Be My Baby - Vol.3 Chapter 7 Part 1
He was having a very good dream. In a dream that was so pleasant and had a perfect story, Seonwoo was smiling brightly even in his sleep. No matter how much it was a dream, the development was so ecstatic that he was smiling in reality, and a soft voice brushed past his ear.
“What are you smiling about like that?”
At that voice, which seemed gruff at first glance but was affectionate, he smiled again, and a gentle hand touched his hair. And soon after, a moist sensation touched his forehead.
“You’re sleeping. I’ll come home early today.”
At that incredibly kind voice, Seonwoo thought he had hit the jackpot. Even if it was a dream, it was such a good dream to be treated so affectionately. So he just kept smiling. He couldn’t help the laughter that kept leaking out because he was so happy. So, it was an incredibly pleasant dream.
***
After the morning meeting, as Eungyo finished signing the approval documents that had come up and handed them over, Yeonsoo, who received the documents in front of him, looked Eungyo up and down with strange eyes.
“You’re in a great mood today?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you finally get some sleep?”
As Yeonsoo sent a suspicious look, saying that he had looked like a ghost until yesterday, but why did he look so fresh today, Eungyo looked at Yeonsoo with a slight smile on his lips.
“The complicated things have been resolved.”
“How?”
“With a happy ending. You can go now.”
“…How did you do it? Did Lee Seonwoo finally beg you to live together?”
Although it was actually the exact opposite, Eungyo didn’t bother to correct that statement.
“Let’s just say it was similar.”
As he said that, Eungyo’s face was glowing. Although his sexual frustration wasn’t completely resolved, he could now legally touch him, and although he was still sleep-deprived, the excessive flow of endorphins allowed him to shake off fatigue quite lightly. No, rather, his condition was so good that it was troublesome. He had genuinely wondered, ‘What kind of mental illness is that?’ when he heard friends in relationships say they would go straight to meet their lovers even after staying up for several nights, but now he seemed to understand what that feeling was like.
It seems that when you fall in love, you suddenly become manic, becoming Superman.
Even though they had been clinging to each other without sleeping until the morning, he wanted to skip work because he didn’t want to separate, but thinking that work might pile up and he might not be able to rest on the weekend, Eungyo bravely went to work and quickly got back to his tasks. Yeonsoo, who was looking down at Eungyo from the side, bent his waist and examined Eungyo closely.
“Your dark circles are still there, but your skin is glowing. It seems like you didn’t sleep, but seeing that you’re full of life, I guess your frustration has been resolved?”
At that question, which was somewhat curious and interested, Eungyo exercised his right to remain silent, and Yeonsoo, taking that as an affirmative answer, opened his eyes wide as if amazed.
“Really? Did you do it?”
“Stop slacking off and get out of here.”
Just as Eungyo was about to say that he was annoyed with this ball of curiosity that never knew when to stop once it started, the intercom rang with perfect timing.
“Director, Attorney Jeon Seyoon is here.”
“Show him in.”
As if saying that now that a guest had arrived, it was time for him to get lost, Eungyo raised his eyes and gestured with his chin to Yeonsoo, who tilted his head.
“A lawyer? Why a lawyer? Are you changing your legal counsel?”
“No, there’s another matter. You can go now.”
“Alright, I’m going. Tell me about it later.”
As Yeonsoo was about to take a step at the same time as he spoke, the door opened with a knock. And as Seyoon entered, Yeonsoo just gave a slight bow and immediately left the office. Seyoon also nodded in greeting to Yeonsoo, and after Yeonsoo left the office, he politely greeted Eungyo.
“Hello?”
“Sit down.”
As Eungyo stood up from his seat and pointed to the sofa in the office, Seyoon sat down on the sofa with a slightly disgruntled face. Since Eungyo had suddenly called early in the morning and just said to come to the office before hanging up, Seyoon was looking at Eungyo’s expression with a slightly anxious look, and Eungyo, sitting on the sofa next to Seyoon, leaned back and looked at Seyoon. At that somewhat piercing and scary gaze, Seyoon spoke first, anxiously wondering if Seonwoo had caused trouble again overnight.
