[See?]
Suddenly, Liu sensed a playful tone in Yeehyeon’s voice.
“Hm?”
[You’re happy to hear we’re having a baby, aren’t you?]
“What are you talking about? Of course, I’m happy. So much so that ‘happy’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
[It’s proof that you actually wanted a baby, Liu.]
Only then did Liu realize what Yeehyeon was talking about.
[If you truly didn’t want a baby, you wouldn’t be reacting like this, would you?]
That day their heat and rut had come. Liu had teased Yeehyeon, pretending he’d taken the wrong contraceptive pill. Yeehyeon was now turning Liu’s own words back on him.
Faced with his mate’s clever counterattack, Liu had no choice but to willingly and gladly admit his true feelings.
“You’re right. I did want one.”
[…….]
“Our baby.”
[Yes, our baby.]
Over the phone, Yeehyeon repeated Liu’s words. The phrase felt like a new kind of love that had never existed in the world before. This time, it was Liu’s eyes that grew hot.
■ ■ ■
Yeehyeon placed the empty skewer, which had held a chicken satay*, onto his plate. It was the last of the five satays Liu had portioned out for him on his personal plate.
“I’m so glad to see you eating well now that your morning sickness is gone, Yeehyeon.”
Lim Morae, who was sitting across the table and watching Yeehyeon intently, said in a warm tone. She looked as if she was about to give Yeehyeon a round of applause for finishing his meal.
Seo Yeehan chimed in, agreeing with Lim Morae.
“I know. There was a time when it was so bad you couldn’t eat anything at all.”
“It wasn’t that I couldn’t eat anything.”
“It wasn’t?”
“I still ate egg porridge.”
“Ah, the egg porridge your husband made for you?”
At Yeehyeon’s small protest, Seo Yeehan raised his eyebrows and teased.
In the early stages of his pregnancy, Yeehyeon had suffered from quite severe morning sickness. Yeehyeon, who used to eat anything and everything without being picky—be it Korean, traditional Balinese, French, or Italian—had become an extremely picky eater.
He could only manage to eat the egg porridge that Liu had always made for him whenever he was unwell.
Because of that, Liu had tried various additions to the egg porridge in an attempt to make it more nutritious. He tried adding finely chopped top-grade truffle mushrooms or abalone that his parents had sent from Hong Kong for Yeehyeon, and even melted cheese into it.
Each time, Yeehyeon would take one spoonful and immediately run to the bathroom. The baby would only permit the standard, basic egg porridge.
‘Our Diamond Dust is quite the picky eater, aren’t you? I only added a tiny bit, how did you notice? Hm?’
Liu would say, stroking Yeehyeon’s still-flat stomach to hide his disappointment.
The morning sickness that had been so severe vanished as if by a lie as he entered his fourth month of pregnancy. Thanks to that, they were having a dinner party with friends for the first time in a while.
Yuni and Michelle, Leo and his parents, and Lim Morae and Seo Yeehan had also left Parang with a babysitter and come all the way to Ubud.
“I honestly thought your morning sickness would never go away, Yeehyeon. It was so heartbreaking to watch.”
Yuni, who had seen Yeehyeon up close while coming to the gallery every day, looked at him with pitying eyes. Her gaze was brimming with affection.
“He became so sensitive to smells that he couldn’t even step outside.”
Liu, who had claimed the seat right next to Yeehyeon, said as he gently stroked his mate’s hair. His chair, at the very end of the table, was turned a full 30 degrees toward Yeehyeon.
“This is a guy who couldn’t even stand the smell of food, and then one morning he wakes up and says he wants bulgogi first thing.”
“You must have been ecstatic, hyung.”
Liu nodded at Seo Yeehan.
“I felt like I was going to cry.”
Finishing her meal last and wiping her hands on a napkin, Baek Yuni shrugged.
“For you, CEO Liu, I bet there’s some kind of mystery of the human body where you get full just by watching Yeehyeon eat.”
Everyone laughed at her words, but at the same time, everyone agreed.
“It’s so good to see your face now that your morning sickness is better, Yeehyeon.”
“I know, right? We live just five minutes away, but this is the first time we’ve seen Yeehyeon’s face this new year.”
Leo’s parents, who had become close after opening a restaurant nearby, also rejoiced in Yeehyeon’s liberation from morning sickness.
Lim Morae smiled brightly at Yeehyeon and spoke as if she had just remembered something.
