By Zephyria 
“What? Yi-kyung is having a baby?”
Seo Dong-hu, who had been lying in bed, pushed away the maid perched on his waist. He bolted upright, naked, with the phone pressed to his ear. That was how much rage surged through him.
The chauffeur’s voice continued over the phone. He detailed what he had seen from a distance regarding Seo Yi-kyung while taking his ailing mother to Haseon Hospital. Hearing this, Seo Dong-hu bellowed.
“No, fuck. If something like that happened, he should have told me first.”
Seo Dong-hu roughly gathered the clothes scattered on the floor, threw them on, and walked out the door. His briefs were visible through the open fly of his trousers, as he hadn’t fastened the buckle. Yet, he kept the phone pressed to his ear.
As he stomped along—thump, thump, thump—the maids, hearing his footsteps from afar, turned back from where they were going.
“Director Han was by Yi-kyung’s side? They’ve become quite the lovey-dovey couple.”
Even from a distance, it was easy to guess that Seo Dong-hu was in a foul mood. It was the kind of situation where one could be picked on or even hit just for catching his eye. Such incidents had become more frequent lately. Seo Dong-hu, whose emotions shifted violently, took out his anger on anyone he saw.
“So how long has it been? The doctor didn’t tell you? What, patient privacy? Those sons of bitches. I’m Yi-kyung’s brother. No, tell them I’m in-laws with Director Han! Hang up.”
After shouting and ending the call, Seo Dong-hu gripped his phone and marched straight toward one place. As he opened the door, his mother and wife, who were chatting at the table, turned their heads.
“I heard Yi-kyung is carrying Director Han’s child. Fuck, we’ve got a celebration in the house that we didn’t even know about.”
The wife grimaced at Seo Dong-hu’s disheveled attire and left the room. However, his mother, Lee Se-hee, looked at Seo Dong-hu’s clothes and motioned to the maid beside her.
The maid fastened the buckle of Seo Dong-hu’s trousers and pulled up the zipper. Looking at the maid’s pretty face, Seo Dong-hu continued.
“He takes my sword and then just washes his hands of it. Get out of the way.”
Seo Dong-hu pushed the slow-moving maid aside and sat in front of Lee Se-hee.
“Father didn’t know either?”
If anyone would have been told, it would have been the father. But if he had known, there was no way he wouldn’t have informed the two of them. Therefore, it was highly likely that Seo Young-hwan was also unaware.
“Your father is preoccupied these days; things aren’t going well with his outside affairs.”
“Ha—really. Yi-kyung is suddenly causing me grief. He wasn’t like this before. He used to be terrified even if I just pretended to raise my hand. Ah, it’s suffocating. I’m boiling over.”
Seo Dong-hu gulped down the tea in front of him. He set the cup down as if throwing it and spoke.
“Now that he’s carrying Director Han’s child, he won’t just look at me like a bug; he’ll actually treat me as one. I need to go see him before he gets any more arrogant.”
Lee Se-hee perked up her ears, adorned with lavish jewelry.
“How?”
“Think about it. He’ll have to go back to the hospital for check-ups. So, I just have to go and wait for him next time.”
As he spoke with a confident face, Seo Dong-hu’s voice lowered slightly. There was a problem. If it were just Seo Yi-kyung, he could manipulate him whether by making him cry or by shouting at him, but if Han Seung-jae came along, even starting a conversation wouldn’t be easy. Judging by Han Seung-jae’s personality, far from granting him time to talk, he would likely ignore him entirely.
“Fuck, if only Director Han didn’t accompany him to the hospital, there wouldn’t be a problem.”
“I wonder what on earth Yi-kyung did.”
At home, he had always been quiet and cared for nothing but painting. Was that why they had been even more ignorant of Seo Yi-kyung’s inner thoughts? Seo Dong-hu and Lee Se-hee sat facing each other at the table, putting their heads together for a while. A maid straightened the tilted teacup Seo Dong-hu had thrown and refilled it.
“It’s cold. Go get a fresh one.”
The maid left the room carrying the teapot. Glaring at her retreating back, Seo Dong-hu suddenly tapped his temple with his fingertip, gesturing to his brilliant mind.
“Ah, I can just tell Father to visit him that day. Last time, when I said Mom was sick, he sent Yi-kyung over immediately. I can just pretend again this time. Surely, he’s his father-in-law; he won’t just ignore him? I’ll just tell Father to stall for some time.”
