The Sign From Our Baby

They would keep sleeping together like this from now on, too. The face that tossed out that loaded little remark so casually was so utterly composed that the tips of Somi's ears caught fire instead.

Blissfully unaware of her state, Hwi-young rubbed his cheek against his pillow and added in a lighthearted tone.

"By the way, I never sleep with my clothes on. Too stuffy."

"Oh…."

"But because it's you, Som, I really, really tried my hardest to keep them on."

His eyes sparkled as he grinned.

"Didn't I do great?"

What on earth was she supposed to say to that guileless face? With her chin propped on the pillow she was hugging, Somi found herself gazing back down at him as he looked up expectantly, clearly fishing for praise, and all she could manage was a strained smile.

"Yes… you did great."

Only then did the corners of Hwi-young's mouth curl in satisfaction. Somi stared blankly for a moment, admiring his smiling face—

Grrrrrowl—

A sound far too thunderous for the quiet room ripped through the stillness.

"……."

"……."

A beat of silence passed. The cheeks that had been flushed pink only moments ago began, this time, to drain white with mortification.

Ah, I want to disappear. I want to hide right now. Maybe if I pull the blanket over my head, I'll vanish without a trace—like some kind of magic……yeah, right. As if.

Unlike Somi, so mortified she could barely breathe, Hwi-young blinked a few times as if mulling something over, then said:

"I think that's a signal from our baby."

Somi, whose expression suggested she'd gladly cram herself headfirst into a mouse hole, lifted her eyelids at the unexpected remark.

"Sorry… a signal?"

"The baby's saying it's hungry right now. As it happens, I'm hungry too."

Hwi-young added this with a perfectly straight face, not a trace of mischief in it. Somi looked at him dazedly for a long moment, then murmured,

"…The baby's still the size of a bean. It doesn't know how to send signals yet."

Somehow he managed to catch her tiny grumble, and Hwi-young laughed heartily, going, 'Is that so?'

Our baby. It was the kind of phrase that made her imagine they were an ordinary couple—people who'd married for love and started a family together, like anyone else.

Her heart fluttered at those few words, though it shouldn't have. He'd surely said it without a second thought. Honestly, Kwon Hwi-young had an innate talent for playing with people's hearts as if it cost him nothing.

Thanks to him, the embarrassment that had consumed her over that sudden stomach growl faded to something almost bearable.

Having stared up at him for a long moment, Somi hastily schooled her expression and fled to the bathroom.

She washed up briskly, squeezed a thick ribbon of toothpaste onto her brush, and popped it in her mouth. She was just about to start brushing in earnest when there came a soft knock at the door behind her.

"Som?"

"Mmh? Whaff if?"

She mumbled around the mouthful of foam, and Hwi-young's voice drifted back through the door.

"Can I come in?"

Somi's busy hands stopped.

Can you come in? Why? Together? In the bathroom?

In that split second, every thought imaginable flashed through her head.

"It seems like we're pressed for time."

But the follow-up was such a thoroughly practical reason that Somi, oddly guilt-ridden, answered quickly.

"Yef, come if."

The bathroom door slid open and Hwi-young stepped in with an awkward look on his face. The space suddenly shrunken around him made his shoulders hunch instinctively. When Somi caught sight of his bare feet crossing the tile, her own slipper-clad toes curled tight.

Hwi-young came to stand beside her, where she stood awkwardly in front of the mirror, and picked up his toothbrush with practiced ease.

"I'll just brush my teeth too."

"Goff id."

She nodded vigorously through the mangled syllables, and Hwi-young snorted at her reflection in the mirror.

"What did you just say?"

"Goff id."

Pfft. Hwi-young doubled over laughing, all the way down to his waist, then reached out and lightly ruffled Somi's hair.

"I'm guessing that was permission."

He curved his eyes into a wicked crescent, popped his toothbrush in his mouth, and started brushing. Scrub, scrub— the sounds of their brushing echoed back and forth in the quiet bathroom.

Her eyes kept drifting to him standing shoulder to shoulder with her in the mirror. She'd sneak a glance, and the moment their eyes met she'd look away, flustered—then find herself stealing another look as if spellbound, over and over.

Somi hated herself for it and forced her gaze toward the corner of the mirror—and that was exactly when Hwi-young suddenly stopped brushing and dipped his upper body down toward her.

"Wh-what is it?"

The handsome face that had abruptly closed the distance made Somi suck in a breath.

