* * *

The moment Taeshin’s soft and warm lips covered mine and began to kiss me roughly, pheromones burst from his body.

The overwhelming amount of alpha pheromones that instantly engulfed me wasn’t the usual gentle scent.

It was a sweet, dizzying fragrance, as if it were filled with thoughts of only me.

“…Ugh.”

The sweet pheromones that flooded out made my mouth and tongue tingle.

With my cheeks firmly held in his hands, I felt our tongues intertwine and our lips rub hotly together.

As if quenching a thirst, I stumbled and fell back onto the sofa under his fervent kisses.

Taeshin, positioned on top of me without pressing on my stomach, sucked and bit my tongue. Breathing heavily, I embraced him, and he let out a warm sigh, making his kisses gentler.

“Mmm…”

His hands tangled in my hair and caressed my body, making me shiver all over. As I trembled and moaned, Taeshin’s touch became even softer, caressing me tenderly.

The endless kisses and sweet pheromones made my vision blur and my whole body shiver.

“Haa, Taeshin…”

“Sunwoo, stamp me too.”

As I shivered from the tingling sensations, Taeshin pulled away and whispered.

Watching him playfully kiss my lips instead of using a proper document, I drowsily kissed him back.

Though I had already signed the contract… who cares about that now?

“Your pheromones are no joke.”

“…Yeah.”

Lying on the bed and looking at each other, Taeshin slowly replied. The whole room, not just the bedroom, was filled with his pheromones.

Normally, Taeshin, who was precise about controlling his pheromones, was now like a little kid who couldn’t control himself.

Seeing him, with unfocused eyes, holding my hand and rubbing his face against it, reminded me of the old days. Back then, I had run away without even realizing it.

“Did you like it that much when I asked you to be my mate for life?”

“…Yeah.”

“……”

“I like it so much I could go crazy.”

Crazy? Who taught him to say such things?

Taeshin, who had been rubbing his cheek against the back of my hand with his eyes closed, was now looking at me intently.

“Now you have to love me, Sunwoo.”

Smack!

“What are you talking about, you fool? I already am.”

When I proposed earlier, I told you I like you and will love you forever.

Did you already forget? I flicked his forehead and corrected his mistake.

Seeing him clutch his forehead and pretend to be in pain, I took his hand and put the ring on.

“Will you marry me, Taeshin?”

“That’s something you ask before putting the ring on, Sunwoo.”

“Oh, then just marry me, Taeshin.”

Taeshin, who was too happy to think straight during my proposal, gave me a playful scolding.

As the pheromones that had filled the room started to fade, Taeshin regained his senses and placed a ring on my hand with a soft laugh.

“Alright, Sunwoo. Let’s get married.”

His eyes, unable to hide his joy, curved into a gentle smile. Lost for words at his bright smile, I felt his ring-adorned hand clasp mine tightly.

The warmth of our entwined fingers made my cheeks tingle for some reason.

---

It feels like just yesterday that Taeshin and I caused a commotion and found out I was pregnant with Haeju, but now it’s almost time for the birth.

It’s hard to believe that the tiny Haeju is about to come into the world, so I often check the calendar.

As I think month by month, Haeju would kick as if bored, reminding me of the passing time.

Because of this, I wake up feeling amazed every day.

The baby in my belly and Taeshin, who takes care of us both, are all so fascinating and wonderful.

It feels like there’s nothing left to worry about.

“Sunwoo, call me if anything happens.”

“Okay. Have a good day.”

“Haeju, Daddy’s leaving now.”

After breakfast, I waddled to the entrance to see Taeshin off.

He kissed my forehead and said goodbye to Haeju. Once Taeshin left for school, busy with the start of the new semester, I half-lay on the sofa to catch my breath.

[Park Kangseop> My niece♥ D-8]

[Shin Ilkim> Niece♥]

[Jjino> ♥]

[Go Hyungbin> Niece~♥]

[Hwang Joonbong> ♥♥♥]

Checking my phone while resting, I saw our group chat filled with hearts. These guys were sending hearts to our Haeju because of Park Kangseop.

[Me> Stop with the hearts or I’ll kill you]

[Jjino> Scary momㅜㅜ♥]

[Shin Ilkim> Niece♥ Close your eyes♥]

[Hwang Joonbong> Aing♥]

[Me> Send me your addresses]

[Me> You’re all dead]

Despite my warning, they kept sending hearts. I was about to respond with harsher words when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my stomach.

Freezing in place, I held my belly and took a deep breath.

“Haeju, come out without hurting mommy, okay?”

This was a phrase I often said to Haeju while rubbing my belly.

I had heard that childbirth was extremely painful, and as the due date approached, I became more and more scared.

So I was trying to teach Haeju to come out quickly and with as little pain as possible.

“You can be born in just 5 minutes, right? Our Haeju can do it, right?”

Rubbing my belly, I reminded Haeju again and went into the dressing room.

Taeshin had gone to school, and I was home alone, but I looked around cautiously before opening the central wardrobe.

“Time to go to work, Gameboy~!”

Humming a tune, I took out my hidden Gameboy. When I moved out of my parents’ house, I secretly packed it without Taeshin knowing.

Now that I had my parents’ permission and Taeshin had lied about having no money, there was no reason I couldn’t bring it here.

“No space for Gameboy, my foot.”

Taeshin had said there wasn’t enough space for it in the house, but now that I lived here, I realized there was plenty of space for it.

The living room, the dressing room, the study, the bedroom, the balcony—all had enough space.

