“A nickname for the babies?”
“Yes, I thought we should decide soon.”
I hadn’t thought about it at all. In fact, I was so stunned by the news of twins on top of the joy of expecting a child that I’d been living in a daze.
Still, I couldn’t call them both “baby” forever.
“Do you have any ideas, Sia?”
“Hmm… How about ‘Ssukssuk,’ so they grow strong?”
“That’s cute, but doesn’t it feel too boyish?”
I’d heard it was better to choose a gender-neutral nickname, especially before we even knew their sexes.
“I’d like a son,” said Yoo Sia, looking at me. “Twin boys who look like Assistant Manager Son.”
“I’d prefer a daughter who looks like you.”
“But they’ll be boys anyway.” She spoke as if it was obvious. “My family always has boys.”
“You never know. I heard it’s the father’s genes that decide the sex.”
“Really?” Yoo Sia shrugged. “So what do you want?”
“There are two of them… How about ‘Geumdong’ and ‘Eundong’?”
For the first time, Yoo Sia’s face turned grim.
“…That’s really awful.”
“Then how about ‘Nara’? It’s not trendy, but it’s not corny either.”
“You’re Mr. Song, though.”
“…Song Nara it is.”
That, too, was rejected.
“How about ‘Saessaki’?”
“That’s the best so far… but it doesn’t really click.”
We pondered for a while, and then a good idea struck me.
“What if we take one syllable from each of our names?”
“Ooh, that could work.”
Yoo Sia and I took the second syllables: “Si” and “Seong.”
“Aseong… sounds grand for baby nicknames.”
“Then let’s try the middle syllables.”
“Yijin… pff.”
She covered her mouth in alarm.
“Let’s just go with Saessaki and Ssukssuki.”
“That’s better.”
And so the twins’ nicknames were decided.
Planning Team 2, HR Media.
“Assistant Manager Son, you’re on the Sun Global business trip today, right?”
“Yes, sir. I need to verify the localized ad materials.”
“Check that the labels are attached correctly and that there are no incorrect ingredients.”
“Absolutely, don’t worry.”
“But that’s a lot of volume—aren’t you going to have trouble handling it alone?”
Department Head Ma touched his chin, glancing around the team.
“Anyone have bandwidth today? I’d like someone to accompany Assistant Manager Son.”
Everyone awkwardly avoided eye contact.
“I have a deadline today…”
“I have a client meeting this afternoon.”
“I’m swamped right now…”
It was clear no one wanted to go. Label checking was pure grunt work—eye strain, shoulder aches, no real accomplishment, and possibly overtime.
“I’ll go,” Yoo Sia quietly raised her hand.
Department Head Ma asked sweetly,
“You sure? It’ll be tough for you, Sia.”
“No, interns should do this kind of work.”
“All right, you two go.”
Manager Oh looked displeased at the news that Yoo Sia would join me on the field trip, jealousy flickering in his eyes even as he didn’t want to volunteer for the tedious task.
At that moment, spinster Manager Baek Eun-hwa glanced over and said,
“I swear Assistant Manager Son and Sia have been hanging out a lot lately.”
“What?”
“Don’t you think they’re getting close? Oh-ho-ho.”
She’d long envied Yoo Sia’s popularity among the employees despite being thirty-eight with no improvement in her taste in men—only in her knack for annoying others.
Only then did Manager Oh glare and protest,
“What are you talking about? Sia has eyes, too.”
“Oh, does she?”
“….”
Manager Oh often imposed pointless tasks on Yoo Sia, but suddenly they seemed to team up flawlessly.
They should just date each other, I thought, but kept it to myself.
I laughed awkwardly and grabbed my bag.
“Well, we’ll head out on the field trip.”
“All right. If you’re late, leave straight from here—no, there’s a company dinner tonight. I’ll text you the location.”
“Understood. Let’s go, Sia.”
“Oh, yes!”
We hurried down to the underground parking and got in the car. Strapping on her seatbelt, Yoo Sia asked casually,
“We should probably tell everyone soon, right?”
“Our dating?”
“Yes.” She shrugged as if not trying to pressure me, adding, “If we miss the timing, it’ll be harder to bring up.”
In the office, no one knew about our relationship, our plans to marry, my impending fatherhood, or that Yoo Sia was an HR Group heiress.
“We’ve kept it under wraps so far…” I said. Yoo Sia placed her hand on her belly. “Soon it’ll show anyway.”
We were nearing the end of week six. The bump wouldn’t really appear until around four months, but then it’d be impossible to hide.
“But for now, I think it’s better to keep it secret—at least until we get both families’ blessings.”
“Mm… you’re right.”
I’d cracked a small fissure in Chairman Yoo’s heart, but it was far from enough. Plus, we hadn’t met Yoo Sia’s parents yet. Announcing it outside would be even riskier.
“Speaking of which, shall we meet my parents?”
“Let’s do it.”
It’s not that I wasn’t scared—far from it—but I thought, It’ll be easier than dealing with the Chairman.
“Let’s see them this weekend.”
“All right.”
Before the wedding preparations even began, the hurdles already felt numerous and daunting.
