How to Have a Baby Secretly-Chapter 34

Even though Kang Jinwook talked about being his assistant or whatever, Sunwoo had no intention of doing anything like that.

It wasn’t because he didn’t have money, nor was he lacking in ability. Why would he need to stay close to Kang Jinwook and make things complicated?

Sunwoo simply hoped to live a quiet and peaceful life like this until the baby was born, then perhaps open a small bookstore.

“Ah… a bookstore! That’s right. Maybe I’ll check out some bookstores today.”

Munching on a peach, Sunwoo opened a browser. He remembered that one of his former colleagues had mentioned planning to visit independent bookstores in Jeju while preparing for a trip. Apparently, there were a lot of pretty and unique independent bookstores in Jeju.

He typed ‘Jeju independent bookstores’ into the search bar, and a lot of results popped up. The area with the most independent bookstores was, of course, Jeju City.

The bookstores were all located in roughly the same area, so walking around them on foot would be enough. The problem was how to get to them.

"Hmm... I’ll have to transfer buses twice. A taxi would be more convenient."

If he were alone, he wouldn’t mind, but since he had to be careful during this time, he decided to take a taxi instead of a bus.

After finishing his meal and quickly cleaning up, Sunwoo slung a small bag over his shoulder and left the house. He planned to stop by a supermarket on the way back to buy some food.

As he walked out through the front gate across the yard, he ran into an elderly woman with a bent back. She was a neighborhood neighbor Sunwoo had met a few times during his stay.

“Hello, Grandma.”

Sunwoo bowed his head in greeting, and the elderly woman smiled with her wrinkled face.

"Penanhesukgwa? A-checkppeo sanseureoheun ge johsuda."

"Ha ha, yes."

The elderly woman greeted him saying that it was nice and cool this morning, but Sunwoo, who didn’t understand the Jeju dialect, had no idea what she was saying.

"Where are you going?"

Noticing Sunwoo’s awkward smile, the elderly woman asked again. This time, thankfully, he could understand enough to get the gist of the question.

Sunwoo smiled and answered.

“I’m going downtown.”

“Be careful, then!”

“Yes, I’ll be back soon.”

Sunwoo smiled and nodded at the elderly woman’s parting words. He watched her slowly walk away with her hands behind her back before turning around and heading on his way.

The residential area and the beach were about a 10-minute walk apart. Sunwoo walked along the beach to the right. The morning sun shone down on the sea, making it shimmer with a silver glow.

It was a bit hot, but the breeze was cool, so his steps felt light. Sunwoo walked for a while until he spotted a café with soft music playing inside. On the glass door, a poster of peaches caught his eye. It was an advertisement for peach iced tea.

Lately, he hadn’t had any strong cravings, but when he saw the poster, his mouth watered.

"Should I get one?"

Sunwoo turned and walked into the café. The indoor space, with its folding doors wide open, was filled with refreshing air.

“Welcome! What would you like to order?”

“Yeah. I’ll have the peach iced tea from the poster.”

“Peach iced tea, got it!”

After handing over his card, Sunwoo waited for a moment. Soon, a disposable cup filled with light red liquid and ice was placed on the pickup table. It looked like it would be cool and sweet.

Without hesitation, Sunwoo took the straw and brought it to his lips. The sweet and refreshing juice swirled around his mouth before he swallowed.

“Ah, this is good.”

He couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Sunwoo exchanged a quick glance with the owner before stepping out of the café. The cup in his hand was refreshing in the heat.

As he walked, he sipped the juice and made his way to catch a taxi.

He told the taxi driver the address he had memorized. During the ride, he finished the entire cup. The sweet aftertaste seemed to linger in his mouth.

When he got out of the taxi, the bookstore he had found earlier was right in front of him.

“Ah…”

But there was a ‘CLOSED’ sign on the door. Feeling disappointed, Sunwoo let out a long sigh.

"Was it their day off?"

When he checked the business hours earlier, there was no indication of any day off, so he had been reassured. Sunwoo, feeling disappointed, stepped closer to the closed door.

Through the transparent glass, he could see books and trinkets neatly arranged in the small space. But since the door was closed, it seemed like he would have to wait for another chance.

Fortunately, the second bookstore was open. It was located in an old house, just like Sunwoo’s, renovated into a bookstore and a café.

"You’re welcome to take a book and read. Just be careful, though! If it gets too messy or damaged, you’ll have to buy it!"

A young woman, possibly the owner or an employee, greeted him with a bright smile. Sunwoo nodded silently and scanned the bookshelves.

There were a lot of photo books, and among them, travel photography books were the main focus. It was probably a place targeting tourists.

While Sunwoo browsed through various books, time passed quickly. He had a light lunch of bread and drinks at the café, and after spending hours sitting and reading, he chose a book he liked.

It was mainly a collection of fairy tales with a soft, cute tone. He didn’t pick it specifically for prenatal education, but the pastel-colored illustrations caught his eye. Of course, the content was good too.

After visiting a few more bookstores, it was already late afternoon, and by the time Sunwoo returned home, he had a rather heavy shopping bag in his hand.

“I still need to go to the supermarket…”

Even before he transmigrated, Sunwoo hadn’t been very greedy about other things, but when it came to books, he couldn’t resist. He had always liked spending time in libraries.

Especially when he was a student, he often went to the library because he didn’t want to be alone at home.

Of course, in the summer, it was a way to escape the heat, and in the winter, it was to find a warmer place. But the bigger reason was that he couldn’t afford to buy many books, so he read as much as he could.

“I guess I bought too much, huh?”

Sunwoo looked down at the shopping bag on his wrist and muttered to himself. Now that he had money, he realized he could just buy things little by little whenever he wanted. He thought he’d been silly before.

But now it was too late to regret it. He couldn’t avoid going to the supermarket either.

Carrying the heavy shopping bag, Sunwoo walked down the street. It felt nice to be out in the city again since there was so much to see.

As he walked slowly, the sky turned a reddish hue. Sunwoo looked up at the sky absently.

What was great about Jeju was that, unlike Seoul, the air was clear, and the color of the sky felt more vivid.

Thinking about how Kang Jinwook would probably be angrily asking where he was without even knowing that he was in Jeju, Sunwoo couldn’t help but feel a little satisfied.

With a playful smile, Sunwoo continued walking. Not far ahead, he saw a large supermarket, which was uncommon in this area.

Inside the supermarket, it was crowded with people. It seemed like everyone had come to buy food for dinner.

Sunwoo put the shopping bag into a cart and began walking slowly through the aisles. Even though his morning sickness was severe and he couldn’t buy much, it was still enjoyable to shop while enjoying the cool air conditioning.

Lately, he had developed a strong craving for peaches and nectarines, so he added some to his cart, along with some Aori apples, and after some deliberation, he also put in corn.

After rolling some potatoes around and adding a few, he grabbed a loaf of bread, and before he knew it, the cart was half full.

“This should last for a few days.”

Satisfied, Sunwoo looked into the cart and then went over to the drinks section. Since he had no morning sickness after drinking the peach iced tea earlier, he thought it would be fine to buy more fruit juices, so he grabbed a peach drink without carbonation and added it to the cart.

"Should I get some water too?"

Where was the bottled water... Sunwoo scanned the refrigerated display. Although he saw various drinks and dairy products, there was no sign of water.

Thinking that it might be in a different section, Sunwoo turned around.

"Eh? Sunwoo?"

At that moment, someone suddenly blocked his way and called out his name.