Be My Baby - Vol.3 Chapter 9 END
“Break up right now!”
At that thundering roar right in his ear, Eungyo set his phone down on the desk and decided to focus only on his computer screen.
For two months now, Father had shown no signs of giving up and still shouted his absolute opposition.
He would call at every opportunity demanding they break up immediately, saying he’d never accept it, causing such a fuss that when Eungyo blocked his number, he started calling from different phones.
When that didn’t work, he even started borrowing phones from random stores to call, so judging further evasion impossible, Eungyo’s final strategy was simply to ignore it.
Despite already registering as cohabitants and applying as legal guardians making their de facto marriage clear, Father still couldn’t give up.
His reasoning was that cohabitant registration could be canceled by mutual agreement without leaving legal traces.
But once the child was born, even that stubbornness would end.
Looking back now, Seonwoo’s pregnancy was a brilliant move.
Once the child was born, Seonwoo and he would become joint guardians and genetic partners with a shared child, leaving legal traces.
Then even Father could do nothing.
“About 2 weeks left?”
Recently he’d started feeling the due date approaching viscerally.
Though there was no visible belly, the signs were clearly showing.
The most obvious sign was Seonwoo’s sleep time increasing to 16 hours a day recently.
He worried the kid might end up sleeping all day at this rate.
“Quite a talent for sleeping.”
Thinking most people’s backs would break but he sleeps so well, Eungyo looked down at his phone again as thundering roars came from inside:
“You brat! What are you doing? Answer the phone!”
“…Yes.”
“You haven’t listened to me until now, have you?”
“No.”
“Break up right now!”
“No. I need to go into my afternoon meeting now. I’ll call you back later.”
As always, barely escaping Father’s call using meetings as an excuse, Eungyo picked up his phone to head to the meeting room.
Just as he was checking messages, there had been several missed calls from Seonwoo.
Thinking he hadn’t known about the calls since he’d set down his phone tired of hearing Father’s voice, just as he was about to call back, a message popped up:
[Going into surgery since the membrane is about to burst.]
At that sudden message, Eungyo’s eyes went wide.
The kid who had said everything was fine with plenty of time just this morning – what was this about? He tried calling but couldn’t connect.
It was the same when he called Seonjung who had been dragged from the depths of Africa.
“…Damn it…”
Wondering if he’d really gone into surgery, checking the message time showed it was already 30 minutes ago.
They had installed all sorts of equipment and an operating table in the second floor that used to be a health room, and imprisoned the research team and Seonjung in the apartment below just in case, so it seemed they’d gone straight into surgery.
Getting irritated wondering why send a message when he could have called the company if there was no answer, Eungyo quickly grabbed his bag and left the office.
“I’m leaving now. Tell hyung to handle the meeting.”
At Eungyo’s sudden words, his secretary asked in surprise:
“Pardon?”
“The baby… never mind, I’ll explain later.”
With no time to explain in detail, just as he was leaving the office heading for the elevator about to call his hyung, his phone rang with impeccable timing.
Father again.
Slightly annoyed at that tireless passion, he pressed the call button anyway.
“You brat, hanging up on me as you please?”
“I’m busy now.”
“What’s so busy?”
“Your grandson is being born, Father. Well then.”
After just saying that, he hung up abruptly and called his hyung while getting in the elevator.
Then headed home committing his first ever speeding violation.
When he arrived home, what he felt was a strange silence.
Quickly crossing the eerily quiet first floor without Seonwoo, he ran up the stairs to find men lined up by the various equipment arranged on one side of the second floor.
Seeing them gathered in blue surgical gowns, he hurried over just as Seonjung was about to take his gown off and bowed.
“You’re here?”
“Seonwoo?”
“He’s fine. Just resting after finishing surgery now.”
Seonjung pointed toward the glass-walled room with a bed and incubator installed, looking quite exhausted.
With urgent steps, he entered that room to see Seonwoo sleeping soundly on the bed.
From his peaceful breathing he seemed fine.
But still not feeling at ease, he approached closer as Seonjung came up beside him and spoke:
“We used general anesthesia so he won’t wake for 10 minutes.”
Eungyo turned to Seonjung at those words as he sat on the edge of the bed stroking Seonwoo’s forehead.
“General anesthesia? Seonwoo said local would work.”
“Because he kept interfering.”
“…What?”
“He tried to direct his own surgery so we had to quiet him with general anesthesia. Even if he’s the experiment director, it’s a bit much watching your own cesarean.”
