Chapter 6

She stared at the shopkeeper in shock, her expression dazed by the unexpected comment.

‘What did she just say? Mom and Dad? Only inherited the best features?’

Sure, she had been mistaken as the baby’s mother by the knight earlier, but this was on a whole other level.

She wasn’t thrilled about being treated as Felix’s wife, and there was absolutely no reason for Little One, who wasn’t related to them at all, to resemble them.

“Abuu-ah!”

“Oh, you’re so happy because I said you look like your mom and dad? Since your mom is so pretty, you’ll grow up to be just as cute and bright.”

The shopkeeper was clearly trying to flatter them with compliments.

‘What parent wouldn’t be happy to hear that their baby looks like them?’

If Little One’s real parents had heard those words, they probably wouldn’t have been able to stop themselves from grinning ear to ear.

But the problem was that neither she nor Felix was Little One’s parent.

Instead of smiling, they both instinctively began rubbing their arms, as if they had agreed to do so beforehand.

She made sure Felix could see her rubbing her arm, and he did the same.

It was as if they were competing in a silent contest.

‘I’m more uncomfortable than you!’

Maybe it was because they had known each other since childhood, but the adults around them, including their parents, often made teasing comments.

– Elena, who are you giving that flower ring to? Is it for Felix?

– Elena, who are you going to marry when you grow up? Is it Felix?

– Elena, it’s been a while since you’ve seen Felix. Doesn’t he look more handsome now?

… And so on.

Felix must have heard similar remarks as well.

The adults probably thought it was cute to see two kids of the opposite gender playing together, but neither of them had ever entertained such thoughts.

As a result, every time they heard such comments, they would rub their arms as a way of expressing their mutual discomfort.

“Since dad is tall, baby, you will grow up to be tall too.”

The shopkeeper, oblivious to their discomfort, continued her stream of compliments.

‘He’s not the dad! I mean, I can see why you’d think that, but he’s not!’

It was understandable that she’d make such an assumption—after all, who else but parents would come shopping for baby clothes early in the morning? But this kind of misunderstanding was troublesome!

Before they had a chance to clear things up, the shopkeeper began chatting skillfully with Little One, who was babbling in the crib.

Even though there was no way they could understand each other.

“Sweetie, isn’t it nice that Mom and Dad are buying you clothes? These will fit you perfectly, unlike the ones you’re wearing now.”

“Amoo!”

Little One waved his hands enthusiastically in response.

When they first entered the shop, Little One had clung to her as if shy around strangers. But thanks to the shopkeeper’s tailored way of speaking, it seemed to have warmed up quickly.

“Yes, that’s right. This must be your first festival since being born. Isn’t it exciting?”

“Ah-woong. Bwaa.”

“Oh, really? The more I look at you, the more your eyes resemble your dad’s.”

The shopkeeper glanced back and forth between Felix and Little One.

Felix, his face scrunched in frustration, rubbed his arm again and gestured toward the shopkeeper with his eyes.

‘What?’

She mouthed the word, unable to understand his signal.

Felix sighed, then pointed to his chest, then to her, then to Little One in sequence.

Finally, he crossed his index fingers into an X shape.

‘Ah, I get it.’

This time, she understood what he was trying to say.

When she nodded, Felix gave a slight nod in return, as if signaling her to proceed.

Almost simultaneously, they both spoke.

“He’s my younger brother.”

“He’s not my son; he’s my nephew.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief at Felix’s response.

Did he just say Little One was his younger brother? A child who was clearly young enough to be his son?

‘No, why is he even talking about a younger brother here?’

She bit back the urge to blurt out her frustration.

But Felix frowned at her, as if scolding her for her reaction.

‘Why are you looking at me like that? Saying he’s a nephew makes way more sense than calling him a brother!’

While they were silently glaring at each other, the shopkeeper looked back and forth between them with a surprised expression.

“He’s not your son?”

“No, of course not. How could I have a child this age at my age?”

“I see. I just assumed he was your son because you look so much alike.”

The shopkeeper laughed lightly, as if amused by her own misunderstanding.

She couldn’t tell what part of them supposedly looked alike, but she didn’t want to argue, so she forced an awkward smile.

Just when she thought the misunderstanding had been cleared up, the shopkeeper pressed further.

“But what do you mean by brother and nephew? What’s your relationship exactly…?”

“Nephew? Did I say nephew?”

“Yes, you definitely said nephew just a moment ago…”

“I misspoke. He’s not my nephew; he’s my brother.”