“So, what’s the sudden matter…?”
“This, you wrote this, right?”
Along with his words, Seyoon picked up the consent form thrown right in front of him and calmly read the contents written on it. Clearly, it was the consent form he had written for Seonwoo two weeks ago. After calmly reading through the consent form, which stated that as a condition of agreeing to the experiment, he would not ask Eungyo for any responsibility or obligation regarding the child’s upbringing, and that in the future, neither Seonwoo nor the child to be born would exercise any rights to Eungyo’s property or inheritance, Seyoon honestly nodded.
“That’s correct.”
“Good. Then, write a new one.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said, write a new consent form. The consent form is absolutely necessary, so write it, but make it as I want.”
Of course, Seyoon agreed that a consent form was absolutely necessary, but he felt a bit uneasy. While Lee Seonwoo was frustrating because he didn’t understand and it was impossible to know what he was thinking, this person was too self-centered and cunning, making it difficult to know his true intentions in a different way. As Seyoon had a slightly uncomfortable look on his face, Eungyo asked again.
“Your answer?”
“…If you say to write it, I will… but how…?”
Wondering what kind of clause he was trying to include to have called so early in the morning, Seyoon carefully asked, and Eungyo, leaning back on the sofa, casually threw out his words.
“First, the clause that must be included first is that as a condition of agreeing to the experiment, all parental rights and custody of the child will be joint, and while we’re at it, that guy becomes my cohabiting partner.”
“…Pardon?”
“And the next item is that I should become that guy’s legal guardian as his partner. At the same time, I should also become his next of kin. Include that in case anything happens to that guy, I have legal priority over his family.”
“…”
“And thirdly…”
After saying that, Eungyo paused for a moment, then nodded and continued.
“Right, that should be included too. If that guy suddenly disappears or leaves the house or tries to end our cohabiting relationship, include that he forfeits all rights to the child. And as a bonus, add the condition that he must transfer all his assets to me for life. Oh, and that should be included too. That he will never be able to see the child again for life.”
At these contents that seemed quite detached from the experiment, Seyoon, knowing it was rude, first interrupted Eungyo’s words.
“Um, excuse me for interrupting, but…”
Just as Seyoon was about to continue, Eungyo unilaterally cut off Seyoon’s words.
“If you know it’s rude, don’t do it. And lastly, add the condition that he must never stay out overnight without my permission. Include the condition that he must call me wherever he goes. Oh, and make it possible to track his location. Add that if he doesn’t answer my calls more than three times, I can do whatever I want. It would be good to add the condition that he must comply with whatever I want.”
As Eungyo rubbed his chin with a serious face, wondering if he should include specific details about what he should do, Seyoon couldn’t hold back any longer and interrupted Eungyo’s words.
“Um, I’m really sorry to interrupt, but…”
“Didn’t I say not to do it if you’re sorry?”
Despite Eungyo’s words implying ‘Just listen to what I’m saying and don’t make a peep because it’s annoying,’ Seyoon risked being rude this time and quickly continued.
“I’ll say it anyway. I’m not sure what exactly I’m supposed to be writing here?”
Seyoon expressed strong dissatisfaction with the content, unsure whether he was being asked to write a prenuptial agreement, a slave contract, or an experiment consent form. Seyoon tried to object, feeling a crisis of identity due to the clauses that were so unrelated to his specialty, as he was clearly a lawyer specializing in research and medical malpractice, not a divorce specialist or labor law expert, but Eungyo’s attitude on this matter was firm.
“It doesn’t matter what you’re writing. If I say write it, shouldn’t you write it?”
“…”
“You’re Lee Seonwoo’s legal counsel, so if I say write it, you should write it. Or… should I send you a flood of lawsuits? You look bored too.”
That was Eungyo’s true intention.
