938

 Whoosh.

The sound of rain pouring down under the cloudy sky hits the ears.

"..."

Eun-ha, sitting on the edge of the porch, was blankly staring at the rainy scenery.

At that moment, someone plopped down beside him.

Feeling the presence, Eun-ha turned his head to check who it was.

It was an old man with a rugged impression, who seemed familiar from somewhere.

It didn't take long for Eun-ha to recall his memory.

"The sound of rain is nice to hear, isn't it? It was like this when I first met your grandmother."

"Grandfather?"

"How about it? On a rainy day, shouldn't we eat pajeon and makgeolli? Since we've come here after a long time, should we just listen to the rain and go? You should have a drink with your grandfather! I can finally drink alcohol poured by my grandson. I should brag about this to the other old men later."

"..."

Grandfather bursts into laughter.

Eun-ha blinked, not quite understanding the situation.

As far as he knew...

His thoughts were interrupted at that moment.

"Here! Take this first."

"Yes..."

Though it seemed there was nothing just a moment ago.

Suddenly, a bottle of makgeolli was in grandfather's hand.

Grandfather, grinning and shaking the settled contents, opened the lid.

Cups were already placed on the porch somehow.

Clink clink...

Grandfather poured makgeolli for Eun-ha.

Then he picked up the cup on the floor and passed the makgeolli to him.

"Then shall I have a drink too?"

"...I'll pour for you."

Eun-ha politely poured makgeolli into grandfather's cup.

It was then that another cup was thrust into the edge of his vision.

"Will you give me a drink too? I want to drink something poured by Eun-ha after a long time."

"...Grandmother?"

"I brought pajeon and kimchi jeon too, so eat them as side dishes."

Grandmother, suddenly sitting next to him.

Eun-ha's eyes widened as he saw her smiling kindly.

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"...It's nothing. I'll pour for you."

Eun-ha felt a strange sense of discomfort that couldn't be explained in words.

Soon he pushed his doubts to the back of his mind.

He was just glad and happy to be able to meet his grandfather and grandmother.

"Your skills must be acknowledged. Eun-ha, how is it? Isn't it delicious?"

"Oh, you."

"...Yes. It's really delicious."

Sitting between his grandfather and grandmother, Eun-ha drank alcohol, ate side dishes, and had a pleasant conversation with them.

On the other hand, he felt relieved.

"I'm glad."

"What do you mean?"

"Grandmother looks well. It seems you're doing well."

"...That's right. So tell the family that I'm doing well."

"Yes... I will."

Eun-ha nodded.

Afterwards, he continued to spend a harmonious time with the two of them.

During that time, there was a figure that caught his eye.

'Who is that child?'

Not sure since when.

Far away, under the eaves, a child was taking shelter from the rain.

Whoosh.

Hair and eyes with a color reminiscent of blue hydrangeas.

Eun-ha was bothered by the boy who strangely resembled Ryu Yeon-hwa.

Grandfather and grandmother seemed to have noticed the child's presence too.

"Oh my, it seems he doesn't have an umbrella."

"He'll be cold if he stays there like that, why don't you go bring him here, Eun-ha? Here, take this umbrella."

"...Yes, I will."

Grandfather gestured to Eun-ha, and grandmother handed him an umbrella.

Eun-ha got up from his seat, opened the umbrella, and walked towards where the child was.

Raindrops splattered on the umbrella, making sounds.

Eventually, he faced the child.

"Hey kid, what are you doing here?"

"..."

"You'll catch a cold if you stay here, won't you come rest over there?"

"..."

Blue eyes look up at Eun-ha.

The child didn't answer no matter how much he spoke to him.

He just stared at him intently.

Then.

Nod.

The child answered with his action.

The child, who reminded him more and more of Ryu Yeon-hwa the more he looked, suddenly held out his hand.

With a face that seemed to have lost its wariness.

"Then shall we go?"

Smiling along with the child.

Eun-ha held the hand the child had extended.

* * *

"..."

Although the sensation of holding the child's hand was so vivid it felt real.

It seems he had been dreaming after all.

Eun-ha, opening his eyes in bed, realized he was on a family trip.

'It was strangely vivid for a dream... What kind of dream did I have?'

Was it created by his imagination?

Or was it someone he had seen before?

Eun-ha was strangely curious about the identity of the child he met in his dream.

He couldn't dismiss it as just a simple dream.

On the other hand.

