The Omega Is Pregnant

For now, Tae-seo decided to put aside whether he was the child Han Mi-sun had mentioned. That could be confirmed later, but for now, he focused on the Tae-seo in front of him. Every time their eyes met, Tae-seo smiled, exuding a fresh and youthful aura. He was as handsome as Se-heon and seemed to have a good personality as well. He looked quite popular, so why was he meeting with his son?

"I almost forgot the most important question."
Ah, my mind must be slipping. At Se-eun-hee’s muttering, Tae-seo looked at her. He had no idea what question she was going to ask. Before coming here, he had sorted out quite a few possible questions, but now that he was actually here, his mind went blank, and nothing came to him. Tae-seo focused and strengthened his gaze, telling himself to stay alert.
"Where did you first meet Se-heon? He’s my son, but he’s not exactly the gentle type, so I thought dating him would be difficult."

"Huh?"
Tae-seo asked back at the unexpected question. It was a much simpler question than he had anticipated, and before he knew it, he blinked. His eyes, which had been strained from focusing, were now wet from the sudden relief. He had somewhat expected the first part, but the latter part caught him off guard.
"Well…"

Repeatedly tensing and relaxing his body had left his fingertips tingling. Tae-seo secretly clenched and unclenched his fist under the table. If he had to describe their first meeting, it would be Se-heon’s bare back…
When Tae-seo looked at Se-heon, he saw that he was watching with an amused expression, curious about what he would say.
"We met here at this hotel. I was in a difficult situation, and Se-heon hyung helped me. He wasn’t exactly a prince, but he appeared like a tall gentleman—like fate."

That answer was rather romantic, wasn’t it? Se-heon’s eyes seemed to say as much. But on that day, Se-heon had treated him like discarded trash, and Tae-seo had practically begged him to take him in.
Feeling like Se-heon was mocking his answer, Tae-seo quickly added:
"And Se-heon hyung isn’t exactly the kind type."

"Right?"
Se-eun-hee’s voice rose as if she had expected it. Tae-seo nodded again in agreement, and as he stayed quiet, Se-heon, who had been merely listening until now, spoke up.
"That’s it? Nothing more?"

"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I wasn’t the kind type, sure, but what about fun moments, or times I took care of you? You know, things like that. Don’t you remember how I treated you back then?"
Annoyed by Se-heon’s complaint, Tae-seo caught onto the end of his words.

"To be honest, you weren’t fun. Do you even remember what you said to me back then?"
Who was it that called him a "scrawny brat"?
"So, all the fun parts of our conversations were thanks to you?"
"Ah, if you say it like that so bluntly, it’s embarrassing."

Tae-seo grinned as he nudged Se-heon in the side with his elbow. Up until now, Se-heon had been leading the conversation, but honestly, it was Tae-seo who had given it life. Even Se-heon had to admit that, right? Tae-seo smiled brightly, then suddenly realized—he had responded the same way he normally would, forgetting that they were in front of Se-heon’s parents.
Maybe he should have acted more properly. He worried about coming across as too lighthearted, but then Se-heon leaned in and whispered so only Tae-seo could hear.
"Just be yourself. You don’t have to stay so tense."

As Tae-seo looked up at him, a large, warm hand covered his. Not only was Se-heon holding his hand, but he also gave it a gentle squeeze before loosening his grip. It seemed like he had noticed how tense Tae-seo was the whole time. Realizing that Se-heon had caught onto it, Tae-seo decided there was no need to hide it anymore.
Rather than clenching his fists on his own, having Se-heon massage his hands made the tingling in his fingertips disappear.
"This is better than most massage devices."

"Of course, you can’t compare me to a machine."
Se-heon, who had been replying casually, suddenly chuckled and covered his forehead with his other hand. His warm gaze met Tae-seo’s. There really wasn’t a dull moment with Tae-seo. Now that he had introduced him to his parents, he just wanted to take him away.
Meanwhile, quietly watching them, Se-eun-hee swallowed a smile and turned to her husband.

"You can see how well they match, right? You think so too?"
"Yeah."
Kang Jin-han looked intrigued. Listening to their conversation, it seemed like they were having a rather fun relationship. His son acted similarly to how he did at work, but Tae-seo, who responded to him, had a sharp wit and a unique charm. That’s why their conversation flowed so naturally.

Now, Kang Jin-han also wanted to have a conversation with Tae-seo. But unfortunately, Se-heon took that chance away.
"Well then, we’ll get going."
As Se-heon stood up, Tae-seo, who was still holding his hand, was pulled up along with him. Tae-seo looked at him with wide eyes, glancing between Se-heon and his parents. They had barely greeted each other and talked. It hadn’t even been 30 minutes, and they were already leaving?

"See you next time."
However, Tae-seo was the only one who seemed flustered. The others were not. Se-eun-hee looked at him as if she had expected this and gave a look promising they would meet again. Kang Jin-han seemed a little disappointed but also gave a similar farewell.
"See you next time."

Noticing the flow of the situation, Tae-seo quickly responded with a suitable goodbye. The moment he did, Se-heon turned and led him out, still holding his hand. Striding across the room, he quickly stepped outside.
As the sound of the door closing echoed behind them, Tae-seo let out a stunned sigh, staring at the hallway wall as if he had just teleported.
"What was that?"

"Is there a reason we shouldn’t leave early?"
There wasn’t really a reason, but normally, people didn’t think that way.
"I woke up early today just to prepare for meeting your parents…"

Tae-seo’s shoulders slumped, looking a little deflated.
"Why was it so short?"
After a moment, he let out a laugh, almost in disbelief. He had chosen his clothes, neatly styled his hair, bought flowers, and even simulated potential conversations in his head. Tae-seo pulled out the paper he had kept in his pocket. Having folded and unfolded it multiple times while sitting, it was now heavily crumpled. He ran his thumb over its surface and muttered weakly.

"I even prepared a self-introduction like an interview."
"That’s impressive. So, what kind of image were you trying to show?"
Se-heon reached out for the paper, curious, but before his hand could reach it, Tae-seo quickly hid it behind his back. He had put in the effort to prepare, but he had absolutely no intention of showing it to Se-heon.

"When did I start liking him?" Tae-seo thought, gripping the paper tighter.
'No way I’m showing him this.'
He might just die of laughter if he read it.

"You’re composed, calm, mature, and able to answer any question flawlessly—a promising future talent."
"…Save that for when you’re actually job hunting."
At least not now.

At Se-heon’s blunt remark, Tae-seo pouted. He had put in so much effort, but nothing had gone as planned.
All he had done was stumble over his words, get embarrassed, and engage in playful banter with Se-heon. Tae-seo sighed and voiced his concern.
"I wonder if your parents saw me in a good light."

"You showed them your real self, and that was enough."
"My usual self—is it really okay?"
So was he saying that just being himself was enough to show to others? Tae-seo subtly hoped to hear more flattering words from Se-heon.

"If you try to put on a fake image from the start, you’ll just wear yourself out. Think about the future. Just being yourself is the best."
"So it’s not because I’m a good person, but for other reasons?"
"…Let’s eat."

Tae-seo shot him a look, and Se-heon quickly changed the topic.
 
****

"By the way, let’s forget about the engagement between Tae-seo and In-hyuk."
At Kim Mi-kyung’s difficult words, Han Mi-sun’s lips trembled.