* * *

“It’s now eight and a half weeks.”

“Eight and a half weeks? Where’d you get that number?”

“From Siyoung himself.”

At Hyun’s words, the color drained from Siyoung’s face.

If he traced back to when the baby was conceived, it would inevitably lead to the night the three of them had blacked out.

“It was that night, wasn’t it?”

“Eight and a half weeks? What night are you talking about?”

While Yeonseok questioned Hyun, Jaeyoon opened his phone, searching for any photos or messages from that time that might reveal what Siyoung had been up to.

“…No way.”

About eight and a half weeks earlier, that particular night, all four of them had been together, including Siyoung.

“Siyoung, that night…”

“No.”

“Then say it properly with your own mouth. Think back what happened that day—among me, Kim Jaeyoon, and Joo Yeonseok, you must have done it with one of us. So, who did you do ‘it’ among us?”

His tone was confident, as if he already knew.

Siyoung bit his lip and lowered his head, realizing there was no way out if he lied further.

“Was it really that day? Then, out of the three of us…”

“Ah, no wonder. It kept bothering me why I couldn’t remember.”

“Tell us. You didn’t black out, and you went home before we woke up, so you must remember. Who’s the father?”

Hyun pressed him.

Siyoung quietly stared at his hand resting on the blanket.

Oddly enough, now that everything seemed exposed, the anxiety started to fade.

Maybe this outcome was inevitable ever since they found out about the pregnancy.

“…It’s not your child.”

“…Then Joo Yeonseok? Kim Jaeyoon? One of the two…?”

“No, it’s not. The father is not among you. This baby… it’s just mine. You don’t need to worry about it.”

His words, clearly implying that he wasn’t denying but simply refusing to speak, left the three of them silently staring at Siyoung.

“No, he knows. He knows one of us is the father. He just doesn’t want to say.”

Yeonseok shrugged with a knowing look, as if his statement was undeniable.

Since he was right, Siyoung remained silent, turning his head away.

“I’m tired. I need to rest.”

“You…”

“My health is suffering because of stress, and if you all stay here, do you really think I’ll get any rest?”

Reluctantly, they quieted down.

Siyoung knew better than anyone that he couldn’t keep using this excuse forever.

“I need to rest tonight. I don’t feel well…”

“I’ll come back tomorrow. For now, just get some rest.”

Jaeyoon was the first to back off.

He was as frustrated and shocked as anyone, but Siyoung’s health was the priority.

If Siyoung had been sent to the ER, things were serious enough to let him rest.

“Don’t think about discharging yourself. You heard the doctor—rest for a week. Just take it easy and don’t worry about money.”

“…Must be nice to talk so freely about money.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Just… leave already. I’m not going anywhere.”

Siyoung pulled the covers over his head.

Although he wanted to run away, he had no one to turn to and nowhere to go.

Besides, right now, he needed stability.

‘What am I supposed to do now? I can’t keep avoiding this, and they’ll come back tomorrow.’

As always, things never seemed to go his way.

He wondered if he could keep this hidden until he gave birth, but he was almost certain they would find him, no matter how far he ran.

‘It was uncomfortable enough watching them pretend not to care, and now they’ll be even more obvious about it.’

Would things have been different if he’d seen this side of them sooner?

Either way, it was too late.

All he could do was let the stress go and try to sleep.

With that thought, Siyoung closed his eyes.

“What’s the plan? One of us is definitely the dad, but it seems like he is not ready to admit it.”

“We’ll know once the baby’s born. The baby might resemble someone, and even if not… we’ll have options once we see them.”

There was no way they wouldn’t get a look at the baby.

And if they couldn’t, they’d find a way.

Yeonseok spoke with this thought in mind.

“Are you really saying you don’t remember anything? Just say something—anything would help. Though, actually, I was out cold halfway through, so I guess it can’t be me, right?”

“Actually… you got up and drank some more in the middle of the night. You don’t remember?”

“Me?”

Yeonseok’s eyes widened as he pointed at himself in disbelief.

He had no memory of waking up again that night.

“I was really drunk too, so my memory’s fuzzy… but I did wake up briefly. You poured another round, saying we should keep drinking. So yeah, I’m sure you got up.”

“This is driving me nuts. What about Siyoung?”

“We talked a bit, too… but I don’t remember much.”

“And you?”

“…”

Hyun pursed his lips, lost in thought.

He remembered the moment Siyoung, in a fit of anger, impulsively kissed him that night.

He also recalled grabbing another bottle and taking it to an empty room, drinking straight from the bottle without any snacks to go with it.

“I can’t remember anything after that.”

He figured he must have passed out from drinking way beyond his limit.

But what if something had happened in that time he couldn’t remember?

“Do you remember anything else about that night?”

“Drinking while checking the time? Not likely… The only thing I remember is Siyoung leaving around sunrise.”

“Leaving?”

“Yeah, I woke up when I heard a noise. Siyoung was definitely crying when he left.”

“It wasn’t a dream?”

Yeonseok asked, looking skeptical.

Siyoung wasn’t one to cry easily.

In fact, Yeonseok couldn’t recall ever seeing him cry.

“No. We actually talked about it recently… He just said he was having a tough time that night, that’s all.”

“You’re seriously buying that, even though you’ve known him for so long?”

Yeonseok sighed, clearly frustrated.

Unlike Hyun and Yeonseok, who had gaps in their memory, Jaeyoon had consistently been around Siyoung, but somehow hadn’t sensed anything unusual.

“Everyone was drunk, no one was exactly thinking straight… I wasn’t even sure if it was a dream or not.”

“Anything else? Even the smallest detail would help.”

“There is… something I remember, but I’m not sure if it was real or just a dream. I haven’t told Siyoung either.”

Jaeyoon hesitated, casting a quick sidelong glance at Hyun, who frowned and asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s… probably nothing. Just a dream. No way it could have happened.”

“Stop being so vague and just tell us.”

Yeonseok sighed again at Jaeyoon’s reluctance.

Jaeyoon seemed to remember the most but couldn’t trust his memories.

Still, hearing something was better than knowing nothing, so Yeonseok pressed him.

“…I remember seeing you kiss Siyoung.”

“Pffft.”

Yeonseok spat out the water he was drinking, trying to calm himself down.

That had to be a dream.

What kind of messed-up dream was that?

But just as he was about to laugh it off, he froze, looking at Hyun’s face.

“…Hey.”

“…”

“Why aren’t you denying it?”

Yeonseok, now exasperated, nearly reached for Hyun’s collar.

Hyun sighed and responded.

“It was just… both of us were drunk, and it happened. It’s not what you think.”

“So you’re sure you’re not the father?”

“From what I remember, nothing happened. But what about you? You have missing memories too, don’t you?”

Hyun’s denial wasn’t absolute.

He recalled an emotionless kiss and the bottle he drank afterward, but beyond that, he had no memory.

Maybe something could have happened during that time.

But the same uncertainty applied to all three of them.

‘I wish I could remember everything. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with these pointless hopes…’

“Let’s not fight. Let’s go over it again from the start. Talking might help us remember something.”

Jaeyoon, looking dazed, suggested.

He had assumed it was just a dream, but hearing Hyun’s reaction, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

‘If they were together or had feelings for each other, it wouldn’t have come to this. So Hyun’s probably right. But…’

His head was spinning, emotions tangled.

Even so, he began piecing together the fragments of that night, still looking dazed.

* * *