The Paternity Test

"First time at a university hospital?"

"First time actually using one, yeah…"

"Hmph."

A few days later, after booking the paternity confirmation test, we stopped by the university hospital. Ye-rim was still giving me the cold shoulder, and I simply accepted it. For keeping this from my sister and brother-in-law, I could bow a hundred times and still not make it right.

"Haa… Now I finally get why I've lived like this. Why I wanted to marry you, Uncle."

"What…?"

"You know how it is. People say you end up liking someone who resembles your family."

"Ah… so that's what you meant…"

The idea that people fall for those who resemble their own family isn't ironclad science, but it's an old story that's been passed down forever. Not just looks—probably the sense of psychological safety that comes with it. Even so, I'd never given Ye-rim a single moment that would make her like me. Whenever I came over to see her, she always hid somewhere else, and we barely managed a conversation.

Wait a second. Then maybe—

"So… all those times you hid, it was because of me—"

"As if! Are you crazy?!"

"……Sorry."

Ye-rim raised her voice sharply, her face flushing red. She couldn't meet my eyes, snapped at me, then let out another sigh.

"Still, I'm going to believe in the last possibility."

"The last possibility…?"

"You know. The test that confirms whether you're the real father."

"Ah… that."

And that was how we ended up here.

"Number 697~"

I went into the examination room with Ye-rim.

"You two came together?"

The doctor looked mildly surprised to see both of us.

"Yes… How many people usually come?"

"Most come alone. Plenty of people don't want to hurt their kids, and a lot of wives are against it."

"I see…"

A paternity test was basically a gamble that meant throwing away the trust between you and your wife. If the wife was against it, it usually meant she had something to hide—so most people showed up alone. And if the results came back a match, the doctor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would probably faint from shock. Because a daughter with a different last name wouldn't mean some ordinary affair—it would mean incest.

"We'll get started~"

The process itself was simple enough. Swab the inside of the mouth with a kit, pluck a few hairs, run a blood test too. Results in a day or two, they said.

"Haa…"

On the way home I bought her a coffee milk—she'd said she liked them.

"……."

How would the results turn out? How was I supposed to treat her from now on? Anxiety, self-justification, and excuses all tangled together and started spinning inside my head.

Bzzzt.

My phone vibrated. I answered. It was Ye-na—my college classmate, and now my girlfriend. After my sister got married I'd been single for a long time, then ran into her at a department reunion and we started dating. She'd wanted to confess back in college, she said, but I'd always looked like I was lovesick over someone else, so she'd given up. If she ever found out that "someone" was my own older sister, she'd probably drop dead from shock.

"I'm at—"

"Tell her I'm not here."

"I'm at the hospital."

"Y-yeah… a cold. Pretty bad one, so I came in."

"Yeah, about to take some medicine. Better than this morning, at least."

"Yeah."

I hung up, guilt twisting in my chest at yet another lie. My tone must have been off, because Ye-rim asked.

"Who was that?"

"My girlfriend."

"What…? Not Mom?"

"Yeah."

In that instant Ye-rim's face twisted.

"You're still dating her?"

"Didn't I tell you last week…? We've been together over two years."

"I don't care about that crap. It's just ridiculous. You put your niece—who might be your daughter—through all this, and you're off dating like nothing's wrong."

"……."

Her words were sharp, and they hit exactly where it hurt. Yeah. Letting things get this far was my fault.

"Because of you, Uncle, I've never even dated once."

"Because of me…?"

"You raised my standards for no reason."

"……."

I'd seen this before. Because of my sister, my own standards had gotten so high I never even thought about dating in school. So the cycle of inheritance was real after all.

"Haa… I'm hungry. Buy me food."

"Okay."

I'd planned to treat her anyway, but being ordered around like that made me feel like she had me by the throat. Which, to be fair, she did.

"What do you want?"

"Udon set for me."

"Alright."

"And cola and gyoza."

"…Alright."

Japanese food didn't usually have strong likes or dislikes, but maybe because our blood was so thickly mixed, Ye-rim picked a Japanese place without hesitation. Being near the university hospital, it was crowded.

"Do you like Japanese food too, Uncle?"

"Yeah. Suits my taste."

"Makes sense. No strong preferences."

"What about you, Ye-rim? You into noodles?"

"Yeah. Udon, ramen, kalguksu, naengmyeon… I think I like every kind of noodle."

"Flour addict, huh."

"Buckwheat noodles aren't flour, you know?"

"Ah… right…"

Still, everything else was flour. I decided not to pick that fight—didn't want to poke her temper any further.

"Huu… That was good."

"When are you heading home?"

"I told them I'm sleeping over at a friend's tonight."

"What…? Why?"

"It's the weekend."

"And your mom said it was okay?"

"You think I'd sneak out without permission? Unlike someone?"

"……."

"Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen."

"Alright…"

From what my sister had told me, Ye-rim had grown up with a prickly personality, but she was surprisingly a model student. She was already preparing for music college, following in my sister's footsteps. Back in middle school her grades had been terrible, and my sister used to regret just sending her to a regular high school.