Even if he would later withdraw them all at once, he would mobilize every lawyer and make them swim in a sea of lawsuits. At Eungyo’s words, dripping with malice and spite, Seyoon shut his mouth tight.
Although he was a lawyer himself, after all, what lawyers do is to pick the opponent clean to the bone, rummaging through the garbage can and even the toilet bowl if necessary. Even for someone who seems like they could live without laws, if someone is determined to scrutinize them with malice, bumping shoulders could become assault, and even just looking through a window while passing by could become an invasion of privacy. Even delivering a misaddressed mail could lead to a stalking charge.
Of course, in most of these cases, the charges are dismissed or result in not guilty verdicts, but if you use your head well, you can inflict mental damage on the other party as much as you want. Moreover, you can make the other party waste time and money. Even for ridiculous charges, once you’re sued, you have to spend time and money to defend yourself and prove your innocence. Because of this, there are surprisingly many lawsuits where the goal is not to win, but to harass the other party.
So, Seyoon realized that if this person was determined to torment him, he would be done for. Come to think of it, even if truckloads of lawsuits came flying in, it would ultimately be his, as the legal counsel, who would have to deal with them. Lee Seonwoo might not even know what they were, or he might try to escape reality by saying there’s nothing he can do about it since they’ve arrived, or he might even panic and bury all the lawsuits.
No matter what, the conclusion was that he would be the one most troubled. If that’s the case, there’s only one conclusion. But before that, there was something that needed to be confirmed.
“I understand the situation roughly. But to make sure, I’d like to ask two things.”
“Speak.”
“First, what exactly have you decided to do with Seonwoo?”
“If you heard the terms of agreement just now, shouldn’t you have guessed by now?”
At those words, asking if he didn’t even have that much insight, Seyoon slowly nodded.
“I understand that. Then secondly, if things are going well with Seonwoo, why are you making this kind of consent form? Seonwoo, if he likes you, would cling to you and never let go even if he died.”
“Let’s just say it’s to threaten him in advance because I can’t fix his rotten habit of running away when he’s scared. I’m about to develop neurosis from chasing after that guy who keeps disappearing at the drop of a hat.”
At that moment, Seyoon was impressed. At Eungyo’s idea of making a consent form to keep him from making a peep, since personality reform was impossible for a 27-year-old, Seyoon decided to respect Eungyo for coming up with such an idea, at least for that moment. Anyway, this wasn’t bad for him. If he could graduate from the role of Lee Seonwoo’s forced guardian in the process, nothing could be better.
“Is there anything else you want to include?”
At Seyoon’s very wise and practical question, which he had judged in an instant, Eungyo slowly nodded as if he liked Seyoon.
“Indeed, you understand better than Lee Seonwoo. Yes, from your perspective, what else do you think is needed to keep that guy in check? To prevent him from changing his words later.”
At that question, asking for his opinion as Lee Seonwoo’s long-time friend and long-time guardian, Seyoon answered sincerely and earnestly.
“In my opinion… money isn’t that important to Seonwoo. Rather than that…”
“Rather than that?”
“The best thing would be to include a clause stating that if they break up, he must leave Korea forever. Because he has seizures when it comes to going abroad.”
Having already clearly understood what Eungyo wanted from the moment they met at home in the early morning, to the point of disliking it, Seyoon provided exactly the answer Eungyo wanted, and Eungyo nodded as if he liked that answer.
“Good. Include that too.”
“I’ll write it up and email it to you today.”
While answering politely, Seyoon quickly started typing all the contents Eungyo had mentioned into his phone. And to add more substance to it, while repeating some questions and answers, Seyoon recalled his father’s words that were the blood and flesh of his life.
In an era where life expectancy is 120 years, to live comfortably and peacefully during that long lifespan, you need to know where to stretch your legs and where to lay your head. If you get involved in the wrong places, you might end up ruining yourself. Avoid conflicts and step into peace.
For that reason, Seyoon decided without hesitation to let go of his friend’s hand and take the hand of the wise and cunning man. And that was a very wise choice.
***
