NOVEL NEXT Side Story 7
Side Story 7
Side Story 2. Family, and a New Family (3)
“……”
Unlike Jae-young, for Seung-hyun, they were still unfamiliar and somewhat uncomfortable people. Seung-hyun hesitated, unable to hide his awkwardness.
“We’ve met before, right?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember well.”
“Well, we only exchanged greetings in passing… But still, it’s not our first meeting, right?”
In fact, it was their first meeting. It was fortunate that they had only seen each other’s faces before. Seung-hyun awkwardly smiled and shook Jae-yun’s outstretched hand.
“It’s been over six months, right? Even for a man, that’s… When Father was pregnant with Jae-young, I think his belly was much bigger than this.”
“Father is an omega. Han Seung-hyun isn’t.”
“Still… isn’t it too small?”
Seung-hyun felt even more strange watching Jae-young’s family speak casually and comfortably, wondering if he was the only one feeling awkward.
“Since he was originally an alpha, there are bound to be many variables. They say it might suddenly grow rapidly.”
“I guess that’s true. Then… are you just going to the hospital now?”
Although Jae-young was by his side, it must be boring. Jae-young’s father asked with a worried face.
“Don’t you feel stifled? Being cooped up at home all the time must be tough.”
“Well, even before, I was mostly just at the hospital…”
Seung-hyun, who had been speaking casually, closed his mouth. For him, it was now really nothing, but for the listeners, especially Jae-young, it wouldn’t be the same.
“…Anyway, I’m not feeling stifled, so you don’t need to worry. Ju Jae-young is here too.”
“‘Ju Jae-young’? Do you still call him that?”
Jae-yun, who had been listening, asked with a groan. It was cringeworthy to hear Jae-young being called that way.
And besides that point, to still be using formal “Ju Jae-young-ssi” and “Han Seung-hyun-ssi” when they’re expecting a child together.
“Are you going to call him that even after the baby is born?”
“…Mind your own business, noona.”
“You’re not afraid of me anymore just because you’ve grown up a bit? When you were young, you’d get scared just by me coming close.”
“I’m not a kid anymore…”
The two started bickering. Seung-hyun quietly watched them and fell into thought for a moment. How to put it, it felt strange because it was so different from what he had expected.
He knew they were a close family, but there should be a huge difference between accepting Jae-young and accepting him. Yet Jae-young’s family was acting naturally even with Seung-hyun present.
Can they accept so easily just because he’s family’s family? This unfamiliar sensation made him feel strange.
Han Seung-hyun’s family were unspeakable trash, and Ahn Seung-hyun’s family wasn’t particularly affectionate either.
It wasn’t that they had a bad relationship or disliked each other, but they weren’t an affectionate, loving family. It was more of a relationship based on a bond and sense of duty slightly better than strangers. At least, it was vastly different from the family in front of him now.
“Fight later. How long are you going to keep him standing?”
“That’s right. You must be uncomfortable, please sit down.”
“…! I’m sorry. I was so distracted…”
Only after hearing his brother’s words did Jae-young realize that Seung-hyun had been standing all this time. Flustered, he started nagging Jae-yun again, saying it was her fault. Meanwhile, Seung-hyun sat down next to Jae-young’s parents, awkwardly fidgeting with his fingers.
“…It must still be awkward. I won’t tell you to get used to it overnight.”
“It’s alright. Honestly, even I think… it probably isn’t very welcome.”
“No, it’s not that it’s unwelcome. We were surprised, but still, it’s the person Jae-young chose, and also… you seem quite different from the rumors or what we knew.”
Amidst the noisy atmosphere, Jae-young’s father quietly spoke to Seung-hyun. He was quite different from what they had thought.
Among the family members, he had the least preconceptions about Seung-hyun. Being completely unfamiliar with company matters, he had lived without knowing much about Seung-hyun. From his perspective, Seung-hyun seemed quite different from the rumors his children or wife had mentioned.
“Still, I hoped he wouldn’t cut ties with his family because of me, so I’m glad the worst-case scenario was avoided.”
“That’s true, but… even if we hadn’t come and the relationship had remained strained till the end, that wouldn’t have been your fault. It’s just Jae-young being stubborn.”
Maybe because the image he had imagined beforehand was quite fierce, Seung-hyun looked a bit weak saying he was glad Jae-young hadn’t cut ties with his family. As the sibling quarrel spread to the brothers, Mrs. Ju summarized the situation.
