* * *

Before breakfast, my oldest brother called Taeshin and me to the study. As soon as we opened the door, we saw the three brothers, the cause of last night’s chaos, sitting in a row.

“I want to leave.”

“Little brother, just sit down for a moment.”

“…Jeez.”

I tried to walk away, not wanting to see Jinwoo, the third, or the fourth brother, but my oldest brother called me back.

Unable to ignore his soothing voice, I reluctantly sat opposite the hated brothers.

The study, which had been littered with alcohol, was now clean, with only traces left on the brothers’ faces.

Serves them right. They should’ve stopped drinking sooner.

The fourth brother’s face was a wreck from a hangover, the third brother looked pale, and Jinwoo had a pained expression like he had a headache.

“Before you came, I heard from these guys, but I think I should hear your side too. Can you tell me what happened?”

Sitting on the middle sofa, my oldest brother gently asked.

Glaring sharply at my brothers, I reported everything that had happened, from how Geonwoo and Daewoo tormented Taeshin under the guise of testing him, to Jinwoo’s interference while Taeshin stayed here.

The third and fourth brothers flinched and avoided eye contact, perhaps feeling some guilt for once. Jinwoo remained sulky, whether the oldest brother was watching or not.

“I can’t stand this anymore!”

“…Sigh.”

My oldest brother sighed and rubbed his forehead with his fingers. As if to confirm my story, he looked at Taeshin, who shrugged.

How about that? Even my oldest brother is shocked, right?

Taeshin and I really went through a lot! Feeling like I was finally releasing all the pent-up frustration I couldn’t even tell mom, I glared fiercely at my other brothers again.

“These… jerks…”

“Huh? Jungwoo hyung, what did you say?”

“Nothing. So, what do you want to do now, little brother?”

“…Me?”

“I heard you told Mom you wanted to move out. Are you going to do that?”

When the eldest brother kindly asked, I turned to look at Taeshin, who looked back at me.

The moment our eyes met, scenes of Taeshin struggling under the harshness of our brothers flashed before my eyes like a movie.

Taeshin, bullied by his brothers, yet still trying hard, unable to protest against their unfairness—his entire demeanor was pitiful. So, I took a deep breath and decided.

“Yes. I’m moving out. Taeshin and I are leaving together.”

“Leaving? Where to?”

“Youngest…!”

“Moon Jinwoo, Moon Geonwoo.”

“……”

“If you want, I can give you some time to talk with me alone later.”

At the firm tone and gaze of the eldest brother, the two fell silent. The eldest brother, who effortlessly silenced our wicked brothers, smiled gently at us.

“I thought I’d trust and watch over you two since you both like each other and even got imprinted… but these three ruined everything.”

The eldest brother maintained a smile while quietly scolding the others.

“I understand what happened now. The conversation took longer than expected. Shall we go eat?”

The eldest brother checked the time and stood up.

Watching his back as he left the study, I tilted my head in confusion.

Is that it? Something seems missing.

“It’s over.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go eat too.”

I found it strange that Taeshin mumbled to himself and felt uneasy as we headed to the dining room.

Our parents, who were already eating, warmly welcomed the eldest brother.

“By the way, Mom, Dad. Let’s allow Sunwoo and Taeshin to move out.”

“Huh?”

The eldest brother, who was casually chatting about daily life as if keeping last night’s commotion a secret from our parents, suddenly brought it up.

The third and fourth brothers, who were quietly eating, jerked their heads up in shock, and I too looked at the eldest brother in disbelief.

“Sunwoo and Taeshin?”

“Yes. They’re still young, but it’s time for them to start living on their own. And while we’re at it, let’s also let Jinwoo live independently. He’s old enough, we can’t keep him here forever. Help him find a good match too.”

The eldest brother smiled kindly and continued to talk, mentioning things like leaving hard work to Geonwoo and bringing Jinwoo into the company soon. As for the fourth brother…

“Daewoo… well… let’s do well?”

“W-what? Oh…!”

The fourth brother, who was tense, nodded stiffly, perhaps afraid the eldest brother would reveal what he had done to Taeshin.

The eldest brother’s few words had a significant impact. Even our parents, who were against the idea of moving out, started considering it.

“Do you think you and Taeshin can manage well if you move out?”

“Huh? Yes! We’ll do great! Really great!”

“You…! What about you, Taeshin?”

“I prefer staying somewhere where I can see Mom every day.”

“Taeshin, how can you lie so sweetly?”

Mom, who had been looking at me skeptically, smiled brightly at Taeshin’s response. She then exchanged a few glances with Dad and turned her head slightly.

“We’ll discuss it with Taeshin’s parents, so wait patiently.”

“Really? Awesome!”

“Sunwoo, we haven’t given permission yet.”

“Mom, Dad will agree! Right, Taeshin?”

“Oh dear, look at him pressuring Taeshin.”

Mom scolded me as I jumped up in excitement and clenched my fists.

She shook her head, watching me silently urging Taeshin to persuade his parents.

