I've Been Possessed, But What If I Get Pregnant First? - C102
#102
“Ah, that’s Yuwon’s mother and father… They’re no longer in this world.”
Grandmother spoke bitterly, noticing where Taebeom’s gaze had landed. Taebeom barely steadied his shaking vision and tried to calm his breathing before asking.
“How long has it been… since they passed away?”
Taebeom looked at the wrinkled face of the old woman, hoping they were similar people, hoping they weren’t those people.
“Yuwon was 8 when they died in an accident, so it’s been about 11 years now. Oh my! What’s wrong with this person!”
As soon as grandmother finished speaking, Taebeom staggered. Suddenly, the big guy turned pale and stumbled, and grandmother caught him with a startled face.
“What’s the matter, are you alright?”
“I’m sorry, but I have an urgent matter to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first…”
Taebeom hastily left, as if avoiding something. Grandmother called after him in a worried voice, but nothing registered in his ears.
Rushing out of the villa, he didn’t remember how he made it home. Junseok, discovering Taebeom who had returned with a sweaty face and rough breathing, asked in surprise.
“Boss! What happened? Did something happen with that kid?”
He should have known from the moment Taebeom said he was going to see the kid with a serious face, but Taebeom wasn’t in good shape. Junseok hurriedly fetched cold water from the kitchen and handed it to Taebeom.
“Boss, drink this water first. Why are you sweating so much…”
Taebeom looked at Junseok’s worried face and then squeezed his eyes shut. Then, covering his sweaty face with both hands, he said in a desperate voice.
“Find out about Cha Yuwon’s… parents. Right now.”
***
Reading the documents, Taebeom poured strong liquor into a glass. The strong smell of alcohol filled the room. The papers in Taebeom’s hand were mercilessly crumpled.
“Cha Yuwon. It was that child.”
Taebeom closed his eyes tightly, recalling the young couple he had seen at Yuwon’s house.
The couple who had caused his mother’s death were Cha Yuwon’s parents. At the happiest moment, the cause of that cruel accident that had dragged him to the bottom was related to Yuwon’s parents.
The accident that day was a tragedy that occurred overnight. Taebeom had manifested as a dominant alpha, and while his mother was busy preparing for his move, going back and forth between the main house and Taebeom’s new house, she had an accident, unable to avoid a car coming from the opposite direction. It was the other driver’s drowsy driving.
The two father and son struggled in hell with the guilt of not being able to protect their most beloved wife in an instant, and the guilt that his mother had died because of him.
After 11 years. As much time had passed, he had forgotten about his mother, but he hadn’t really forgotten. Taebeom had to make countless efforts for the wound in his heart to heal.
But all those buried memories resurfaced, and Taebeom struggled with the same pain as back then. With something hot rising up his throat, Taebeom threw the crumpled bundle of papers on the floor.
He didn’t want to blame Yuwon. He himself had lived in such pain after losing his mother at an age close to adulthood, so it was hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for Yuwon, who had lost his parents at a much younger age.
But, seeing Yuwon reminded him of his mother’s face, and it was painful. Taebeom covered his face with tired eyes.
***
“Yuwon, you should get up now.”
At grandmother’s words in front of the door, he turned his back, covering himself with the blanket while keeping his eyes closed. The sound of grandmother’s deep sigh from behind pricked his heart.
He had manifested as an omega and eventually quit school.
He thought he would feel incredibly relieved after quitting school, but his heart felt more empty than he expected. Due to his late manifestation, he had to learn how to control his pheromones and went through his first heat cycle.
During that time, at grandmother’s insistence that he should at least have a high school diploma, he prepared for the equivalency exam on his own. With something to focus on, time passed quickly, and winter passed, and the year changed abruptly.
“It’s January 1st, you should eat tteokguk… Oh my!”
At the mention of January 1st, he suddenly sat up, and grandmother blinked her eyes in surprise.
“Is it January 1st today, grandma?”
“If not, it’s still the 31st.”
Behind grandmother’s back, he noticed the calendar that had changed to January.
Why had he forgotten this? He quickly got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom.
“Grandma, I’ll wash up and come out!”
“No, Yuwon! The tteokguk first-“
“I’ll eat when I get back, I’ll have two bowls!”
He felt sorry for grandmother, but finally January 1st had come. Until just a few days ago, he had been waiting for each day to pass, how could he have forgotten?
