My Best Friend's Secret Baby

End?

The silence that followed Chaeyoung's unexpected words felt almost sacred.

Mina stared at her, disbelief flickering in her eyes. The younger woman stood in front of her, slightly breathless, the lunch tray trembling in her hands. It was as if the air itself had stilled—too fragile to move, too heavy to break.

"Marry me, Mina unnie," Chaeyoung repeated, softer this time but no less certain. "Let me be with you. Let me help you raise the baby."

Sana, still standing to the side, looked from one woman to the other, unsure whether to intervene. Mina's lips parted, but for a moment, no sound came out.

"Chaeyoung... you don't know what you're saying," she whispered finally. "Again, you just left your own wedding. You don't have to do this to make up for anything."

"This isn't about that," Chaeyoung said quickly. "It's not about guilt. It's about you."

Mina exhaled shakily, lowering her gaze to the floor. "You don't owe me anything."

"I know," Chaeyoung replied, stepping closer. "But I want to. I can't just stand by and watch you go through this alone."

The quiet sincerity in her voice made Mina's chest tighten. She had always known Chaeyoung to be kind—recklessly so at times—but this was different. There was a determination in her that both warmed and frightened her.

Mina's hands trembled slightly. "People will talk," she said. "They already have. You'll lose everything you worked for."

"Let them talk," Chaeyoung replied simply. "I'm tired of worrying about what people think. I just want to do what feels right."

Her conviction made Mina falter. She wanted to protest, to push her away for her own good. But her voice betrayed her—softening when she spoke again.

"Why me, Chaeng?" she asked.

The younger woman hesitated. Her lips parted, then closed again, struggling to find the right words. "Because when I'm with you," she said at last, "everything feels... clear. Even when it shouldn't."

Mina froze, her breath catching in her throat.

Sana, sensing the weight of the moment, quietly turned toward the door. "I'll give you two some time," she murmured before slipping out, closing it gently behind her.

When the latch clicked, the room fell back into silence—just the two of them, and the quiet hum of the air conditioner.

Chaeyoung took another step closer until only the desk separated them. "You don't have to say yes right away," she said softly. "Just think about it."

But Mina could already feel her resolve unraveling. She had spent months preparing herself to face this alone, telling herself that she could carry the secret forever—that she could love her child quietly without expecting anyone to stay beside her. Yet here was Chaeyoung, standing in front of her, offering something she had longed for but never dared to hope.

Mina knows that what she did, the life she brought to the world, without its other parents consent, is selfish. But the thought of losing Chaeyoung completely, after her marriage to Jungkook took her to the brink. This pushed her to the decision that if she would not be able to have Chaeyoung in this life, she would want to at least carry a part of her, even if the smaller girl will never know of their child's existence or their relation.

At this moment, she wanted to tell her the truth—that the baby wasn't a stranger's, that it was hers too, born from a piece of science and an act of love she could never justify. But she couldn't. Not yet.

Instead, she whispered, "If you do this, there's no turning back."

Chaeyoung met her gaze. "I don't plan to."