If You Want Me - Episode 63
<Episode 63>
Even without being full from eating, drowsiness from the meal was setting in, and after taking the morning sickness medicine that caused sleepiness, drowsiness washed over him like waves.
After just brushing his teeth and sitting on the wooden porch, nodding off like a sick chicken, the old woman who came out of the room suddenly put a straw hat on Seo-won’s head.
Why the sudden hat? Maybe so his skin wouldn’t get tanned from sitting like this? As Seo-won lifted his head with a puzzled look, the old woman opened her mouth while putting on rubber boots without looking his way.
“If you’re done eating, wash up and get ready to come out.”
“Where are you going?”
“Are you going to stay cooped up at home every day?”
“That’s not it, but…”
“If you’re going to stay here until you have the baby, you need to greet the villagers and learn your way around a bit. Hurry and get ready to go out.”
He wondered where she was suddenly telling him to go, but it turned out she was going to show him around the village and introduce him to people.
If he was going to stay here until the baby was born, he would have to stay for at least a few months. But it was uncertain if the old woman would let him stay that long, so he didn’t think he could stay here for such a long time. Moreover, he had a vague thought that it might be hard to get close with the villagers since most of them were elderly.
So he thought there was no need to be introduced, but Seo-won got up from his spot without a word. It was because he remembered not being able to go for a walk last night since he didn’t know his way around.
Shaking off the drowsiness and getting ready lightly, he followed the old woman on the bumpy road and arrived at an outdoor pavilion under a large tree, where elderly men and women were gathered eating sliced apples.
As the old woman and Seo-won approached, the grandmothers who had been chatting noticed them and spoke first.
“Who is this young man? You didn’t mention having a grandson like this.”
“He’s not my grandson, but a young man who started living with us since yesterday. He’s staying for a few months.”
“Is that so? We’re glad to have a young person here, but you must be lonely alone. If you have any difficulties while staying, come this way. Right. Have some of this too.”
The grandmother who had shown interest while speaking first stuck a fork in an apple slice and held it out to Seo-won.
As Seo-won accepted it in a daze saying “Oh, oh,” the grandmothers got more excited and talked to him this and that, treating him warmly.
For a random place he had picked, the old woman who took him in and the villagers were so kind that it tickled his heart.
He had left thoughtlessly as if running away, so he didn’t think he would grow fond of the island, but Seo-won gradually gained the conviction that he would get used to this island village.
* * *
“Report.”
“We’re still tracking CCTV, but there are records showing he canceled his phone that afternoon and took a bus to Busan at 4 o’clock. Here are the bus ticket and CCTV photos.”
As soon as Do-gyeom arrived at work early in the morning, he received a report from Secretary Bae about Yoon Seo-won’s whereabouts.
The moment he heard from Seo-won’s mother that she didn’t know where he was, Do-gyeom mobilized all his professional manpower to focus on finding Yoon Seo-won.
It wasn’t simply out of a selfish desire to confess his feelings. Right now, he felt like it would be enough just to know Seo-won was safe. Even if he couldn’t see him, he felt like he could live just knowing he was somewhere safe and sound.
Right now, he wasn’t even living but in a half-dead state. There were days before when he suffered from imprint pain from not being able to see Seo-won. But now, the impatience of possibly losing Seo-won for good was piling on top of the imprint pain, making him feel like he knew what it meant to wither away. He only realized that after losing Yoon Seo-won.
As soon as he sat in his chair, Do-gyeom checked the things Secretary Bae handed him. Seo-won’s name, Seoul to Busan, and the time were written, and below were low-quality photos with a glimpse of Seo-won.
Perhaps he had made an impulsive decision after meeting Do-gyeom, as there was no large luggage visible and he was still wearing the shirt Do-gyeom had put on him that day.
Do-gyeom looked down at the photo with complex eyes. Was he in such a rush to leave quickly wearing ill-fitting clothes?
He ran a fingertip over Seo-won in the photo, then spoke to Secretary Bae in a cold voice.
“Why did he go to Busan? Did he say he didn’t talk to anyone on the way?”
“The only person he talked to that day was the person who sold him the ticket to Busan. The ticket seller said he didn’t strike up a conversation while selling the ticket, so they didn’t talk. But he was…”
Secretary Bae reported readily but then trailed off as if something was bothering him.
Do-gyeom wanted to know even a second faster if it was about Yoon Seo-won, so it was frustrating to see him dragging out the time. Narrowing his brows slightly, Do-gyeom urged him to finish.
“He was what.”
“…crying, so it stayed in his memory.”
“……”
“He said it was… the first time he saw someone cry like that while buying a ticket.”
At Secretary Bae’s words, Do-gyeom stiffened like a stone.
He said he was crying…
Until now, he had thought there might be another reason for Seo-won’s disappearance, but he had cried miserably. It was certain he had left suddenly because of Do-gyeom.
