Be My Baby - Vol.1 Chapter 0 Part 2
“What on earth… is he doing?”
Checking the security camera in the bedroom on his phone after a sudden motion detection alert, Eungyo stared at the screen with a curious expression.
The white rice cake-like lump that had suddenly gotten up from the bed was now on the floor, banging its head against it.
Despite having watched him for quite a long time, Lee Seonwoo remained an unknown entity to Eungyo. He couldn’t understand what he was thinking or why he lived like that.
Honestly, he didn’t want to understand. Somehow, he felt that if he understood this guy, he might feel self-loathing…
As he shook his head, wondering why this guy was acting like this, he felt Eunhan, sitting next to him, glancing this way. Sensing his gaze that was clearly curious about the screen, Eungyo quickly turned off his phone and put it inside his jacket.
Finding this behavior unusual for Eungyo, Eunhan asked.
“What are you hiding?”
“…An unidentified organism.”
“Are you raising an alien?”
“…In a way?”
From his perspective, Seonwoo and an alien were pretty much the same thing, so Eungyo readily agreed. Eunhan frowned as if to say, what does that mean?
“What? Are you keeping a pet or something?”
Since an unidentified organism is still a living thing after all. Eunhan asked, wondering if his heartless brother had finally stepped into the world of pets, but his hope was in vain.
Eungyo stared at him with a look that said ‘would I raise one?’, and Eunhan shrugged.
Thankfully not, he thought. You don’t have any empathy, he didn’t bother to say. Turning his gaze back to the tablet PC screen he was holding, Eunhan ended the small talk and got straight to the point.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“About what?”
“Father.”
At that single word that came out cleanly without need for complex explanation, Eungyo cut off the conversation as if it wasn’t worth discussing.
“Leave him be. He’ll give up when he gets tired of it.”
“It doesn’t seem that way. You know how stubborn the old man is. He’s really upset because you, me, and Eunho have all broken off our engagements one after another, and even Eunsoo is shouting ‘long live being single.’ He’s so angry that he’s skipped over marriage altogether and said he’ll give his entire fortune to whoever brings him a grandchild first, no matter what. I guarantee you, that’s definitely not a joke.”
“It’s absurd to ask for marriage and children in your 30s in an era where life expectancy is 120 years. And through natural childbirth at that.”
Saying that he would only pretend to listen if he made sense, but he’s talking nonsense, Eungyo mercilessly dismissed his father’s indignant outburst.
So, the start of all this drama was a week ago.
Exactly a week ago, Eungyo announced his breakup with his girlfriend of 5 years, whom he had been dating with the premise of marriage. It was a very ordinary and beautiful parting, commonly referred to as Hollywood-style, citing personality differences as the reason.
A carefully calculated situation, timed just right after racking their brains together with his partner.
So naturally, the moment he announced the news of the breakup, it was predictable that the person who checks his blood pressure due to low blood pressure would suddenly grab the back of his neck and make a fuss. It was unexpected that he declared he would give his entire fortune to whichever son brings him a grandchild first, saying forget about marriage, but…
Given father’s temperament, and his stubbornness and pride, with three sons breaking off their engagements in a row and one declaring he would never marry, and mother teasing father on the side saying she knew this would happen, it was understandable that he got angry and impulsively made such a statement, but still, that condition was too much.
Especially, natural childbirth.
It’s a world where anyone can legally buy excellent genes, modify them before fertilization, and implant a perfect embryo in an artificial uterus to have and raise a child alone.
In such an era, ‘natural childbirth’ is outdated and old-fashioned.
‘Natural childbirth’ means that everything from fertilization to implantation and delivery is done naturally, literally giving birth to a child through intercourse without any genetic manipulation at all. The intention behind father’s idea is obvious.
Regardless of who the partner is, if someone brings a child through natural childbirth, it’s undeniable proof that they had a relationship, so he intends to force them into marriage no matter what.
And it also means that he wants to see a grandchild who might resemble him from his sons, who are exact copies of their mother through genetic manipulation. Because somewhere in the sons’ genetic makeup, there must be unexpressed DNA information from their father.
Father’s intentions were crystal clear.
And moreover, knowing this, there’s no way they would do as father wishes.
Not Eungyo, not Eunhan, not Eunsoo.
It’s bothersome and troublesome. And above all, they don’t want to have a child that resembles their father.
