The Omega Is Pregnant-Chapter 77

Seo Da-rae?

At the sound of his name being called, Seo Da-rae looked up and met the gaze of the person addressing him.

"Seo Da-rae, huh? You're working here, huh? I was wondering what you were up to during the break. Just working part-time?"

When his colleague greeted him warmly, Seo Da-rae glanced behind him. The people in line were glaring at him with displeased expressions, annoyed that his colleague hadn’t placed his order quickly.

"Ah, I'll have an iced Americano."

"Got it."

After taking the card, Seo Da-rae processed the payment and handed it back before taking the next order. Meanwhile, his colleague, who had stepped aside, glanced at Da-rae's face while waiting for the iced Americano. Noticing the gaze, Da-rae turned to look at him, but his colleague, who had been making a face like he had something to say, awkwardly smiled and turned his head when their eyes met.

Having handled all the orders, Da-rae looked at his colleague, who was still not far off, and called out to him. The colleague, holding his coffee, met Da-rae’s gaze.

"I have a bit of time. Want to sit over there for a bit?"

"Uh, sure."

Nodding, the colleague followed Da-rae, who asked the other part-timer working with him for permission to take a break before sitting at the same table. Even then, neither of them spoke immediately, as the awkwardness between them made conversation difficult. Da-rae watched his colleague. They had only exchanged greetings up until now, nothing more. It was because his colleague had a tendency to gossip a lot, making him difficult to get along with. His colleague's constant talking made Da-rae uncomfortable, especially after being tormented by Yoon Tae-seo. His colleague's tendency to spread other people's business didn’t sit well with Da-rae, so when they met earlier, Da-rae had been reluctant to talk, but seeing his colleague continue to stare at him, it was clear he wasn’t planning on leaving anytime soon.

"It's strange, seeing us face to face like this," the colleague said.

"Is it? Well, do you have something to say? You’ve been staring °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° at me."

"Ah, no, it's just... I'll just say it. I saw Kang In-hyuk and Yoon Tae-seo drinking together the other day."

His colleague scratched his head and hesitated for a moment, but then, without any more hesitation, he spilled the information. It seemed he hadn't left after getting his coffee because of this conversation.

"You know Tae-seo likes Kang In-hyuk, right? But what surprised me was that Kang In-hyuk likes you, Da-rae, so I wondered what was going on."

Da-rae shook his head at his colleague’s questioning gaze. Actually, while his face was calm, his heart was racing. He hadn’t received any prior warning about In-hyuk meeting with Tae-seo. His colleague kept talking, and though Da-rae tried to focus, the voice became a distant buzz before it came closer again.

In-hyuk had asked for time to think and hadn’t come home since. Da-rae had waited for days, but he hadn’t heard anything after going back to his house. It seemed like In-hyuk didn’t even know Da-rae had been there. Every day, he checked his phone multiple times, growing exhausted from waiting for a message.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Huh? Yeah."

Da-rae nodded absently, but his face was still serious as he moved his lips as though he had something to say.

"Honestly, isn’t it true that Tae-seo likes Kang In-hyuk? I mean, I’d like to have him, but it’s too much to let him go... So, I was wondering if things changed because of you, since Kang In-hyuk was friends with him before."

As Da-rae remained silent with an impassive expression, his colleague's voice grew softer.

"Oh, right. Maybe I was getting ahead of myself, huh?"

"By the way, I hope you don’t mention that I’m working here to Tae-seo."

"Huh? Ah, is he still like that? Well, seeing him with Kang In-hyuk, I had a feeling something was off."

Before Da-rae could speak up, his colleague had already started speculating wildly.

"He’s been picking on you because he likes Kang In-hyuk, right? I felt bad seeing that, but I couldn’t do much. Tae-seo’s family is pretty well off."

His colleague cleared his throat awkwardly, glancing at Da-rae. When Da-rae met his eyes with a smile as if nothing was wrong, the colleague continued.

"So, I just watched, but it seems like he hasn’t given up yet. Then what’s this rumor about? Saying you started seeing someone suddenly before finals..."

Da-rae noticed his colleague hesitating to mention the name, so he finished the sentence for him.

"Kang Se-heon?"

