Chapter 253: Dissonance-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 253: Dissonance-3
Late at night.
Kang In-ho lay in bed, staring fixedly at the ceiling.
The brief moments before sleep were among his few precious times of rest. His personal time had dwindled since he started living with Shin Jeong-ah, and the sudden weight of responsibility continued to press down on him.
He had thought that after infinite possessions, something like this might happen eventually.
However, thinking about it and experiencing it were worlds apart.
Even though he wasn't the one who had caused this, In-ho couldn't bring himself to heartlessly cast her aside. Whether the root of that behavior was a request from someone else or his own meddling nature remained unclear.
I am going to die. And soon.
It was a fact he had resigned himself to, anticipated, and accepted.
But now that things had turned out like this...
"Should I try to live?"
He felt the urge to struggle for survival, just as he had during the early days of his possessions.
He blinked a few times.
Moonlight filtered through the clouds, illuminating the dark room and the quiet hallway. He heard footsteps approaching.
"Whew..."
Exhaling a deep sigh, he counted down in his head.
Three.
Two.
One.
The door opened without a knock.
"In-ho, are you awake?"
Shin Jeong-ah, who was staying in the guest room, called his name as she opened the door.
"..."
He didn't answer. It was a vain hope that she might return to her room if he stayed silent.
But as she always did, Jeong-ah stepped into his room.
"In-ho? You awake?"
Approaching the bedside, Jeong-ah leaned down, bringing her face close to his. Her breath tickled his forehead.
"Yeah."
When he finally answered, he could clearly see her beaming smile even in the darkness.
"Really? That’s good."
"...What’s good?"
Jeong-ah didn't answer immediately. Instead, she perched her hips on the edge of the bed. Her hand moved suggestively, tracing over In-ho’s nose, mouth, and neck before heading toward his chest.
"I don't know, how about it? It's been a while."
Jeong-ah whispered flirtatiously, caressing his chest, which had become noticeably firmer. Her white hands roved over every inch of his body.
"My arms and legs are like this, you know," In-ho said, catching her hand to stop it as it moved further down.
"I'll get on top and do the work," Jeong-ah replied with a flawless smile.
Does she really not get it? In-ho swallowed the thought and sighed again.
"I heard you shouldn't overexert yourself during the early stages of pregnancy."
"Huh?"
As Jeong-ah tilted her head, In-ho pointed a finger at her stomach.
"It's the early stage. You can't push yourself. You have to be careful about what you eat, too."
"Ah... right. Of course. I was being careless."
Jeong-ah seemed embarrassed by his blunt refusal and stood up from the bed.
"Ahaha... but I can still sleep next to you, right?"
"Do you want to sleep in the bed? I'll sleep on the floor."
I don't think I'll be able to sleep if we're together.
"...No. I should go back to my room. Goodnight, then."
She glanced back at In-ho regretfully as she left the room.
In-ho stared at the closed door for a moment before sitting up.
"Ah... what am I going to do, seriously?"
He muttered to himself, burying his face in his hands.
Just then, his phone screen lit up. A KakaoTalk message had arrived.
"Hm?"
He reached out and unlocked the phone. The glare of the screen momentarily strained his eyes.
[In-ho, something came up. Do you mind if we push our lesson to the day after tomorrow?]
It was a text from Yun Si-a.
He wondered why she had sent it at this late hour when she could have just sent it tomorrow morning.
[Yes. That's fine.]
[Oh, you were still awake? Thanks. See you the day after tomorrow.]
That was the end of Si-a’s messages.
In-ho placed the phone back by his pillow and looked out the window dejectedly. The moon was still hidden behind the clouds.
*
Two days later, Shin Jeong-ah—who had been stuck to In-ho like a piece of gum on asphalt—was out on her own for the first time in a while.
She headed to the second floor of a cafe. It was a place where a quiet atmosphere was always maintained due to the many students studying there.
She spotted someone in a corner seat and strode toward them.
"You're here?"
"What is it? Why did you call me? And how did you get my number?"
Jeong-ah snapped, pulling out a chair roughly and sitting down.
"Drink this first."
Unlike the cold atmosphere of their previous encounter, Yun Si-a handed her a coffee she had ordered in advance.
"...Thanks."
Jeong-ah lowered her guard slightly at Si-a’s lack of hostility.
A brief silence followed as they drank. Jeong-ah was preoccupied with when Si-a would get to the point, but Si-a looked perfectly composed.
"So, Unnie, what did you want to say?"
It was Jeong-ah who broke the silence.
"Well... I was just worried."
"Worried?"
"About your health. I heard from an older friend that your condition can fluctuate a lot during the early stages."
"Oh, I'm fine."
Is she looking out for me because we're both women? Jeong-ah wondered.
"Is that so? That's a relief. Is the coffee to your liking?"
"Huh? Coffee is just coffee. I don't really drink it for the taste."
Si-a nodded at her words. A faint smile played on her lips, which Jeong-ah found incredibly irritating. It looked remarkably similar to the expression Jeong-ah herself had worn when welcoming Si-a into In-ho’s house.
"Since I'm someone who knows the situation, I thought there might be something I could do to help... That's why I called you out separately."
Si-a looked at Jeong-ah with a face full of concern.
"You want to help?"
"You're going through something big at your age. Even if it is the fruit of love."
"Ah... but there's nothing in particular you need to help with..."
Jeong-ah trailed off with an awkward laugh, but Si-a cut her off mid-sentence.
"Have you been to the hospital? Or when do you plan on going?"
"The hospital? Why would I go to the hospital?"
"Oh, you don't plan on going?"
"Right? It's not like I'm sick or anything."
"I see..."
Si-a nodded and took a sip of her drink.
"???"
Jeong-ah tilted her head at Si-a’s inexplicable behavior. She felt like the conversation was going in circles. A sense of frustration began to build.
"Oh, right. Did you know?"
Si-a changed the subject, clapping her hands lightly.
"Apparently, there are people who buy used pregnancy tests."
"..."
"And they specifically buy the ones that show a positive result. I wonder why they do that."
Si-a opened a photo in her phone's gallery. It was a screenshot from a used goods trading app.
Jeong-ah’s eyes bored into the photo. Regardless, Si-a continued.
"It's surprising that there are bad people out there trying to trap innocent men... Look, the location for this trade is Gimang-dong."
Jeong-ah’s gaze slowly shifted from the phone to Si-a.
"Gimang-dong."
Si-a smiled brightly as she looked at Jeong-ah.
"Isn't that the neighborhood you live in, Jeong-ah?"
"So?"
Jeong-ah’s voice turned sharp.
"Just because. I'm saying there are people like that. And speaking of which, Jeong-ah..."
Si-a swiped to the next photo. It was the same screenshot, but the top and bottom were uncropped.
"Lying face down even though you're in the early stages of pregnancy."
"Not even considering going to the OB-GYN, even though you should be checking your status regularly."
"Not being picky about foods that people usually avoid for fear of affecting the fetus."
"I wonder who the owner of the ID 'Jeong-ah-ssu' is... the one looking for a positive pregnancy test in Gimang-dong?"
Jeong-ah didn't answer Si-a’s question.
Seconds passed, then minutes.
Jeong-ah, who had been staring at the phone with hollow eyes, leaned back against her chair and laughed.
"You caught me."