“The old man has too much useless knowledge…”
Eunhan clicked his tongue softly, wondering why they should take the difficult path when there’s an easy one.
Since the genes have already been filtered once in this generation, the next generation’s children would be somewhat free from disease and crime-related issues, but there’s no reason to take unnecessary risks.
And Eungyo agreed on that point as well.
“That’s why I’m saying to ignore it.”
“The problem is that we can’t ignore it. A naturally born child? It’s so sudden and out of nowhere.”
“Just let him dream about holding a grandchild that resembles him. Tell him to dream on.”
“No, does that make any sense? Why take the hard road when there’s an easy one?”
“That’s why I’m saying to leave it alone. We just need to not do it. You, me, Eunho, and Eunsoo. We all hate the idea of marriage and children, so if we all hold out together, there’s no problem.”
“That’s true, but… Be mindful that there could be a wild card. Kang Eunho.”
At the mention of the unpredictable third brother’s name, Eungyo finally frowned as if realizing something.
“Ah… That gutless bastard…”
As Eungyo gritted his teeth slightly, recalling the troublemaker who frequently sides with whoever benefits him and causes family turmoil, Eunhan clicked his tongue, asking if he had forgotten about him.
“Eunsoo might even pretend to die if you told him to, being a bundle of brother complex, but we never know when Kang Eunho might betray us. It’s not the first time he’s acted like he’s on our side, then betrayed us at the last minute and left us high and dry.”
“…”
“You can trust anyone else in the world, but never trust that guy. I’ll have someone keep an eye on Eunho’s side for now, so you should also come up with a plan. To be honest, I don’t mind if it’s you or Eunsoo, but I don’t want to hand over the fortune to that guy.”
Eunhan shuddered, saying he didn’t want to give even a sheet of tissue paper to Eunho, whose hobby was backstabbing his brothers. Eungyo felt the same way. Other siblings might be okay, but not him.
“I agree. I don’t mind if it’s you or Eunsoo, but definitely not that guy.”
“That’s why you need to think carefully. That Eunho might even come up with a child right away.”
“That’s why he’s stupid. If it’s a natural birth, there would obviously be a mother, and if there’s a mother, father will use any means necessary to push us into the wedding hall. After all, father’s ultimate goal is to drag us into the hell of marriage.”
“…That’s right. That’s the problem.”
As Eunhan sighed as if he had a headache at their father’s principle of ‘I can’t suffer alone, you all should suffer too’, Eungyo quickly continued, “So tell Eunho that first. If he just believes what he’s told about bringing a child, he’ll end up in the wedding hall at lightning speed.”
“But will he listen?”
“If not, then he’s decided on a tour of hell.”
If he needs to experience it himself to understand, then there’s nothing we can do. As Eungyo reacted as if he didn’t care about his brother’s life, Eunhan leaned back against the chair, tilting his head back as if exhausted.
“Is there no way to get a child from a man somewhere?”
“Wake up. Even Lee Seonwoo couldn’t do that.”
As Eungyo finished speaking, telling him to give up, and was about to turn his gaze to the window, his phone in his jacket pocket rang. At the short notification sound, Eungyo took out his phone to check the screen and ended up laughing in disbelief at the lump sitting in the middle of the room, banging its head on the floor.
It was a slightly different spot from where he was banging his head earlier. Closer to the bathroom.
So he’s banging it again.
If he’s going to bang it, he should do it in front of me, why is he banging his head on the floor alone like this?
Wondering if it was some sort of self-deprecating performance, Eungyo let out a chuckle at the incomprehensible reaction, and Eunhan, sitting next to him, nudged his side.
“What have you been looking at? If it’s something good, share it.”
As Eunhan subtly leaned over, seemingly trying to see the screen, Eungyo quickly put the phone back in his jacket pocket.
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing? You were suddenly smiling while looking at your phone.”
“I laughed because it was so absurd.”
“What did you see?”
“…”
“Hm?”
At Eunhan’s pressing, saying if it’s something good, let’s see it together, Eungyo finally gave a brief answer.
“A nuisance.”
“…A nuisance?”
“Something that gives me trouble.”
“You have something that gives you trouble?”
“Apparently. I didn’t know I had such a thing, but there’s exactly one. This time, I really need to fix that bad habit properly.”
As Eungyo clicked his tongue softly, feeling irritated at the sudden recollection, Eunhan finally realized who this ‘nuisance’ referred to.
