you didn’t call and make a scene. We were drinking for a while and about to wrap up when we happened to run into Eungyo-hyungcoming out of the same bar. As soon as you saw him, you clung to him and said, ‘Hyung, I heard you broke off your engagement? Then please give me your sperm now~,’ that’s all you did.”
“Crazy…”
“Wow, you finally realized? That it’s a crazy thing to do.”
Adding that it’s too late though, as Seyoon seemed to drink water again, Seonwoo clutched his head.
“This is driving me crazy…”
“Everyone who knows you knows that you have a crush on Eungyo-hyung, and even Eungyo-hyung now considers your drunken antics as an annual event and lets it slide, so don’t worry about it. And honestly, you’re a nuisance even when you’re not drunk.”
At Seyoon’s unhelpful consolation, Seonwoo mumbled softly.
“So, that’s not the problem…”
“Well, your very existence is a problem, but don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s not like it’s the first or second time, and at least yesterday you didn’t throw yourself at hyung’s car asking for sperm.”
Recalling the day exactly 3 years ago when he got drunk and immediately ran towardshyung‘s car causing a commotion asking for sperm, Seonwoo buried his face in the pillow and let out a silent scream at Seyoon’s remark.
That unforgettable summer 3 years ago, these damn friends happened to record everything on video that day and sent it to his phone the next day, making him see in vivid detail what he does when he’s drunk.
After that, he swore never to do it again and was careful, but yesterday he lost his mind due to excessive joy.
“Ah, this is really driving me crazy…”
As he thrashed about on the bed in self-loathing, this time Seyoon spoke indifferently over the clamorous sound of brewing coffee.
“If you go crazy, it would be a loss to Korea’s genetic engineering field, so calm down for now… You’ve already caused trouble, so just clean up properly. This time too, as always, beg hyung sincerely. Do a formal apology until hyung forgives you. Ah, no. Yesterdayhyungtook you away himself saying he’d knock some sense into you, so you probably already apologized.”
“It would be fortunate if I had just apologized…”
At Seonwoo’s murmur that at least then he wouldn’t have to be dragged to the police station, Seyoon abruptly stopped talking. Then after a moment, he asked back as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard.
“What did you just say?”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you just say something about a police station?”
“Uh… I said I might be dragged to the police station…”
At Seonwoo’s overly cheerful answer compared to the weight of the word ‘police station’, Seyoon involuntarily shouted.
“What did you do this time?”
Until now, all of Seonwoo’s actions towards Eungyo were not quite illegal, but if asked whether they fell within the bounds of law-abiding behavior, that wasn’t the case either – they were actions that stood on a precarious borderline.
Seonwoo was too lacking to do delicate work like stalking. Instead, he did actions that were quite sufficient in terms of illegal elements such as defamation, insult, or sexual harassment – in other words, actions that were a bit ambiguous to pursue criminally, but sufficient for civil claims for damages.
But now it’s not even civil, but criminal?
In this embarrassing situation as Seonwoo’s lawyer, Seyoon barked at him to tell in detail, without leaving anything out, what he had done. Seonwoo hesitated a little before answering.
“Well…”
“…Well?”
“…I think so.”
“…You think what?”
At Seyoon’s puzzling question of “Where?”, Seonwoo shook his head even though he couldn’t be seen.
“No, no.”
“No what?”
“So…”
“So?”
“…I think I slept withhyung…”
The moment he whispered honestly in a tiny voice, as much as he could remember, suddenly the other end of the line went quiet. He thought the call might have been disconnected.
So, he called Seyoon again.
“Hello?”
Just in case, Seonwoo checked his phone screen, but the call was still connected. The call hadn’t been disconnected.
“Jeon Seyoon?”
Instead of asking if he could hear him, he called his name again, and after a moment, Seyoon carefully asked.
“…You slept with Eungyo-hyung?”
“…”
“So, you and Eungyo-hyung… I mean, holding hands in bed, no, if it’shyung, he’d probably grab your nape rather than your hand… No, that’s not it, anyway, you engaged in reproductive activities in bed?”
“Since we’re both biologically male and can’t produce children, it’s not strictly reproductive activity in the literal sense, but if it’s a metaphor for the act itself, then yes.”
While Seonwoo was having the irrelevant thought that maybe it’s because he’s a lawyer that he explains such a complicated and long way around the single word ‘sex’, Seyoon, who had somewhat organized his thoughts, let out a small sigh. Then he neatly summarized the situation.
“It’s a misunderstanding. Like a phantom pregnancy. So, a phantom se… no, phantom reproduction… Anyway, forget it.”
To Seyoon, who was experiencing cognitive dissonance just like himself a moment ago, Seonwoo bluntly revealed the reality.
“Sorry, but it’s clear reality.”
“No, it’s your delusion. There’s no reason hyung would do such a thing with you. Unless he’s given up on life.”
Unintentionally, Seyoon, who had grown up watching Eungyo since childhood because of Eunsoo and Seonwoo, was absolutely certain. There’s no way that hyung would touch this loser.
If anything, Eungyo would probably dislike people like Lee Seonwoo the most in the world. They were that incompatible.
But as always, reality was different from theory.
“I’m onhyung‘s bed right now.”
“…What did you say?”
“I said I’m onhyung‘s bed at his place.”
“Why are you there…”
About to ask why he went there, Seyoon suddenly remembered that Eungyo had taken Seonwoo away last night and stopped speaking. After a moment of silence, he asked.
“…You’re really athyung‘s place?”
“…”
The moment Seonwoo added that it was a high-rise apartment, though he didn’t know exactly where, the sound of something shattering and falling was heard.
He was drinking something, and it seems he dropped the glass.
Serves him right.
“Fuck… That was my favorite cup… No, you, come out first. Let’s meet and talk.”
Judging that this wasn’t a conversation to have over the phone, Seyoon quickly started to organize the situation. Feeling the urgency in Seyoon’s voice, Seonwoo also thought he should meet Seyoon first. If he really had to go to the police station, he would need Seyoon.
“Where should we meet?”
“My office.”
“Call me when you get here. I’ll arrive in about 30 minutes.”
“Okay.”
After ending the brief call, he tried to get up immediately, but even the slightest movement made every joint in his body feel like it was about to break.
“I really need to exercise…”
Regretting that he was out of shape from being cooped up in the lab, Seonwoo reflected on his own negligence, thinking that his limbs were falling apart just from reproductive activity.
Resolving to at least start walking from tomorrow, Seonwoo carefully got off the bed. Groaning, it took him quite a while, and as if sliding down, he finally got off the bed by surrendering his body to gravity. At that moment, Seonwoo finally felt relieved.
But that was short-lived. Seeing the bathroom door in the distance, he let out an involuntary sigh. Is this how the hill of Golgotha looked to Jesus?
“Couldn’t you live in a smaller place…”
Complaining about the unnecessarily large room in an era when small, efficient, and comfortable dome-shaped houses were trendy, Seonwoo directed his resentment at the absent homeowner. A moment later, he let out a long sigh and assumed a low crawling position.
And he started to crawl.
He had to get to the bathroom anyway. Since he had to go out, he needed to wash up and get dressed. As Seonwoo was desperately heading towards the bathroom to avoid social burial, he suddenly stopped moving.
It wasn’t that he stopped voluntarily. His waist wouldn’t move. Simply put, his back had gone out. As he slowly looked down, the scene below came into stark view.
With just basic biological knowledge, one could easily guess what had happened last night, and he once again realized how big of a mistake he had made.
So he banged his head again.
I should die.
***
