If You Want Me - Episode 39
<Episode 39>
I don’t know how I can face my mother with any sense of decency. As Seo-won failed to give a proper reaction and hesitated, Do-gyeom quickly got up from the bed and bent his waist at a ninety-degree angle.
“I was planning to leave early, but… I ended up staying overnight. I’m sorry for not getting your permission. I didn’t mean to disregard you.”
“If you’re very tired, that can happen. I’ll prepare breakfast, would you like to eat before you go?”
“I’d love to, but I have to rush to work…”
“Is that so?”
“Next time, I’ll make sure to treat you.”
Do-gyeom furrowed his eyebrows in an eight shape as if he was very sorry he couldn’t join the meal.
As Jihee headed to the front door to see him off, Do-gyeom’s phone rang with good timing. The screen that could be glimpsed showed the three letters “Mother”.
He checked his cell phone and clicked his tongue softly before turning to Seo-won.
“Make sure to answer the phone. And go to the hospital.”
“…Please go quickly.”
When Seo-won subtly avoided answering, Do-gyeom’s expression worsened.
He seemed eager to urge for an answer, but with the incessantly ringing cell phone and Jihee’s presence, he didn’t say anything more and quickly left the room.
After he left, only Seo-won and Jihee remained in the house. Since they usually had a close relationship, there was no reason to feel awkward, but today the atmosphere was particularly uncomfortable. The air flowing in the house felt foreign.
The silence was awkward. Seo-won only rolled his eyes and tried to open his mouth first to lighten the mood.
“Mom, you should have woken me up.”
“You were sleeping so soundly, so I just left you. But Seo-won.”
Jihee stared at the front door Do-gyeom had left through and slowly turned her head towards Seo-won.
Clearly, her tone and expression were the same as usual, but the atmosphere was extraordinary. As he swallowed his saliva with a strange tension, Jihee hesitated and belatedly continued.
“Your child… is it the Young Master’s?”
“…What?”
Although he had noticed the strangely sharp atmosphere, he never dreamed such a question would come out of her mouth.
How did she know that? For a moment, his heart sank as if falling to the bottom, and he couldn’t manage his expression even though he had no intention of revealing that it was Do-gyeom’s child. No excuse came out as if his tongue had turned into a stone.
As Seo-won looked at Jihee with a surprised face, she opened her mouth as if wiping her face with her palm, looking torn.
“At first, I thought it was an accident… But you’re not the type to do that.”
“…”
“I thought your reaction when the Young Master returned from the US was a bit strange, and when you said you worked under him, I thought it was a bit unexpected… Don’t tell me you had that kind of relationship since then?”
“Ah, no!”
Seo-won was startled and widened his eyes, raising his voice. The guess was half correct, but they never had that kind of relationship since then.
Of course, Do-gyeom’s behavior on the day he returned from the US after finishing his study abroad remained a mystery in the mansion to the extent that it was an incident. Because he greeted the housekeeper’s son the most joyfully after returning after several years, not even his parents.
On top of that, despite his parents being on the first floor, he made a pheromone partner contract and even had a sexual relationship. No one would know that such a thing happened in Do-gyeom’s room, but since they didn’t come out for a long time, many people found it strange.
As Seo-won persistently denied that it was such a thing, Jihee’s eyes narrowed. It was a face asking if it was really true.
Seo-won pondered whether he could tell the truth and eventually confessed as if sighing.
“As you said, the pregnancy… It’s true that it’s the Young Master’s child. But we didn’t have that kind of relationship or anything like that.”
“Haa. Seo-won-ah. What are you going to do with the Young Master’s child…? It seems the Young Master doesn’t know.”
“…Probably.”
“What will you do if he finds out?”
“I have to keep it a secret.”
If Do-gyeom continued to chase after him like this, it was only a matter of time before the fact that he was pregnant was discovered. He had to shake him off before that, but it wasn’t easy.
As Seo-won answered in a slightly unconfident voice, Jihee sighed deeply and opened her mouth.
“You might as well tell the Young Master everything. That you’re pregnant. I think if the Young Master knows, he won’t leave you struggling like this. Seeing yesterday…”
“That can’t happen!”
Although Jihee tried to persuade him gently, Seo-won shook his head vigorously with a slightly pale face.
Telling Do-gyeom the truth. He had thought of that method at first when he heard that a child had been conceived, but no matter how much he thought about it, it was absolutely not okay.
“He’ll definitely tell me to get rid of it. If someone who doesn’t see me as an omega and doesn’t love me thinks that I’m pregnant with his child, he’ll think it’s terrible.”
“A person who says he doesn’t see you as an omega impregnates you and holds you tightly while sleeping?”
Jihee asked, stating that she knew how Seo-won and Do-gyeom slept yesterday. Since neither of them came out of the room until late last night, she must have seen it.