At those words sincerely saying they’d silenced the noisy patient, Eungyo stared wordlessly at Seonjung.
Though his gaze was irritated as if asking how could you put him under like that, Seonjung paid no attention.
He might have made mistakes from stress if they hadn’t done that.
“Still we got lucky. Though the membrane was precarious, it didn’t burst. That’s what happens when you stubbornly resist when I tell you to have surgery.”
“What membrane?”
“The egg shell.”
“Egg shell?”
“Yes. The baby is supposed to burst through the membrane when it grows bigger than the egg absorbing nutrients, but this kid dragged it out too long. The baby grew so fast I told him we should separate but he wouldn’t listen.”
Well, what can you expect from someone who said he’d wait until his appendix burst because treatment was bothersome, Seonjung sighed and Eungyo looked at him with a shocked face.
This was the first he’d heard of this.
“…Wait. Then… if the surgery was delayed, the baby could have gotten stuck in his organs?”
“That’s right.”
“Isn’t that… extremely dangerous?”
“Very dangerous.”
Life-threatening level, Seonjung looked down at the sleeping Seonwoo with genuine irritation and Eungyo let out a dumbfounded sigh.
“So you’re saying that egg was a real egg?”
When Eungyo demanded an explanation, thinking the talk of an artificial uterus and eggs was somewhat metaphorical, Seonjung looked at him as if wondering if he still didn’t know Seonwoo after all this time.
“Seonwoo wouldn’t use such sophisticated expressions. It’s a real egg, literally an egg. A system where the fetus grows eating nutrients inside it and is born when it gets bigger than the egg.”
At those stunning words, Eungyo looked back and forth between Seonjung and Seonwoo repeatedly.
No wonder his belly didn’t show despite eating so much… so that was why.
So this kid had literally risked his life to get pregnant.
Even if he made it himself and knew it best, this was too dangerous.
“Why the hell didn’t he tell me any of this? If it was that dangerous he should have explained.”
When Eungyo nagged that he could have done early separation surgery or found some solution if he’d known, Seonjung made a wronged face.
“Don’t blame me. Take it up with Seonwoo. I clearly told him it could be dangerous and we should separate early.”
As Seonjung defended himself saying he was also incredibly exhausted because of this kid, Eungyo looked at Seonwoo again and muttered:
“…Damn brat…”
“Yes, really damn brat. So please stop him. This kid is saying he wants to try for a full 10 months next time with a bigger egg and stronger membrane.”
“What?”
“He’s really encouraged by the successful pregnancy. So please, stop that. Being the first man to give birth should be enough glory. Let someone else have the honor of completing a full-term pregnancy. My heart nearly stopped several times.”
When Seonjung complained he nearly died from his hands shaking since though surgery was routine and his own work, it involved his brother’s life, Eungyo looked down at Seonwoo with a sigh.
“Really this troublemaker…”
Just as Eungyo was lamenting that he couldn’t let his guard down for a moment and would properly scold him when he woke up, Seonwoo’s eyebrows twitched lightly.
Whether he was waking or dreaming was unclear at that reaction, and as Eungyo stared intently at his face, Seonjung glanced aside and spoke:
“Don’t you want to see the baby?”
“…Baby?”
“Yes.”
At those words, he looked over to see a small baby in the incubator installed in the bedroom.
As he slowly approached the incubator watching the red lump squirming inside, he saw a tiny baby that looked too fragile to even touch.
As he stared at that palm-sized baby with features barely distinguishable, Seonjung offered congratulations:
“It’s a boy. Congratulations.”
“…”
“Height is about 18cm and weight is 180g. The baby is large for its gestational age.”
When Seonjung explained that’s why they needed emergency surgery, Eungyo shot back lightly:
“Of course since he ate so well.”
“Yes, nearly gave me a heart attack growing so much in just a day or two.”
While Seonjung complained about nearly losing his mind when Seonwoo suddenly demanded surgery preparation since they hadn’t expected such rapid growth even if it came a week early, his words didn’t reach the current Eungyo.
Eungyo was completely focused on the baby now.
The tiny face and features, and those adorable hands and feet.
Though too small and still red and wrinkled to call pretty…
“…He is cute though.”
Especially those cheeks, Eungyo mused while examining the baby and Seonjung looked at the baby briefly before answering:
“Yes… he is cute.”
Though features weren’t clear enough to tell exactly yet, he looked cute enough to Eungyo’s eyes.
