As the baby in her womb grew steadily, her belly was now noticeably swollen.

Moving wasn’t the same as before, and her pace automatically slowed down, but the doctor’s words that she still had a long way to go frightened her. Before her belly grew even larger and she was truly confined to home, Yeon diligently moved her body as much as she could.

Even though she had left much earlier than her appointment time, she was still running late. Yeon clutched her lower abdomen and entered the cafe near her house. Before she could even feel happy from the fragrant coffee and sweet pie smells, she looked around the cafe and saw Eun-song, who stood up and waved.

She approached with her slowed steps and sat down. Eun-song, who had been quietly looking at her swollen belly, smiled slightly.

“What?”

“Even when we were in school, I never imagined we’d be meeting like this.”

“You had the baby first. How do you think I felt seeing you?”

“Yeah. That’s why I smiled. I figured you must have felt this way when you saw me too. Are you feeling a bit better?”

“I don’t know. I’ve lost my appetite lately.”

“...Is Sunbae doing well?”

Eun-song carefully chose her words, lest they be misunderstood. Even though she now had someone she had promised to be with forever, Eun-song was cautious and swallowed hard several times as she spoke.

She had liked him for a very long time. For Eun-song, he was her first love and the man who had left her with a painful wound. Yeon was that man’s first love and unrequited love interest. Perhaps the two women were very uncomfortable with each other, but they were also friends who knew each other best.

“Yeah, he is.”

It was Eun-song who had reached out first after a long period of being distant. There was no reason to avoid her. She didn’t want to hate anyone anymore. Perhaps she wasn’t as young as she used to be, and she could now understand Eun-song’s feelings to some extent.

Eun-song wasn’t the only one who had gone through immature times. She herself had been young back then too. She didn’t want to dig up and dredge up the immature times they had shared.

“...Right. Oh, this. I bought some baby clothes and a few simple things.”

Eun-song offered a wrapped box with an awkward smile.

“Thank you. Is Ah-hyun doing well?”

“Our kid is doing too well, it’s a problem. My in-laws said they’d watch her today, so I quickly dropped her off and came out. It’s my first time having freedom in ages. I don’t know how long it’s been.”

They were once at ease even without bringing up uninteresting topics like the weather or even just facing each other in silence, but now the two women were wondering what to talk about. They awkwardly held the bottom of their glasses, hiding their discomfort in the warm temperature.

“So, are you going back to work after giving birth?”

“Yeah. I still have time since I have maternity leave and childcare leave. You know I can’t give up this job.”

“Yeah. You’ve been like that since school. You said you wanted to follow your father’s wishes even though your mother was against it.”

“Yeah.”

“Right. You should do what you want to do instead of having your career interrupted like me after having a baby. Sunbae will let you do as you please, right?”

Yi-hwan’s name was naturally mentioned, and Yeon nodded along with Eun-song, who was trying to continue the conversation nonchalantly.

“I knew Sunbae would be like that. Come to think of it, Sunbae is really amazing. He only liked you since school, and in the end... You know I gave up on Sunbae completely. You also know I’m stubborn, but he didn’t give me even a sliver of a chance. He was cold. He was even colder than what I told you.”

“Was he? Oh, I see.”

“Yeon-ah, I sincerely hope you’ll be happy. I’m sorry.”

She hadn’t come out today to hear those words.

Yeon reached for the untouched shortcake first.

“Looks delicious. Let’s eat. I’m craving something sweet these days.”

“Do you want to order more? Their cakes and pies are good here.”

The two women focused on eating as if they had been waiting for it, and shifted the topic of conversation to married life.

She had to eat more of the desserts she didn’t usually eat much of than usual. But she didn’t dislike it. It felt like she had returned to a very long ago routine.

As she left the cafe with Eun-song and headed towards home, the area around her lower abdomen, which had started to feel tight little by little since she left home, hardened, making it difficult to walk. To make matters worse, a dull ache started, making her heart sink.

It had never hurt this much before. A phone call from a friend who had given birth prematurely a few days ago with similar symptoms came to mind. Not yet. The friend’s chatter, talking in a terrified voice about how there could be a possibility of miscarriage in severe cases, now rushed in on her with the fear that it might become her own story.

Yeon supported her lower abdomen with both hands, as if trying to hold onto the baby.

Eun-song, who had walked ahead and noticed Yeon stopping in the middle of the road, turned back.

“Yeon-ah, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Does your stomach hurt?”

“A little. It’s not bad, just a little.”

“Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”

“It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”

“Oh my, you’re sweating cold sweat.”

Anxiety and tension rushed in all at once, stiffening her already precarious body.

