episode_0234

A baby grows while receiving a lot of nutrients while staying in its mother’s womb for 10 months.

To be honest, I thought that 10 months was too long, but as time passed, that time that seemed so far away became something to look forward to.

We gave the baby a name and also decided on the name that he would have when he was born. When the baby was born, he needed a special bed to lie down and sleep in, and we decorated the bed with a mobile to attract the baby’s attention.

The shoes that the baby will wear are so small that I was really looking forward to when he would be able to wear them after he was born.

At first I didn’t know, but as time went by, these heart-pounding days kept repeating, and I began to wonder if this was everyday life and happiness.

“… Jimin, what are you doing?”

“Uh, um… Cooking. I’m trying to follow this, but it’s not going well.”

In the meantime, what I’m learning these days is cooking. I diligently put down the frying pan and watch videos on my smartphone and follow along, but it’s so difficult that following along feels like a chore.

It’s been 8 months and I’m starting to learn and do various household chores in place of Min-hee who is full, and although it feels like a lot of time has passed and I can do it, it’s still a bit burdensome.

Well, there are things that are easy to watch in videos, but daunting to do yourself.

In cooking videos, they move their hands quickly and steadily, but my hands moved slowly like a turtle.

It wasn’t evenly or neatly cut.

Still, it was worth the effort as it showed that things were getting better.

But Minhee quickly called me over, as if she didn’t like the way I was acting.

“What are you cooking~ Let’s just order delivery and eat together.”

“… It wouldn’t be good to just eat delivery food all the time.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Today is the day I crave pig’s feet.”

“Then there’s nothing I can do… ”

I immediately stopped what I was cooking and glanced at the contents in between.

It looked edible, but it was not as good as what the chefs sold.

What can I do? My wife, who is pregnant with our child, is craving pig’s feet, so it would only make things harder for me to dwell on such things.

I put it in a bowl, put the lid on it, and walked over to the sofa where Minhee was sitting comfortably.

That bloated belly, which I saw every time, was enough to make me feel pressured.

“Oh,” he groaned as he watched her, and Minhee ran his hand down her rounded stomach.

Minhee sat down carefully next to him and after rubbing his stomach for a while, he let out a sigh.

“Oh, what if I gain weight like this? Should I start exercising right after giving birth?”

The person who just said let’s eat pig’s feet is suddenly thinking about dieting? I really have no idea what the order is.

“Then shouldn’t I eat it? I can still continue cooking.”

“Well… ”

“Well, what is it?”

“Pig’s feet are good too, but Jimin is the best.”

“… suddenly?”

“Yeah, all of a sudden.”

For a moment I thought, “What is this?” and then there was Minhee’s face approaching me aggressively.

Unlike before, I couldn’t approach it lightly, but I was still able to reach it somehow by leaning in and twisting my head.

I sat quietly and avoided eye contact for a moment. Then, when we met again, I roughly smoothed my bangs and turned my head away.

What should I eat for dinner tonight? I left all my worries behind and just ate quietly.

Soft lips have always played a role in conveying warmth.

We kissed each other as if to say, we have loved each other, we love each other now, and we will love each other in the future.

We didn’t have that kind of kiss where we stick our tongues out and explore each other.

Even if that weren’t the case, just by kissing like this, we could say that we had each other.

Gradually we became more and more familiar with each other. But the more familiar we became, the more I could say that I missed you and didn’t want to leave you.

It was just beginning spring when she was pregnant, and the sun was already setting.

Today, too, was a busy day as we headed towards December 31st, the end of December and the end of the year.

I felt a silence fill this dark room.

Being happy wasn’t anything special. It was just a feeling of being able to have someone I loved next to me and quietly whisper sweet nothings to that person, and that was enough.

In fact, even though she was young and could do many things, Min-hee was the one who wanted a child, so I wanted her to do many things now.

She, who had been desperately seeking a connection with me, now had a reason to be unable to be separated from me, and we gladly accepted it.

It must have been regrettable to spend the time that could be called youth raising children like this. However, I did not regret it because it was what Minhee had wanted and what I had also wanted.

Their lips parted and their breath filled the space between them.