She was afraid that she would have another disagreement with Felix, so she quickly took care of the situation before he opened his mouth.

However, the shopkeeper didn’t look entirely convinced.

That expression—she had seen it before. At the security office.

The shopkeeper slowly glanced back and forth between Elena, Felix, and Little One.

She especially scrutinized the two men, as if she were trying to analyze them piece by piece.

Then, as if she had reached a conclusion, her face lit up with understanding, and she nodded with satisfaction.

“Of course. Brothers always look alike.”

Her tone sounded less like she had been convinced and more like she was trying to convince herself. The shopkeeper wiped Little One’s saliva-covered lips with a handkerchief and winked at Elena.

“Taking care of your younger sibling must be tough. It must be exhausting.”

Ah, a foreboding feeling swept over her.

Elena guessed that the shopkeeper’s mind was filled with plotlines from the latest romance novels.

Stories about young couples who, without their parents’ approval, made a mistake at a young age and returned to their hometown with a child in tow.

The kind of story where they struggled to raise the baby with the help of those around them, dressing the child up nicely before visiting their parents.

And, to avoid bad rumors, they lied and said their child was actually their younger sibling.

‘No way!’

She wanted to correct the shopkeeper’s misunderstanding, but it was clear that doing so would only make them look more ridiculous.

Instead, she hastily picked out two outfits that suited Little One, handed them to Felix, and fled the shop as if escaping.

A moment later, Felix emerged with a paper bag in hand, his expression surprisingly calm. She had expected him to come out grumbling with a scowl, but he looked indifferent.

Still, she couldn’t let it slide.

“Why did you call him your younger brother? Do you realize how big the age gap is between us and Little One?”

She asked accusingly, watching as Felix handed Little One a rabbit doll small enough to fit in his palm.

The rabbit doll, apparently a festival gift from the shopkeeper, was immediately brought to Little One’s mouth.

“Well, my siblings and I have a pretty big age gap too. Besides, what about you? Why did you call him your nephew? What kind of aunt or uncle takes their nephew shopping for clothes early in the morning?”

“And what kind of older sibling takes their younger sibling shopping for clothes early in the morning?”

Felix sighed and shook his head, as if giving up on the argument.

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll probably never see her again. Let’s just go. We’ve bought the clothes, and we should leave before the crowd gets bigger.”

“What if we do end up going back? I was planning to buy a baby carrier from that shop earlier. I was hoping it might make my arms hurt less.”

Thinking about a baby carrier, something she never imagined needing, made her feel like she had truly become Little One’s mother, and it left her feeling despondent.

As Felix walked ahead, he turned back and extended his arms toward Little One, but the child immediately rejected him.

Instead, Little One burrowed deeper into Elena’s embrace, sucking on the rabbit doll’s ears.

* * *

They had planned to head straight to the lodging, but Little One seemed to have other ideas.

Even while playing with the doll, the child would get distracted by something interesting nearby, staring in fascination before reaching out and shouting excitedly.

Whenever they tried to ignore it and move on, Little One’s cheeks would quiver as if about to cry, leaving them no choice but to comply with the child’s wishes.

Little One wasn’t just a baby; he was a little king.

Her arms became the kingdom over which Little One ruled. He clung to her so tightly that it seemed as though he had no intention of letting go.

They spent about an hour exploring the festival.

At one point, Little One cried and begged Felix for a set of wooden blocks at a shop. The child’s face lit up with a smile so pure that it looked as though he had just received the entire world.

After that, Little One practically threw the rabbit doll to Felix and began sucking on the wooden blocks instead.

Even while playing with the blocks, the child would whip his head around to look at anything that caught his interest.

But after a while, Little One started to whimper.

“Awoo.”

The child looked up at Elena with an expression that seemed almost desperate.

But she couldn’t understand Little One’s babbling as he rubbed his cheek against her chest.

“Woo-woo!”

The cold air had turned Little One’s cheeks red, and he quivered as if on the verge of tears.

“Little One, what’s wrong? Are you cold from being outside for so long?”

“Awu-ah!”

The usually calm Little One suddenly threw the wooden block he was holding onto the ground.

‘What’s gotten into him?’

Following Felix’s advice, she patted the child’s back, but Little One only squirmed more violently.

Finally, the child grabbed the hem of her clothes with his tiny hands and buried his face in her chest.

She saw Felix, who had been brushing dirt off the fallen block, glance at her with slightly widened eyes.

“Mamu.”

But this time, it was Elena who widened her eyes in shock.

Little One had started nibbling on her collarbone.