The Baby Isn’t Yours

“The most important thing during pregnancy is prenatal care. Kalia, you should see beautiful things, hear good words, and eat healthy things as much as possible, you know? What you see, feel, and eat all affect Sasha inside your belly.”

It was a late night. Allen was sitting Kalia on a comfortable cushion, wearing a stern expression, and reemphasized the importance of prenatal care.

They had spent several months living together in one house, from morning to night.

Kalia, who had become accustomed to being in the position of ‘being taken care of’ like no other, nodded with a smile, as if understanding what Allen meant.

Allen, as if praising Kalia for being so impressive and proud of her, smiled at her and took out today’s storybook.

As Allen was about to sit down to read the storybook, Kalia’s hand reached out toward him.

“I’ll read it.”

She extended her hand as if to say ‘Give it here’ while looking at him intently.

Allen, who intended to read the storybook to her, seemed slightly taken aback.

“I’ll read it for you. Just lie down and relax.”

“No, I’ll read it.”

“In research, it has been found that a man’s voice is better conveyed to the baby in the womb. It’s said that the low resonance of men provides comfort to the baby.”

“I know, Allen. That’s why they say to let the baby hear Dad’s voice a lot, right?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

To this, Kalia nodded her head and said calmly,

“But Allen, you’re not a father.”

“…”

With a nod that seemed to acknowledge it, Allen looked at Kalia, who was smiling, and hesitated for a moment, then handed her the book.

“Alright. Then I’ll leave now. Please read the story to Sasha with a cheerful and gentle voice, Kalia.”

He readily got up from his seat, lit a lamp by the bedside, and turned off the lights in the room.

As he stood in front of the closed door, Allen bid Kalia goodnight and slowly closed the door behind him.

Click.

The door closed quietly, and Allen stopped for a moment behind the door.

The story of a young bear going on a great adventure reverberated beyond the door. The voice was bright, gentle, and full of strength, just as Allen had requested.

Kalia was reading the storybook with a melodious voice.

“…How strange.”

Allen tapped his chest, listening to Kalia’s voice coming from behind the closed door.

‘Why am I feeling guilty for no reason?’

– But Allen, you’re not a father.

With a bitter smile, Allen tapped his chest as if telling himself to get a hold of himself, and then he turned around and went back into his room.

* * *

[The young bear didn’t have any fancy weapons, sturdy shoes, or a pretty hat that his friends had.

“Oh dear, the young bear doesn’t have anything at all!”

“Hahahaha! What a beggar! He has nothing!”

“Poor young bear!”

The surrounding animals teased the young bear, and the young bear was deeply hurt.

His skin was always brown from being exposed to the sun, and his hands and feet were rough due to calluses.

The young bear, who had no weapons, always had to hunt with his bare hands, so it took much more effort.

The young bear’s calloused hands, sun-tanned skin, and bare feet covered in scars were all just a source of ridicule.

One day, a giant storm swept over the village.

It rained heavily, and the ground became muddy, turning the young bear’s village into a mess.

The storm passed, and the sun shone brightly, but the fox’s fancy hat had flown away in the storm, and the fox was in agony, sweating.

The lion’s magnificent sword had melted in the rain and couldn’t cut anything, and the cat’s shoes were buried in the mud and ruined.

“How can I live like this!”

“God, why are you taking everything away from us? This is too cruel!”

The animals who had lost their weapons, hats, and shoes couldn’t hunt anything.

The animals resented and complained to God.

“This must be God’s way of punishing us. Or else, how could everything be taken away from us like this?”

The sun was scorching, and the soft hands and feet hurt every time they touched the ground.

The animals sat down in their places and complained to the sky.

Then, a ray of sunlight came down from afar and spoke to the animals.

“I have given you everything, and I haven’t taken anything away. You just didn’t look for it. What you truly possess, no one can take away.”

With these words, God left, leaving only a single statement behind.

The animals tried to understand God’s words.

At that moment, from a distance, a young bear appeared with food.

The young bear’s strong hands became his weapons, and his sun-tanned skin looked tough, as if it didn’t fear the sun.

With only his two hands and feet, the young bear had learned how to survive on his own.

The animals approached the bear and asked for his help.

“Can you teach us how to hunt?”

“Your hands seem stronger than anything else. Please show us how to become strong!”