Strangely, though he usually detested children, this one seemed fine.
“Health status?”
“All good from checks before putting him in the incubator. Very healthy. Just…”
“Just?”
“He didn’t cry when we took him out which scared us, but he cried a bit later.”
“…A bit… slow then.”
“Yes.”
Seonjung barely held back from adding that he seemed oblivious too.
Though his eyes were covered since light wasn’t good for newborns, the fact he turned his head away despite his father watching suggested he was definitely oblivious.
But feeling Eungyo might be shocked by those words, Seonjung decided to pretend not to notice that part.
Children change as they grow anyway.
“Well, get some rest. We’ll head downstairs.”
“Alright.”
Finally free from imprisonment soon, Seonjung thought as he left the bedroom with the other team members, leaving the entire second floor quiet.
In the suddenly silent bedroom, Eungyo changed the glass wall to translucent and looked at Seonwoo’s peacefully sleeping face.
Though it was time for the anesthesia to wear off, he was still out – either sleeping through or not coming to his senses.
Though it would be nice if he’d wake briefly by now to at least say he was okay, thinking he was sleeping strangely long, Eungyo tapped his forehead just as his phone rang.
Startled by the sound, he quickly took his phone and left the bedroom to see his hyung’s name on screen.
“Yeah.”
“Baby born?”
“Already born.”
“Wow, that was fast. Congratulations. How’s Seonwoo?”
“He’s fine. Baby’s fine too. Sleeping now.”
“Hey, Father says he’s coming to see the baby – what should we do? He asked which hospital but I said I didn’t know. He seems ready to rush wherever he finds out.”
Though causing a fuss saying absolutely not just an hour ago, it seemed Father suddenly wanted to see the child upon hearing of the birth.
At that completely expected reaction, Eungyo gave his prepared answer:
“Tell him to wait. The baby’s in an incubator and too small to hold. Can’t risk exposure. And Seonwoo needs rest too.”
“Got it. I’ll tell him to wait until things settle. And you need leave for a while right?”
“Yeah. Parental leave exists for times like this.”
Adding quietly that he never expected to use parental leave in his life but would use it since it existed, Eunhyeok let out a light laugh.
“Alright. Congratulations again.”
“Thanks.”
After ending the brief call, he went back into the bedroom to see Seonwoo still sleeping.
Going over to pull up a chair and sit beside him, he poked his chubby cheek causing Seonwoo’s eyebrows to twitch lightly.
Then after a moment his eyelids lifted revealing sparkling black eyes.
“…Huh?”
“Awake?”
“…Yes… the baby?”
Finding it remarkable that though this kid usually couldn’t get his bearings for a while after waking, he remembered having the baby, Eungyo spoke gently for once:
“In the incubator.”
“Is the baby okay?”
“Yeah. Very healthy. And big.”
At those words Seonwoo smiled brightly.
“Wow, that’s a relief.”
“Yeah. Good job.”
“I want to see the baby.”
“Can’t get up yet. No moving until tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
At that smiling nod, Eungyo’s resolve to scold him for not telling him about the danger crumbled away.
As long as everything turned out okay.
Yes, that’s what matters.
“Good job having the baby.”
Of course, the team members who had to anesthetize and operate on Seonwoo while he tried to direct his own surgery had worked hardest, but when Eungyo said those words anyway, Seonwoo smiled brightly.
“Yes.”
“Sleep more. The baby’s beside you.”
“Okay…”
As if getting sleepy again as soon as the words ended, Seonwoo’s eyes drifted shut.
At that peaceful face, Eungyo smiled contentedly and kissed his forehead.
Though somewhat dangerous, the baby was born safely and both baby and Seonwoo were healthy so he couldn’t ask for more.
And above all, the days of abstinence were over.
Since passing 12 weeks they hadn’t dared touch just in case, but now once he recovered, he could hold this kid to his heart’s content – at that thought, Eungyo smiled pleasantly.
Yes, at that time he thought everything was settled.
“Why can’t I hold my own grandson?”
“…Not yet.”
Having given the same answer for the twentieth time today to Father asking the same question, Eungyo clicked his tongue in exasperation.
Somehow sensing the baby was at home rather than hospital, Father had been visiting daily for a week now, and demanding to hold a baby even Seonwoo hadn’t held yet since it was too small was pure stubbornness.
“The bones are still soft and he can’t hold his head up so it’s dangerous. Hold him after he grows some.”
“When?”
“At least three months.”
