Be My Baby - Vol.2 Chapter 3 Part 2
“Now, explain everything without leaving anything out, honestly and exactly as it is. Don’t even think about trying to use unnecessary tricks. You’re the type to confess everything with your face anyway.”
The first words Eungyo threw at Seonjung, who was sitting pale-faced in the cafe they arrived at in less than 20 minutes, were these.
At Eungyo’s declaration, exuding a menacing atmosphere with a stiffly frozen face, Seonjung glanced down at his phone in front of him.
He had called Seyoon right after receiving Eungyo’s call, but the bastard wasn’t answering, probably in a meeting.
As he was desperately waiting for a call from Seyoon, who had conspired with him, not getting any response no matter how many messages he sent, Seonjung let out a small groan. Once again, Eungyo’s sharp gaze pierced him.
At that terrifying gaze, Seonjung inwardly hurled all sorts of curses at his idiot brother who had caused trouble and run away.
If he started something, he should see it through to the end himself, not run away saying he didn’t know anything because he was scared. What kind of case was this, and what era’s law was it that he, the older brother, was being dragged in by guilt by association?
Barely suppressing the urge to rush to Daegwallyeong right now and grab Seonwoo by the neck to slam him down, Seonjung finally raised his gaze. Eungyo, who had been checking the time on his wristwatch, spoke again in a calm voice.
“I’ve waited 5 minutes. It’s about time your cunning and instincts have fought it out and you’ve come to a wise decision, so are you going to confess honestly?”
At Eungyo’s demeanor that suggested he might throw him somewhere right away if he didn’t confess, Seonjung barely managed to drag out his voice.
“Um… well… but… how should I explain this…”
As Seonjung dragged out his words with a half-dead face, Eungyo instantly resolved his agony.
“Then I’ll summarize it precisely for you. First of all, what kind of accident did that human beagle cause?”
Beagle.
At that word that perfectly embodied his brother when drunk, Seonjung took a slow, deep breath and tested Eungyo.
“…How much did you hear from Seonwoo?”
“What I heard was that you had an accident and were wondering what to do about the child and woman.”
“…Did Seonwoo say that?”
“That’s the general summary. He was asking how to handle a situation like this. My answer time is over. Now it’s your turn to answer. So, what kind of accident did Seonwoo cause?”
“…”
“Lee Seonjung?”
At that low call, Seonjung groaned while looking down at his phone again, then uttered a sound that was unclear whether it was a groan or words.
“…Well, you see…”
“You see?”
“You see…”
As Seonjung glanced at Eungyo again with violently shaking eyes, Eungyo spoke as if interrogating him.
“Stop rolling your eyes around and look at me straight when you speak.”
At Eungyo’s threatening urging that seemed to say not to even think about being clumsily cunning, Seonjung finally opened his mouth with a heavy sigh.
“Well, you see… Seonwoo did have an accident, but…”
“How many times do I have to repeat myself for you to come to your senses? The problem isn’t that he had an accident, I’m asking what kind of accident it was.”
That meant he would be prepared if he said something different just one more time.
At that terrifying voice, Seonjung looked down at his phone once more and chewed on his lips.
Seeing him hesitate whether to speak or not, Eungyo sent a piercing gaze, and Seonjung reluctantly squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them and finally spoke.
“Well… you see… Actually, Seonwoo temp…”
Before Seonjung’s words, spoken in an almost fading voice, could finish, there was a loud bang on the table.
At that tremendous sound, Seonjung flinched in surprise and pulled away from the table. Eungyo, who had been leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed, continued speaking softly.
“Temp what? Temporary research lab? Temporary job?”
“Not temp, but temp…”
This time, as he was clearly about to pronounce the ‘p’ sound, that banging sound came again, and Seonjung clamped his mouth shut.
Startled by Eungyo’s terrifying reaction, he froze in place. Eungyo asked again in an even lower voice.
“Temp what?”
“…”
“What?”
The killing intent was too strong.
Whatever Seonwoo had explained and however much this sunbae had figured out and noticed, one thing was clear.
This person was quite angry right now.
And he was the type to see things through to the end once he got angry.
He had been famous since school days for being prickly, difficult, self-centered, and a perfectionist.
He was someone who couldn’t tolerate mistakes or rudeness, and couldn’t stand even a speck of a scar on his own life, so once you fell out of his favor, there was no mercy whether you were a friend, junior, or brother.
The only reason Seonwoo had survived despite his misdeeds was solely because that idiot was a national treasure-class scientist feeding the country, despite appearances.
Yes, he had endured until now because of that.
Even though he had shamed and irritated this person countless times, as Seyoon said, Genitech had practically become world-class thanks to Lee Seonwoo, so he had been very lenient.
But if asked whether he would overlook this incident too… it couldn’t be guaranteed.
The scale of the issue was different.
Until now, no matter what Seonwoo did, he might get angry but would overlook it thinking the kid was just really lacking, but for a problem like this, he would pound his brother into oblivion until he disappeared, not just for being lacking but for being an amoeba.
Just mentioning pregnancy would be enough for him to tear apart not Seonwoo herding cows in Daegwallyeong, but himself sitting right here.
