The moving day was bright and sunny.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too cold. Seo Ha’s heart was pounding.

Even finding a house led to subtle bickering with Tae Kyung.

Seo Ha wanted to find a place within her means, while Tae Kyung wanted to provide everything. As a compromise, they decided she would pay monthly rent for a villa in Hannam-dong that Tae Kyung arranged.

“Is everything packed up now?”

“Yes. There wasn’t much, and it’s a packaged move, so not much work. Thank you. I’ll make sure to send the rent as much as I can afford, without fail.”

“Oh, that stubbornness again. Can’t you skip the rent and just live with me?”

“Elder brother!”

Seo Ha glared at Tae Kyung as he joked and flirted. Tae Kyung grinned, enjoying even Seo Ha’s sharp scolding.

Though it would be impossible to repay Tae Kyung, Seo Ha decided to do her best to send him what she could.

Tae Kyung knew well that he couldn’t break her stubbornness.

Seo Ha was the only person the stubborn Tae Kyung couldn’t be stubborn with.

Min Joon looked at Seo Ha with wide eyes and asked.

“Mom! Is the coding teacher living with us too? In our house?”

Tae Kyung, who was next to him, quickly met Min Joon’s eyes and said.

“Min Joon! Tell your mom and grandfather that you’d like the teacher to live with us too. Okay?”

“You’ll say anything to a child!”

Seo Ha frowned at Tae Kyung who was clinging to Min Joon.

Myung Hoon just chuckled, finding the three of them pleasant to watch.

A peaceful time was passing for the three of them.

After finishing the move, Tae Kyung said goodbye to Min Joon, Seo Ha, and Myung Hoon with a regretful expression.

“Thank you for today. Be careful going home, it must have been tiring.”

“Aren’t you going to see me off?”

Seeing Tae Kyung now openly craving affection, Seo Ha felt a bubbly feeling rising from deep in her chest.

A faint smile spread across her lips.

“Dad, Min Joon. I’ll be right back.”

“Alright. See him off well. Mr. Han worked hard today too. I’m sorry for always causing trouble like this.”

“I’ll be sad if you think that way, sir.”

“Well, don’t be sad then. Goodness.”

“If it bothers you, couldn’t you persuade your daughter to marry me?”

Seo Ha was exasperated by Tae Kyung’s bulldozer-like advances at every opportunity.

“Elder brother! Seriously! Let’s go. Quickly! Dad, I’ll be back soon.”

“Alright, alright. Ha ha. Mr. Han, Seo Ha is too stubborn for me to do anything about it.”

“I know Seo Ha’s stubbornness well. Rest comfortably. Sleep well, Min Joon.”

“Yes. Goodbye.”

Min Joon bowed sleepily to Tae Kyung, rubbing his eyes.

Seo Ha pushed Tae Kyung out. Even as she did, Tae Kyung managed to tell Myung Hoon he’d treat him to drinks later before leaving.

Tae Kyung grinned as he watched Seo Ha press the elevator button.

“Where are you going?”

“Pardon?”

“This is my house.”

The place Tae Kyung pointed to with a meaningful smile was next door to Seo Ha’s.

Seo Ha stood with her mouth gaping, unable to speak. Not understanding the situation, she blinked at Tae Kyung.

“What do you mean?”

“This is my house. Next door. We’re neighbors. Come have some tea since you’re here.”

“What?”

Seo Ha was so dumbfounded she didn’t know what to say. Tae Kyung spoke teasingly with a subtle smile.

“I’d like to ask if you want to eat ramen and stay, but I’ll restrain myself today.”

“…”

Seo Ha glared, but Tae Kyung was nonchalant. He took Seo Ha’s hand, put it in his pocket, walked a few steps and unlocked the front door of the neighboring house.

Tae Kyung’s house felt like the villa from Yangpyeong had been moved here.

Tae Kyung went to the kitchen and put water in the electric kettle.

“What tea do you want? It’s late, so something without caffeine would be better, right?”

“Yes.”

Seo Ha watched Tae Kyung’s back as he skillfully prepared the tea.

She pondered how to bring up what she hadn’t told him yet, the story about Min Joon.

But fear came first.

The thought that Hyun Young didn’t want Min Joon was stuck in her head.

Seo Ha worried what might happen if it reached Hyun Young’s ears through Tae Kyung.

And she questioned if there was any need to say it when he said he would think of Min Joon as his son regardless of who the biological father was.

Her mind was complicated.

Tae Kyung handed Seo Ha a simple teacup. It felt just like Tae Kyung.

“Drink it while it’s warm.”

“Thank you. Um, elder brother.”

“Yes?”

Unlike her hesitant call, Tae Kyung answered comfortably.

She hesitated, then asked in a small voice.

“Min Joon… Does it really not matter if his real father is someone else?”

“No, it doesn’t matter. If he’s your son, he’s my son too.”

Seeing Tae Kyung answer as if it wasn’t a big deal, as if asking why she was worried, Seo Ha decided to postpone talking about Min Joon a bit longer.

She wasn’t ready to speak yet.

Min Joon would need time to accept Tae Kyung too.

Seo Ha tried hard to rationalize to herself.

[This is the timeline separator]

The phone call Tae Kyung had been waiting for came.

Tae Kyung pressed the call button, trying to calm his pounding heart.

It was Eun Taek’s voice he had been waiting for.

− Tae Kyung. What’s the matter?

“Elder brother, I wanted to check the test I asked for one more time.”

− That test? Didn’t you get the results?

“I did. But I want to confirm the results one more time. I’ll come pick them up myself.”

− Alright. I’ll let the lab know.

“Thanks, elder brother. I’ll treat you to a meal when you get back.”