“Alright. We’ve seen your face and said everything we needed to say, so let’s go back now. I’m sorry for coming without notice. Director Han… no, um…”
“Please call me whatever you like.”
Although Seung-hyun told Mrs. Ju, who was struggling with how to address him, to call him whatever she felt comfortable with, she ultimately mumbled after moving her lips a few times, unable to settle on a suitable title.
“…Anyway, I’m sorry for barging in suddenly. Next time, I hope we can talk more leisurely over a meal.”
Seung-hyun slowly nodded as he watched Mrs. Ju naturally mentioning a next time. It was still unfamiliar, yet a strange feeling.
“I’m sorry. You must have been surprised. I didn’t know they would suddenly barge in like this either…”
“It’s okay.”
“Especially my brothers and sister, I wonder if they even realize it’s someone else’s house. They should just go to their own homes…”
Watching Jae-young grumble about them not acting their age, Seung-hyun thought that he wasn’t much different himself and laughed.
“They probably didn’t mean any harm. I’m sorry. For causing trouble unnecessarily… Are you hungry?”
It felt like his soul had left his body for a moment. He asked as he started preparing a slightly late dinner. After thinking for a moment, Seung-hyun said,
“I was surprised, but I didn’t dislike it as much as I thought I would. It’s just… a bit fascinating. I knew you were close with your family, but it’s even better than I expected.”
“Our family is like that. Even I find it fascinating. The generation of our parents was even more stuffy than now, right? My parents are from a generation that had arranged marriages without even meeting each other… Somehow, I guess they turned out to be a good match.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“My mother, her personality has mellowed now, but until a few years ago, she had quite a temper. They say she was even worse when she was young. But strangely, she calms down quickly when she’s next to my father. My father isn’t particularly special compared to my mother…”
Jae-young started talking about his family as he prepared the meal. Although he seemed to be complaining about them coming without notice and being hot-tempered, affection could be felt in his words.
“…It was fascinating. For me, family didn’t give that kind of feeling.”
Seung-hyun, who had been quietly listening, spoke softly. Perhaps because lately he had nothing to do but talk with Jae-young, he felt like saying things he didn’t need to say.
“But I found it interesting too. When I thought of them as Ju Jae-young’s family…”
“…?”
“Usually, I don’t like people coming suddenly or acting familiar when we’ve barely met, but today I didn’t dislike it that much.”
Seung-hyun said with a slight smile. Surely, if it had been someone else, he would have disliked it. He doesn’t usually like bustling atmospheres or people approaching awkwardly, but earlier it wasn’t like that.
“Come to think of it, if we get married, Ju Jae-young’s family will become my family too. So I’ll have a new family besides Mallang.”
He had never thought about it before, but a family like that didn’t seem like it would be bad. A family he had never experienced, people he still felt awkward even making eye contact with, but he felt like he could blend in with them before long.
There wasn’t any grand reason, it was just because they were Jae-young’s family. The family members he had only briefly met seemed like good people, but that was probably the biggest reason.
“…It feels a bit odd saying this myself, but they’ll surely become a good family for you. No, even if they don’t, I’ll make sure they do.”
Jae-young, who had approached Seung-hyun at some point, knelt on one knee in front of him and said. For Seung-hyun, who had no special memories of family, Jae-young wanted to make the name ‘family’ very special.
If he could give that love he knew to Seung-hyun and their unborn child, perhaps someday they would both become accustomed to a daily life of being loved by family. If someday Seung-hyun could naturally smile among his family members, just imagining it made him happy.
“Only good things will happen. For sure.”
Jae-young held Seung-hyun’s hand, smiled, and looked up at him. Seung-hyun looked at Jae-young and smiled back. The anxiety he felt when he first saw the family in the house had disappeared as if it had never been there, and he found himself hoping to meet them again in a less chaotic situation next time.
“Ah, but we definitely can’t keep calling you ‘Han Seung-hyun-ssi’, so we should sort out the forms of address. For both Jae-young and Jae-young’s family.”
They couldn’t become comfortable after just one or two meetings, but he felt certain they would meet frequently soon. By the time those meetings became familiar, would their family have grown by one more? Seung-hyun thought this as he placed his hand on his belly, which hadn’t swollen much yet.