Judging from the baby’s terrifying growth rate that he’d be out of the incubator in three months, he answered that, but Father still anxiously stared intently at the baby in the incubator.
Then asked curiously:
“This child, doesn’t he look like me?”
At that question filled with his wishes, Eungyo answered firmly:
“No.”
“Look at the nose and eyes.”
“Not at all.”
“Look at the eyes, I said. They look just like mine.”
“No matter how you look at it, this child is Seonwoo’s carbon copy. Accept what you should accept.”
Though he had wondered at first, the child grew more and more identical to Seonwoo as time passed.
From features to mannerisms, he was Lee Seonwoo’s exact copy.
Looking down at the child with complex feelings of both joy and worry about that, Father also seemed to have no rebuttal as he pressed his lips shut.
“Well, since you can’t hold him anyway, please go now. The baby needs rest too.”
“Just a bit longer.”
“Father is today’s third visitor. Light isn’t good for the baby. And too much noise isn’t good either, so please go.”
Though this incubator was perfectly controlled for both light and soundproofing, pushing Father’s back saying constant visitors making noise wasn’t good, Father also withdrew as if having no choice.
“Fine, I’m going. But I haven’t accepted it yet. Though I can’t help the child being born, I don’t accept Lee Seonwoo.”
“Do as you please. Then I won’t see you off.”
After saying he didn’t care since Lee Seonwoo would live with him and turning away, Father let out a meaningless cough.
Shaking his head thinking that stubbornness would never change even in death, light footsteps sounded thump-thump-thump on the stairs.
At that sound, he turned around to see a round head.
It was Seonwoo.
Thinking the kid who had been doing something in the first floor study finally came up, he was about to gesture him over when Seonwoo smiled and greeted Father first:
“Oh? Leaving already?”
“…Yes.”
“Then, have a safe trip home.”
As Seonwoo kept smiling and greeting Father who clearly wasn’t welcoming him, Father snapped:
“Don’t misunderstand. Just because the baby was born doesn’t mean I’ve accepted you.”
Just as Eungyo was about to snap back asking why he had to say such spiteful things, Seonwoo responded with a bright smile:
“Yes, that’s fine. I don’t mind so don’t worry.”
At that somehow completely misaligned conversation, Eungyo pressed his lips together trying to hold back laughter.
It had been quite infuriating when he was the target, but watching Father get hit with it was somewhat amusing.
Watching Father’s lips tighten at Seonwoo’s response completely unfazed by his harsh treatment, Seonwoo gave another innocent greeting:
“Take care on your way home.”
As Seonwoo lightly walked toward the incubator, Father glared at them before stomping down the stairs deliberately loudly.
They had already explained and moved to living entirely on the second floor since they couldn’t leave even briefly, worried something might happen to the baby though that was unlikely.
After hearing the noise echoing from below, he turned his attention back to find Seonwoo staring intently at the baby.
“Sleeping well.”
“Just sleeping all the time.”
Though that made things quiet, Eungyo wore a slightly worried face wondering if the baby shouldn’t be moving more, but Seonwoo just kept smiling happily.
“They said I just slept as a baby too. Barely moved, just ate and slept, ate and slept, didn’t even cry.”
“I can imagine all too well.”
Just as Eungyo nodded saying not much different now and moved to hold Seonwoo’s waist, the doorbell rang again.
Frowning in annoyance at that sound, Seonwoo quickly ran to check the second floor intercom screen and blinked.
“It’s Eunsoo.”
If they were going to come, they should all come at once – this was a complete time-delay attack.
Father visiting daily asking when he could hold the baby, Mother coming daily saying how pretty the baby was, friends and researchers taking turns coming to look – it was driving him crazy.
“Tell him to go.”
“He probably came to see the baby?”
“That’s why… no, you come here.”
Since this kid obviously couldn’t turn people away, Eungyo decided to handle it himself this time.
Moving with heavy steps to the intercom, he delivered merciless words:
“Go.”
“Huh? I came to see the baby?”
“Stop looking. And don’t come for a while.”
“Huh? Huhhh?”
“Well then.”
After abruptly hanging up the intercom, Eungyo opened the bottom panel and cut the power completely.
Then telling Seonwoo to wait a moment, he went to the study to print a paper and headed to the entrance.
At those thumping footsteps, Seonwoo trotted after Eungyo down to the first floor entrance where Eungyo was putting up a large sign:
[NO VISITORS]
At those short words filled with rage and resentment, Seonwoo burst out laughing.