After washing up, he chose and wore his best clothes. Perhaps because it was January, a bitter wind seeped into his coat as he left the house. He had dressed up as best he could because he wanted to look good, but it was so cold it was hard to breathe.
Stamping his feet, he moved forward, tightly gripping the paper in his hand. Even though it took a long bus ride to get to the company where hyung was, it didn’t feel tiring at all.
“Wow… it’s huge…”
He had come rushing without thinking, but arriving in front of the shiny building, he felt intimidated without realizing it. Is this right? No. But I like hyung….
While he was unable to do anything for days after manifesting as an omega, hyung had disappeared without a trace. At first, he wondered if hyung was very busy with work, or if he was going through something called a rut again. He waited for hyung every day in front of the boxing gym building, making all sorts of guesses. But hyung didn’t show up even after days, and weeks passed.
He contemplated calling first dozens of times. There were days when he spent the whole day writing and erasing hyung’s phone number repeatedly. He heard from grandmother that hyung wasn’t coming to the restaurant either. After waiting for Kwon Taebeom to contact him first, he finally impulsively called him.
[The customer’s phone is turned off. You will be connected to voicemail after the beep.]
He didn’t expect to hear such a guidance voice.
The repeated guidance voice was clear evidence that he was avoiding me. If you were going to do this, you shouldn’t have been so nice… If you were going to abandon me like this, you shouldn’t have easily said you’d take responsibility.
Listening to the mechanical guidance voice instead of Kwon Taebeom’s voice, he shed tears. He thought he shouldn’t have believed others’ words. Even though he thought that, it was difficult to erase him who had already settled in his heart.
After struggling alone for several nights, what he finally remembered was the business card he had received from him. Once, he had begged and received a business card from him. On the business card, which he had barely found after rummaging through all the clothes he had put away as the seasons changed, was written the name of his company.
He had been waiting for January 1st, clutching the business card tightly, and today was that day. The teacher had also told him to have courage. With a pounding heart, he entered a cafe near the company and called hyung.
[The customer’s phone is turned off-]
As expected, hyung didn’t answer my call today either. I didn’t know why hyung was suddenly acting like this, but I couldn’t give up today.
[Hyung, it’s Yuwon. I’m waiting at the coffee shop in front of your company now. I have something I must tell you. I’ll wait until you come.]
Even after a long time had passed since sending the message, there was no reply. The left side of my chest felt heavy, but I still took a deep breath and stared at the entrance.
“Customer.”
“Ah.”
At the end of a boring wait, I had fallen asleep without realizing it. I raised my head, startled by the touch waking me up. Then, an employee with a troubled face, squinting one eye, carefully began to speak.
“I’m sorry, but our business hours are over.”
“Ah… yes.”
It was already past 10 o’clock. On the table where I was sitting, there were several untouched coffees. I got up from my seat and bowed my head to the employee.
“I’m, I’m sorry.”
Hurriedly leaving the coffee shop, I looked down at my phone. There was still no contact from hyung. Hoping that maybe I had missed it, I sent several messages, but the situation remained the same. Moreover, with little battery left, I was very anxious. Biting my lip tightly, I sent a final text to hyung.
[Hyung. Please come. I’ll wait until you come.]
After sending the message, I let out a deep sigh. Following my breath, a hazy smoke touched the sky and disappeared. My toes were cold, and my exposed neck was too cold. Wiggling my toes inside my sneakers, I clutched my phone tightly at the lack of contact.
“Please come quickly, hyung…”
***
[7 missed calls]
[Hyung, it’s Yuwon. I’m waiting at the coffee shop in front of your company now. I have something I must tell you. I’ll wait until you come.]
[Hyung. Please come. I’ll wait until you come.]
Taebeom let out a deep sigh and chewed on his lower lip. Since confirming the messages from Yuwon, all of Taebeom’s nerves were focused on the small phone.
As time passed, Taebeom eventually headed to the company. Driving frantically, as the company building came into view, he suddenly came to his senses.
“Ha…”
Because of just a few text messages, all the efforts he had been trying to maintain were about to be in vain. Taebeom roughly hit the steering wheel and turned the car around. Just a little, Yuwon was just a few meters away. But Taebeom couldn’t go to Yuwon.
He knew it wasn’t Yuwon’s fault, but he felt like he would resent Yuwon if he saw his face. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to hurt that child anymore.
Memes From Aida