Without a word, Hwi-young peered into her face from eye level. He was so close that her own expression—shaded with panic—was reflected perfectly in his dark eyes.

"Hold still."

Mumbling around his toothbrush, he reached out. The tip of a firm finger caught Somi's chin gently and turned it toward him. Then his thumb brushed lightly along her jaw, just beneath her ear.

"You missed a spot. Right here."

A smudge of white foam sat on the tip of his thumb. Apparently a leftover wisp of cleansing foam from when she'd washed her face earlier.

While Somi stood frozen stiff, Hwi-young resumed brushing his teeth as though nothing had happened.

Clamping her lips shut in embarrassment, Somi managed only a small nod. Then she hurried to rinse her mouth and escaped the bathroom. She could have sworn she heard the faint sound of Hwi-young's laughter trailing after her.

She'd changed her clothes and was standing at the vanity mirror, carefully working essence through her frizzy curls, when Hwi-young's voice drifted out from the bathroom.

"Som? Where's the hair dryer?"

Hair dryer? I showered before bed last night and put it back exactly where it belongs.

"It's in the cabinet in there."

Somi drifted toward the bathroom without thinking—and froze on the spot.

Because there, in plain view, was Kwon Hwi-young's bare back in front of the sink. He'd apparently just showered; his damp hair was swept back carelessly, and one arm stretched long as he rummaged through the overhead cabinet. Tracing his every movement, droplets of water slid down the line of his spine. In contrast to the broad, inverted-triangle expanse of his upper body, his waist narrowed almost strikingly, with nothing on it but a single towel.

"Ah…."

Somi's eyes wavered hopelessly.

Hwi-young, meanwhile, was perfectly at ease. He remained busy rummaging through the cabinet with his still-dripping body.

"Where? I don't see it."

"……Try the cabinet on the right."

"Not there either."

Barely had the words left his mouth before Hwi-young turned his whole body around to look at her.

This time it was his completely bare front that landed in her line of sight. The broad sweep of his collarbone, the full planes of his chest, down to the pale pink of his nipples.

Somi's gaze shot reflexively into empty air, then dropped again somewhere near the nape of his neck.

"Could you… maybe put some clothes on?"

"Ah."

Only then did Hwi-young register his own state of undress, and he let out a low groan.

"Sorry, sorry. Living alone for so long—it slipped my mind."

Repeating his apologies, he snatched the T-shirt hanging on the bathroom rack and jammed his head straight through it.

"No, wait—dry off first—"

There was no stopping him. Hwi-young simply hauled the cotton tee down over his wet body, grunting with the effort, and Somi bit her lip hard at the sight.

No one said you had to get dressed in quite that much of a hurry.

There was something strange about watching Kwon Hwi-young scramble like this—unfamiliar, and yet it stirred something oddly pleasant in her chest.

The end result: the white cotton T-shirt clung to his undried, bare skin. Beneath the damp, half-translucent fabric, the sculpted contours of his body showed through in a way that somehow felt more indecent than when he'd been wearing nothing at all. Especially the unmistakable presence of his nipples, stiff and prominent against the cloth.

"…Better now?"

"Yef…."

Somi deliberately let her eyes go soft and out of focus, then took a single step into the bathroom. As she entered, Hwi-young shifted slightly to make room. The characteristic post-shower warmth and the fresh scent of body wash washed over her all at once.

Keeping her gaze artfully blurred, Somi opened the overhead cabinet, retrieved the hair dryer sitting brazenly on the bottom shelf, and pressed it into Hwi-young's hand.

"Here."

"Thanks."

As he took it with a sheepish smile, Hwi-young suddenly wrinkled his nose. Then he leaned his upper body in close, smooth as anything, right up toward Somi's face.

"Wh-what now?"

However legally married they might be on paper, Somi had built up no immunity to him swooping in like this, and she fumbled helplessly.

"Som, you smell really good."

Her ears burst into flame. But Hwi-young's face betrayed not the slightest awareness of it.

"What's the smell?"

"Hmm… l-lotion, maybe…."

"Which lotion?"

"Just the one I always use."

"Then I want to use it too."

"Sorry, what?"

"It smells too good. I want to wear it too."

Somi ended up fetching her jar of lotion for him. Watching Hwi-young scoop some into his palm, dab it onto his face with little pats, and sniff at himself all over again, she was swept up in a strange, nameless feeling.