Two Lines and a Hidden Fortune
Eunha's pupils began shaking wildly, like there'd been an earthquake.
Her gaze darted back and forth between my face and the pregnancy test result.
"D-do it again…."
Eunha's lips quivered.
Her grip loosened, and the test stick she'd been holding clattered to the floor.
"Again, let's do it again. It could be defective. Maybe it's a glitch. I… I'll do it again, Dojin."
I stood there dazed, handing her another test stick as if to say, go ahead.
"Yeah. Okay. Take your time."
Eunha snatched it and bolted back into the bathroom.
Bam. The door slammed shut, the sound echoing through the whole apartment.
My heart pounded like mad.
Pregnant. A life had been created.
When did it happen?
It might not mean much. After all, the first day I'd been with "Eunha," she'd jumped me right away….
I rubbed my dry face over and over. My fingertips trembled faintly.
Fear. Joy. Anxiety. Responsibility. All of it….
A storm of emotions churned inside me. For real.
Screeech—.
The bathroom door opened. I sprang up from my seat like a coiled spring.
Emerging from the gap, Eunha held another white stick.
Her head slowly lifted.
Tears.
Thick teardrops fell from her large eyes.
"D-Do-jin-ah…."
Eunha sniffled as she spoke.
"Two lines! Again, hic, two lines again…!"
She dropped the test stick like it burned her and slowly approached, throwing herself into my arms.
"Waaah—!! Dojin, Dojin-ah…! I'm pregnant! I… I have your baby…!"
Clinging tightly to my waist, Eunha burst into childlike sobs.
"Yeah. Good job. You did great, Eunha…." I wrapped my large hands around her back, stroking her as she gasped for breath.
My shoulder grew soaked with her hot tears.
After sobbing in my arms for a long while, Eunha finally calmed enough to lift her head, sniffling.
Her wet cheeks sparkled in the sunlight.
"Hic… Dojin-ah. I'm… I'm so happy. It feels like I own the world…."
She nuzzled her face against my chest, murmuring blissfully.
As I fiddled with her hair, a practical concern suddenly hit me.
A baby was on the way.
That meant our family had just grown by one mouth to feed—immediately.
Odd way to put it, but right now, in reality, I was just a broke twenty-year-old college student with nothing to my name.
Formula, diapers, medical bills….
I gently gripped Eunha's shoulders amid her cheers, asking with a serious face, "Eunha."
"Yeah…? Hic, what?"
"Did future me spoil you rotten?"
At my question, Eunha blinked her reddened eyes and tilted her head.
"Spoil me…? What's that out of the blue?"
"Think about it. You said you regressed at twenty-five. How did future me afford married life with you? At that young age?"
Eunha wiped her remaining tears with her sleeve and answered.
"You got hired straight into a big corporation at twenty-five. We lived off that fat salary. And I debuted as a webtoon artist and made good money too."
"Huh? I got a job at twenty-five? Big corp? So the contest I was prepping for worked out?"
"Yeah. And in married life, we each handled our own money separately. We just pooled living expenses. On anniversaries, we'd exchange pricey gifts. We never struggled with money."
I narrowed my eyes. Wait, hold up. Each our own money?
"You never mentioned this?"
"Mentioned what?"
Eunha looked up at me with round, puzzled eyes.
"The crypto I bought in middle school. I saved up pocket money, got a few hundred thousand won's worth, and stashed it away figuring you'd make me sell it if you knew, so I pretended it didn't exist."
"…What? Crypto?"
"Never told you? Not even future me?"
"Uh… no, never."
Eunha looked baffled. I grabbed my smartphone.
"I don't even know how much it's worth now. Let's check."
I downloaded the crypto exchange app and went through the email and verification I'd buried in my memory.
The loading spinner whirled.
Eunha and I swallowed hard, eyes glued to the tiny screen.
Ding—.
The balance finally updated, a bold red number glaring back.
Total Assets: 1,503,421,800 KRW
"Holy shit."
"Whoa."
Eunha and I alternated stares between the screen and each other's faces.
One, two, three, four billion…. My eyes widened like they might pop out as I counted the digits.
About 1.5 billion won.
That pocket change I'd tossed in as a middle school joke, figuring it'd vanish anyway.
"D-Do-jin-ah. This… this number, it's real? Real 1.5 billion?!"
Eunha's mouth gaped open in awe.
I gripped my phone with trembling hands, jaw slack.
"Y-yeah… it's real. Whoa, I'm loaded?"
1.5 billion.
Enough to have the baby, raise it, ditch this cramped studio for a proper full-house rental, and still have plenty left.
Future me must've had even more. Yet I'd gone to work? Absurd.
After the stormy morning, we sat cross-legged on the living room floor, faces much calmer as we faced each other.
