Ye Jun

The second the words left Si Woo’s mouth I felt my blood turn hot.

"You ever think about just... getting rid of it?"

I stared at him from my bed, shirt half pulled up over the small round bump that kept getting harder to hide. For a moment my brain went completely blank, then everything inside me snapped.

"What the actual fuck did you just say?" I asked, voice starting low but rising fast.

Si Woo rubbed the back of his neck and would not look me in the eyes. "I’m just saying, Ye Jun. Your stomach is already showing. Parents leave tomorrow. If we handle it quickly , maybe it does not have to ruin both our lives. We could fix this before it gets too big."

Fix this. Like it was a broken phone or a bad test score.

I jumped off the bed so fast my head spun. My hand flew out before I could think and I slapped him hard across the face. The loud smack echoed in the room. Si Woo’s head jerked to the side and he touched his cheek, eyes wide with shock.

"You selfish piece of shit," I hissed. "You absolute coward."

"Ye Jun, wait..."

"No, you shut up." I hit his chest with my fist, hard. "You did this to me. You said we would figure it out together. And now you want me to kill it? Like it’s nothing? Like we can just throw it away and go back to normal?" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He tried to grab my arms but I yanked away and slapped him again on the same cheek. My palm stung like hell but I did not care one bit. "I’m a lot of things, Si Woo. I’m dumb for trusting you. I’m scared every single day. I’m the idiot who let his brother get him pregnant. But I am not a child murderer. You hear me? I’m not killing my baby just because you’re too scared to deal with what you did."

His face went white. "That is not what I meant..."

"It is exactly what you meant!" I was yelling now, words spilling out faster than I could control. "You think I have not thought about it? Every time I am puking my guts out I wonder how easy it would be to make it all stop. But then I feel it growing and I get so terrified but I also do not want it gone. And you just stand there suggesting abortion like you are ordering takeout we do not like anymore. Fuck you. Fuck you so much right now."

I shoved him again, both hands on his chest. He stumbled back but did not push me away, just stood there taking it with that guilty stupid look that made me even angrier.

"You are disgusting," I said, breathing hard. "I really hate you right now."

"Ye Jun..."

"Stay away from me." I grabbed my hoodie and stormed out, locking myself in for the rest of the night. He knocked a couple times but I turned the shower on full blast so I would not have to hear his voice. My hands kept shaking while I sat on the toilet lid. Part of me wanted to cry until I could not breathe. The other part wanted to go back out and slap him until both his cheeks matched.

The next morning felt fake and awkward. Mom made breakfast like usual, talking nonstop about Jeju and telling us to behave. Dad kept cracking his same old jokes about not burning the house down. Si Woo and I sat across the table without saying one word to each other. Every time our eyes met I looked away fast. The red mark on his cheek was still there and I hoped it hurt.

"Ye Jun, you are not eating much," Mom said, pushing more rice toward me. "You look tired. Everything okay?"

"I am fine," I mumbled, poking at the food. My stomach felt tight but it was not morning sickness. It was pure anger and hurt sitting heavy inside me.

Si Woo cleared his throat. "We will manage, Mom. Do not worry."

Dad laughed and patted Si Woo on the back. "That is my good son. Take care of your little brother while we are gone. He can be a real pain sometimes."

If only they knew how much pain I was already causing.

After breakfast they finally left, hugging us both and giving a million last instructions before the car drove off. The second the front door closed the house went way too quiet. I dumped my leftover food in the bin and headed straight to my room without even glancing at Si Woo.

The whole day I avoided him like he had some disease. When he walked into the living room I got up and went to the kitchen. When he tried to say something in the hallway I put my headphones on and turned the volume up so loud I could not hear him. Once he left a glass of water outside my door like some lame sorry gift and I kicked it over on purpose, watching the water spill all over the floor.

"Really mature, Ye Jun," he called from the other side of the door later that afternoon.

I yanked the door open just enough to glare at him. "Oh sorry, I did not know the guy who suggested killing my baby was suddenly the king of maturity. Go away."

He sighed and leaned against the wall. "Can we talk for five minutes? You cannot avoid me forever. We are stuck here together for two whole weeks."

"Watch me," I shot back. "I will stay in my room and order food. You can play delivery boy again since you love running away from your problems so much."

"That is not fair."

"Not fair?" I stepped out into the hallway, arms crossed tight. "You know what is not fair? Me puking every morning while you sit there suggesting we just abort it like it is no big deal. That is not fair."

