Swallowed - Chapter 47

A gentle touch tapped Seyoung’s shoulder as she was choosing beer. Seyoung turned around, holding one of the two beers she was contemplating in each hand.

“This one.”

Jaeha chose the beer on the right. Seyoung nodded once and put the beer he chose in the cart. Then she looked at him properly. He must have come out in a hurry, as his hair was still damp. Seyoung’s eyes widened. She thought he must have gone back to sleep after leaving or done some spring cleaning. Noticing her gaze fixed on his hair, Jaeha seemed embarrassed and shook the water off with his hand.

“It’s almost dry. What, what did you buy?”

He looked into the cart and naturally shared the cart handle with Seyoung. They walked around the mart together, picking out the things they needed. But while putting in fabric softener, he suddenly chuckled. “Why?” Seyoung mouthed, and he replied with a sweet eye smile.

“It feels like we’re a newlywed couple. Shopping together.”

Seyoung was speechless and just stared at him, but he smiled brightly as if he was very happy and pushed the cart. Seeing him express his good mood with his whole body, Seyoung felt like laughing too.

A newlywed couple. No matter how many times she thought about it, it was a feeling that didn’t suit her, but why did her heart flutter?

Considering Jaeha’s personality, she thought he would find the most optimal route for shopping, but that wasn’t the case. He liked chatting with Seyoung and pushing the cart, so they wandered around, even going back to the same place again. It was unnecessarily time-consuming, but Seyoung didn’t dislike it, so she matched his pace.

They bought not only food but also everyday items, so the load was quite heavy. Still, Jaeha lifted everything in both hands and only let Seyoung carry her bag. Seyoung said she would share the load, but he refused, saying he was strong.

“Come to think of it, how was the exam? You said it was an easy subject. Was it really easy?”

The exam only covered what they had learned, so it wasn’t difficult. She wrote as much as she knew, but conversely, there was nothing she didn’t write because she didn’t know it. Since she only had her bag, Seyoung used her phone comfortably.

“It was easy. Wouldn’t you get a perfect score?”

“Then didn’t you get a perfect score too, Sunbae?”

“I don’t think so.”

Jaeha tilted his head, seeing Seyoung’s subtle expression. Seyoung didn’t want to talk about the professor’s nitpicking, so she changed the subject.

“Isn’t it heavy?”

“It’s good exercise. I’m quite strong. I can hold you even if you hang on me.”

Jaeha lifted the arm holding the luggage, telling her to hang on him when they got home. His expression, showing off his firmly muscled arm, was confident.

The muscles felt through the knit sweater seemed like he could really hold her even if she hung on him, so she stroked his arm, and he flinched unexpectedly, as if he hadn’t expected it. Seyoung pretended not to notice and stroked it a little more subtly. She traced the muscles hidden in the knit and pressed down, exclaiming, “Wow.” It wasn’t an exaggeration, it was really as hard as a rock. But Jaeha, unable to withstand the subtle touch, dropped his arm, his strength gone.

“Sunbae knows too well how to disarm me.”

“I do?”

Seyoung opened her mouth comfortably after getting on the elevator. Jaeha laughed, asking if she was pretending not to know, and instead of his restricted arms, he brought his face closer. She stepped back, thinking he was going to kiss her, but unexpectedly, he just rested his chin on her shoulder. So she stayed still, and he pressed his chin on her shoulder.

“Ouch!”

It hurt more than she thought, so Seyoung groaned and hunched over. Now that she thought about it, it was revenge. She pushed him away, telling him to stop, but he didn’t budge at all. Instead of pushing him away, she sat down to avoid him, but Jaeha took a step forward. Seyoung, who was retreating, was instantly cornered. She tried to avoid him to the side, but the luggage blocked her escape.

“Baek Jaeha.”

“Have you thought about what prize you’re going to give me?”

“Huh?”

“You said this morning that you’d give me a prize if I endured well. I really endured well.”

“……”

Jaeha’s expression brightened at Seyoung’s surprised face. Seyoung was speechless at his expression, which seemed to be anticipating what kind of prize it would be. To be honest, she had completely forgotten about it. He would be happy no matter what kind of prize she gave him, but could she really give him a prize that would satisfy him? She belatedly thought that she had teased Jaeha too much. Of course, there was no point in regretting it now.

Ding, the elevator stopped with a short, clear sound announcing its arrival, and the door opened as if telling them to get off quickly. Jaeha stepped aside as if asking if she wasn’t getting off, and Seyoung looked up at him with a subtly stiff face before getting off first. Then she pressed the button to keep the door from closing. Jaeha thanked her and followed her out.

Looking at his broad back as he walked towards home, Seyoung forgot about her complicated thoughts and smiled. Why did that back feel so reliable? He was only twenty years old, not even having celebrated Coming-of-Age Day yet.

Speaking of Coming-of-Age Day, Seyoung suddenly realized that she didn’t know his birthday.

“Come to think of it, when is your birthday? I didn’t know.”

