episode_0157

“…”

“…”

As Jaehyuk’s calf muscles were bulging in real-time, a chilly silence settled in the living room.

The awkward silence that had been lingering since I opened the front door was becoming unbearable. I cautiously spoke to my mother, who was meditating with her eyes closed.

“…Mother, how long do I have to hold this hand up?”

“Judging by the words coming out of your mouth, it seems like it’s not time yet. Hold it a little longer.”

“Yes…”

I shouldn’t have said anything. If I had known, I would have waited a little longer before speaking.

Although my vampire body was strong and my arm wasn’t hurting, it was embarrassing to receive such a punishment at the age of twenty-four.

I was afraid that Jaehyuk would be ashamed if he saw me like this, so I kept a close eye on him and showed my eagerness.

Fortunately, before Jaehyuk came in, I was able to hear my mother tell me to put my hand down.

“…Now, put your hand down and sit. I’ll… go to the kitchen for a moment and drink some cold water.”

“Yes.”

Apparently, meditation alone couldn’t calm her anger, as my mother drank a glass of cold water and returned to her seat.

But was she still feeling frustrated?

After staring at me and sighing several times, my mother finally asked me a question.

“Jiwoo, what exactly… no, let’s forget everything else and just ask this one thing.”

“…Please go ahead.”

“You don’t dislike the baby in your belly, do you?”

“What? No, of course not!?”

The question was so bewildering that I unintentionally responded with a loud voice.

How could I dislike the fruit of the love I had longed for so desperately?

The child who Jaehyuk helped me conceive, who would be completely mine. It was unthinkable to have any negative feelings towards him.

I vigorously shook my head and answered my mother’s question with a denial.

“Di-dislike? How could I? He’s so lovable! I’ll cherish him a lot, you know?”

“Well… in that case, it’s somewhat reassuring, but are you sure it’s okay?”

“Is it okay? W-what do you mean by that?”

“I’m talking about the practical aspects. Raising a child, there must be more than a few problems to solve, right?”

“…”

Listening to her unreasonable words, I opened my mouth to speak but fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

Indeed, there were many issues to address, as my mother pointed out.

I had become more accustomed to the vampire race, and thanks to that, my quality of life had improved significantly.

But I was still preoccupied with taking care of my own body, and my mental age was hardly different from that of a child.

How could I guarantee that childcare would go smoothly without any problems?

“Ha ha, well… somehow, it’ll work out, right?”

It might sound irresponsible, but that was the answer.

Slowly, calmly addressing each issue one by one would eventually lead to solving all the problems.

When the vampire transformation incident occurred, there were piles of problems to solve, but in the end, most of them were resolved by taking time to address each one, right?

“It’s not like you, Jiwoo, to say something like that…”

Thinking it was a decent response, I spoke, but my mother didn’t seem pleased as she shook her head and let out a long sigh.

…Looking at it from her perspective, I could understand her reaction.

To make a mess and then expect future me to fix it, how foolish and irresponsible would that seem?

If I didn’t show anything, my mother’s worries would only pile up like a mountain.

And knowing that she would undoubtedly interfere a lot in the future, I reluctantly revealed something I had hidden from Jaehyuk as well.

“…What is this?”

“My savings account! I’m showing it to you because it seems like Mom is worrying too much.”

“One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… huh? When did you save up this much?”

“Hehe, I saved little by little, and before I knew it…?”

In reality, it was a combination of the savings account he had accumulated while eating military rations, the money that was originally meant for tuition fees, the leftover money he had saved since childhood, and the emergency fund he had started saving while working at a bar.

Does the process really matter? As long as the result is good, isn’t that all that matters?

Anyway.

After looking at the savings account, Mom seemed to be slightly relieved, her face becoming noticeably more relaxed.

As she took the passbook back and was about to hide it in her bag, Jaehyuk and Dad entered the house, seemingly done with their conversation outside.

“…The conversation isn’t over yet, is it?”

“Yes, dear. It’s mostly finished. But… why is Jaehyuk limping like that? Did you hit him too much? If you keep doing that, he’ll lose face in front of Yeonseo…”

“If he did something wrong, he should be punished. If you hear what happened outside, you might say it’s cheap to hit him, right?”

