Not your child chapter 13

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“Why are you so jumpy? Did you do something wrong?”

“Wrong? No, you just appeared out of nowhere. Why are you out here? Aren’t you supposed to be doing your personal interview?”

“I finished, so I came out. Let’s go. That’s it for today.”

Junghyun pulled Siyoung along to the parking lot, seemingly without any regrets about leaving early.

Although he didn’t feel great, Siyoung figured he’d just go along with it since the day’s schedule was over.

He glanced up at Jeonghyun.

“Why did you finish so quickly? The others are still doing theirs.”

“Not many questions. Nothing else to say.”

“…”

Of course, he’d be like that.

Siyoung shook his head slightly, mentally offering his condolences to the staff who interviewed him.

“What did you talk about?”

“Just things we need to keep in mind during filming… That’s it. Since I’m only here temporarily, I just took down a few things to pass on to Sera.”

“What things? I can pass them on for you.”

“No, thanks. I trust the right person for the job.”

Ignoring Jeonghyun’s unusual offer, Siyoung got into the car.

Naturally, he assumed Jeonghyun would drive him home, so he sat in the passenger seat, buckled up, and pulled out his phone without saying a word.

“…You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

Junghyun, who’d been watching Siyoung intently, finally spoke up.

Hiding something?

Had he been too obvious?

He’d been told not to reveal anything before the first shoot.

Maybe he should’ve said something earlier and contacted Sera separately.

“What would I be hiding?”

Siyoung brushed it off, figuring a denial would end it. But Jeonghyun clicked his tongue.

“It’s not like I’ve known you for just a day or two. It’s been nearly two weeks. Do you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

At this, Siyoung looked up, a bit taken aback.

He’d thought Jeonghyun was talking about today’s events, but apparently, he was referring to something else entirely.

“Are you sure it’s just gastritis? Have you even been to the doctor?”

“It really is just gastritis. If it hurt that bad, I’d have quit ages ago. Why would I push through and keep working?”

“You’re the type to be hard to read.”

“Says the guy.”

Siyoung let out a dry laugh.

Hard to read?

That was something he’d always wanted to say to Jeonghyun.

Ever since college, he’d been curious about what went on in that pretty head of his.

“Do you need a doctor’s note? Why would I lie about something like that?”

“Alright… I’ll take that for now. But is there really nothing you’re hiding?”

“…”

Unconsciously, Siyoung avoided Jeonghyun’s gaze, then immediately regretted it.

Looking away would just seem more suspicious.

It was too late to take it back.

“…Everyone has at least one thing they’d rather keep to themselves.”

“Let’s just go with it shamelessly.”

Siyoung, giving up on hiding anything, finally said.

There was no point in lying further; he knew Hyun wouldn’t believe him anyway.

“You’re the same, though. It’s not like you’ve answered everything I’ve asked you before.”

“That’s because I had reasons I couldn’t talk about.”

“Well, I have reasons I can’t talk about too. So stop asking. It’s not a health issue. It’s just… something personal. You don’t need to know every detail about my family issues.”

He hadn’t lied.

Siyoung said it that way, carefully watching Hyun’s expression.

Thankfully, it seemed like he wouldn’t push any further.

“If it’s something you can’t handle alone, it’s not shameful to ask someone for help.”

“I know. I know, but this is something I have to handle on my own. If it gets to be too much, I’ll tell you. So let’s drop it now.”

Honestly, he had no intention of ever bringing it up, but in a few months, this argument wouldn’t even matter.

For now, escaping the current situation was the priority.

“You’re always like this with me.”

“What am I?”

“Forget it. Just put your seatbelt on properly. I’m going to start driving.”

Hyun’s slightly disappointed expression felt unfamiliar.

Siyoung turned away from him, hiding his face.

To be fair, Hyun wasn’t wrong.

Hyun was different from Yeonseok, who joked without a thought, or Jaeyoon, who was always kind.

If not for those two, would Siyoung and Hyun even be talking right now?

They’d probably have just passed by each other.