One massive issue remained unsolved.
"Eunha."
"Yeah."
"We have to tell twenty-year-old 'Eunha' right now."
Eunha's shoulders twitched at my words.
"About the pregnancy. And your existence. We can't hide it forever. She needs to know. If I keep secretly dating you, who knows what she'll do."
Eunha bit her lower lip hard.
"Frontal assault. No running or hiding. Got it?"
I nailed it down firmly.
Eunha eyed me anxiously, then sighed deeply and nodded slowly.
"…Okay. I'll do as you say."
I immediately pulled out my phone and sent a message.
No instant reply, though the '1' read receipt vanished.
Battle time: 9 PM.
In the meantime, we tidied the apartment and steeled ourselves for the storm.
Right at 9, ding-dong~.
Gulp.
I took a deep breath and headed to the door.
'Eunha' sat on the bed in the inner room, face pale as she stared toward the living room.
Click—.
I opened the door, and Eunha stepped in, cheeks flushed.
"For a proposal… isn't the place kinda meh?"
I could guess her thoughts. Then her voice cut off sharp.
Her eyes locked on the silhouette of 'Eunha' quietly sitting on the bed past the living room.
"…!"
The apartment's air froze. Eunha's pupils dilated in disbelief.
"Who is she."
Eunha's voice was cold and low. She whipped around to me, demanding.
"Who the hell is that woman! You said you watched the movie alone, but you were with her?! Confess to me and bring another girl home the next day?!"
I raised my hands quick, blocking her rampage.
"Eunha. Calm down. Hear me out first."
Eunha huffed, trying to shove me aside.
But I gripped her shoulders firm, staring straight into her eyes with unwavering resolve.
"It's not what you think. Really not."
My serious, resolute demeanor made her struggles falter.
"Talk to her first."
"What…? Why would I talk to her…!"
"You two talk alone. That's the order. Once you've heard everything, yell at me, hit me, whatever—I'll take it. Just listen now."
Eunha breathed raggedly, glaring daggers into my eyes.
You're not the type to hide something like this.
Her gaze said it all.
Finally, she took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and nodded.
"…Fine."
Eunha marched into the inner room with a grim face, and 'Eunha' cautiously rose from the bed.
Confirming they faced each other, I quietly closed the door.
Then slipped out, giving them space for their truth.
With the inner room door shut, only the two women remained inside.
Eunha crossed her arms, scanning the woman before her with hostile eyes, top to bottom.
But the more she looked, the stranger it felt.
What is this creepy déjà vu….
This mature woman with the bob cut. A face she'd never seen, yet chillingly familiar.
The eyes, nose bridge, lip shape. Even her build and tiny habits.
"Um…."
The bob-cut woman broke the silence first, uttering something unbelievable awkwardly.
"Hi. I'm… Eunha Yoo from five years in the future."
"…What?"
From the future? Was this a prank? Was Dojin filming some hidden camera?
But the woman's expression was dead serious.
She met Eunha's distrustful stare without flinching, calmly listing proofs in a steady voice.
"You don't believe me? Natural. I wouldn't either. But I can prove it. Things only you and I—no, we—know."
The stories pouring from the woman's mouth hammered Eunha's brain like a sledgehammer.
"Eighth grade winter. Dojin's secret birthday gift prep. The music box shattered on the icy path—he was in the playground corner, cursing alone as he gathered the pieces. You, me—no, you—watched from afar, right?"
Eunha's eyes widened. The woman continued.
The cowardice of hiding behind "friends" out of fear of abandonment. "In the end… we marry Dojin."
That one line.
"Five years from now, we become Lee Dojin's wife. And we live happily ever after."
Hearing that, Eunha couldn't hold her hostile facade anymore. Marry Dojin. Become his wife. Live happily.
Her lips twitched uncontrollably.
And then… she blurted it out without thinking.
"The real future me? The phrasing's kinda weird…."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm… super awkward too. Right now."
The tense air between the two Eunhas softened.
"W-well, then."
Eunha glanced at 'Eunha,' lips moving.
Her face flushed faintly as she asked the burning question.
"D-did you… do it?"
"Ah, yeah. We did."
"W-when…? Ah! You mean during married life, right?"
'Eunha' blushed, averting her gaze slightly as she dropped the bomb slyly.
"That too… but last night too. And today."
Eunha stared at 'Eunha' in shock. My husband. My Dojin.
That precious first time with Dojin—stolen by this future self? Last night? Today too?
And she'd barely done hand stuff…?
Eunha met 'Eunha's eyes squarely and declared firmly.
"Th-then… I'll do it too. Tonight. You can help, right? But tonight… it's just me. You watch from the side. Got it?"