“What exactly happened out there?”

“Well… can’t we talk while eating? Jaehyuk, Jiwoo? Aren’t you both getting hungry?”

“Yes…”

Perhaps due to being on edge all day, as soon as the tension eased, a sudden wave of hunger hit.

Wanting to hear the reason why Jaehyuk ended up limping from his father as soon as possible, I readily agreed to Dad’s suggestion.

…We had already dealt with heavy topics earlier, but can’t we have a meal with a bit of peace of mind?

Thinking casually, I followed Dad and Mom to the dining table, only to be met with an unfortunate surprise.

“So, when are you two getting married?”

“When can we see our grandson?”

“Well, that’s…”

The conversation topic became even more awkward than before.

Today might not be the only day Dad and Mom will be displeased with us.

…Probably.

—–

“So… Jaehyuk asked Dad something?”

“Just as I heard. He asked how to propose.”

“…That makes sense. Madam… I mean, Mom, would probably agree, right? By the way, the conversation between Dad and Jaehyuk seems quite intriguing. Could you share a bit about it?”

“Ahem! Sorry, but that’s not possible. Men have their own code of honor. And isn’t it more touching not to know anything, making the proposal more meaningful?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

After a rough storm passed, a warm atmosphere continued the affectionate conversation at the dining table.

As the parents’ gentle attitudes and light conversation topics began to ease our guard, Mom brought up a rather awkward topic.

“So, when do you two plan to get married? Jiwoo, you’re already in your 7th week of pregnancy, right? It’s better to propose before your belly gets too big, isn’t it?”

“…That’s a valid point, but I haven’t even received a proposal from him yet. I’ll think about that after receiving it, hehe.”

“Well, you only recently found out about the pregnancy, so it can’t be helped. Oh, right. If you have any difficulties or uncertainties during preparations, don’t forget to contact Mom immediately, okay?”

“It might be quite bothersome for you, are you sure it’s okay?”

“All I have now is time. Just don’t contact me in the middle of the night like last time. Please, don’t do that again. I thought my heart was going to stop.”

“I was really sorry back then. But… why were you awake at that late hour?”

“Why are you making such a fuss? Your father woke up because of the sound of his snoring. He doesn’t usually snore, but occasionally he does… You know how loud that sound is, don’t you?”

“Heh, yeah, when I was young, I used to wake up once in a while because of that.”

As I looked at my father, who was pretending to be indifferent to my mother’s complaints, I let out a disappointed sigh inwardly.

…Even though the entire universe’s energy is a coward, it helped me reveal the fact that I was pregnant to my parents.

If you’re going to help, at least help properly. What’s the point of helping in such an extreme way?

Come to think of it, it was the same when I wished for online lectures.

The energy of the universe (meteor) caused chaos in the world with a species mutation crisis, so it helped make all lectures available online.

Wait, isn’t this a story about the Monkey’s Paw?

No? Then if I wished to have Jaehyuk’s child, they should grant that wish in a strange way too, right?

What the hell is the standard? And it’s not a joke, is the energy of the universe really helping me?

The more I think about it, the deeper the mystery I fall into.

My head started to ache, so I shook it off and focused on my meal again.

…I’m already struggling all day and it’s so hard, I don’t want to use my head for delusional thoughts.

Regaining a peaceful mind, I enjoyed the pleasant meal time that was coming to an end.

After eating the sour tangerine, did my mother go into the room to enjoy the drowsiness of indigestion?

Suddenly, the fact that there was still one more mountain to climb came to mind.

“…Jaehyuk.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Are we okay for tomorrow?”

“Well? What’s the worst that could happen? We’ll just die if something goes wrong, right? And if I die, I’ll be the only one dying? If I die, bury me in a good place.”

“What good place, bury me as a family member just before I die?”

“I’d rather die than not be able to eat garlic.”

“Heh, do you know? Can immunity from soybeans be transferred? And even if it doesn’t work, if I just endure for 4 months like me…”

“Disgusting, just let me go peacefully.”

“No. Absolutely not.”

We should spend our lives together, who’s going to leave first.

With a hint of obsession, I gently bit Jaehyuk’s neck.

And so, another hot autumn night arrived like summer.