This Day | Gyuhao (Threequel to Youth & The Aged)

- 54

| Chapter Fifty - Four — If you don't tell them, I will |

"Chaewon, you literally can't go."

"If Minghao is truly alive, then I'm going." Chaewon insists, tucking her hair behind her ear and cleaning up the dishes from her lunch today, "They could be lying, but the least I could do is help bring him back."

"'The least you could do'?" Sunoo repeats, "What are you guilty about? None of this was your fault?" Sunoo says it like a question, beyond confused.

Chaewon sighs, looking at him, "He meant a lot to everyone... I don't know. And I feel bad getting knocked up just weeks after his so called 'death.'" She folds her lips together, "Maybe it's just hormones."

"No shit. You have nothing to be sorry about, babe." Sunoo insists, heart aching, "I don't understand why you're bottling all this up inside...."

Chaewon bites her lips, closing her eyes, "I used to date his brother." She says, scrubbing one of her dishes aggressively because she hates talking about it. She doesn't dare look at the shock on Sunoo's face, "Happy? That's why I'm afraid to tell him. Sure, we're already... together and stuff... but I don't know, having a kid just makes it way too real."

Sunoo blinks, "Wow, uh—" Only the Carnelian members had ever known about Chaewon and Sunghoon's relationship, as well as Wonbin being the younger sibling. Everyone else had no idea. Nonetheless, Sunoo keeps his calm composure, "Have you ever thought about, um.... not keeping it?"

Chaewon freezes then, realizing that she'd never quite thought about that.

"I don't know." Chaewon sucks a breath, "I don't know what to do."

"And that's okay." Sunoo insists, "I'll support you with whatever decision you make... but for now, I think telling Wonbin would be the best thing." He says.

Chaewon doesn't respond to that, just takes her lip between her teeth, breath soft as she thinks... thinks about everything— every wrong turn and right, every chilling decision and multiple deaths they've endured.

"If you end up keeping it, you know what could happen if you joined us, you know that don't you?" Of course Chaewon does. Being at least a month pregnant and going on a dangerous mission such as this, losing the baby would be the biggest risk.

But is that a risk Chaewon was willing to take? She didn't know, didn't want to know and sure as hell didn't want anyone else to.

"Every time I see Wonbin, I feel this immense guilt, Chaewon-ah.... I don't know how much longer I can hold your secret inside." Sunoo's words make Chaewon gulp, as well as the additional, "Eunchae-yah seems to be struggling as well. At least tell Yuqi. She's a doctor and could help you with whatever you chose. I'm just a friend with opinions."

"I'm sorry," Chaewon sighs, "I'm sorry I made you feel this way."

"Hey," Sunoo shakes his head, squeezing her hand when he takes ahold of it, "Don't apologize. I know how overwhelmed you are with all of this, okay?"

Chaewon smiles, "You're the sweetest person ever."

"I like to think so, too." Sunoo laughs, face softening after a moment or 2, "Just tell someone else if you can, it's only a matter of time before you start... showing."

Chaewon's eyes fly wide, and she looks down at her stomach, completely forgetting that that's the main thing that happens when a woman gets pregnant.

A big belly— Is she an idiot?

"You're already—" Sunoo can't even finish the sentence that comes out sounding like a whispered shout. He gasps quietly, placing a hand on her stomach and shaking his head in disbelief, "It's very noticeable now that I see it." Sunoo drops her shirt back down, gulping when the tiniest bump makes its appearance behind the fabric.

"Fuckkkkkk," Chaewon drags out, "You're right. I gotta tell someone."

"Yuqi. Go to Yuqi first." Sunoo intently tells her to make sure everything's okay, indirectly urges her to at least check the baby's health one time and decide everything after, "She's still got that ultrasound thing."

"Yeah, one that's on it's last life. The thing barely turns on."

"How do you know?"

"You don't think the first thing I tried to do when I found out was pregnant was pour that weird liquid on my stomach and look for the kid?" Chaewon snorts.

"Did you just snort?"

"Everything is funny nowadays to me, lay off." Chaewon pouts, biting into another string cheese and forcing cringed chills to run down Sunoo's back.

"If you don't eat that thing right, I might just go insane."

"Yah, don't tell a pregnant person what to do." Chaewon bites it aggressively in front of him, walking away soon after.

"Where are you going?"

Chaewon smiles, "To tell more people who need to know about this."