“You hate noise?”
“Detest it. I’m putting these up at the first floor entrance and visitor parking entrance tomorrow morning too. Not letting anyone near.”
Eungyo was thoroughly sick of people who had nagged endlessly before the baby’s birth now swarming like a pack of dogs to evaluate the baby after birth.
Gritting his teeth asking if his home was a 24-hour public park, Eungyo went back inside with Seonwoo trotting after him.
Just as Eungyo approached the first floor intercom, it rang again as if on cue.
Seeing the face on screen, Eungyo pressed the talk button without hesitation and said tersely:
“Go.”
“What?”
It was Seyoon on screen.
Though it was Seyoon’s first visit today, Eungyo mercilessly drove him away too and called security.
“This is 2201. Don’t accept any visitors. And I’m killing the intercom so tell anyone who asks that no one’s home.”
“Understood.”
After those final words, Eungyo hung up and muted the intercom bell as stated.
Unlike the second floor sub-intercom, the first floor one couldn’t be turned off for security reasons.
So all he could do was mute the bell and announce no visitors accepted.
Finally finding peace again, Eungyo entered the living room and let out a relieved breath as he leaned back on the sofa.
Then wiggled his finger calling Seonwoo, who trotted over and plopped down beside him.
“Should go somewhere far away…”
Though he wanted to go somewhere no one could find them right away, that wasn’t easy with the baby in the incubator.
Getting too tired from being hit with people repeatedly these past few days, he pulled Seonwoo into his arms and kept caressing those pleasantly chubby cheeks as Seonwoo leaned against him and carefully spoke:
“But…”
“…But?”
“Isn’t the baby really pretty?”
“…He is cute.”
When Eungyo honestly answered that though he wasn’t sure about pretty since he barely looked human yet, he was cute, Seonwoo seemed emboldened and spoke with a bright face:
“Then, couldn’t we have just one more baby? This time I want to try for 10 months…”
As he repeated exactly what Seonjung had warned about a week ago, Eungyo gave his ready brief answer:
“Don’t even dream of it.”
“…But…”
“The experiment itself is fine but not you. You know you were in danger this time too. I heard you nearly died – you want to do that again?”
“It wasn’t nearly dying. Just a bit dangerous since it wasn’t fully perfected yet…”
“Not a bit but very dangerous.”
Having already heard everything from Seonjung, when Eungyo scolded him once, Seonwoo quietly lowered his head.
“…I’m sorry…”
“If you’re sorry then stop at one. One child is enough. Taking care of you alone is hard enough – absolutely no thanks to a string of kids.”
One was already hard enough to manage – absolutely no way he could handle two more exactly like this one. That was completely beyond his abilities, Eungyo thought as he issued his warning and Seonwoo responded quietly:
“Okay…”
“Good that you understand.”
At that deflated response, Eungyo lowered his voice and stroked his head again as Seonwoo slowly looked up.
But that expression was very ominous.
When this kid looks like this, surely…
“Um, then instead of 10 months, how about 7 months…”
“…Want to really get punished?”
When Eungyo spoke menacingly through gritted teeth, Seonwoo lowered his head.
“…No…”
“Didn’t I say don’t even dream about 7 months or 10 months?”
“Yes…”
Looking at this kid who seemed docile but had terribly strong stubbornness, uneasy thoughts started creeping in.
Thinking this kid would likely do whatever he wanted again, Eungyo looked suspiciously at his head as the kid smiled awkwardly.
A laugh burst out at that smile seemingly trying to be cute.
“What have you done right to smile?”
“Are you angry?”
“Good that you know.”
When he deliberately spoke in a heavier voice, the kid beside him started giving eye-smiles.
“I won’t do it again.”
“Sure you won’t.”
“Really.”
Seonwoo’s face beaming with bright smiles saying he wouldn’t do it again was innocent as always.
But unfortunately that face didn’t work well anymore.
Even with such smiles, this kid would surely cause trouble again somewhere soon.
But even if he caused trouble again, he would forgive this kid.
Just as he always had until now, though cursing him as a rotten brat when he caused trouble, he would end up stroking his head and smiling saying he was pretty.
And then soon forget and just call him cute again.
“Really… a troublesome…”
A troublesome thing that doesn’t listen and causes problems, but too precious and valuable to let go of and cherished dearly.
At that call filled with complex meaning, the kid lifted his head.
Seeing that face, he couldn’t help but smile.
Just, the smile came naturally.
-The End-