"Yeah, that’s right. You knew? He’s In-hyuk’s cousin, right? I figured maybe you turned to Se-heon because things weren’t going well with him."

"Mm..."

At Da-rae’s noncommittal response, his colleague leaned forward, seemingly eager to know more. His voice dropped as he swallowed.

"Why? What is it?"

For the first time, Da-rae felt like something secret was about to be revealed, and his colleague leaned in even further, unable to stop his curiosity.

"I don’t know why that rumor spread so suddenly. I didn’t say anything because I thought Se-heon would be okay with it, but if he finds out, he won’t ignore it."

"You’re close with him?" his colleague asked.

Da-rae paused for a second before nodding faintly.

"I’ve known him for a short time."

"For a short time? What do you mean, so you’re getting along with him, and now Tae-seo knows and is pushing you? Spreading rumors like that? Wow, poor In-hyuk."

Seeing the look of embarrassment on Da-rae’s face, his colleague quickly pieced together the situation in his mind, and it was clear that he couldn’t wait to tell the others in their group chat.

"I didn’t lie about any of this."

Da-rae knew exactly what his colleague was imagining, but he didn’t bother correcting him.

****

After becoming pregnant, sleep had decreased, but now his emotions were causing trouble. In just five minutes, it seemed like he could go from laughing to crying and back to laughing again.

Ta-seo, who had been grumbling, finally looked at Kang In-hyuk.

"So, why did you call me?"

"I was just wondering how you've been lately..."

"Why are you suddenly so concerned about me? Never mind, just take care of Seo Da-rae."

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Ta-seo sneered, wondering why Kang In-hyuk was even thinking about him when he should be focusing on his own love life.

"Have you not been in contact with Da-rae lately?"

"Really? Did you two fight? It'll probably get fixed soon; just apologize."

Ta-seo gave a disinterested expression and spoke in a nonchalant tone, as if to say, Is that why you called me? Kang In-hyuk, looking frustrated, tugged at his collar.

"I’ve been thinking about it a lot..."

Kang In-hyuk paused for a moment, glancing around, before picking up a glass of water. He had finished his iced Americano, which he had ordered earlier, but he still seemed thirsty, so he drank some water. Ta-seo, watching him, muttered in a flat tone.

"You drank like that last time too. Guess you're always thirsty."

Kang In-hyuk raised his glass of water, then wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

"I guess I get thirsty whenever I'm in front of you."

"Drink more water and come out."

Ta-seo casually offered a simple solution to the issue, which didn’t seem like much of a problem.

"That’s not enough."

"Then drink an electrolyte drink."

"That’s not what I mean."

"Then what do you want? Are you here to give me a health consultation? You didn’t call me here for that, did you? My body’s pretty heavy right now, you know. It’s hard to move with the baby’s weight."

Ta-seo patted his slim stomach.

"Unless it's about that, say it quickly. You've already gotten both of us moving, so if you're just saying useless things, I won’t stand for it."

"I’ve been thinking about you lately."

Ta-seo, who had been looking at Kang In-hyuk with a dissatisfied gaze, quickly closed his mouth. He covered his mouth with his hand as if he were about to cough, and after calming down, he slowly exhaled.

"Are you okay? Want some water?"

"No, I’m fine. But what did you just say? You’ve been thinking about me?"

Ta-seo rejected Kang In-hyuk’s consideration, his eyes urging him to continue. Kang In-hyuk, having withdrawn his hand that had reached out to him, lowered his voice.

"It seems like I might like you."

Ta-seo stared at Kang In-hyuk with his mouth slightly open. His heart was racing even more intensely than when Kang Se-heon had confessed.

"What... what did you say?"

"You liked me before, right?"

"Well, yeah..."

"I’m sorry I didn’t accept it back then."

At Kang In-hyuk’s serious apology, Ta-seo couldn’t even tease him playfully. His heart, which had been pounding since earlier, didn’t settle down. The reason his heart was beating so fast...

"Kang In-hyuk..."

"Yoon Tae-seo, let’s date. I’ll raise your child too. So, come to me, not Se-heon. You liked me before, didn’t you?"

Ta-seo’s unsettled heart was laid bare in his wandering gaze. Not knowing what to do, he looked up at Kang In-hyuk and answered.