Eun-song desperately put her arm around Yeon’s shoulder and quickly hailed an approaching taxi. The phone in her cardigan vibrated and rang, but the fear that had already permeated her entire body held Yeon captive and wouldn’t let go, preventing her from regaining her composure to answer.

The sweet pie she had already swallowed felt like it was about to come back up. She felt unwell.

Yeon focused on closing her eyes, trying to quell the lingering tension.

Hospital beds made people shrink. She had always been composed no matter what happened, but after having a baby, her heart easily succumbed to anxiety as if it wasn’t her own.

She focused on soothing her anxiety, thinking it was the baby’s feelings, not hers. She replied calmly to Eun-song’s consideration, telling her not to worry, but her hands were still cold with unconcealed worry.

“It’s okay. I’m okay, Eun-song-ah. I hope I haven’t caused you too much trouble.”

“What are you talking about.”

Fortunately, the examination showed that the baby’s movements were fine and the uterine contractions weren’t alarming, so there was no need to worry too much. However, her extremely shocked heart didn’t calm down easily, and she gripped the sheet with her dry hands for a long time.

She was just looking at the arm with the IV drip when Eun-song, who had been by her side the whole time, stood up hesitantly with a stiff face.

She hadn’t called him on purpose, not wanting to worry him while he was working, but Yeon, seeing Yi-hwan unexpectedly appear before her, having come after receiving a call from Eun-song, unknowingly raised her upper body and reached out her hand.

He strode over, cupped the back of her head, and pulled her into a tight hug. She smelled his strong perfume. Cha Yi-hwan’s scent. She pressed her body tightly against his shirt and wrapped her arms around his neck.

She should have been more honest. She should have asked him to come. Embracing his strong body, courage surged within her, as if she could overcome anything in the world. A firm courage that felt like she could protect their baby. He must have come as soon as he got the call, as the sleeves he had rolled up while working were still folded.

“Where does it hurt? How much does it hurt? You’re...”

He couldn’t even finish his sentence and hugged her tightly, blaming himself. Even then, he loosened his grip on her, worried she might be in pain, but with a hand he couldn’t quite let go of, he pulled her neck close and embraced her.

Yeon, who had been clinging to him for a long time, met eyes with Eun-song, who was standing far away watching them. She wondered what to do, and in that brief moment of hesitation, Eun-song smiled faintly and turned away to leave.

Yi-hwan, who had heard the situation from the doctor and was returning, walked up and looked down at Eun-song, who was standing facing him. With short hair and stubborn-looking eyes, she bowed her head in greeting.

“Sunbae, don’t you remember me? You know, from the same club...”

“Am I supposed to remember?”

“No, it’s not that... I’m Yeon’s friend, and I was just wondering if you were surprised. I was with her.”

He had called Yeon, but a strange woman had answered. So this was the friend she mentioned.

Calling him “Sunbae” and mentioning the club, she had a familiar face, but he didn’t want to bother remembering a woman he had only briefly encountered. When he didn’t reply, the woman smiled awkwardly and bowed her head.

“Yeon will be okay.”

“Yeah. Thank you for bringing her to the hospital.”

At his words of thanks, the woman stopped as if struck by lightning, a strange expression on her face. Seeing that expression, he remembered. Yeon’s college friend. The woman who had once told him something akin to liking him. He hadn’t thought of it, being too preoccupied after receiving the call about Yeon being in the hospital.

Anyway, he should be grateful for the kindness, so he was about to speak to offer some token of his appreciation, but the woman left the hospital as if fleeing, without even looking back.

“Sunbae.”

Yeon, who seemed to have finished her IV drip, walked over slowly, carrying her bag.

“Didn’t you see Eun-song? I guess she left. I was so out of it, I didn’t even properly thank her.”

“I thanked her, so it’s fine. But why didn’t you call me?”

Whenever he seemed to be questioning her, her eyebrows would droop and her eyes would sag. A woman who pretended to be strong but was actually emotional and fragile in love. As he drew her out from where she hid, not wanting to be hurt, he felt like he was discovering a new side of her every day.

He could have ground the two bastards who had only brought her pain into dust for hurting this woman who knew how to express her love so tenderly. As if to tell him she was okay, Yeon kept trying to make eye contact with him.

Yi-hwan found that endearing and wanted to hug her tightly, but to get an honest answer from her about why she hadn’t called, he asked sternly.

“Because I thought you might worry. I didn’t want to interrupt your work.”

“How is this an interruption? What could be more important than you or the baby? You know how much I...”

He had told her so many times to call him first if anything happened, but she had suffered alone again, worried about causing him concern.