Si Woo ran a hand through his hair, messing it up. "I said I was sorry. I was scared and it came out wrong. I should not have said it."

"Scared?" I laughed, short and mean. "You think you are the only one scared? I am the one whose body is changing every single day. I am the one who has to hide this bump with baggy shirts and lie to everyone. And you want an easy way out. Typical big brother, always trying to fix things by making them disappear."

He opened his mouth but I kept going, talking over him. "Do not even start with your excuses. You told me we would figure it out together and the first time it gets hard you suggest murder. Really nice, hyung. Super supportive."

"I was not thinking straight," he said, voice getting louder. "Every time I see you looking tired and sick I feel like shit because I did this to you. I thought maybe there was a way to make it easier for both of us."

"Easier for you, you mean." I poked him hard in the chest with my finger. "Just admit it. You want to go on your abroad program and forget all about this. Leave me here to deal with everything alone."

"I never said that!" He raised his voice too, stepping closer. "Stop putting words in my mouth. I told Dad I was not sure about going. I am trying to be here for you but you keep pushing me away and acting like I am the enemy."

"Because right now you feel like the enemy!" My eyes started stinging but I blinked it away fast. "I spent all day avoiding you because every time I look at you I remember what you said. And it hurts, okay? It really hurts that you would even think that."

Si Woo’s shoulders dropped a little. "I know. I messed up bad. But avoiding me all day is not going to make anything better. We need to actually talk about what we are going to do."

I turned away and headed back toward my room. "Maybe tomorrow. Right now I still want to slap you again."

"Ye Jun, come on."

"Leave me alone."

The rest of the evening I stayed in my room. I ate some snacks I had hidden and watched random videos on my phone just to keep my mind busy. My hand kept drifting to my stomach under the shirt, pressing lightly. Every time I felt that small roundness it made my throat tight. I whispered stupid stuff to it when no one could hear, telling it I was not going anywhere and neither was it.

Around ten o’clock I finally came out to get a drink from the kitchen. The house was dark except for one lamp in the living room. I thought I could sneak through without him noticing but the second I stepped into the hallway Si Woo appeared and blocked my path, arms crossed, looking tired and determined.

"Move," I said, trying to step around him.

He did not budge. "No. We are talking now. You avoided me the whole day. I am not letting you go to bed like this."

My heart started beating faster but I kept my voice sharp. "I do not want to talk to you. You said enough yesterday."

"And I apologized. Multiple times." He stepped closer, voice low but firm. "You cannot keep running away every time something gets hard. We are in this together whether you like it or not."

I laughed bitterly. "Together? Funny way of showing it. Suggesting abortion and then acting surprised when I get mad."

"I was wrong," he said, talking faster now. "I get that. But you slapping me and then ignoring me all day is not exactly helping either. We need a plan. Doctors, how to hide it, what we tell Mom and Dad eventually. We cannot just keep fighting like this."

"Stop acting like you are the responsible one," I snapped, voice rising. "You are the one who caused this mess in the first place. Every time I feel sick or my clothes do not fit I remember it is because of you. And then you want me to just forgive you because you said sorry?"

He sighed loudly and rubbed his face. "I am not asking you to forgive me right away. I am asking you to stop avoiding me so we can figure this out before it gets worse. Your bump is getting bigger. We do not have forever."

I felt my eyes sting again and this time it was harder to push the tears back. "You think I do not know that? I am terrified every single second. And you made it worse yesterday. So excuse me if I do not feel like sitting down for a nice chat with the guy who wanted to get rid of my baby."

Si Woo looked at me for a long moment, his face serious. "I do not want to get rid of it. Not anymore. If you want to keep it then we keep it. But you have to let me help. You cannot do this alone and I am not going anywhere."

His words sounded real but I was still hurting too much to fully believe them. I opened my mouth to say something sharp back when he suddenly stepped even closer, voice dropping.

"Ye Jun, listen to me for once. I.."

Before he could finish, I felt it.

A tiny, soft flutter low in my belly. Not like gas or anything normal. Something small and different. Something that felt alive.

My eyes went wide and I froze, one hand flying to my stomach without thinking.

Si Woo noticed right away. "What? What is it?"

I did not answer him. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. The flutter happened again, faint but real.

"Ye Jun, talk to me," he said, sounding worried now. "What is going on?"

I looked up at him, voice coming out small and shaky.

"Hyung... I think the baby just moved."