He Showed His Belly First
"Seriously, it’s gotten huge," Young-seok said, lifting his T-shirt and tugging at his reflection. A rounder arc than my seven-month bump jutted out. He laughed:
Guess the dad-bod is finally arriving? I’m rehearsing for the baby.
I had to smile. Inside, I hissed: why echo the same line? When he stroked that quivering flesh, the deep folds spilling from beneath his shirt, I pictured it unbidden.
The Scent of Betrayal Slips In
What if, right now.
His stomach mirrors the child’s curve, yet it holds no life—only stress, beer, midnight snacks. My belly is taut and electric; his is soft and slack. Why did the difference feel so stark?
I laid a hand on his mound. "You’re right—almost like carrying our baby."
He glowed. Inside, I nursed the opposite feeling. I am the one changing. I grow visibly different every day. Why does he merely pretend to keep up?
What hurt was that while I changed, he stayed exactly the same.
Between Reality and Fantasy: Sujin’s Tale
I met Sujin at a café last week. Third-year marriage, six months pregnant.
"Out of nowhere my husband says he’s going on a diet," she said, smiling. "The weird part? While he sheds weight, I feel fatter—as if he’s gaining the pounds meant for me."
She sipped her coffee in silence, then whispered:
"Last night… while he slept, I imagined myself. The slim body I had before. And… someone else."
She lowered her gaze. "Only a fantasy. Yet it made me feel… alive."
The Secret Reversal: Jung-woo and Hye-jin
Jung-woo is Hye-jin’s husband, but the slender silhouette she first fell for has vanished. Two years of marriage and his belly ballooned.
"You’ve finally got a dad-bod," Hye-jin teased.
He laughed. Later, as he slept, Hye-jin traced his stomach and wondered: What if I pressed down? It would dent, and something hidden might spill out.
Next morning she went to the gym. Staring at herself in the mirror, she pictured leaving Jung-woo as is and keeping only herself. The quiet rage born from undergoing pregnancy alone while he remained unchanged.
Why the Forbidden Fantasy Holds Us
In our partner’s unchanging body, we see our own transforming one.
Third year of marriage, facing the drama of pregnancy. His body stays; mine shifts daily. The gap breeds desire.
He cannot keep up.
So I imagine someone else—on his behalf, in my place—to fill the distance. This isn’t simple betrayal; it is the most intimate longing to patch the void left by the one who cannot follow the new map my body has drawn.
Whose Body Do You Imagine Right Now
Your belly may swell, or not yet. But whose body appears in your mind as you stare at his unchanged form? What do you feel? And at the far end of that desire, whom do you summon?