Bye-Bye

Side Story 3-1

Translated by Springlila

Edited by Springlila

Even before I opened the window, the sound of cool waves lingered in my ears. I came to play in the sea as soon as I opened my eyes, where I could see the white waves crashing and the beautiful white sandy beach.

I begged Choi Sung-hoon because I wanted Jae-hoon to experience the sea as soon as possible. It was our first trip after our honeymoon. Sung-hyun, who was on vacation from university, also joined us.

I couldn’t refuse when he opened his teary eyes wide wanting to go with us and said that he was our younger brother. Even if Sung-hyun wasn’t, it was a trip with three babysitters.

We were supposed to go to an island owned by Choi Sung-hoon, but I ended up at a domestic beach thinking of Jae-hoon. It was scheduled for 10 nights and 11 days, and instead of using a hotel, I booked a villa near the beach, which was a beautiful and peaceful place.

When we first arrived and I praised it, Choi Sung-hoon said he would buy it if I wanted to because it was a villa owned by an acquaintance. He appeared to own only a few villas in Korea. Most of his villas were abroad… One day, I would check on all his villas abroad.

I ate at the villa in the morning and went down to the beach. Jae-hoon trembled in Sung-hyun’s arms, perhaps because he was scared of the scenery he saw for the first time.

“Are you scared? Hey, you’re an Alpha, you shouldn’t be scared of things like this.”

“Hyung-ah, dad.”

“Why are you acting cute? Just who do you look like for having so much cuteness.”

That’s right. I wonder who he looks like.

Sung-hyun took Jae-hoon to the beach to play, and Choi Sung-hoon laid down under a parasol. Both of us were dressed in black T-shirts and shorts. Choi Sung-hoon, of course, gave me a T-shirt in the morning when I was about to take off my top.

Choi Sung-hoon has a big tattoo on his back, so it was understandable that he wears a black cotton shirt that wasn’t transparent, but when I asked him why he gave me a black shirt as well, he naturally said.

“It’s a couple t-shirt. We have to brag about being a couple in front of so many people.”

I was convinced by the answer.

I was having a good time with Choi Sung-hoon and Jae-hoon under the parasol, playing with the sand, dipping our feet in the sea, and picking up shells. Until it started to make me hungry.

Jae-hoon was sent back to the villa to sleep early, and Sung-hyun was arguing with a friend he was dating today, so I ended up having dinner alone with Choi Sung-hoon.

“Let’s go to that hotel. The view of the restaurant was nice.”

Choi Sung-hoon recommended a white hotel on the cliff, so we went there, and when I entered the restaurant, I was discouraged.

The interior was clean and the scenery was as good as a movie, but… The waiter was a middle-aged Westerner with platinum blonde hair, and the menu was in a foreign language as well. The menu was even written in an unusual cursive style.

I looked down at the menu and said with as normal an expression as possible.

“Choi Sung-hoon ssi, I’ll act like I’m choosing a menu, so Choi Sung-hoon ssi, please take care of the order. If you order steak then that’s it.”

“… “

Choi Sung-hoon smiled lowly while covering his mouth for a moment before speaking to the waiter who was standing right next to him.

“Vincent, did you hear that? Please take care of it.”

“How well do you want to grill it?”

“Medium rare.”

“Yes, director. Please wait a moment.”

He seemed to be more fluent in his Korean pronunciation than I was.

What… What?

When I asked with my eyes, Choi Sung-hoon explained.

“He was my father’s secretary. Vincent is the restaurant manager as well as the owner of the villa where we stay.”

“Ah… You should have told me in advance…”

“It’s okay. He is used to it.”

Yeah… I was used to it by this point. I was always doing something embarrassing in front of Choi Sung-hoon.

The serving was also done by the manager named Vincent himself. He seemed to want to talk to me, so I bowed my head or pretended to be on my phone whenever he approached. But by the time we finished our dessert, he had come and we had a conversation.

“I didn’t know you were such a lovely person because I couldn’t attend the wedding. Please accept my apologies for the late greeting.”

“Oh… well, I’m sorry for being rude earlier.”

“What rude thing did you do to me? Oh, was it that you’re so beautiful that made me blind for a while?

Wow, that was cheesy, but it felt great.

I felt shy and happy when a middle-aged man with gray hair naturally gave praise with warm eyes.

I smiled as I folded my eyes.

“Thank you very much, Vincent… May I address you as such?”

“If you refer to me as that…”

Clang!

Oh, my goodness, that surprised me.

I was surprised and looked at Choi Sung-hoon. The force with which he lowered his knife was such that even far away table guests were surprised and looked this way.

“What are you trying to do in front of me?”

Choi Sung-hoon grumbled angrily, while Vincent took three steps back.

“I don’t know what do you mean. I can’t speak Korean. Enjoy your meal.”

Vincent suddenly uttered an extremely poor Korean language and disappeared into the distance.

Choi Sung-hoon’s eyes were burning, and I had to deal with them on my own.

“That jerk divorced three times and is currently living with the friend of his second wife.”

“Really? He’s a bad person. I’m not even going to be able to get along with him.”

Choi Sung-hoon, who suddenly reveals Vincent’s marriage history without even me asking him, was so cute, and the back of his hand with the veins in his tightly clenched fist was too sexy.

“Let’s eat quickly and leave. I miss Jae-hoon.”