Faced with his intimidating aura, Seonjung was unsure whether to confess everything truthfully or activate Plan B. As he blankly stared at the ghost-like man sitting across from him, Eungyo asked once more.
“You should continue what you were saying. Temp what?”
“…”
“What?”
Under that scary pressure, Seonjung, who had been in deep contemplation, finally made up his mind.
No matter how much of an idiot and seven-tenths fool he was, Seonwoo was still his brother.
In this hostile atmosphere, if he said, “Seonwoo is pregnant with your child,” something more terrifying than a legal battle would surely unfold right here, so he had to save his brother first.
And along with that, he had to save himself too.
So, there was only one way to defuse this issue without lying:
“Then, I’ll tell you honestly, just the facts.”
At Seonjung’s resolute tone, now filled with determination to explain properly, Eungyo curled his lip slightly, mocking his words.
“Of course you should speak honestly. If you tell even the tiniest lie, you’ll be taking a world tour tied to a rocket instead of that airhead.”
For a moment, imagining himself flying through the stratosphere tied to a rocket, Seonjung steeled his resolve, looked into Eungyo’s eyes, and began to tell him only the facts, exactly as he had said.
“A while ago, Seonwoo had an accident. While drunk and not in his right mind, he slept with someone, and a few days ago he found out by chance that a child had been conceived. But now there are quite complicated circumstances involved, so Seonwoo is currently on leave and… hiding until the child is bor… I mean, until the child arrives. That’s all.”
I’ve only conveyed the exact facts, Seonjung reassured himself. I didn’t say he slept with another woman, or that another woman got pregnant. I only stated facts that anyone would understand and accept from an objective point of view.
Of course, a lot of subjects and objects were severely missing, but I didn’t lie, Seonjung comforted himself.
Even if Eungyo sunbae noticed something from these words, that would be for Seonwoo to deal with, and if he didn’t notice, it would just pass by.
Anyway, in about 8 months, that guy would come back holding a child, so this was laying some groundwork, he thought, trying to convince himself. At that moment, he heard Eungyo mutter softly through gritted teeth.
“Where is Lee Seonwoo right now?”
“Pardon?”
“Where is that problem child right now?”
Eungyo’s voice was very quiet.
And compared to just before, he didn’t seem particularly angry.
But somehow that made it even scarier, and Seonjung flinched. A piercing gaze flew at him.
Under that fierce look that made it impossible to lie, Seonjung unconsciously confessed the truth.
“At Grandfather’s house. He’s at our Grandfather’s house.”
“Your grandfather’s house? Daegwallyeong?”
“…Yes.”
“Good.”
Though it was unclear what was good, Eungyo stood up abruptly, and Seonjung suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of unease.
“Wait, you’re not planning to go there, are you?”
“I am.”
“Ah, no! No! I’ll go! I’ll go bring him back!”
Thinking it would be over if he went and saw directly, Seonjung jumped up from his seat and clung to Eungyo, who was about to walk away.
“I’ll go bring him back! No, I’ll go drag him back!”
He desperately tried to stop him, thinking he needed to coordinate stories with both sides and not knowing what kind of things the fully unleashed Seonwoo might be doing at Grandfather’s house, but Eungyo was firm.
“I’ll go drag him back myself, so you go.”
“No, why? Why are you going when Seonwoo caused the accident?”
As he asked that, wondering if perhaps he had noticed something, Eungyo turned to look at Seonjung quietly.
“You’re asking why I’m going when that guy caused an accident?”
“…Yes…”
“Because I’m going to manage him from now on.”
After those brief words, Eungyo pushed Seonjung away, brushed off his clothes as if shooing away flies, and left the cafe, disappearing.
Seeing his back as he walked away, looking like he would rush straight to Daegwallyeong right now, Seonjung stood there blankly for a moment before quickly picking up his phone and making a call.
But as expected, Seonwoo’s phone was still turned off.
“This idiot bastard, not even knowing the grim reaper is rushing over!”
For some reason he didn’t understand, Eungyo was extremely angry right now.
And again, for some reason he didn’t understand, he was rushing off to catch his brother.
So this time he called his grandfather.
Though he hadn’t specifically checked, it was obvious he would be at Grandfather’s house, so he waited for a moment and soon the call connected.
“Yes?”
“Grandfather, tell Seonwoo to hide right now!”
“…Huh? Our Seonwoo?”
“Yes! A demon is rushing over there right now! Send him somewhere else right away!”
As he rapidly explained the situation without even greeting, his grandfather seemed a bit surprised and asked back.
“Uh… We’re in Jeju right now… What’s going on? Did Seonwoo run away after causing big trouble again?”
At those ridiculous words, his voice rose.
“Jeju? What about the ranch?”
“We came on a trip since Seonwoo was here.”
“Then you can’t contact Seonwoo?”
“He said he’s going into seclusion, so he probably won’t answer the phone… We connected all the house phones to cell phones, so you probably can’t reach him. But why? That kid was checking the incubator as soon as he arrived and talking about removal and separation with your grandmother.”