‘He’s never cared about this stuff before, so why is he suddenly acting like this?’

They’d had a casual relationship for years, so keeping things the same would be enough.

But for some reason, it was starting to bother him.

Thinking about it, Hyun was the one acting strange lately, not him.

Not wanting to discuss it further, Siyoung kept his gaze fixed outside the car window.

---

“So, you fought?”

“Fought? No, it just ended like that.”

“Sounds like a fight to me.”

Yeonseok chuckled, leaning back on the sofa.

Just when Siyoung was starting to enjoy a little peace, Yeonseok had shown up at the office, apparently out of things to do, and was now getting on his nerves.

‘With all that money and free time, he could’ve found something better to do…’

“Don’t you have anything to do?”

“Nothing. When I had a boyfriend, I had places to go. What’s the point of going out by myself?”

“You’ve got plenty of friends.”

“They’re all busy dating these days. Besides, I’m taking a break from meeting them. Lately, too many guys look normal but turn out to be stalkers.”

Yeonseok shivered as if recalling some creepy experiences.

He’d broken up with his last boyfriend recently and had apparently seen some unpleasant things, swearing off dating for a while.

‘He mentioned this before, but I thought it’d only last a week… Looks like it’s sticking around.

Not that he won’t have a new boyfriend soon enough.’

“So, is that why you’re hanging around me, a single guy?”

“Yeah, partly. Plus, isn’t chatting more fun than working?”

‘No. Honestly, I’d rather be somewhere quiet, doing something mindless.’

Siyoung turned back to his screen without answering.

Yeonseok caught on to the lack of interest but just laughed.

“Always so cold. So cold.”

“…”

“And that’s why you’ve never dated anyone. I mean, you’ve got a good face and all; it’s not like you can’t date just because you’re recessive.”

Yeonseok sighed as if genuinely concerned.

Even though Siyoung was a recessive omega, these days people didn’t care about secondary genders as much.

Some betas even preferred recessives, finding alphas and omegas a bit too intense.

Good-looking, with a decent job, Siyoung really had everything going for him.

The only reason he hadn’t dated was probably because of his personality.

It wasn’t that he was rude, but he showed such little interest in others that people eventually lost interest and backed off.

Outside of college, he’d only stayed close with Yeonseok, Hyun, and Jaeyoon.

“Back in college, you focused on your grades, but now’s about the time to start dating, don’t you think? Jaeyoon’s already getting marriage meetings lined up. Twenty-seven might not be desperate for marriage, but it’s time to think about it.”

“That’s because his parents are pushy. And I…”

“What? Are you one of those people who don’t date?”

“Not exactly, but… I don’t know if I need to. Right now, I can’t even think about dating.”

He didn’t hate the idea of dating.

The thought of a soulmate or a special connection had crossed his mind.

But when he was young, he couldn’t afford to, and since starting work, his friends kept him too busy for dating.

And now, he had a very clear reason not to.

‘How could I date when I’m already pregnant? It’s impossible. Even after the birth… my focus has to be on my family, so dating is out of the question.’

“It’s not like you’ve got much holding you back, right? The busy work is over, and your brother’s doing well now, isn’t he?”

Yeonseok’s question was casual, as if Siyoung’s only “issues” came from helping his younger brother.

But that brother was graduating soon, with a good job lined up before he even finished.

“Did he take out some shady loan or something?”

“What nonsense is that? My brother would never do that.”

Siyoung snapped, even though he knew Yeonseok was only joking. It was annoying.

“He already feels guilty for all the help I’ve given him, so drop the nonsense.”

“You never know what life will throw at you. Don’t be too certain.”

“Not going to happen.”

“Even if it’s not his fault, he could get scammed or something.”

“Enough with the curses. Enough.”

Siyoung turned back to his monitor, not wanting to hear any more of this. It was annoying, even as a joke.

“So, what’s keeping you, then?”

Yeonseok wasn’t going anywhere.

Instead, he threw out another question, his expression now a little more serious, despite the smile lingering on his face.

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