Stranger Who Found Spring

How much time had passed.

Cho-seung, who was concentrating on the movie while patting Ha-hyun in his arms, lowered his head at the sound of his breathing.

“Well…?”

Ha-hyun was asleep holding his hand on his stomach with his eyes closed.

“Ha-hyun-ah.”

“Uung…”

Ha-hyun struggled to sleep at the sound of the low call as if whispering.

What should I do? Should we move to a room? Should we leave it like this? After thinking about it for a while, Cho-seung decided to watch the movie until the end. Perhaps he might wake up in the middle.

In the end, Ha-hyun slept soundly until the movie ended. Cho-seung smiled softly because it was good to see him like that.

“Honey.”

As he called again and again while brushing his hair, Ha-hyun frowned and waved his hand.

Cho-seung, biting his lip at the action that showed his annoyance and holding back the laughter that was about to burst out, moved his hand around his waist and patted him slowly so that he could fall into a deep sleep.

“Was it boring?”

Well, it wasn’t a very good reaction from the beginning.

He must have been sleepy since he decided to watch a movie after thinking about getting some sleep. He didn’t know if it was a movie that suited his taste, but the action seemed to be not his taste either.

“Honey, you should sleep in the bed.”

A low voice that didn’t seem to wake him up. A soft hand that caressed the body with a body temperature warmer than that of an ordinary person. Ha-hyun, who fell asleep while listening to the loud sound, fell asleep thanks to Cho-seung’s actions.

Cho-seung, who had been watching Ha-hyun for a while, still holding his breath, didn’t move until he confirmed that he was still sleeping even though he tossed and turned little by little. While carefully raising his body, he repeated to stop as if he had become an ice statue if he heard a small sound from his lips.

After barely moving Ha-hyun to the bed and taking a breather, he checked his watch and sighed unconsciously. It felt like half a day had passed since it happened, but the time was still too early for noon.

“First of all, he doesn’t eat rice…”

Recalling Ha-hyun, who woke up early in the morning and was looking for kongguksu, he hushed his footsteps and left the bedroom.

Click, staring intently at the closing door with quite a loud noise, Cho-seung took his cell phone out of his pocket.

“Hello?”

While washing the rice, supporting his cell phone with his shoulder, he wiped his hands dry when the other person answered the phone quickly.

[What’s up? You call first.]

“Well, I’ve found my partner.”

[Found them? I thought it would take longer, but it’s fast.]

“I was lucky. We met by chance at the hospital. First, I decided to live together and register my partner… It may be difficult to visit you.”

Cho-seung, who openly expressed his affirmation, looked at the refrigerator containing the ingredients he had brought from his house and decided on the side dishes to make.

[Why? Is it burdensome? I’m sorry, but I can’t help it…]

She let out a deep sigh, blurring the end of her words with her lingering tone.

“It’s because my partner is pregnant with twins.”

[Twins? Oh my God, then that dream must be taemong.]

That’s amazing.

She, who had never had such taemong even when she had her first give birth, let out an exclamation as she recalled the taemong that was still vivid in her head.

[Then it must be difficult to move around. Ask your partner indirectly. Ask if Mother can go there. You can’t put pressure on him. And he has to live like a hermit for ten months, you know?]

Cho-seung only nodded as he listened to the continued nagging and made a slightly tired expression at the continued talking that lasted for 10 minutes. The fact that he was pregnant with twins was enough to worry about, so he couldn’t stop the nagging.

Then, suddenly, he remembered Ha-hyun’s disgust while listening to the doctor’s instructions and bit his lip hard to prevent laughter from leaking out.

[I’m going to make dongchimi this time, but if they want to eat it, I’ll send it by courier. Don’t even say I made it. Just ask if they want to eat dongchimi.] (동치미, variety of kimchi, here)

“Yes, yes. I know.”

Cho-seung, who took out a carrot that had been bought, didn’t respond reflexively but turned his attention to the babbling sound. The doorknob was turning with a loud noise.

Seeing Ha-hyun come out of the room, he hurriedly ended the conversation and hung up.

“Woke up?”

Ha-hyun, who flinched at the voice, raised his head with a puzzled face and spit out a small exclamation when he found Cho-seung.

The reaction was as if he wasn’t there, so Cho-seung was very slightly hurt. It seemed that Ha-hyun hadn’t yet accepted the fact that he had a new family member in his house.

“…let’s go.”

“Ung? Where?”

Cho-seung tilted his head at the sudden words. He didn’t hear that he had an appointment yesterday.

“Busan.”

“Busan? Why there?”

“I’m going to go eat gukbap.” (국밥, meant hot soup with rice, here)

Going all the way to Busan to eat gukbap…?

Unlike him, who couldn’t hide his absurd expression at Ha-hyun’s words, the person who spat out the words carefully nodded his head with determined eyes. It was an action that showed the will to go to eat gukbap no matter what.