“You, are you talking about Lee Seonwoo right now?”
“…”
At the silent affirmative response, Eunhan let out a small laugh.
“Did he cause a ruckus asking for sperm again?”
“…”
The continued silence was an affirmative answer. That’s what happened.
“Just find him cute. He’s not stalking you maliciously, and for 10 years he’s been going around telling everyone about his unrequited love, but when he actually sees you, he pretends not to know you, hides, and runs away. Occasionally when he’s drunk, he calls to say he loves you and asks for some sperm. Just find it cute and let it go.”
At Eunhan’s soothing words full of amusement, Eungyo turned to look at his brother sitting next to him with an incredulous face.
“You think it’s cute when he calls drunk asking for sperm?”
“It’s because the kid is a bit lacking. Usually, he runs away just seeing your face, but when he’s drunk, he calls and makes a scene, and then the next day, he kneels down and apologizes sincerely. It’s kind of cute in its own way.”
“If I find it cute twice, will he end up asking for my testicles?”
“No way… Just say he’s cute, he’s a baby, he’s young. Eunho is tactless, and Eunsoo has been trying to act mature since he was young, imitating you, so they’re not cute, but that guy is cute. People need to be a bit sloppy and make mistakes to be endearing. If they’re too perfect, it’s not fun.”
Eungyo had to admit that Lee Seonwoo was certainly cute.
At twenty-seven, despite being one of the world’s top genetic engineers, he has a gentle and bubbly personality, and is oblivious. He wears all his thoughts and emotions on his face and knows nothing of unnecessary inferiority complexes or feelings of inadequacy.
Perhaps due to his unnecessarily positive personality that doesn’t budge no matter how much he’s mistreated, he also has a youthful face. At a glance, he looks like a college student.
Come to think of it, his round face shape is cute.
Being perpetually preserved in the lab, his face is pale and plump like a rice cake, which is very cute.
So, just his face.
“No matter how lacking he is, he must have learned his lesson this time, so he probably won’t do it again next time. Where did that young kid pick up such a bad drinking habit?”
Recalling it again made him angry, and he clicked his tongue softly. It’s true that he’s been very patient so far, seeing them all as babies since there’s a seven-year age gap with the youngest, as Eunhan said. And he was planning to keep being patient in the future too. After all, he’s Dr. Lee Seonwoo.
But last night, that guy finally crossed the line. He was planning to just give him a good scolding and teach him a lesson so he’d never do such a thing again, but unfortunately, that unidentified organism was not a species that such methods work on.
Positively speaking, he’s persistent, negatively speaking, he’s thick-headed. He forgets soon after being scolded.
Words absolutely didn’t work on him, so he left a proper lesson on his body to make him regret deeply and repeatedly… The problem was that in the process, he himself did something he shouldn’t have done.
“Damn it…”
No matter how annoying, ridiculous, and infuriating that loser was, he should have endured. Feeling like he did something wrong to a child, Eungyo suddenly messed up his hair in frustration, and Eunhan turned to look at him curiously.
“Why? What did Lee Seonwoo do this time to make you like this?”
“…There’s something.”
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing good to know about.”
At Eungyo’s refusal, telling him not to ask any more, Eunhan nodded as if he understood.
“Well, all that loser can do is go on about sperm. But how did you end up giving him a ride? Was there an accident? Did he throw himself at your car again?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“I happened to meet him at the bar, and he suddenly made a fuss asking for sperm, so I dragged him out first, but…”
Eungyo started speaking calmly, as if it was a usual occurrence, but he suddenly cut off his words at the next part, as if he felt upset. He thought he was fine with it, but recalling it now made him feel ashamed.
Sensing something unusual in his reaction, Eunhan urged Eungyo on.
“You dragged him out, and then what?”
“…In the moment I took my eyes off him, he had written ‘Please give me sperm’ on the car window with a permanent marker.”
The moment Eungyo described the situation in detail, adding that he even drew a heart at the end, Eunhan couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.
“So you got the car washed?”
When Eungyo turned to look at him with a face that said ‘Did you think I’d drive around like that?’, Eunhan patted his shoulder as if feeling sorry for him.
Seeing his brother’s reaction, clearly enjoying this situation, Eungyo let out a long sigh. He figured at least one person was happy in this chaotic situation.
***