“Oh, I noticed earlier that you’re starting to show a little bit now.”
“You have no idea how cute it is.”
A blissful smile overflowed on Liu’s face as he carefully placed a hand on Yeehyeon’s belly.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Look at that face, like all the happiness in the world is his.”
Affectionate teasing from his friends showered down on Liu.
Seo Yeehan squinted, staring into the air as he searched his memory. Then he tilted his head.
“The one who said Yeehyeon is still only twenty-six and it’s too soon to have a baby since they haven’t even been married for half a year… who… who was that again?”
Liu nodded his head and raised his left hand as if admitting his guilt.
“Yes, that was me. I did say that.”
“And then as soon as you found out about the pregnancy, you were grinning from ear to ear…”
“And what about hiding it for a whole month after you found out Yeehyeon was pregnant?”
“And you didn’t even tell us first, we had to find out.”
Liu, who had flown straight from Hong Kong to Bali upon hearing the news, hadn’t told Yuni or the other staff even after returning to Hong Kong the next day. They had only known that Yeehyeon was unwell.
Without telling anyone—not his parents in Hong Kong, not Yeehyeon’s family in Donghae, not his friends—Liu had held that happiness as his own for a month.
He felt that such great happiness might invite envy.
It was a happiness so precious he couldn’t even bring himself to speak of it carelessly.
It felt like the kind of happiness that wasn’t meant to be carried around and shown off, but to be tucked away deep inside a drawer and secretly taken out late at night to be admired with a contented heart. Just as Yeehyeon did with the diamond necklace Liu had given him when he proposed.
But because it was such a great happiness, it was bound to be discovered eventually.
It was all because Liu had overreacted upon finding Yeehyeon helping move artwork at the gallery ahead of his solo exhibition.
“I’d never seen you act so scary before, CEO Liu. Saying Yeehyeon is a contracted artist, not a gallery employee, and why was he being made to do such work.”
Yuni, finishing the last of her wine, set down her glass and added.
“It’s a good thing I found out you were acting that way because Yeehyeon was pregnant. If not, I honestly might have quit right then and there.”
Even without having seen the situation, the friends all added their own comments about Liu’s overprotectiveness, saying they could picture it perfectly.
As if giving them permission to tease him and enjoy themselves as much as they wanted, Liu generously offered himself up as the sacrificial lamb. When it came to talk about Yeehyeon and the baby, no amount of teasing could put the slightest dent in his happiness. Besides, the teasing from the people gathered here was built on a foundation of solid affection. There was no reason to be offended.
The meal seemed to be completely finished.
It had been a while since anyone had touched their food, and the wine was almost all gone.
The hosts, Yeehyeon and Liu, exchanged a look. It seemed to be time to bring out dessert.
Yeehyeon stood up first, and Liu immediately followed, prompting Seo Yeehan to point at Liu as if he’d been waiting for it.
“Look at that, look at that! See him scurrying right after Yeehyeon the moment he gets up!”
Liu looked back and playfully threatened in a mock-intimidating tone.
“We’re going to get dessert. The carrot cake your wife likes.”
“Is Morae the only one who likes carrot cake? There’s no one here who doesn’t know that Yeehyeon would wake up from his sleep for Omea’s carrot cake.”
That was, in fact, true. Liu played dumb, shrugged, and quickly hurried his steps to follow Yeehyeon into the kitchen.
“The onomatopoeia ‘scurrying’ has probably never suited someone less.”
At someone’s comment, cheerful laughter erupted behind the two. It was a boisterousness the house hadn’t heard in a long time.
There was some distance between the dining room, where the large dining table was, and the kitchen. Even so, the guests’ jokes and laughter carried clearly all the way to the kitchen. Thanks to that, Liu and Yeehyeon chuckled to themselves the whole time they were preparing dessert.
Yeehyeon placed a large whole cake on a cake stand, and Liu took out dessert plates from the cabinet, one for each guest. Approaching the counter with the plates, Liu stroked Yeehyeon’s shoulder and asked gently.
“Are you sleepy? You’re not too tired?”
“I’m a little sleepy, but I’m still okay. It’s fun having everyone gathered for the first time in a while. I want to hang out a little longer.”
“That’s a relief, then.”
Pulling Yeehyeon’s shoulder into a slight hug, Liu kissed his mate’s temple. Then, with a slightly flushed expression, he asked Yeehyeon.
“Shall we bring out ‘that’ now, too?”
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