“Wait a minute, Honey!”

“What?”

Ha-hyun, who sent Cho-seung to the dressing room by pushing his back, stopped moving at the bizarre name that came out of his opponent’s mouth. Only then did Cho-seung, who seemed in a hurry, turn around and face Ha-hyun as if it was all right.

“There are gukbap restaurants in Seoul, too.”

“I want to go to the gukbap restaurant I ate in Busan. No, but what did you just say—”

“How are you going there? It’s too far to drive.”

“We just need to spend the night at the hotel. It’s not just—”

“By car? You haven’t even been permitted to take a long drive.”

Ha-hyun, who repeatedly tried to point out the name that Cho-seung called, eventually made a sullen expression at the words that were constantly interrupted.

With his head tilted, he crossed his arms in hopes of seeing how far he could go and Cho-seung scratched the back of his back. He cut off his words too blatantly even though he thought that for himself.

“Are you mad?”

“No, I’m not. But that, Honey?”

“It’s a nickname, nickname. We can call each other by nicknames, right?”

Ha-hyun, who couldn’t bear to spit on the grinning Cho-seung, nodded slowly. As he said, it was okay to call him by that nickname. The problem was that none of his opinions was included.

“I feel like my hands and feet are shivering. Reject.”

“Then Darling?” (여보, to make it different, jagiya is Honey and yobo is Darling, okay?)

“…no.”

Ha-hyun, who had goosebumps on his arm, sighed. Rather, the nickname of Honey seemed to be better. When he heard that, at least he didn’t goosebump on his forearm.

“Baby?” (애기야, aegiya, if you read IDWTR, I often found this ae or ai that meant “child” or “kid”)

“How old am I called Baby.”

When he made a face asking whether he was joking, Cho-seung just said he was sorry, probably thinking that this wasn’t the case.

“And Honey?”

“That’s the best…”

It was fine. Very much.

He didn’t know if it was because the previous examples were shocking, but it was very good.

“Still, I don’t like this. It’s too common.”

“Then what do you want?”

But do I have to call you by a nickname? As Ha-hyun pondered over the fundamental question, Cho-seung asked a question as if interrupting his thoughts.

“Which nickname is best? Except dangshin.” (당신, a bit difficult to translate this but this dangshin is only used by a married couple, that’s why Cho-seung said that, here)

“…if you choose among the three, Honey is, no. Call me by name.”

“Chee.” (칫)

Ha-hyun, who almost fell for the shameless question, managed to come to his senses and answered firmly. What do you mean Honey, Ha-hyun narrowed his eyes and looked at Cho-seung. He didn’t have the confidence to be called such a sly name.

Cho-seung clicked his tongue because he was disappointed at Ha-hyun’s words, but he smiled, pretending not to know. Cho-seung had a little shameless corner.

This time, he led Ha-hyun, who was still in a bad mood, into the dressing room. Ha-hyun nodded his head as he halfway listened to Cho-seung talking about plans one by one as he gently supported his back and was pulled by his arm.

“Let’s take the train. I think it would be better to go by it and rent a car…”

Or they could just take a taxi. It would work, but it was better than spending about six hours on the road with a pregnant person.

“Tomorrow is Sunday, so we can stay overnight at the hotel as you said.”

Although he was impatient, he managed to listen to the organized schedule and accepted the clothes that Cho-seung gave him. As soon as he handed the clothes to him, Ha-hyun, who blinked his eyelids as he saw Cho-seung packing his suitcase, opened his mouth and said something.

“That’s natural.”

“Um… is that so?”

He didn’t know how he knew there was a suitcase. Watching Cho-seung smile, he changed his clothes helplessly and helped pack his belongings.

“Where is the gukbap restaurant?”

“It’s near the station.”

When he went on something similar to a backpacking trip alone, he got off at the station and entered a store he could see.

Who would have known that a gukbap restaurant that he went in like that would come to mind now. Ha-hyun really thought that pregnancy was a series of miraculous events.

“Really? That’s a relief then.”

Following Ha-hyun’s sudden words, the two went to Busan after packing their things without saying anything. Talking more than this only delayed departure and arrival times.

“Any train reservations?”

“I did. Did you pack everything?”

“Ung. I got everything.”

“I’ll take it.”

Cho-seung, who naturally took the bag that was about to be carried on his shoulder, put on his shoes and left the front door while Ha-hyun hesitated. Ha-hyun, who quickly put on his shoes and chased after him, was half-embraced by Cho-seung after struggling for a while to bring the bag again.

“Ha-hyun-ah, I heard you shouldn’t lift heavy things.”

“Fussy.”

Ha-hyun looked down at his arms wrapped around his waist and let out a blatant sigh.