'I'm glad grandmother seems to be doing well.'

Although it was just a dream.

It was nice to see grandmother living happily with grandfather.

With that, his interest in the boy diminished somewhat.

It wasn't an unpleasant dream, so he decided to view it positively.

"Are you awake?"

Beside him, Han Seo-hyeon, wearing nothing, was using her smartphone.

Judging by her tidy state, it seemed she had woken up first and washed.

Soon, meeting Eun-ha's eyes, she smiled with her eyes.

It felt like emotions that warmed the heart were falling from her gaze.

"...Yeah. Did you sleep well?"

"I couldn't sleep well because of someone, but I slept well in other ways."

"Who was it that said they wouldn't let me sleep."

"What about you? Did you sleep well?"

"I'm tired because I didn't sleep much, but this much is no problem..."

"No, not that."

"...Then which part?"

"Did that part sleep well? Were you satisfied?"

"..."

Giggling as if playing a prank.

Han Seo-hyeon, taking her eyes off her smartphone, leaned against the upright bed.

Focusing her gaze on Eun-ha, she subtly moved her hand.

Her delicate hand entered under the blanket.

Like a snake crawling on the ground.

Soon Eun-ha flinched.

"You used your strength the day before yesterday and yesterday too, but you're still so healthy... Looks like you're not satisfied yet?"

"...Don't tempt me from the morning. And it's normal in the morning."

Although she shows an elegant and haughty side in front of others.

Han Seo-hyeon didn't hold back when alone with Eun-ha.

Moreover, her subtle actions tickled Eun-ha's heart.

"What do you want to do?"

"..."

She couldn't hide her contentment seeing him fall into anguish.

It gave her a sense of fulfillment that he was responding to her.

In the end, even after waking up, the two couldn't leave the bed for a while.

After that, time passed.

"Let's get up now. The kids will be waiting. We need to go eat breakfast."

"The time is already... It's become like this. I should hurry and get ready."

Eun-ha and Han Seo-hyeon went down to the hotel restaurant as soon as they washed up.

In her case, she had to wash again after waking up in the morning.

"You two... Seem to have slept well?"

"Eun-ha, Seo-hyeon unnie, good morning."

"Did you both sleep well?"

"Mom, Dad! Did you sleep well!"

Jeong Ha-yang, Lee Yu-jeong, Ryu Yeon-hwa, Noh Yu-seong, Noh Yu-ran, and Noh Yu-rin were already waiting.

Eun-ha and Han Seo-hyeon sat down, feeling sheepish.

Soon they started eating breakfast and talking about the schedule for the third day.

It was then.

'Huh? What's this?'

Eun-ha, who was eating food, suddenly felt uncomfortable.

It felt like something was sitting in his stomach, and he even felt nauseous.

Eventually.

"Urp!"

"...?"

Eun-ha, feeling the urge to vomit, hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand.

The people eating breakfast couldn't help but worry about him.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Does your stomach feel bad? Did you eat something wrong yesterday..."

"I brought medicine just in case. I'll bring it, do you want to take it?"

"Since we're fine, it doesn't seem like the food was bad..."

"...No, I'm okay. I think I feel better now."

After suppressing a bout of nausea, his condition calmed down as if nothing had happened.

There was nothing wrong with his body either.

Eun-ha, not wanting to cause unnecessary worry, soothed them.

But the nausea didn't end with just once.

"Urp!"

"..."

"I-I'm fine... Urp!"

"..."

"Urp!"

Eun-ha's body reacted on its own, contrary to his will.

He couldn't help but be surprised by the sensation that came intermittently.

Those watching him all felt similarly.

They couldn't help but be flustered and anxious.

"Urp!"

"..."

Meanwhile, Eun-ha's nausea continued without fail.

'What is this? What on earth is this?'

It was maddening that his body was reacting even when he wasn't eating.

He even coughed and spat out water when he suddenly felt nauseous while drinking it.

Eun-ha couldn't maintain his composure at this sensation he was experiencing for the first time in his life.

It was then that he noticed the causality of what was happening to him.

'Is it happening every time Yeon-hwa eats?'

Ryu Yeon-hwa sitting across from Eun-ha.

Every time she put food in her mouth, nausea was coming to him.

It didn't seem to be a misconception.

"Yum."

"Urp!"

"Yum..."

"Urp!"

"...Are you really okay?"

"I-I'm fine, so... So Yeon-hwa... Just eat one more time..."