“That’s because the Young Master has a situation…”
“I don’t know the Young Master well, but there’s no one in this world who would do that if they didn’t like someone. If he does that without meaning it, he’s trash.”
Jihee spoke as if asserting. She was convinced that Do-gyeom liked Seo-won.
Trash. The words seemed too harsh, but it was natural for her to think that way. Because ordinary people don’t behave like that. Because if they have a conscience, they can’t behave like that.
However, didn’t Do-gyeom repeatedly tell him in front of Seo-won that he didn’t think of him that way?
Sometimes there were people who couldn’t be honest with their feelings. There were people who would pick fights with the person they liked for no reason, like teenagers.
But Do-gyeom had always been like that since Seo-won was young. On his fourteenth birthday, which was also the day Seo-won presented as a fervent omega, he kissed Seo-won and disappeared, then suddenly went to study abroad and implicitly let it pass as if it never happened, wasn’t he that kind of person?
“No… The Young Master doesn’t like me. The Young Master, he just… finds it comfortable to deal with me.”
Honestly, he had no confidence. Just like getting rid of the child, hearing the words of complete rejection from Do-gyeom’s mouth seemed like it would completely shake the foundation of his life.
It seemed like he was avoiding it too much, but he wanted to keep the matters of his heart and the child as his own. He didn’t know when the end of this long one-sided love would come, but he wanted to do that.
When Seo-won answered with a sense of resignation, Jihee lowered her eyebrows as if she felt sorry for him and advised.
“I won’t force you since it’s your choice. But still, think again about not telling him.”
“…Thank you for worrying about me.”
“Okay. Let’s hurry and eat, you must be hungry. It’s almost ready, so can you bring the spoons?”
“Yes.”
Seo-won smiled faintly and followed her into the kitchen to get the spoons.
In the meantime, the meal his mother prepared was delicious, so it was a bit unfortunate that he had to leave Seoul again.
* * *
That afternoon, Seo-won took the bus and returned to his house in the countryside.
The obstetrics and gynecology clinic said it was best to get checkups at the hospital every month, but he decided to refrain from going to the hospital as much as possible because it seemed like someone was following him like a shadow.
Since he was a fervent omega, the high probability of miscarriage weighed on his mind, but the conclusion that he would have to get rid of the child even if Do-gyeom found out was the same.
With such thoughts, a day passed, and the day of Seulgi’s tutoring arrived. As he was visiting Seulgi’s house and continuing the lesson familiarly, a slightly noisy sound was heard from outside.
From outside the door, rough footsteps could be heard going thump, thump, thump. A male voice grumbling loudly was heard.
“Ah, really, why do they always make me do this?”
And the closed door swung open with a bang.
As Seo-won and Seulgi looked up from their lesson, a man with red dyed hair appeared, holding a bowl in one hand.
At a glance, the man didn’t seem to have a very good personality. Although one shouldn’t judge a person by their appearance, even though he was only wearing ripped jeans and a black t-shirt, an indescribable sloppiness was strongly felt.
“Eat while you study.”
The footsteps and the sound he made before entering the room were mixed with annoyance, as if he would pick a fight, but the voice he spoke while facing Seo-won and Seulgi was normal.
He spoke and placed the bowl he had brought on the study desk, which contained tomatoes sprinkled with sugar.
Seulgi’s parents had mentioned they also grew some tomatoes. Was it harvested from there? As Seo-won was thinking for a moment, Seulgi showed a bright face and spoke in a cheerful voice.
“Oh right, Teacher. This is my brother I told you about last time.”
“Hey, are you going around talking about me?”
“Yeah, a few days ago, I went to the arcade with the teacher, and he’s almost as good at games as you.”
“You still play that game? Gosh…”
The man who scolded Seulgi belatedly turned his gaze to Seo-won. As soon as he saw Seo-won, he widened his eyes slightly and suddenly cleared his throat, politely greeting him.
“Ahem, hello.”
“Yes… I’ll enjoy the tomatoes. Thank you for bringing them.”
“Oh, well…”
The man scratched the back of his neck as if he was embarrassed. His ears turned as red as his dyed hair. Seeing how he conversed well with Seulgi earlier, he seemed to feel awkward talking to a stranger.
Seo-won was also introverted, so it wasn’t comfortable for him to talk to unfamiliar people. When Seo-won didn’t say anything else, the man left the room with visibly fidgety steps.
Seulgi, who had been sitting still, looked at her brother like that and tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand.
“What’s wrong with him? Hmm, Teacher. Let’s eat the tomatoes and study.”
“Let’s solve up to this page and eat.”
“Ah, Teacher!”
Seulgi shook her shoulders as if wanting to slack off even a little, acting cute. She showed a desperate will to take a break, but Seo-won continued the lesson resolutely while smiling with his eyes.
In the end, it was after Seulgi finished solving all the problems that they got to eat the tomatoes sprinkled with sugar.