“I tried to manage it even without that. After leaving the company, I played and ate for a few months, so what could I do?”
“What about the mangosteen? Usually, people don’t eat a box of fruit while sitting.”
“That… ”
As Dajeong hesitated to answer, Junghyuk’s eyes became even more suspicious.
As her mind hesitated at that moment, the whereabouts of the mangosteen crossed her mind.
On the day after she visited Chairman Park’s house to say hello, Dajeong went to a place, the very Saint’s Pajeon restaurant. The reason for unexpectedly buying mangosteen while choosing Chairman Park’s gift was because of the words Saint had said unconsciously.
“Have you crossed the water? I like mangosteen, is that good for you?”
There was also something he said while giving allowance to Siwoo at the playground they met last time.
“By the way, come and eat pajeon with the kid sometime.”
In order to taste the pajeon and also to deliver the fruits from across the water, Siwoo and I arrived at a place with a sign that read “Original Pajeon.” It was an old and shabby shop with the sign hanging crookedly.
It was just a passing remark, but it was said that when Saint first saw Dajeong, he opened his mouth wide and couldn’t continue speaking.
When he saw the mangosteen, Saint’s eyes rolled as if he had seen tropical fruits from across the water for the first time. And when he saw the pale flesh of the mangosteen, he exclaimed in admiration as if it were something amazing.
“Mom! It really looks like garlic. But the taste is kind of meh, Mom.”
“I bought it because you said you liked it. Doesn’t it suit your taste?”
“They kept calling it queen, queen on TV, so I thought it would be really delicious.”
Either because it wasn’t the expected taste, or maybe because Saint found it amusing like a child, he suddenly clapped his hands and stood up.
“Hey, get a hold of yourself! Hey, would you like some bindaetteok, pretty lady?”
Asking Dajeong, he fed Siwoo a small piece of the sliced fruit. With his small mouth, Siwoo chewed on the soft fruit, nodding his head.
“Oh! Siwoo likes tteok! Injeolmi, and honey tteok too…”
“Yeah, it’s a different kind of tteok from those, but try it later.”
Saint headed to the kitchen. In today’s terms, it would be called an open kitchen, and as he fiddled with something, the scent of savory oil soon filled the air.
After a while, when the bindaetteok was baked crispy, Dajeong swallowed her saliva as she looked at it.
“It looks so delicious.”
“I ground the mung beans and made it myself. Hurry and eat.”
“I’ll enjoy it.”
When Dajeong fed Siwoo a small piece of bindaetteok she had cut, Siwoo’s eyes widened.
“Oh! Mom, again, again!”
“Hey, is it tasty?”
Watching Siwoo diligently munching with his small mouth, Saint asked. Then, Siwoo pushed up both of his thumbs.
“Yeah, um! Grandma’s bindaetteok is delicious!”
“How can this little one be so good at reading people’s feelings?”
Dajeong wandered around the narrow interior. Beyond the old curtain, she could see a makeshift sleeping area with a roughly laid-out bedding.
“But are you living alone here?”
“Well, yeah. Although it was a bit bothersome, until recently, my husband lived here after setting up housekeeping, but now he’s gone.”
“…”
“Hey, there’s no need to look at me like that as if I’m a pitiful person. Anyway, it’s not like I died and can’t live. If that guy didn’t leave on his own, I would have kicked out that crazy gambler with my own hands.”
Smiling nonchalantly as she spoke of her unremarkable story, Dajeong chuckled softly. The more she experienced, the more Dajeong found her casual and humane side appealing.
“Next time, I’ll bring you more delicious fruits.”
After spending some time at the pajeon restaurant, Dajeong left the shop.
“Siwoo, we should greet Grandma.”
“Grandma! Goodbye. Bye-bye!”
Siwoo waved his hand as he pranced away.
When Dajeong visited Saint with a fruit box, it had a different intention than when she greeted Chairman Park.
That was a feeling unrelated to Jung-hyuk. It was more like a sense of camaraderie as a woman, having learned about Saint, who couldn’t sleep without holding a baby picture every night if he didn’t have alcohol.
The reason she didn’t tell Jung-hyuk about it was due to the fear that it might be interpreted as sympathizing with him once again.
“So, what about the mangosteen?”
Persistently probing, Jung-hyuk, Dajeong clasped her hands together and stammered.
“That… I gave it to someone else.”
Ha, Jung-hyuk wiped his face as if he was amazed.
“So, you should have said that. Why lie? Do you know how anxious I was every day, afraid that the funny-looking fruit would fall, wondering if Yoo Dajeong would cry if she wanted to eat it? But you gave it to someone else and lied to me?”
“Well, that…”
Quickly shaking her head, Dajeong couldn’t escape from this even if she twisted the truth.
“Actually… I gave it to Mr. Cha Jung-hyuk’s mother. She wanted to eat mangosteen…”
Now, completely flabbergasted, his face betrayed a sense of betrayal.
“You deceived me.”
“Mr. Cha Jung-hyuk misunderstood unilaterally. I didn’t deceive anyone…”
Expressing her injustice, Dajeong, however, could only squirm helplessly as Jung-hyuk licked his lips.
He once again scrutinized Dajeong’s stomach. Dajeong clutched her belly as if she had committed a sin.
“No, huh?”
“I said no.”
“Really, no?”
He still seemed unbelieving.
“How many times do I have to say it? No…”
“Ha, are you sure? Yoo Dajeong might not know well.”
Dajeong, feeling helpless, chuckled.
“Mr. Cha Jung-hyuk, do you think I’m the same as five years ago, who knew nothing? I’m not the me from back then, who didn’t know anything without a driver’s license.”
“Yoo Dajeong, are you saying that Yoo Si-woo is the result of an accident without a driver’s license?”
“Oh, cancel…”
Dajeong sighed heavily. Anything she said now would be disadvantageous.
Jung-hyuk, who had been grumbling with his hands on his waist, suddenly grabbed a wine glass and poured its contents out.
“See? I can’t even get drunk because I’m so disturbed.”
“Of course. It’s grape juice…”
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter if it’s not pregnancy. Let’s just do it.”
“Do what?”
“Marry me, damn it!”
Jung-hyuk burst out in frustration.
“No, why does a person act like this all of a sudden?”
“I’ve done enough. I’ve done what I could. I’m good enough considering my personality. Now, do it. I’m going to live with you and Yoo Si-woo. No fuss!”
“Mr. Cha Jung-hyuk, your grandmother won’t allow it.”
“Don’t make excuses with my grandmother! How cowardly.”
He was definitely different from usual. Perhaps that’s why. Even Dajeong felt a resistance that she hadn’t felt before.
“Cowardly? Is it really too much? Why do you always misunderstand and blame me for it?”
“Answer me. Answer? Don’t answer?”
“…”
Dajeong couldn’t readily answer.
Certainly, if he proposed again, she wouldn’t reject him as decisively as before. Then and now were too different.
However, there was no time for contemplation, and in the face of misunderstandings and unilateral accusations without giving a chance to explain, unnecessary grievances were triggered.
Leaning on his waist and grumbling, Jung-hyuk pressed on.
“I’m asking. Will you? Won’t you?”
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
