Banquet

Two weeks had passed since the day I learned I was pregnant.

My body was proving the passage of that time in a horrifyingly clear way.

Kaelan, who had discovered his child inside my belly that day, no longer inflicted pain on me.

Yet the terrible morning sickness and the still-unhealed piercing in my clitoris were already causing more than enough pain, and I could feel my lower belly growing faintly but unmistakably larger.

Every night, Kaelan pressed his ear against my belly and savored the sounds made by his new work.

When I woke, I could not feel Kaelan's warmth beside me.

Kaelan's absence after he had stayed by my side every day for two weeks.

The traces he had left on me tormented me, but I could no longer live without him.

“Ka...elan-nim.”

“Ah. Aria, you're awake? Today, I'm going to give you a present.”...