“How come the sunlight doesn’t hurt you?”

The young bear was perplexed but kindly taught them.

“You need to develop calluses to toughen your hands and feet. Sun-tanned skin is more resilient to sunlight. These are all results that require time and patience, but anyone can have them.”

The animals finally realized they had sharper claws than any weapon, faster legs, and sharper vision.

What they had was truly their own.

The young bear also realized that what he possessed was more than he thought. He had the power to become anything and everything.

And that he could become anything…

With strong arms and legs, keen eyes, and accumulating wisdom, the young bear set out on an adventure.

He believed that all the time and experiences he would go through would make him a better person.]

“…The young bear who embarked on his journey grew magnificently and became the strongest bear in the world.”

Kalia closed the book and whispered as she gently stroked her big belly.

“My baby, did you hear Mommy’s voice well?”

In response to that tender voice, the belly bulged and seemed to respond.

It was a miraculous movement that she had felt many times before.

As if the baby was trying to convey his existence, she was overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude, unlike anything she had ever felt.

The movement of life squirming in her belly was a feeling of pure gratitude.

“…My baby, you can be anything, and you can do anything. I will give you all the happiness I can. No one will harm you.”

She placed the book at the head of the bedside table and reached under the drawer with the habit of turning off the indirect light and paused.

Already, it had been five months since she had taken out the picture of Simon before going to sleep, but today, she felt strangely embarrassed.

A man who is a father but isn’t a father.

A man with whom she had a child, but who wasn’t her lover.

“It’s for prenatal education.”

She muttered firmly and pulled out Simmon’s photo from under the drawer.

Her emerald eyes intentionally swept slowly over his face.

From his divine silvery hair to his enigmatic golden eyes, delicate nose, and plump, colorful lips.

The Simon in the photo had a characteristic self-assured and languid smile.

It was the most beautiful face she knew among those she was acquainted with, and it was the face of her baby’s father.

“Come to think of it…. It’ll be a problem if the baby resembles his face a lot but it’s also a shame to not bear resemblance to him with genes like this.”

Kalia mumbled in embarrassment.

‘I wish our baby would resemble Simon’s face… But…’

Nevertheless, for the past five months before going to bed for the sake of prenatal education, she had been passionately gazing at the face of the most beautiful person.

She fell asleep after gazing at him longer than usual. 

* * *

“Kalia.”

Kalia’s consciousness was slowly brought to the surface by the familiar voice that called her.

A gentle hand, like one that would cradle a baby, held her thin waist and lifted her up.

Wet breath gently brushed against her bulging belly, touching her ribs lightly and then leaving.

The warmth of his lips, which moved downward, gently touched her navel.

Electricity coursed through her entire body.

Just then, Kalia found something strange.

‘Why isn’t my belly round?’

The belly was supposed to be round, and it should be full to bursting, but her belly, which she could see with blurry eyes, was unexpectedly slender.

As if she was back to how she looked before pregnancy.

“…My baby.”

Mumbling with a voice that sounded like she was dreaming, Kalia’s eyes opened, and her belly, which was caressed by the breath, was seen to bulge up and down.

It was a movement she had never felt before.

Like a baby announcing its presence, every time it pushed Kalia’s belly vigorously, she was overwhelmed by an unprecedented sense of excitement.

A sense of gratitude, of thanks, flowed through her as she felt the movements of life squirming inside her.

“…Baby, do you want to make one?”

…What’s going on? This is Simon’s voice…

“…Let’s try making one.”

Certainly, this was Simon’s voice. Although she hadn’t heard it in a very long time, she couldn’t forget Simon’s voice.

The voice, which was more melodic than usual, invaded her chest as it came up from her belly.

Her breathing became rapid.

Kalia felt the firm but gentle touch of the hand that was caressing her body.

Kalia reached out her hands, stretched her body, and hugged the wide and strong shoulders.

Fragrant silver hair spilled softly across her chest.

Kalia bit her lips as she listened to the sound of his breathing.

His warm, moist breath tickled her skin, making her lose her own breath.

“Haa…”

Kalia let out a shaky breath as she looked down and hugged Simon’s head.

He shifted in her embrace, lifting his head so his softly shining golden eyes met her gaze.

In that moment, he seemed to glow with affection and warmth as he loved her.