Seeing Taeshin quietly smiling at the prospect of moving out, I met his smile and then suddenly gasped.

Thump!

“Ouch!”

“Sunwoo?”

“Youngest!”

“Does your stomach hurt?!”

When I stopped breathing and clutched my belly, Taeshin’s smile disappeared, and the brothers made a fuss. As Mom scolded them to be quiet, my belly was kicked again.

“It kicked again!”

“Haeju?”

“Yes! Yes, it kicked again! Feel it!”

I showed my belly to Taeshin, amazed at Haeju moving inside. Taeshin, looking surprised, carefully placed his hand on my belly.

Worried he might break something, he gently touched my belly, and I pressed his hand closer.

Thump!

“Again, again!”

“……”

Haeju, moving as if exercising, kicked where Taeshin’s hand was. Taeshin, feeling Haeju’s movements, stood frozen with a dazed expression.

“It’s time to feel the baby move.”

“Congratulations, Youngest.”

“Congratulations. Already…”

At Mom’s words, the eldest brother and Dad congratulated me.

Following them, the brothers hesitantly offered their congratulations, and Taeshin, who looked foolish earlier, now looked up at me with a dreamy smile.

It was the day we felt Haeju’s first movement.

---

The move, which we achieved after much struggle, was fantastic. Just not having Moon Jinwoo and the other brothers constantly picking on Taeshin made me feel very comfortable.

In our home, free from interference, Taeshin and I accomplished our planned activities one by one.

We watched movies, traveled, and toured famous restaurants. We also tried crafts said to be good for the baby’s development and regularly listened to classical music that helped me fall asleep.

Perhaps because of these efforts, Haeju grew healthier and stronger in my belly. During a recent hospital visit, Haeju’s face became much clearer and his body much bigger.

Seeing Haeju’s face in the 3D ultrasound, I stroked my belly and told him to keep growing well, thinking he looked like Taeshin.

‘He looks like you, Sunwoo.’

‘No, he looks like you. Just like you.’

Taeshin and I playfully argued about who Haeju resembled while carefully pasting the ultrasound photo in my maternity book.

Smiling at Haeju’s beautiful face in the peach-colored 3D ultrasound photo, I wrote a short note again.

[Our Haeju looks like Dad!]

[Sunwoo, don’t drool on Haeju’s picture.]

‘No way, I’m not drooling!’

Anyway, everything was good now.

“Ugh…”

“Did you wake up?”

“Yeah…”

After having a late breakfast, I fell asleep on the bed and woke up groaning. For some reason, Haeju was excitedly moving around in my belly.

“Is Haeju moving again?”

“Yeah…”

“Haeju, are you feeling good?”

I answered with a sleepy moan, but Taeshin understood perfectly and started to rub my belly. When Taeshin touched my belly with his pheromones, Haeju paused for a moment.

Then, as if responding to Taeshin’s voice, Haeju moved even more energetically.

“He’s even more excited now.”

“Hmm.”

Taeshin was trying to calm Haeju down, but Haeju seemed to enjoy it more, squirming around.

Although it was hectic, I was happy that Taeshin was talking to me. Feeling Taeshin’s confusion, I waved my hand and helped rub my belly together.

“Haeju, today we’re going to eat something delicious outside and look at some clothes for you. If you get this excited outside, we’ll have to just eat and come back, so let’s calm down a bit, okay?”

I gently rubbed my belly, hoping Haeju would understand that we needed to be calmer outside.

Whether Haeju listened or not, Taeshin laughed as Haeju continued to move around. We speculated about why Haeju was so excited but couldn’t find an answer and waited until he calmed down a bit.

I wondered if he might be sharing a dream with me. I recalled a dream where a brilliantly shining dragon, glowing with rainbow colors, embraced me.

It was a dream that felt like something wonderful was going to happen, but it seemed unlikely that it made Haeju this excited.

After quite a while, Haeju finally calmed down, and we went out.

With both of us no longer experiencing morning sickness, we ate without any aversion and wandered through the baby section to look at clothes for Haeju.

“Wow, look at this. It’s really small. It’s as big as a finger.”

“It looks like a pocket.”

“This is cute too.”

Seeing the tiny mittens and booties that looked like they were meant for a small teddy bear made me shiver.

Thinking about Haeju wearing such tiny clothes after being born made me feel all tingly and strange.

“Should we buy this?”

“Yeah! Let’s see what else there is.”

We picked out a very cute set of baby clothes for Haeju and continued to look around.

“Moon Sunwoo? Geukja?”

“Huh?”

While looking at cute baby items and other interesting things, I heard familiar voices and turned my head. The people I saw were just as familiar as the voices.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

It was the first time seeing Yoon Yijun and Jo Ana together since high school graduation, and they were staring at me and my belly with their mouths open.

Behind them, I spotted Park Kangseop, awkwardly scratching his head, and felt someone’s presence behind me.

“Sunwoo, this….”

“…you crazy Geukja bastard!”

* * *