I regretted not properly scolding Taeshin for his lie back then and connected the Gameboy to the TV in the living room.

Lately, whenever Taeshin went to school, I would take out the Gameboy and play, and Taeshin hadn’t noticed at all. Feeling cheerful, I laid out the game titles on the table, dreaming of the perfect crime.

“Haeju, what game shall we play today?”

I can’t show Haeju a hideous monster due to my conscience, so I selected a game with cute and casual characters and asked Haeju.

As I placed my hand on my belly and chose a game based on Haeju’s kicks, my stomach ached again.

I held my breath and endured the pain, and when it subsided, I turned on the game.

[Taeshin♥> Sunwoo]

[Taeshin♥> What are you doing?]

Just as I started the game and grabbed the controller, a message from Taeshin arrived.

I flinched and felt my foot tingle before replying.

[Me> Doing prenatal education with Haeju]

[Me> Showing a fairy tale lol]

“Phew.”

The timing was impeccable. How could he message me just as I started the game?

If Taeshin found out, our game console would be thrown straight into the recycling bin.

The thought of our game console, packed in a box and pathetically discarded in the recycling bin, was horrifying.

[Taeshin♥> What fairy tale?]

[Me> You wouldn’t know it]

[Me> It’s called ‘The Fairy and the Black Forest’]

[Me> It’s about a fairy protecting a forest]

But Taeshin is at school now and I’m at home.

Unless the house has eyes, Taeshin has no way of knowing about the game console’s existence.

Comforted by that thought, I started the game, confidently framing it as a wholesome activity.

Surely, Taeshin wouldn’t think I’m playing a game, right?

[Taeshin♥> Have fun]

[Taeshin♥> Don’t do it for too long]

[Me> Yeah, just a bit lol]

“Oops!”

I replied thoughtlessly while playing the game and ended up saying something strange.

I said I was showing Haeju a fairy tale, but saying I’d do it for a bit sounded weird!

Panicking, I quickly added more to my message.

[Me> Prenatal education lol]

[Me> Just a bit of prenatal education hahaha]

Whew, that was close.

With a sigh of relief, I continued playing the game, my quick wit having averted a crisis.

As the lecture began, my phone fell silent, and I resumed playing, pausing multiple times while controlling a cute rabbit character.

“Ow, why does my stomach hurt every few minutes?”

Despite playing for an hour, I’d made little progress, grumbling as I looked at my stomach, which periodically interrupted my game.

I had chosen an especially cute and endearing game for Haeju’s prenatal education.

Staring uncomfortably at my belly, I blinked.

“…Huh?”

…Minutes? How many minutes did I say?

Wait, could it be…! Alarmed, I checked the clock.

The symptoms were strikingly similar to what the doctor described during my recent hospital visit.

Though my due date was still a week away, the doctor mentioned that labor could start earlier.

They told me not to dismiss any signs of labor, even if it seemed too early, and to monitor carefully.

“Oh my gosh, Haeju!”

So this is labor! What I thought was false labor turned out to be the real deal. I didn’t realize Haeju had been signaling his arrival since the morning.

I quickly turned off the game and called Taeshin.

Preparing to leave, I kept trying to reach him, but he didn’t answer.

“Ugh, he said to call if anything happened, and now he’s not picking up!”

Haeju, your dad promised to be attentive, but he’s failing at the most crucial moment!

Frustrated with Taeshin’s usual tardiness, I called my mom instead.

She was busy and didn’t answer either, nor did Taeshin’s mom.

Realizing I was in labor and unable to contact anyone, I started to get scared.

The pain intensified, and my breathing became labored.

I felt a heavy pressure below and feared I might give birth at home alone.

No, I couldn’t delay any longer; I called a taxi.

Buzz.

“You idiot, why didn’t you answer?”

-Sorry, Sunwoo. What’s up?

As soon as I stepped out of the house, Taeshin called back.

Though he was late, hearing his voice eased my fear a little.

“I don’t know, I think Haeju is coming!”

-Now? Got it, I’ll be right there. Hang on, Sunwoo!

“Forget it! I called a taxi; meet me at the hospital!”

-Sunwoo,

I’d been holding out since the morning, and this idiot was telling me to hold on again!

Annoyed by Taeshin’s easy reassurances, I hung up and got into the taxi.

Gasping for breath, I told the driver to hurry to the hospital. He was startled and sped off immediately.

“Sunwoo!”

“Why are you so late?”

“Sorry! Did you wait long?”

“Yes! I called, but you didn’t answer!”

Luckily, Taeshin arrived while I was being examined at the hospital.

I scolded him for being disheveled, having run in frantically, but another contraction hit.

“Does it hurt a lot? Should I call the doctor?”

“Shh, be quiet.”

The contractions were getting stronger and closer together, suggesting Haeju’s imminent arrival.

A nurse, having checked the contraction record, returned to inform us that I’d be moved to the delivery room.

Taeshin supported me as I struggled to get up from the examination bed.

“I’m going to give birth to Haeju. Don’t go anywhere, okay?”

“Wait, Sunwoo. Can I go in too?”

“You too?”

“How can I let you go in alone?”

“Only the mother can go in. The guardian has to wait here.”

“But,”

“I’ll be fine, Taeshin. I’ll give birth to Haeju and be right back, so wait a bit!”

“Sunwoo!”

I waved energetically at the anxious-looking Taeshin and followed the nurse inside.

It was a bit scary, but… I could do this, right?

* * *