* * *

The hallway was very long.

On one side of the hallway, large windows were lined up, and beyond them was an inner courtyard.

A few benches, well-maintained ornamental trees, and a few statues could be seen beyond the windows, with light pouring in from the windows, stretching long into the hallway.

But the two people sitting side by side on the hard chairs in the hallway didn’t think to look back, simply staring blankly at the hallway where the light cast a yellowish tint.

Dogwon, sitting on the left, glanced at his hand, then at the person sitting next to him.

The man, who appeared uninterested in his surroundings, kept his eyes closed and didn’t even glance at Dogwon.

The sunglasses in his hand swayed back and forth with the movements of his fingers.

“Um….”

Dogwon was the first to speak.

The man didn’t even open his eyes, so Dogwon closed his mouth again.

‘It must be him….’

Dogwon thought for a moment.

From the first moment he saw him, something had felt familiar, and now he realized why.

It was the actor from the movie that had been constantly advertised on TV, set to be released soon.

Dogwon had never been interested in celebrities and didn’t even have time to watch TV with his busy life, so if he remembered this person, the actor must be quite famous.

He was curious why such a person was sitting next to him in a place like this, but it seemed the other had no intention of explaining.

Not being the type to initiate a conversation or ask too many questions to someone who wouldn’t even meet his eyes, Dogwon eventually remained silent, and the hallway once again filled with nothing but the sound of their breathing.

The clouds parted, and the sunlight stretched longer into the window.

The light, reaching far enough to touch the paintings hanging on the wall, reflected off the glass frames, causing a slight glare.

Just as Dogwon raised his hand to shield his eyes from the bright light reflecting off the frame, the door they had been waiting to open finally did, and someone stepped out.

A man who appeared to be quite elderly looked back and forth between the two before speaking.

“Mr. Choi Dogwon, Mr. Yoon Yiryeong?”

‘It’s him. That actor.’

The name, which he had heard somewhere before, confirmed his suspicion.

Dogwon glanced at Yiryeong sitting next to him and then stood up.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

When Dogwon responded, the man who had opened the door stepped aside slightly, as if inviting them in, and as Dogwon moved, so did Yiryeong.

Although Dogwon stood up first, Yiryeong pushed past him slightly, entering first.

The rude action made Dogwon’s brow furrow slightly.

“Please, both of you, have a seat over here.”

The two sat side by side on a long sofa.

The room was ordinary.

Although the fact that it was the director’s office of a research institute had made Dogwon a bit nervous, there wasn’t anything particularly intimidating about the atmosphere.

The room had a cabinet like the ones seen in schools, a wall filled with unknown certificates, a large but old-looking desk, and a central area furnished with sofas and a coffee table like a reception room.

Dogwon subtly scanned the room with his eyes.

“I apologize for making you wait after calling you here like this.”

“Shouldn’t you quickly tell us what this urgent and important matter is?”

Yiryeong, who had remained silent the entire time, finally spoke.

He fiddled with his wristwatch, as if he had no intention of staying here long.

The expensive-looking watch glittered under the fluorescent lights.

“Yes, since I made you wait, I’ll get straight to the point. You may not remember, but five years ago, the two of you donated sperm to our research lab.”

The director handed documents to the two of them.

Yiryeong didn’t seem particularly interested, while Dogwon pulled the documents toward him and examined the contents.

“I don’t remember that.”

“I do remember.”

He remembered participating because they were offering compensation for sperm donation.

It wasn’t a large sum, but for Dogwon, whose life was financially strained, it was a much-needed amount.

The document he had hastily glanced over and signed at the time was now right in front of him.

Dogwon confirmed his signature and then set the document down again.

“This signature, Mr. Yoon Yiryeong, is it yours?”

The director, wanting to be sure, showed the document to Yiryeong, who didn’t remember, pointing out the signature on the last page.

After a slight frown, Yiryeong nodded.

From the call made through his agency earlier in the morning, stating that it was an urgent matter, to having to wait for over 30 minutes in an empty hallway after arriving here, everything had been annoying.

Now, confirming something he didn’t even remember further soured his expression.

“Our research institute is a facility that studies male pregnancy, male childbirth, artificial womb development, and similar areas. We conducted experiments using the sperm you two donated and achieved significant results. The sperm was healthy, and both of you have excellent physical conditions, so the results turned out well. I wanted to take this opportunity to express my gratitude.”

“When you say the results were good…”

“Yes, the experiment succeeded in achieving birth through sperm fusion, and the baby was born healthy.”

“A baby was born? From me and him?”

Yiryeong looked incredulous as he glanced over Dogwon before looking back at the director.

“And so?”

“The baby was born just yesterday…. Since male pregnancy is still unstable and risky, the birth itself carried significant dangers, and unfortunately, the birth mother/father suffered an accident during delivery.”

“An accident?”

“Regrettably… it was fatal.”

Dogwon, who had been listening, clenched his hands tightly in shock, but Yiryeong still looked indifferent, as if he didn’t understand why he had to hear this.

“The birth mother/father had agreed to all the risks, and we will compensate accordingly, following all legal procedures. We will also provide as much support as possible for the child. However, as our facility is not suitable for raising a child, the baby will likely be placed in a related facility. The birth mother/father had no family.”

(TL: The one who gave birth is a male and considering that the person who give birth is usually called mother, I didn’t want to completely use father. So to differentiate it, I use mother/father.)

“Didn’t you say you’d get to the point? All of this seems unrelated to me.”

Yiryeong interrupted the director, lightly tapping the table in front of him.

The director, slightly flustered, cleared his throat but quickly continued.

“Yes, of course, there was a clause stating that you wouldn’t be held responsible for the child when you donated the sperm. Neither of you has any obligations. However, before placing the child in a facility, I thought it was ethically right to ask for your intentions. For the child’s sake. Would either of you be willing to take responsibility for the child?”

Yiryeong sighed deeply, clearly irritated.

“Is that the point? You contacted my agency, calling this important, and dragged me here at this hour for such nonsense? Do you even need to hear…”

“Can I raise the child?”

Yiryeong turned to look at Dogwon. Then, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, he lightly hit Dogwon on the shoulder.

Although the action was rude and irritated Dogwon a little, he didn’t confront him about it.

He didn’t want to ruin the situation with such petty feelings.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

In response to Yiryeong’s incredulous question, Dogwon answered without hesitation.

“Are you really thinking of taking the child? This is an important matter, so I was going to give you a few weeks to think it over…”

“It’s fine. When can it happen?”

“It can happen right away. There are some documents needed, but since you’re the biological father, it shouldn’t be complicated. We’ll also provide as much support as possible for raising the child, including covering child-rearing expenses and part of your living costs.”

“That’s not why I agreed.”

“Even so, it’s our responsibility to assist as much as possible.”

The director smiled, saying it was a good thing, but Yiryeong frowned as if he couldn’t understand Dogwon before returning to his usual expressionless face.

It wasn’t his concern whether this man raised the child or not.

“I don’t get it, but this really has nothing to do with me anymore, right? Since this guy said he’d take the child.”

Yiryeong stood up abruptly as if he had no interest in what would happen next.

“Yes, but at least consider seeing the child…”

“I’m not interested. I hope you won’t contact me about this again.”

“Still, Mr. Yoon Yiryeong, how about at least a cup of tea…”

“No, thank you.”

With that, Yiryeong left the director’s office.

Walking through the unnecessarily large research facility to the parking lot, he let out an exasperated sigh.

He had come all the way out to this rural area just to hear such nonsense.

The irritation gnawed at him, refusing to subside.

* * *