"More importantly, worry about tomorrow's test results. If I really am your daughter, Uncle…"

"……."

"If I'm… your daughter…"

"…!"

Ye-rim's face went rigid as stone. It wasn't anger—it was like her entire thought process had just locked up. Her breathing turned shallow, and her pupils started to tremble.

"Ye-rim! Snap out of it!"

"...!"

I pulled the shaking girl into my arms. Only then did I understand how enormous a crime I'd committed. This wasn't some simple adult mistake that ended there. It was a sin that could destroy an entire child's life—an entire person's life. That was how deep my guilt ran.

"Haa… haa…"

"I'll take responsibility."

"Whaat…?"

"If I really am your dad… I'll make sure you never have to worry about getting by. Instruments, lessons—whatever you want, I'll give it to you."

"……You have to keep that promise."

"Yeah. I will."

Even if a murderer gets the death penalty, the person he killed never comes back. Even if I disappeared, Ye-rim's heart wouldn't heal. So the only apology I could offer her was this—using every means I had, money or otherwise, to help mend what I'd broken.

"Then can I ask for one thing right now?"

"Sure. Ah… even so, a house or a foreign car might be a stretch…"

"…Do I look like that much of a thug to you?"

"That's not what I meant…"

"Haa… Anyway. I want to sleep at your place tonight, Uncle."

"What…?"

"I said I'm sleeping at your place."

"……."

Why on earth…

Luckily I kept the place tidy, so at least I didn't get chewed out for a messy room. Magazines and that sort of thing had never interested me anyway. The only real downside was that the bed was a narrow single. When my girlfriend stayed over it hadn't mattered, but tonight I'd have to sleep alone, obviously.

"It's surprisingly small."

"I live alone. Planning to move into a bigger place later."

"Ah."

After roughly unpacking her things, Ye-rim spoke up.

"I'm going to wash up."

"…Okay."

While she was washing I changed clothes.

"Uncle. How do I brush my teeth?"

"Open that shelf—there are disposables."

"Okay."

Looking at her now, she'd really grown up a lot. Maybe because she took after my sister—same eyes, same slender jawline. And down there she was even bigger than my sister…

No. What the hell am I thinking right now.

Comparing my sister's daughter to my sister—what was I even trying to do?

"You done washing?"

"Yeah. Not like I can take a full shower here."

"True…"

"Or were you hoping I'd shower?"

"That's not it…"

After Ye-rim I headed into the bathroom myself. Being the homeowner, I at least took a proper shower.

More importantly, what do I do…

Letting her sleep over without even telling my sister. My girlfriend wouldn't care if I said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my niece was staying, but my sister was her mother. If I told her, she'd definitely say ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no. Then Ye-rim would go home and spill everything. For now, the only option was for me to keep my mouth shut too.

"Huu…"

"You take forever. Ever think about the environment?"

"Had a bunch of stuff to do…"

"Unbelievable, seriously."

Time passed, and it was well past midnight. I sorted work documents while Ye-rim watched videos on my tablet.

"Where are you sleeping?"

"Me? The bed, obviously."

"…You sure? Might smell. Yeah."

"Sniff sniff… Mm. Doesn't smell like anything."

"Good."

"Good night."

"Sleep well."

And just like that, the first night at my place passed. Without anything… happening.

"Haaam… Uncle, get up."

"Nn… huh? What time is it?"

"Nine."

"Could sleep a bit more…"

"Get up—ugh?!"

"Hm…? Something wrong?"

"Nothing… it's nothing… Just get up already."

Under Ye-rim's nagging I had no choice but to get up.

Ah…

Only now did I understand why her face had gone red. Morning wood—the perfectly normal sign of a functioning body. The blanket was thin, so she'd clearly seen it.

"Th-the test results are in… It showed up on your phone, Uncle."

"Ah… yeah. Let's eat first and go."

"Okay."

We were both so tense that even though we said we'd eat, nothing really went down.

"Uncle."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry… I can't go."

"Okay… Then I'll go alone."

If Ye-rim really was my daughter. If she was the child born from incest between my own older sister and me. Then I truly had no choice but to take responsibility. As Ye-rim's father, I had no choice.

"Park Ji-chul~"

My heart was pounding hard and fast. Hard enough that I might end up just like Ye-rim yesterday.

"The results are ready. Please open them at home."

"Yes."

I considered opening them right there, but decided it was better to check them together, so I headed straight home. Ye-rim must have been feeling unwell—she was lying down with a blanket over her stomach.

"You're back?"

"Yeah…"

I handed her the sealed envelope, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠taped shut.

"I'll open it."

"Okay."

"……."

"……."

"I'm sorry."

"……It's fine."

Surprisingly, Ye-rim stayed calm. As if she'd already steeled herself for this, she let out a small sigh.

"You said you'd take responsibility."

"…!"

Then she climbed on top of me and grabbed me by the collar.

"Hurry… take responsibility."