Whether it was an obsession with not inconveniencing others or some kind of occupational hazard, she had a tendency not to share her burdens.

Of course, he knew it was for his sake. But Yi-hwan wanted her to lean on him in every way. He wanted her to completely entrust even that sense of responsibility to him and rely on him entirely. He was confident he could bear everything for her.

“Sorry. But our Tosil is healthy. There’s nothing wrong.”

Tosil. That was the baby’s nickname, given with the hope that it would grow plump and healthy. Seeing Yeon, whose belly had become noticeably swollen lately, as if Tosil was growing according to its nickname, made it hard for him to leave for work every morning.

He should probably take a leave of absence for a while; he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on work with this anxiety.

She came closer, her hand fiddling with his shirt around his waist, acting unusually cute. It was one of her ways of appeasing his anger in her own way.

The more lewd methods of sucking his cock or openly showing her privates and shaking her hips to prevent him from getting angrier were mostly used in bed. Outside, she would gently take his hand like this, targeting the parts where he was weak. So, how could he be any angrier?

Certainly, the her who had drawn lines, built walls, and been wary of him in the past was different from the her who had become his wife. The her who was carrying his child and warmly holding his hand now was so different from the cold person she had been to him that it made him wonder if this was all a dream.

He knew how much patience and effort he had put in to break down those walls. And since she had become pregnant, she had been expressing herself much more often.

Actually, even now, dozens of times a day, he was afraid he would wake up from a dream, yet he kept getting greedy and wanting more from her. He wanted to share even her breath and have one more of her glances.

Embarrassing as it was, it couldn’t be helped. The moment he had held her in his heart, his pride had crumbled to nothing anyway.

“Anyway, let’s see when we get home.”

He deliberately narrowed his eyes, hoping she would lean in closer, and sure enough, she moved closer, pressing her body against his and looking at him. Cute. Damn it. She was so cute it was driving him crazy.

“Wait, let me call Eun-song quickly to thank her...”

“She said she was busy and left. Why bother calling her again? She said she’s busy and doesn’t have time for calls. She’s going to throw away her phone.”

Even in that brief moment, he was jealous of the other person she showed interest in. The woman in front of him was so lovely that he couldn’t bother picking up his discarded pride. He hoped her gaze wouldn’t linger on anything other than him for even a moment. He wanted her roots to be firmly planted in him, no matter when or where.

Yi-hwan reached out and grabbed Yeon’s hand, who was standing awkwardly trying to take out her phone, and left the hospital.

“So jealous.”

“If you don’t like it, don’t glance at other guys and just look at me. Do you have time to look at other guys?”

“How is Eun-song another guy?”

“Anyone who isn’t me is another guy, then.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, ah... slow, slowly.”

“Why, does it hurt? Let me see. Shouldn’t you be hospitalized?”

“It’s okay. It’s just the baby moving. I’ll be fine.”

As Yeon clutched her belly and took a deep breath, Yi-hwan embraced her round stomach, ready to pick her up and rush back to the emergency room. Then, she snuggled against him, grabbed his arm, and hugged him without warning.

Having suddenly found her in his arms, Yi-hwan was overwhelmed with a renewed emotion and couldn’t move.

He was truly a crazy bastard. He felt an intense urge to lay her down on this street and bury his face in the opening where the baby would come out, wanting to lick her like a dog.

Everywhere his tongue passed, her flesh would twitch and water would flow, and she would cry out lewdly, begging him to put his cock in her, saying it felt good.

Now, with the scene vividly drawn in his mind, his dormant member had become erect, but he pretended not to notice and held her close.

“I’ll really call you right away if anything happens now. I really can’t... without Sunbae.”

She wriggled in his arms and glanced up at him, her chin still buried in his chest. Her dark eyes blinked as she looked at him.

“Are you hard?”

She whispered softly, and the thing that had been half-erect finally reached complete arousal. He knew it wasn’t the right time, but since when had his body obeyed his brain in front of Yeon?

“Where’s the car? Shall I touch you while we go home?”

He found the current situation absurd, but the moment he looked at her in front of him, everything made sense, and he let out a dry laugh.

“Why, you might as well suck it too.”

“That’s for drama time later.”

Seriously, if she couldn’t even say that. She had a knack for completely stealing his soul.

He chuckled and flicked her forehead, and she buried her face in his chest again.

“Will you suck me the whole time the drama is on?”

“Do you want to end up in the emergency room again?”

She shrugged, and he immediately lifted Yeon’s chin and kissed her.

Could he even live without her? He shook off the anxious thoughts that he couldn’t even imagine anymore and deeply buried his lust-filled tongue in her small mouth, wanting to love her even more deeply.