− Okay, I’ll contact you when I’m in Seoul. Come get the results whenever it’s convenient for you. I’ll tell them to print it out now.

After hanging up, Tae Kyung headed straight for Eun Taek’s lab.

As Eun Taek said, when Tae Kyung arrived at the lab, an employee handed him an envelope with the genetic test results.

Tae Kyung returned to his office with the envelope and sat at his desk.

Unable to open the results right away, he placed the envelope on the desk and spent a while calming himself.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t believe Seo Ha had gotten pregnant with another man’s child while dating him. Moreover, thinking of Min Joon who looked so much like him, the contents of the previous results made no sense.

He picked up the document envelope with trembling hands. After taking a deep breath, he opened the envelope.

Tae Kyung took out the papers and read them over and over.

[The subjects are judged to have a probability of over 99% of being in a parent-child relationship, as all common STR genetic loci except sex chromosomes match.

Probability of paternity (%): 99.99998]

Tae Kyung didn’t know what expression he was making. Neither crying nor laughing.

So it was like that after all.

He sighed.

The familiar appearance, the same blood type, the same constitution.

He had wondered, given how much the child resembled him. For some reason, he kept thinking about the child.

It seems he kept thinking of him because he was his own flesh and blood.

Just days ago, he had decided to raise Min Joon as his own child regardless of the genetic test.

Tears flowed from Tae Kyung’s eyes without him realizing.

Foolish Kim Seo Ha.

The fool who wanted to bear all the pain alone.

But he was even more stupid than her.

To not recognize his own child right in front of him at once.

Did he even deserve to be a father?

So that bastard he had been cursing was himself.

What an idiot.

Tae Kyung felt like his heart was being torn into a thousand, ten thousand pieces.

Having grown up watching Hyun Young, he knew painfully well how hard it was to raise a child alone.

Why did she run away even though she was carrying his child?

Why did she insist so strongly that it was another man’s child?

Tae Kyung got a headache from the thoughts swirling in his mind.

He gulped down cold water and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

He put his forearm over his eyes. Tears glittered on his cheeks in the light.

Tae Kyung couldn’t leave work until late in the evening.

Brrrrr−.

His phone vibrated loudly, alerting him to a new message.

Tae Kyung was lost in thought for a long time without checking the message.

How could he make up for the past 5 years?

How could he comfort the wounds received during that long time?

Tae Kyung finally got up and checked the text message.

It was from Seo Ha.

[You must be busy today. I left some side dishes in front of your door. Make sure to eat.]

A sob escaped through Tae Kyung’s teeth.

Fool. This foolish Kim Seo Ha.

To leave side dishes for this unworthy man.

What does she like about such a dense, idiotic man?

What should he do? How could he repay this sin?

If only he could, he wanted to go back to that time and find Seo Ha somehow.

He wanted to be there with her during the time she had to endure alone.

He would have shared the wonderful moment when lovely Min Joon came into the world.

He was ashamed to face Seo Ha, but he also missed her terribly.

After finally calming himself, he called Seo Ha.

− Hello?

“Hi… How’s Min Joon?”

Hearing Seo Ha’s voice, Min Joon immediately came to mind.

Tae Kyung unconsciously asked about Min Joon first.

Min Joon’s tightly closed mouth, his adorable grumpiness befitting a 5-year-old child was lovable.

I miss you. My son. My child.

He felt a dull pain as if something was stuck in his throat.

Seo Ha, not noticing Tae Kyung’s state, answered in her usual voice.

− Min Joon is getting ready for bed now.

“I see. …How’s kindergarten? Does he like it?”

− He doesn’t really talk about kindergarten. I don’t know if all boys are like that.

Tae Kyung smiled faintly as Seo Ha grumbled.

The mother Kim Seo Ha was even more caring and affectionate than the woman Kim Seo Ha he knew.

Had she changed this much during the time he couldn’t be with her?

Even that appearance was so beautiful it brought tears to his eyes.

Holding back the lump in his throat, he forced himself to continue speaking.

“I see. Why did you go to the trouble of preparing side dishes?”

− We’re eating it anyway. We’re neighbors, right? Us. Haha. But why does your voice sound like that? Are you sick?

“Ah, no.”

Neighbors, she says.

I don’t want to be neighbors with you.

I want to be Min Joon’s father, and your husband.

When will that be possible?

What does Min Joon think about his father?

Tae Kyung’s thoughts kept running towards Min Joon and Seo Ha. But he didn’t know what face to show Min Joon and Seo Ha.

Seo Ha, not guessing Tae Kyung’s feelings, was nonchalant.

− Have you eaten dinner?

“No. Not yet.”

− You’re still at the office, right? When are you leaving?

“Soon. I should go.”

− Then call me when you get home.

“Okay. I’ll call when I arrive home.”

− Alright. Be careful on your way.

Tae Kyung nodded. Seo Ha said goodbye and ended the call.

Tae Kyung rubbed his face.

Min Joon appeared and disappeared before his eyes again.

He couldn’t handle the painful yet happy feelings.

Tae Kyung took deep breaths to calm his surging emotions.

There were too many things to resolve to just push forward emotionally.

Winning the hearts of Seo Ha, Min Joon, and Myung Hoon was the top priority.

He planned to tell Hyun Young slowly.

Even Tae Kyung couldn’t guess how Hyun Young, who had so strongly opposed Seo Ha, would react.

Tae Kyung was about to turn off the office lights after cleaning his desk when suddenly the CEO’s office phone rang.

Ring ring ring ring.

He wasn’t going to answer, but Tae Kyung felt like he had to take this call.

Tae Kyung went back in and picked up the phone.

“Hello. This is Han Tae Kyung.”

− He-help me!

The owner of the urgent voice was Song Jae Young, the photographer partner of Ko Si Yul.