I was born and raised in a small, quiet town. When the time came to apply for college, I set my sights on a bigger city. My dream had always been to become a professional translator, and since I'd done well in high school, getting into a good program wasn't much of a struggle.
Right away, I hit it off with a girl who became my best friend. After our freshman year ended, we went on a summer trip together. That summer really cemented our bond, and she started inviting me over to her place all the time. That was how I first met her parents.
Her mom was a stay-at-home mother who managed the house, and her dad ran some kind of private business. They were both in their early forties. I became such a fixture in their home that I was included in almost every holiday or family gathering. We'd head out to their lakeside cabin as a group, and before long, I began to notice the way her father looked at me. There was a certain warmth in his eyes, and he didn't seem to shy away from those accidental, lingering touches. At first, I brushed it off—I figured I was just imagining things.
***
One winter, I caught a nasty flu and ended up missing a final exam. My professor was understanding and told me I could come in after New Year's to make it up. My friend had already headed out of state to visit relatives for the holidays, but I realized I needed a specific study guide that I'd left at her place. I called her, and she told me to just head over to her house, saying she'd let her dad know I was coming.
When I got there, I headed inside and started looking for the book. Once I found it, I turned to leave, but her father was standing in the doorway, blocking my path. I don't remember exactly what he said to me in 그 moment, but suddenly, I was moving toward him. Before I knew it, we were on the couch in my friend's living room, and we ended up sleeping together.
By morning, a heavy sense of shame washed over me. For some reason, it took a moment to fully process what I'd done. I wanted to get out of that house as fast as possible, but her father wouldn't let me leave. I stayed through the weekend, and then stayed even longer, until Wednesday. By the end of those few days together, I realized I had fallen for this man—deeply and irrevocably. It sounds like a cliché, but he was exactly who I had been looking for all these years.
***
That evening, his wife called to say they were on their way back. I had to leave, though every fiber of my being wanted to stay with him. I went home, but a week later, he rented an apartment for us, and we started spending all our time there.
At first, I didn't know how I could possibly look my friend in the eye; she had no idea what was going on. Eventually, I found the strength to tell her the broad strokes about the "new man" in my life. We've been together for three years now. At some point, he even confessed to his wife that he was seeing a younger woman.
My friend told me once that her father would never actually leave the family because the business is legally in her mother's name, and he'd only walk away with half in a divorce. That was something I could live with—until now. I'm two months pregnant.
My friend knows I'm expecting and is actually encouraging me to have the baby. The irony is staggering. If she only knew that I'm carrying her own brother or sister. I have no idea what to do, but I have to decide immediately, while it's still early: whether to keep the baby or not.
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