“… What should I eat?”

“Oh,” Minhee asked me with a smile.

Honestly, after she said she wanted to eat, my answer was only one.

“There was something you said you wanted to eat earlier.”

“Then should I order pig’s feet?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and carefully took out my smartphone from my pocket and looked through it. Then I went into a delivery app and looked through the various pig’s feet there.

It’s time to get used to it now, but the truth is that since I came back here, most of what I’ve become accustomed to is the Internet world and life in this room.

But isn’t it important that I’ve settled into my current lifestyle to some extent?

With that thought in mind, I tapped on various screens and glanced at the contents within them.

“… Oh, do you want some Makguksu too?”

When I asked cautiously and showed her the screen, Minhee nodded.

“Makguksu is good.”

It seemed like I liked them all.

Well, I guess I like anything that’s good, so I filled it with a variety of things and placed my order.

As I sat on the sofa again doing nothing, my gaze naturally turned to the TV where the program was being broadcast.

And the hand that seemed like it would do nothing carefully turned to the left.

Minhee must have had the same thought because he met my left hand as he approached me.

When I glanced at him, there was Minhee, who was also glancing at me and smiling with the corners of her lips raised.

“I want to try that.”

“… Me too.”

I wanted to try something unique on the show, but it didn’t seem that bad, so I was curious. And after some time passed, when I changed the channel, I saw people admiring a travel destination with a beautiful view.

“I want to go there.”

“Me too.”

Every time we said that we wanted to experience it together, he was there to answer our questions.

To be honest, it wasn’t because I thought it was really fun. I just thought it would be fun to have a new experience or do something I’ve never done before with someone next to me.

They say that seeing the same thing in the same place doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have the same thoughts, but for some reason, Minhee and I seemed to have the same thoughts when we were holding hands in the same place.

It made me feel embarrassed and wonder if we were destined to be together.

Well, aren’t we just a pair that met by chance?

We didn’t live in the same neighborhood, we didn’t go to the same school, and we didn’t live similar lives.

Because we lived with different misfortunes and came to face life beyond the world.

Born in the same world, met in different worlds, and met again here.

I tried to meet you.

The world has changed, but my heart has not changed. That’s all.

Even now, when I hold your hand like this, I remember that day.

That moment, like a turning point in my life, when I was able to live life again without dying.

“… Baby, you look so pretty.”

I muttered that and smiled.

I grew up suffering and struggling, but I just didn’t want my baby to feel that way.

Minhee would have thought the same thing too.

As I said before, unlike my parents, I will give them all the love I can. No matter how busy I am, when I get back, I will listen to the baby, ask them what they did, and do it for them.

We were a people lacking.

I have lived in poverty.

I have lived without fulfillment, whether it be interest, affection, or human rights.

But by meeting each other, we were able to break that barrier.

After that, the child that was born would not experience the suffering that I had experienced, and would not feel the loneliness that Min-hee had felt.

So, I wanted my child to be happy as much as I was happy.

I always thought like that.

It felt strange to think that a child named after me would face the world.

“Jimin looks so cute, right?”

“I’m not cute.”

“What are you talking about, you’re still the same height.”

“Height, height isn’t the only thing you have to talk about. Not all short people are cute, right?”

“You don’t say big things are cute.”

“… Is that so?”

It’s strange, but somehow it seems persuasive.

When I made such a meaningful expression, Minhee laughed and said, “Phuhat.”

And then she looked at me with loving eyes and swept me away with loving hands.

“I wish I could see it soon.”

“Yeah, I wonder what our baby looks like. He’ll be so cute.”

“What if I resemble him and have a fierce personality?”

“What’s your personality like, sister?”

“Sometimes you call me the devil.”

“… That’s because my older sister tried to do it even though she had a child.”

“Haa… I heard it was okay when it was stable.”

“Are you not okay at all?”

There was some small talk.

It was an unremarkable story.

But it could be said to be a special story because there were special feelings between them.

This life, which felt all the more precious because I had never encountered anything ordinary, could be said to be happy.

The nights in late December were chilly.

But we were able to overcome it thanks to each other’s warmth.

That was all.