Qiong Xing’s existence itself had become the reason Iseul had lived at all.

"Thank you... for loving me."

At first, he truly believed merely being allowed to stay nearby would have been enough.

Yet when Qiong Xing accepted him and told him he loved him, Iseul had been so happy he nearly cried.

At that moment, he swore he would never let him go.

And now that they even had a child together, it felt as though there was nothing left to fear.

Nothing except Qiong Xing someday hating him.

"I love you. I love you so much."

He did not know any better way to express it, but he wanted to convey his love with everything he possibly could.

"I hope the child looks like you, Qiong Xing. If they look like me, I might get jealous even knowing they are my own child."

He knew it was childish, but he might honestly end up wanting to say that Qiong Xing belonged to him alone.

More than anything, he sincerely hoped the child would resemble Qiong Xing, both inside and out.

"Qiong Xing laughed and told me that was not true, but honestly, I have never seen anyone as beautiful as you."

Once, he had asked him before.

"How can I become as beautiful as you, Qiong Xing?"

And he had not meant only his appearance. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He had meant his personality and the beauty inside him as well.

Qiong Xing had blinked in surprise for a moment before bursting into laughter, leaving Iseul wondering if he had asked something strange.

"That is not true at all. I do not know how you see me, Nura, but I am not such a beautiful person."

Instead, Qiong Xing had shocked him by saying he was actually lazy and hated troublesome things by nature.

"My true personality, you mean. Even I have things I know I should do but still do not want to. Of course I do. But there are times when you cannot avoid doing them, right? So I simply do them. If possible, there are still plenty of things I would rather not bother with."

Iseul had always thought of him as someone who accepted every request with a smile.

"And besides, I cannot exactly behave badly in front of the children. Though honestly, my personality is actually quite biased, so calling me beautiful is a bit much."

Not understanding what he meant, Iseul asked, and Qiong Xing explained while laughing softly to himself.

"Because I only want to be kind to people I care about or like. I only intend to help those within my reach."

He said it was impossible to treat everyone equally and endlessly shower kindness on anyone and everyone.

"I have people I get along with and people I do not, likes and dislikes just like anyone else. Out of all the people I have met, the ones still by my side now are those I can tolerate being around. They are not people who try to force things onto me."

Qiong Xing smiled warmly as he said that only family had the right to tie him down.

Even if they all got along well, hearing that his family was what Qiong Xing prioritized most made Iseul deeply happy.

"No matter what happens, that will never change. Even if everyone else in the world came to hate you, Nura. See? I really am biased."

As he watching him laugh and say he absolutely did not accept everyone equally made Iseul feel as though he had discovered yet another new side of Qiong Xing.

"Everyone thinks differently after all. But hearing you say those things makes me happy. It simply means the way I live happened to suit you, Nura."

Qiong Xing smiled gently as he said it, his hand touching Iseul’s cheek warmer than anyone else’s in the world.

"You said it yourself before, Qiong Xing. That everyone is different. So even if I learn all kinds of new things about you from now on, I know my feelings will not change. To me, you will always stay beautiful."

There was no way the person who had accepted him could be anything but beautiful.

After all, in this entire world, Qiong Xing was the only one Iseul could not stop himself from loving so deeply.

"I love you... my mate."

Iseul gently pressed a kiss against Qiong Xing’s sleeping face while carefully trying not to wake him up.

...

He heard crying.

He did not know whose voice it was.

It was not Lian’s.

Not Rui’s or Yue’s either.

And yet, somehow, it felt as though someone was calling for him, so Qiong Xing followed the sound.

"What is wrong? Did you get lost?"

Seeing the small child crouched down and crying, Qiong Xing gently called out so he would not startle him, thinking perhaps the child had wandered off somewhere.

But the moment the child suddenly looked up, the face seemed strangely familiar.

"...Nura?"

"Mama!"

The child threw himself at Qiong Xing while calling for him.

He looked almost exactly like a miniature version of Iseul.

"Mama, Mama, Mama!"

"Nura? Why do you look like..."

Qiong Xing hurriedly tried to ask why he looked like that, but then he noticed the child’s eyes were the same color as his own.

Something had felt strange from the very beginning.

Ever since waking up earlier, he had not seen anyone at all.

From the start, the only voices he had heard were his own and this child’s.

"...You really do look so much like Nura. Though your eyes are mine."

The child’s appearance, and even the way he clung to Qiong Xing while seeking affection, resembled his papa Iseul so closely.

The realization that this truly was his own child filled Qiong Xing’s chest with warmth, and he gently lifted the little body clinging desperately to him before hugging him tightly.

"You were lonely and calling for me, weren’t you? It is alright. I am here now."

"Mama..."