“If you don’t mind, let’s go now.”

As a result, we stood up without having eaten dessert. Vincent didn’t even show up to see us off.

When I returned to the villa, the babysitters were also eating, so the air was filled with delicious smells. I gave them money so they could buy food here, but it would be more delicious if they cooked it themselves.

Jae-hoon was playing with a dog toy that made a barking sound. When he saw us, he threw away the toy and ran over. It was so cute to see a child wearing a bib with a teddy bear picture on it and posing to hug me across the chest with his arms open. However, Choi Sung-hoon stopped me from trying to hug him right away.

“You can’t carry him around for a long time. He is all grown up now.”

“He is only two years old now.”

“He is big and heavy.”

“Jae-hoon-i is still young. Still a baby.” (This is Jae-hoon speaking)

Jae-hoon looked at the atmosphere and immediately opened his eyes and spoke. I covered my mouth and quickly grabbed Choi Sung-hoon’s forearms.

“If he is not a genius, then what is it?”

“… ”

“Jae-hoon, go and organize your toys. Your dad said he’ll hug you.”

“Yes!”

Jae-hoon returned quickly after tossing his toy into the box. Then he spread his arms and grabbed Choi Sung-hoon’s calves, rubbing his cheeks.

“Hug me, hug me.”

“…Someday I will stop you from acting spoiled…” 

“He is a baby. Hug him quickly.”

At my urging, Choi Sung-hoon hugged Jae-hoon. Because of Choi Sung-hoon’s awkward posture, Jae-hoon took a comfortable posture. I thought the baby rubbing his round cheeks on Choi Sung-hoon’s wide chest was so adorable that I told him to stand still and took a photo of them. Choi Sung-hoon was so big, but Jae-hoon was so small that he seemed to be holding a doll tightly. I gently pressed Jae-hoon’s soft cheeks.

“Jae-hoon-i, did you eat?”

“I did, mamma!”

“Choi Jae-hoon, say it again properly. You can’t speak informally.”

“…Mamma, Jae-hoon-i has eaten.”

Jae-hoon fixed his words while holding Choi Sung-hoon’s shirt with his cute hands tightly.

Choi Sung-hoon was not such a kind father to his son. I have no intention of attempting to change his natural personality. Because Jae-hoon was good at expressing himself and was growing up quickly.

We went to our rooms, turned on the TV, and sat in bed together to play. Jae-hoon brought a children’s book for Choi Sung-hoon to read to him. It was a story about a fox who couldn’t eat grapes, but Jae-hoon, who was reading a book in Choi Sung-hoon’s arms, said this out of nowhere.

“That’s sour grapes. Let’s stop now and play.”

OMG!

I got up hastily.

He just read the text! I never taught him! He was only two years old!

“Seo-yu ssi, calm down. Look at me.”

Choi Sung-hoon took my excited hand and gently comforted me.

“He didn’t read the writing, but he remembered and followed what I had read before. I’ve read it to him a few times.”

“Ah… Still. Isn’t he a real genius? How does he remember all this? He is only two years old!”

“…”

Choi Sung-hoon looked at me. It was a deep gaze as if contemplating something.

He sighed lightly when Jae-hoon tilted his head and said, “Is Jae-hoon-i a genius?”

“Go and play for a while.”

Choi Sung-hoon stood up with Jae-hoon in his arms. Choi Sung-hoon patted Jae-hoon on the back, who was whining. When he looked at him like that, he looks like a real dad. He was a real dad, but…

Choi Sung-hoon, who had returned from leaving Jae-hoon with the babysitter, drew down the blanket and made eye contact with me, who was hiding. He had a soft and gentle expression on his face.

“Seo-yu ssi, do you want Jae-hoon to be a genius?”

“I don’t want him to be a genius… It’s because he really seems like a genius.”

“Even if he is not a genius, Jae-hoon is our lovely and precious child.”

“I know…”

I pulled up the blanket again and covered my nose. With a thin summer blanket in between, Choi Sung-hoon put his lips to the bridge of my nose.

I was scolded because of this issue a while ago. He says he never scolded me, but he did.

I was afraid of Choi Sung-hoon would be disappointed if Jae-hoon was not a genius. Or would he be disappointed if Jae-hoon grew up to be normal, even if he was a genius now? He was our only child in the world, even if he wasn’t a genius.

I had been persuaded to speak quietly, so I refrained from becoming overly excited after that. But what can I do when he appears to be a genius at times?

“Seo-yu ssi.”

Choi Sung-hoon pulled down the blanket and smiled at me.

“Your mouth is sticking out again.”

“I think Choi Sung-hoon lost his objectivity by trying to be too objective. I couldn’t find any two-year-old babies like this anywhere in the world, no matter how hard I looked. He speaks very well, his pronunciation is accurate, his comprehension is quick, and his memory is great…”

Choi Sung-hoon kept making eye contact and softening his eyes while I was speaking. I had no choice but to mumble and carry it in when I saw that lovely smile.

“All right. I will be more careful in the future.”

“Yes, thank you for your understanding.”

He stroked my lips with his hard finger.

“Shall we go wash up?”

He asked, kissing my cheek and the corner of my mouth. I nodded my head while still sticking my mouth out. Choi Sung-hoon grabbed me and gently patted my back, as he had done before with Jae-hoon, before moving on. To the comfortable bedroom where we will spend the entire vacation.