Meanwhile, at the same time.
After Assistant Manager Son and Yoo Sia left, a tiger entered Planning Team 2.
“D-Director?” Department Head Ma sprang to his feet. The visitor was none other than Director Yoo Ho-min from the Planning Coordination Office.
His upturned eyes made it clear this wasn’t a friendly visit.
“Ma Won-ho,” he said, enunciating each syllable.
“Sir?”
“Do you know what this is?” He slapped down a document plastered with receipts.
Ma Won-ho urgently took it and examined it.
“…It appears to be last month’s team corporate card statement.”
“Why was there so much drinking?”
“Well, it was for client entertainment…”
“Look closely. Is that for entertainment?”
The document Director Yoo had brought together was not external meeting expenses but only the bill from the team dinner.
“I don’t care how much you spend meeting clients. But for an in-office dinner—what is this? Baekseju? Bohwa bokbunja?”
“Ah, we won a big contract, so Director Oh said to drink as much as we want…”
“Stop making excuses! You want me to go scold Director Oh? Call him here right now?!”
“No, sir. That’s not what I meant.” Ma Won-ho bowed desperately.
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Director Yoo declared like a threat:
“Even if you have dinners, Planning Team 2 is banned from drinking! Understood?!”
“Yes, sir…”
“I’ll be watching.” He glared and strode out.
He marched to the elevator and boarded. Ding. The doors closed. Though he’d been furious moments earlier, the reflection in the mirror showed Director Yoo wearing a satisfied smile.
They won’t drink for a while.
His precious youngest granddaughter was pregnant. He still wanted to punish that Son Jin-seong, but Grandfather told me not to touch him… So he’d let him be for now. But he ordered the ban so no one could force Yoo Sia to drink at work.
If Sia knew I did this, she’d be happy. For the sake of the youngest, he’d play the villain.
I met Yoo Sia’s parents. I thought they’d roar like Chairman Yoo, but…
“Since it’s come to this, make a good life for each other.”
Yoo Sia’s father—President Yoo Jong-hwan—gave surprisingly easy permission.
From their expressions, it seemed her mother wholeheartedly approved, while her father reluctantly consented only because Yoo Sia was adamant.
“One condition,” he added.
“You know the important opinion is Grandfather’s, right?”
“…Yes, I understand.”
As expected.
“If Chairman Yoo permits it, we’ll gladly welcome you into the family…,” he trailed off. Meaning if Grandfather opposed, they wouldn’t fight to accept me as a son-in-law.
My only ally was my future mother-in-law.
“Stay strong.” She encouraged me, saying only she’d support me from behind the scenes.
In the Yoo family, opposing Chairman Yoo was impossible.
It’s practically an empty permission, I thought. But at least they’d given it. Only Chairman Yoo remained to be convinced.
Every weekend, Yoo Sia made time to visit Chairman Yoo. While he welcomed his only granddaughter’s visits, the purpose was persuasion, so it wasn’t entirely pleasant—a paradox of affection and discomfort. Yet progress came. Before long, Chairman Yoo asked,
“Have you chosen the baby nicknames?”
“Saessaki and Ssukssuki.”
“Saessaki?”
“Yes. And Ssukssuki, too.”
“Who chose them?”
“Assistant Manager Son and I each chose one. I picked Ssukssuki…”
“You mean Son Jin-seong picked Saessaki?”
“Yes.”
Chairman Yoo felt a strange thrill hearing that his favorite nickname was the one Assistant Manager Son had chosen.
Baseball and this… do we have something in common? A fleeting intuition.
But Yoo Sia knew that little by little, these moments would eventually open her grandfather’s heart.
“Grandfather, how about watching a movie together today? The one you liked—starring Shim Eun-ha. I got the Blu-ray.”
“Grandfather! I came again today. Want to go for a walk?”
“Grandfather, it’s the weekend—shall we go shopping?”
Soon after, it was Chairman Yoo who asked first.
“When will we know the babies’ sexes?”
“In a few weeks. Grandfather, do you hope for a granddaughter? I want a son.”
“Daughter,” he said firmly. “I want twin daughters who look like you, Sia.”
“What? Both girls?”
“Yes. If both children are girls… holding them both…” A faint smile touched his lips. “That would be wonderful…”
Time flew by.
Week seven of the pregnancy: Saessaki and Ssukssuki’s arms and legs began to form on the ultrasound—tiny and adorable.
Week eight: Both babies were healthy. They’d grown but were only the size of grapes. They’d officially moved from “embryo” to “fetus.”
Week nine: Fingers and toes formed, and genitals started developing. Of course, even with a detailed ultrasound, you couldn’t see them yet. Sex is determined at conception, not at this stage.
I began to grasp that I was becoming a father. I didn’t wish for anything else—only that Ssukssuki and Saessaki grew up healthy.
Week ten: Organs formed and began functioning.
Week eleven: Head, torso, and legs reached a clear three-to-one ratio.
And finally, week twelve: Faces became distinct and organs matured.
In other words, if it’s a boy, you might even see his “...package” on the ultrasound.
“So if we’re lucky, we could find out their sexes at week twelve.”
At last, that time had come.