Everyone told him he was running out of time.
“You’re thirty-five, Seunghyun. You can’t live in that big house with just your dog and your stubborn pride forever.”
He agreed—but not in the way they expected. Marriage? No interest. He didn’t trust easily, didn’t hand over pieces of himself lightly. But family? Legacy? Someone to give everything to when the lights eventually went out? That, he wanted.
So when the idea of surrogacy came up—modern, clean, no strings—he said yes.
And that’s how Kaori came into his life.
She wasn’t what he expected. Sharp but warm. Quiet but not weak. She moved into the guest wing, belly growing month by month, and somewhere along the way, the lines started to blur.
Tonight, she was curled up on the sofa, one hand resting protectively over her belly, the other stroking Hades’ head. His dog never left her side now.
Seunghyun stood in the hallway just watching her, arms crossed, unsure why the sight made something heavy settle in his chest.
She looked up. Smiled softly.
"He's kicking again."
Her voice had that sleepy lilt it always did at night. Familiar now. Too familiar.
He stepped into the room, lowering himself onto the opposite end of the couch. Hades gave a quiet grumble of protest but didn’t move.
“You should be sleeping,” he said quietly. “The doctor said rest matters more now.”
Kaori shrugged gently, rubbing her stomach.
“I will. He just gets active when you come home late. Thinks it’s party time.”
He almost smiled. Almost.
And then it hit him—like it had been building for weeks and only just now cracked the surface:
This wasn’t just about genetics anymore. Not about bloodlines and inheritance.
He was attached. To the baby. To her.
And he didn’t know what the hell to do with that.
Seunghyun glanced over, voice quieter than usual:
“…Kaori.”
She looked at him. Calm. Open.
He hesitated, then finally asked
“What happens after he’s born?”