Chapter 5

POV: Jaewon

I couldn’t even make it to the fourth floor again when I heard knocks on my door. I sighed, rolling my eyes, and took determined steps to answer it.

“Mom, I told you not to…” My words stopped as I saw SiHo’s eyebrows raise.

“Do I look like a mom to you?”

“Well, maybe like a dad.”

“My dick!”

I turned my back, letting him enter the house.

“You look like a mess.”

“Thanks.” I sat on the couch and yawned. “What’s in the bags?”

SiHo glanced down at the pharmacy bags he was carrying.

“Pain relievers, headache medicine, bandages… Didn’t know how I would find you, so I brought a little bit of everything.”

“Thanks for caring, but you didn’t have to. By the way, shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Oh, I quit.”

“What?!”

“Just kidding. I just told Doyoon that you had a domestic accident and needed me. He let both of us go.”

“You sometimes scare me with your shamelessness, you know?”

“That’s because I have the most beautiful face in the world. But come on, swallow one of these pills and let me take care of you. I want to know all the details.”

“Hyung, be honest, you only came for the gossip, didn’t you?”

SiHo laughed and fetched some water for me to take the pills.

“I just want to know what happened.”

I took a deep breath and said without looking at him, “I found out that Ji-a is pregnant, and… the baby is not mine.”

“What?!” SiHo had two wide-eyed orbs in place of eyes. “What do you mean, creature?”

“Namsoo. Apparently, he and she have been having an affair for three years. I don’t even know how I can still walk, considering that my antlers are probably dragging on the ground.”

SiHo gave me a weak slap on the arm while holding back laughter.

“Don’t talk like that when we’re having a serious conversation, damn it.”

“But it’s the truth. I must be the king of horns right now…”

“And how did it all turn out? Did you break up? Did you catch that cheating bastard? I hope so, and I hope his face looks worse than yours does now.”

“I think it must be… I beat him up a lot, and…” I paused, thoughtful. “To be honest, it didn’t make me feel any better. What hurts the most is that he did this to me. I didn’t completely trust Ji-a because she always compared me to others, including him, and sometimes threatened to leave me if I didn’t make her a hundred percent happy. But Namsoo? To have that capability while calling me a brother is… You don’t know, it hurts too much.”

SiHo sighed and hugged me. We had never been this close, but I didn’t refuse his care or affection. I needed some of that too.

“Did you break up with her, right? I won’t allow you to stay with a woman like that after all this.”

I nodded, but still looked at him trapped in his embrace.

“We broke up. But Ji-a told me something that I’m still thinking about.”

“What?”

“She said I could still be the father of the baby.” SiHo wrinkled his nose, but I stood up, stumbling to my suite to retrieve the crumpled paper. “Here.” I returned and handed it to him, watching him open the paper as I rested my face on his shoulder. I felt like trash, but I really wanted affection now. “She gave me this. It’s a photo of the baby.”

“And where’s the baby? I can’t see anything.”

“Do you see the arrow?” I smiled as I saw him bring the paper closer to his face and smile as he nodded. “That’s the baby. It’s still too small; I don’t think it even has little arms and things like that.”

“Wow, that’s a weird thing.” He handed me back the paper and stared at me. “But what will you do about it? You know a baby is not an excuse for a marriage to come back together, right?”

“I know. I can’t believe that Ji-a and I can be happy together anymore; I wouldn’t be able to trust her anymore. But I… I think I want the baby if it’s mine. I thought about it a bit, and… can you do a DNA test while it’s still in the belly, right? I think I have that possibility.”

“I don’t know, but we can research. But for now, stop thinking about her and all this, and answer me: do you want to go out tonight?”

“Go out… look at me.”

“I am looking, that’s why I made the invitation. There’s a bar I always go to with live music; let’s go there, have a drink, and who knows…”

“Is it a gay bar? Because, you know, I have no prejudice, but I… am straight.”

“Tsk, it’s just a bar.”

“Is it where your boyfriend works?”

SiHo raised only one eyebrow.

“Yeah, why?”

I shrugged, avoiding eye contact.

“Okay, Jaewon, if you don’t want to go, don’t. I just wanted to see you a little better; we’re friends. Real friends.”

I smiled at hearing that.

“Okay, I’ll go.”

SiHo smiled even bigger. He grabbed his phone and typed quickly.

“What are you doing?” I asked curiously.

“Letting Taesu know. He’s been wanting to meet you for a long time, so I’ll ask him to reserve a table right near the stage; it’s more fun!”

I nodded to my hyung. The day, as I thought it would be, had no rest at all. I should have foreseen it, but I couldn’t make up something and ask SiHo to leave as I did with my mother. He just wouldn’t leave me alone.

And when I say he wouldn’t leave, I mean that, when night came and I dressed up with the best I had in my closet, he dragged me to his house to wait for him to get ready too.

SiHo offered me a little coffee and even let me chat with his gray and striped cat, Shibau, while I waited for him.

“Shibau is so cute,” I said, watching the cat with its belly up.

“He’s the love of my life. Taesu can take second place.”

I laughed, getting up as I looked at him all dressed up.

“Wow, you look really handsome,” I said, seeing the hyung wearing tight black pants, a long-sleeved shirt, but short on the belly. There were some stars decorating the piece, but nothing was more eye-catching than the hyung’s exposed belly.

“Yeah, I do. Now you…” He analyzed me, not looking very pleased. “Black checkered shirt, blue pants, and simple white sneakers?”

“Don’t talk bad about my clothes; I complimented yours!”

“I’m not talking bad. Not yet. Just that… you’re missing a little bit of shine, you know?”

“I’m not missing anything. Let’s just go.”

SiHo shrugged, just running to put a little more food for his cat and left with me.

Taesu, his boyfriend, was already working and called every two seconds to check if we were close. He explained that he couldn’t hold the table for too long; the owner would start talking.

But we managed to arrive in time before he risked getting fired.

SiHo waved and smiled when a tall man with medium brown hair looked at him, and it didn’t take much for me to understand that he was his boyfriend, as even before they said “hi,” they were already locked in kisses.

So, besides being a cuckold, I’m now a third wheel.

I cleared my throat, finally making them let go of each other. SiHo wiped the corner of his mouth, and this Taesu guy hugged his waist.

“Tae, this is Jaewon, my friend from work.”

I raised my hand and smiled. Taesu shook my hand and said, “Koo Taesu at your service. Nice to finally meet you. Sorry about the antlers.”

I smiled awkwardly and looked at SiHo. He just shrugged, totally shameless.

“You can go to the table; it’s a bit crowded today, so I need to keep an eye on some things. But I’ll be with you soon.”

I nodded, seeing SiHo give him another lingering kiss and sigh before guiding me to the table.