If only he had realized his feelings a little sooner, Seo-won wouldn’t have cried like that and left. The cruel way he had treated and replied to Seo-won came to mind vividly, tormenting him. Now regret ate at his mind even more than the imprint pain.
Do-gyeom wiped his haggard face with his hand and pressed his thumb hard on his deeply furrowed brow. His head throbbed painfully and it was difficult.
“Did you find out anything else?”
“If you give me a little more time, I will find out more.”
“I don’t care how much money it takes, so find out as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, sir.”
When Do-gyeom gestured with his eyes to leave, Secretary Bae strode out of the executive director’s office.
Left alone in the room, Do-gyeom let out a suppressed sigh while looking at the photo of Seo-won from the CCTV.
“Phew…”
Last night, after meeting Yoon Seo-won’s mother, he had returned home but couldn’t remember in what state he had arrived. He had been so out of it that it was a miracle he hadn’t gotten into a car accident in that condition.
Even lying down, he couldn’t sleep, and even closing his eyes, his mind wouldn’t settle. Rather, his worries deepened and he trembled in fear that he might never see Yoon Seo-won again.
Now that he liked him, he thought if he confessed, they could get along well like before. No, he had hoped for an even deeper relationship. There would be countless people who opposed and couldn’t understand him marrying a recessive omega with nothing, but since he liked him, he didn’t care about others’ gazes.
Whether it was because of the imprint, or because his love for Yoon Seo-won was deeper than he thought, either way he figured as long as they had a child and lived well, that was all that mattered. But…
“Why do you keep running away?”
Thinking of the disappeared Yoon Seo-won, he only hoped that he was healthy. That nothing had happened and he was doing well.
No matter how much he agonized over it, it wouldn’t help find Yoon Seo-won any faster, and he had work to do at his post. Requests to see him were still piled up like a mountain.
But inefficiently, nothing caught his eye. The only thing Do-gyeom could do now was smoke cigarettes while feeling anxious to relieve this suffocation.
* * *
Swoosh.
“Is it the autumn monsoon?”
The old woman muttered while looking up at the sky full of dark clouds.
Clear, transparent water droplets fell on the yellow and red ripe leaves. Perhaps because it was completely autumn, the weather was quite chilly, requiring a cardigan.
Seo-won also frowned and looked at the sky, and the old woman next to him asked.
“Since it’s raining, should we fry some pancakes?”
“Pancakes? Sounds good.”
“Crispy? Or soft?”
“I like crispy ones.”
“Then wait a bit.”
Seo-won also tried to go to the kitchen to help, but the old woman chased him out saying he would just make more work if he came in.
Since the ambiance was nice, they decided to eat the pancakes simply on the wooden porch. Before long, the old woman brought a flat plate filled with pancakes. The types were kimchi pancake and chive pancake. She prepared a soy sauce dip with vinegar to go with the two.
He already liked both types of pancakes, but she even fried them crispy to his taste, so his mouth watered. As he picked up his chopsticks, the old woman took out a plump white bottle from who knows where.
“I need to drink some makgeolli.”
Since Seo-won was pregnant, the old woman didn’t offer him alcohol and instead poured barley tea in his cup.
The combination of barley tea and pancakes was also good. A piece of pancake, a sip of barley tea, a glance at the rainy scenery. Perhaps because it was such a good combination, his mood quickly improved.
It had already been two weeks since he came down to this village. In the countryside village he had run away to before, it felt like he was still scurrying around by the two-week mark, but this time he adapted quickly to the island village. Unlike back then when he had to do everything alone, this time he had the old woman as a reliable helper.
Today, he had gone out to help with the old woman’s small farm work during the day and received steamed corn and sterilized milk from the supermarket lady. He hadn’t particularly acted cute, but for some reason, all the villagers treated him well.
“…Is it because my belly is showing?”
As Seo-won was eating kimchi pancake, a thought suddenly occurred to him and he mumbled to himself while looking down at his belly.
Previously, his belly had been so flat it was hard to believe there was a baby inside. Even when they took a fetal ultrasound, he was surprised enough to say “There’s something like this?”
But as time gradually passed, his belly started to show a little. As a recessive male omega who wasn’t far along in pregnancy yet, others probably wouldn’t notice he was pregnant unless he took off his clothes, but if you looked closely, it was obvious.
Listening to the villagers, they all had experience with not only children but even grandchildren, so were they experts in this? Or had rumors spread through word of mouth starting with the old woman who owned the house?
Like in the previous village, the village was so small and had so few residents that rumors could easily spread. It felt a bit uncomfortable to think they were treating him well out of sympathy, but since their kindness wasn’t bad, he ended up accepting it without a word.
By the way… he wondered if it was okay not to go to the obstetrician? His condition was gradually improving and there were no particular issues, but he was a little worried just in case.