“Didn’t you hear the story?”
“What story?”
For a moment, Seonjung was conflicted about whether he should tell his grandfather the truth, but there was no time to explain such issues in this situation, so he wrapped up the conversation for now.
“It’s nothing. Seonwoo will explain it to you himself. Well, take care.”
“No, what’s going on? Did Seonwoo eat something strange again?”
At his grandfather’s words still treating Seonwoo like a seven-year-old child, Seonjung changed the subject for now.
“It’s something similar to that. He said he talked to Grandmother about needing to grow it a bit before taking it out.”
Right, he did eat something.
The problem is that he ate it through the bottom, not the top.
“Tsk, what were you doing letting the kid put strange things in his mouth? You should have stopped him when he was trying to do weird things. Is the kid really that lacking? As the older brother, you should take good care of your younger sibling.”
About to say that even a super-ultra-firstborn couldn’t prevent someone from secretly drinking alcohol and eating things down below out of sight, Seonjung trailed off vaguely.
“Does that guy ever listen to anyone else?”
“Well, I suppose that’s true…”
“I’m in a hurry now, so I’ll call you later. Have a nice trip since you went on vacation.”
“Alright.”
Thinking he should rush to Daegwallyeong first at this rate, he was about to leave the cafe after paying when his phone rang.
Thinking it might be Seonwoo, he checked, but it was Seyoon.
“Hey! Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“I was in a meeting. What’s going on? Eungyo hyung called?”
“I already met him and finished talking, and sunbae rushed off to Daegwallyeong.”
At the news of the extremely rapid and varied events that had unfolded in just 30 minutes, Seonjung shouted as he left the cafe. Seyoon replied in a dazed voice.
“To Daegwallyeong? Why?”
“Why else? He went to catch Seonwoo.”
“Hyung, did you tell him everything?”
“I didn’t tell him everything, just that Seonwoo had an accident and got someone pregnant, but after hearing that he rushed off to catch Seonwoo!”
“Then did he figure it out?”
“I don’t know! Whether he figured it out or not! That’s why I’m going crazy!”
He didn’t seem to have figured it out, but seeing him suddenly rush off saying he would manage Lee Seonwoo himself, it seemed like he might have figured it out… But thinking about it rationally, it also seemed like he hadn’t…
In this confusing situation, he really couldn’t tell what Eungyo was thinking.
That made it even more frustrating.
“…Then what are you going to do?”
“He just left, so I’ll go first. I know the shortcut…”
Of course, even if it was a shortcut, it was a road clearly marked on navigation, so the arrival time would probably be similar anyway.
Most cars moved on a semi-automatic system, so regardless of driving skill, the departure time was directly linked to the arrival time. As he walked towards where he had parked his car, trying to hurry even a little, an unexpected statement came through.
“Just leave it be.”
“What?”
“Since it’s come to this, just let Lee Seonwoo handle it himself. He should clean up his own mess.”
“What if something really bad happens to him?”
“Eungyo hyung isn’t some psychopathic murderer. No matter what, he won’t kill him, so don’t worry. He’ll probably just get scolded until he cries and maybe get sued a bit.”
“That’s what’s scariest! You might be used to it because of your job, but do you know how draining it is for people who get dragged into trials for medical accidents or experimental errors? That’s the scariest thing in this world!”
“He has to face the consequences of what he did. And even if it goes to court, the country will step in to persuade Eungyo hyung somehow because they need to keep Dr. Lee Seonwoo alive. He might suffer emotionally in the meantime, but despite appearances, Seonwoo is valuable, so they won’t let it go too far. Don’t worry too much. Even if his doctorate is revoked in Korea, countries around the world will rush in like a pack of dogs to try to take him away, so do you think our country would let him go?”
Thinking about it, that was true.
But still, he was worried.
“I’m worried about the process. And what if the worst-case scenario really happens?”
“Then he’ll have to deal with it himself.”
“Hey, but he’s still my brother…”
“There’s a saying my father uses for times like this. If you’re going to die, die alone. At least the rest of the family should survive so they can offer you food at your memorial service later.”
“…That… does make sense.”
“So just leave him be. He’s not a child, he’s 27 years old. He needs to handle his own life now.”
“…So we really just leave him?”
“Yes. We’ll just watch and help clean up if things get too big.”
“…You’re right, I suppose.”
“Then let’s settle it like that. I have work to do, so I’m hanging up now.”
“Okay, then.”
“Don’t worry about it anymore, hyung.”
“Alright.”
As Seyoon hung up callously saying he was busy, Seonjung stood there for a moment, lost in thought.
He was torn between thinking he should still go rescue his little brother and just leaving him to figure it out on his own.
He felt guilty about just leaving him, but following after him seemed like more than he could handle.
After hesitating in place for a long time, Seonjung finally decided to prioritize his own safety after an intense internal struggle.
“Brothers are supposed to help… when there’s real danger…”
As if to say it wasn’t really a dangerous situation yet so he should handle it himself, Seonjung finished speaking to his absent brother and started walking again towards the parking lot.
Then he started the car and turned the steering wheel towards home.
***