* * *
“Have you finished eating?”
Butler Do, who had been moving about the area, approached Seo Yi-kyung in a single stride as he slowly rose from the sofa.
Seo Yi-kyung’s face was still pale. Nevertheless, he managed a smile.
“Yes, I ate well.”
Butler Do looked around at the plates on the table. Seo Yi-kyung had eaten one piece of sandwich and none of the fruit. When Butler Do looked up, Seo Yi-kyung was already walking away, heading toward the painting studio.
Worried, Butler Do placed the plates and teacup on the tray. He agonized over whether he should tell Director Han or not.
Click. Entering the painting studio, Seo Yi-kyung took out the ultrasound photo he had tucked into his back pocket. He continued walking while staring intently at it.
No matter how much he looked, there was no way to tell if it was an Alpha or an Omega. Yet, Seo Yi-kyung stroked the surface of the photo. The words spoken by Han Seung-jae’s mother, Yeon So-jeong, kept swirling in his head. Was it just a delusion?
—Make sure to give birth to an Alpha.
She had looked like someone who had come here specifically to say those words.
Even Han Yechan, who was quite flirtatious, acted like a tender and affectionate husband to Yeon So-jeong in front of people.
He had seen it with his own eyes. Seo Yi-kyung recalled Han Yechan’s behavior at the family banquet. Looking back now, perhaps that was because they had given birth to Han Seung-jae, an extreme dominant Alpha.
Lost in these thoughts, Seo Yi-kyung reached the work table. He opened a drawer. He placed the ultrasound photo inside the drawer filled with suppressants and closed it.
If an Omega is born, what will happen to me?
* * *
Myeongjun Financial Group, Director’s Office. Since he had arrived late to work, Han Seung-jae took off his black coat and immediately began processing his tasks. Secretary Park had already adjusted the schedule beforehand to ensure things flowed smoothly.
Once the branch manager who had been reporting left, Han Seung-jae’s hand, resting on the documents, remained still for a while.
He recalled Seo Yi-kyung’s face as he got out of the car and entered the house. With a pale complexion and features that exuded a pure elegance, he had looked as if he had something to say. But in the end, he hadn’t said a word. What was he trying to say?
After being lost in thought for a moment, Han Seung-jae flicked his hand, gripping the pen, forward. He pressed a button on the phone. A red light turned on, and soon after, there was a knock.
Secretary Park entered, opening the firmly closed door.
“Did you call for me?”
Without hesitation, Han Seung-jae wrote ‘Disapproved’ on the approval document left by the branch manager and closed it. Placing the document at the edge of the desk, he spoke.
“I would like to purchase an item.”
Step, step. Secretary Park approached the desk, listening intently.
Everything Han Seung-jae had purchased in the past had been handled by Secretary Park under his instructions. The collections in Han Seung-jae’s study were a prime example. The items there were not only expensive but mostly things that could not be easily obtained anywhere. Han Seung-jae tended to buy top-grade, rare items that had not been touched by others.
It would likely be something like that this time. Secretary Park could guess without much difficulty.
“What item are you referring to?”
“An ultrasound machine.”
“…….”
Secretary Park was momentarily speechless. The words that flowed from Han Seung-jae’s mouth far exceeded his expectations.
Despite having served by Han Seung-jae’s side and being quick to gauge his mood, Secretary Park failed to respond immediately, unlike his usual self. He had not expected Han Seung-jae to say something like this.
Han Seung-jae opened the pile of approval documents. Watching him, Secretary Park asked politely, as if confirming.
“Do you mean an ultrasound examination machine? The one you saw at the hospital today…”
“How long will it take?”
Secretary Park’s response, tinged with bewilderment, was longer than usual. Han Seung-jae cut him off without hesitation. Han Seung-jae was a man for whom time was more important than money.
As if snapping back to his senses, Secretary Park bowed.
“My apologies. I will handle it immediately.”
“Do that.”
Secretary Park turned and strode out. Han Seung-jae moved his stationary hand to flip through the documents.
The examination Han Seung-jae had observed today consisted of nothing more than spreading gel on Seo Yi-kyung’s stomach and placing a device against it to check. It felt tedious to make time and coordinate dates just for such a short examination.
And throughout the time he lay on the bed listening to the doctor, Seo Yi-kyung’s face had looked somewhat anxious. Therefore, it was simply a matter of making it possible to check the baby’s health at home so that he wouldn’t be anxious.