"Okay... Yum."

"Urp!"

"..."

While Ryu Yeon-hwa was fidgeting.

Eun-ha, unable to suppress his nausea, finally ran to the bathroom.

Only then did people who had guessed something make slightly sour expressions.

* * *

It's uncommon, but there are cases where the husband experiences morning sickness on behalf of his wife.

The symptoms Eun-ha showed were enough to suspect that.

So the family, who visited the hospital just in case, received the following diagnosis.

"Congratulations, it's pregnancy. You're 4 weeks along."

"..."

"Is it... really?"

"Yes, here's the gestational sac forming. At 4 weeks, it's just been created so it might be hard to see..."

Despite Eun-ha and his family rushing into the examination room all at once.

The doctor explained kindly without being flustered.

They fully accepted reality after checking the ultrasound image.

Ryu Yeon-hwa was pregnant.

"I thought maybe, maybe, but I didn't think it would really be... Congratulations, unnie."

"Unnie, congratulations on your pregnancy! You've been saying you wanted a child all this time, and you've finally fulfilled your wish!"

"I congratulate you too, unnie. I'm really happy for you. You're becoming a mother now too, unnie?"

While Ryu Yeon-hwa was staring intently at the ultrasound image, wondering if the diagnosis might be wrong.

Han Seo-hyeon, Jeong Ha-yang, and Lee Yu-jeong sincerely congratulated her on her pregnancy.

Knowing that she had been wanting a child, they were happy as if it was their own affair.

"Ah... Girls, thank you so much. Really..."

Ryu Yeon-hwa, still dazed, kept expressing her gratitude.

There was a slight tremor in her voice, perhaps from being overwhelmed with emotion.

'To think Yeon-hwa is pregnant... Then that was a prophetic dream.'

Eun-ha was lost in thought.

The dream he had in the morning was unusual and unforgettable, but now it made sense that it was a prophetic dream.

Perhaps the reason his deceased grandmother and grandfather appeared in the dream was to bestow a child.

And the child he gave an umbrella to and brought home...

'My child? A son?'

Although the gender can't be known at present.

Eun-ha vaguely sensed that the child Ryu Yeon-hwa was pregnant with was a son.

However, to prevent any possible confusion, he decided to keep it a secret until the child's gender was certain.

'But to think I'm having morning sickness...'

Eun-ha shrugged his shoulders weakly.

As someone who hadn't experienced morning sickness when his other wives were pregnant, he couldn't help but be inwardly flustered.

It seemed like daily life would be inconvenient in many ways until the symptoms subsided.

Nevertheless, he also thought it was fortunate that he could share the pain Ryu Yeon-hwa would experience during the birthing process.

The problem was that he felt conscious.

Conscious of his other wives...

"I heard that if a husband loves his wife too much, he can experience morning sickness on her behalf, so you must love Yeon-hwa unnie too much? Much more than us."

"Yeon-hwa unnie is lucky. She's the person Eun-ha loves the most among us."

"I wonder if it's because Eun-ha had a connection with Yeon-hwa unnie since before the regression? But I also had a connection with Eun-ha since before the regression, so why didn't this happen when it was me? Hm? Eun-ha, what do you think?"

"Haha..."

Although they had promised not to be jealous of each other, human hearts can't be controlled like machines.

Han Seo-hyeon expressed her displeasure to Eun-ha while beating around the bush.

Jeong Ha-yang resolved to squeeze him soon as she planned for a second pregnancy.

Lee Yu-jeong, unlike her usually gentle personality, subtly showed an attitude of interrogating him.

In that situation, he avoided answering with an awkward laugh, feeling wronged but afraid of adding fuel to the fire.

'In my belly... Eun-ha's child is there. Eun-ha... really loves me.'

Ryu Yeon-hwa suppressed her intense emotion while watching their reactions.

Still, she couldn't help the corners of her mouth trying to rise.

On the other hand, she hoped for Eun-ha's blessing.

She kept glancing at him, who was under some pressure from Han Seo-hyeon, Jeong Ha-yang, and Lee Yu-jeong.

Soon, feeling her gaze, he met her eyes.

"Yeon-hwa."

"Yes."

As if understanding her feelings even without her expressing them directly, Eun-ha smiled slightly and spoke.

"Thank you, really."

"...Yes. I'm the one who's really thankful."

With a smile like thin ice melting.

Ryu Yeon-hwa wiped her eyes and responded.