“My birthday is in July. July 7th. When is yours, Sunbae?”

“January.”

July 7th. Could they spend his birthday together then? It was possible in terms of the date, but she didn’t know if it was a good idea to spend his birthday together right before they broke up. Seyoung was watching him carefully, but he didn’t seem to react in particular, as if he didn’t care.

“Lucky Seven. That’s exactly your birthday.”

Even his birthday was July 7th. It was a number that suited Baek Jaeha too well. It felt like he was born with a lucky spoon in his mouth.

“Sunbae, you have to tell me your date too. I don’t think it’s January 1st.”

“January 17th.”

“Sunbae is also Lucky Seven.”

Lucky Seven. When she talked about Jaeha’s birthday, she naturally thought it was a lucky number, but she didn’t think so about her own birthday, so Seyoung shook her head without realizing it.

“Why? It’s definitely Lucky Seven. You met me, didn’t you?”

Jaeha, who was about to open the door, winked. He smiled brightly while winking, and Seyoung felt like her breath would stop for a moment, even though it was a smile she saw every day. Baek Jaeha’s smile had that kind of power. The power to move people. The power to touch their hearts and make them feel like everything he said was right.

“It would be nice if we could spend your birthday together.”

Beep. The sound of the lock being released and Jaeha’s muttering were heard together. Nevertheless, it echoed clearly in the hallway, so Seyoung couldn’t pretend not to hear it. He didn’t seem to expect an answer and opened the door right away. Seyoung felt sorry that he had to open the door himself with so much luggage, so she quickly held the door open.

“What did you do for your birthday this year?”

“I didn’t do anything special… I just spent it like usual.”

It wasn’t just that he didn’t do anything special, he didn’t even think it was his birthday. So, in fact, he only realized that his birthday had passed two days later. It had been like that every year, so he wasn’t particularly embarrassed. It was a day that meant nothing to Seyoung. A day to celebrate being born.

“You should have contacted me. I would have made you seaweed soup, put candles on a cake, and tied a ribbon on my head and given myself as a present.”

Jaeha’s face was full of mischief as he smiled. Seyoung didn’t know what to say, so she just looked at him. Jaeha, who was carrying the luggage, went inside to the dining table. She blankly watched him unpack and belatedly started to help.

***

“So you just came back? Really?”

Hyunseon, who had been bedridden, got up abruptly with an absurd look on her face. She glared fiercely at her husband, even though she was staggering due to anemia. She had waited, believing that he would be strong since he said he would take care of it. But when he came back and said he had decided to watch, she couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“What did you say to me yesterday? You clearly said that you would persuade Jaeha that he would understand if he heard the story!”

“Because I didn’t want to lose my son.”

“What did you say?”

Hyunseon barely suppressed the urge to grab Kyungdeok’s hair and shake him, who was talking nonsense, and glared at him, telling him to explain. Kyungdeok sighed.

‘What will you do if Jaeha says he has no intention of breaking up?’

‘I don’t intend to oppose dating. But if you want more than that, you have to agree with your mother.’

‘You’re okay with dating?’

‘Looking at your expression, it seems like you have no intention of breaking up no matter what. If I try to force you apart now, wouldn’t it only damage the relationship between father and son?’

Kyungdeok was quick-witted. Jaeha was like a car running at maximum output right now. If he lit a fire in the overheated engine, it would explode without leaving a trace. Then it would be irreversible.

“You know how much Jaeha likes that girl. If we try to force them apart now, Jaeha won’t let go of her hand, but he’ll let go of our hands.”

“Honey! That’s nonsense…”

“Don’t you know your son that well?”

Hyunseon, who was about to get angry again, flinched for a moment. Not knowing her son was impossible. So, she was more anxious because she knew him too well. Hyunseon wanted to separate them while there was still time to turn back, but Kyungdeok judged that separating them now was dangerous.

“What I mean is, let’s watch for a while. Of course, right now he’s blinded and the world revolves around her and he only knows love, but as time passes, he’ll gradually calm down.”

“……”

“He’s only just become an adult, so how narrow is his vision? You know it too. The world isn’t easy enough to live on pure love alone. And she’s not ordinary, so how many trials will there be? They may get tired and fall apart before we intervene.”

Would that really happen? Both the father and the mother knew their son well. But Hyunseon thought she knew him better because she had raised him for longer. Her son was definitely not the type to lose interest so easily. He never threw away anything he had affection for, so the teddy bear he used to hug when he was young was still on his bed at home. It was over 15 years old, but it was so clean that it looked like it was only a year or two old.

“…I can never stand to see that woman or Han Seyoung harming our Jaeha.”

“I agree with that too. If there are any signs of that, then let’s make them break up for sure, even if Jaeha hates us.”

The premise of being hated bothered her, but the couple agreed on that much because their son was more important. Hyunseon, who was left alone after Kyungdeok left the room, eventually clutched her chest at the thought of having to condone Han Seyoung dating Jaeha.