By Zephyria 
His entire body turned cold. The chill he felt in that moment was a sensation he had never experienced before. Jeong-min instinctively slapped Yu Shin-woo’s hand away. It was an unconscious action driven by the thought that he had to protect the child. Could an Alpha feel something like maternal instinct? The bewilderment belonged to Jeong-min.
“Ah, sorry. I was just too surprised.”
“…No. That’s understandable.”
I have to think calmly. Until a moment ago, I could judge rationally, but now my head is a mess. Why?
Jeong-min looked at Shin-woo’s face. If this life in his stomach was Yu Shin-woo’s child… if it was his child, shouldn’t he naturally be happier? Was he feeling this way because he had intended to break up with him? Even so… wasn’t this what he had wanted so badly? Yu Shin-woo’s child…. He had hoped to have his child. That was why he had endured, wasting his time and body until now, so why did he feel such misery?
“I guess you’re not happy.”
Yu Shin-woo smiled bitterly and sat in front of Jeong-min. Then, he stroked his cheek.
“Jeong-min, don’t you remember? When I was hurt because of Young-min, you kept saying it. That you would become my Omega and give birth to my child. That you would do everything. You’ve achieved that now.”
“…Because this child might not be yours, Hyung. The knotting… it wasn’t completely successful back then. From my memory… I think that was the case.”
“That may be so, but it’s not like there’s zero possibility, right? I entered your body before Kim Ju-hwan.”
That was true. It was absurd to talk about the order of events at a moment like this… but in terms of sequence, that was correct.
“Jeong-min.”
Yu Shin-woo continued to caress Jeong-min’s cheek.
“You must have been very surprised.”
“Shin-woo hyung….”
“It’s okay. Because I’m that happy. Now you might actually be able to become an Omega.”
Shin-woo hugged Jeong-min.
“Even if that child isn’t mine, it’s okay. Just give birth safely, send it for adoption… and then you can give birth to my child. No, wait. Let’s talk about the future later. I think enjoying this joy comes first.”
When Kim Ju-hwan hugged him earlier, he could feel everything from his trembling to his heartbeat, but why could he feel nothing from Yu Shin-woo? It felt as if a cold doll was hugging him.
“That’s right. Should we go to America? Actually, a company offered to cure my illness, and it’s an American company. I’m thinking about it, but what do you think, Jeong-min? Let’s go together. They’ll probably help you give birth to the child, too. I’ll ask them. I think it would be good to make a fresh start there. My illness will be cured, and you’ll become an Omega… We could imprint and get married.”
Jeong-min couldn’t say a word. He was talking about a hopeful future, but before Jeong-min’s eyes, there was only pitch-black darkness. He felt no light, no hope. He wasn’t happy at all about having a child. Instead, a feeling that he wished this moment were just a dream began to dominate his entire body, slowly and darkly.
✽✽✽
Jeong-min told Yu Shin-woo that he would think about it. At the same time, he told Kim Ju-hwan that he would do the tests next time and asked to be discharged for now.
Kim Ju-hwan and the attending physician naturally opposed it, but seeing that Jeong-min’s complexion was so poor, they judged it unavoidable and postponed the tests by two days, issuing discharge papers.
Both Yu Shin-woo and Kim Ju-hwan wanted to take Jeong-min home, but he refused. He didn’t want to go home today. Since it was also Yu Shin-woo’s discharge day, simply being in the same building as him was burdensome, and he couldn’t bring himself to look at Kim Ju-hwan’s face. Therefore, the path he chose was his parents’ house. His mother was surprised by Jeong-min’s sudden visit, but since her son’s face didn’t look great, she didn’t ask why.
“Shin Jeong-min, is something wrong?”
Even Young-min, unlike his usual self, followed silently and only offered a cautious word. Jeong-min smiled as he looked at the angel in Young-min’s arms. He stared at the small child for a long time.
So small… He couldn’t believe there was a child even smaller than this inside his own belly. If he were an Omega, he would have confessed the situation to Young-min, but knowing he couldn’t, Jeong-min sighed.
“I’m going to rest for a bit.”
“Got it. Let’s talk later.”
As expected, he had developed some intuition compared to before. Once Young-min left the room, Jeong-min took off his clothes and sat on the bed. Checking his phone, there were no missed calls, but there were many messages from Kim Ju-hwan.
He couldn’t forget the expression on Ju-hwan’s face when he took the taxi. He looked as if he had a lot he wanted to say but was suppressing it. He probably couldn’t bring himself to break Jeong-min’s stubbornness. Why did he care about him so much?
“Haa….”
Jeong-min lay on the bed and stroked his belly. Fortunately, he felt no pain.
“Baby. Just who is your father?”
Now that he had said it out loud, he laughed because it felt absurd. If anyone heard, it would sound like he had lived a truly promiscuous life. No, had he been a bit promiscuous? Still, he thought he had lived quite diligently, yet for something like this to happen. He knew it made no sense, but he wished the child would give him an answer.
“No, never mind. I’m sorry.”
What sin did this child commit? To be suddenly granted life, only to be stuck in an Alpha’s body—a rough road guaranteed from the start… This was a problem for the adults to solve.
“I’ll take care of it, so you just grow well.”
Thinking that he would take all the pain, and hoping this young life would just grow healthily and without worry in the cozy womb, Jeong-min stroked his belly.
Just then, there was a knock. Thinking it was Young-min, he didn’t answer, but at the sound of another cautious knock, Jeong-min sighed and got up.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
At Jeong-min’s words, the door opened slowly. Kim Ju-hwan was standing outside. And behind him, Young-min was peeking his head in.
“You….”
He hadn’t even mentioned going to his parents’ house; how did this guy find out and come here?
“Young-min Sunbae, I’m sorry, but I want to talk to Jeong-min Sunbae for a moment.”
“Ah, okay! I’ll move!”
Young-min readily stepped aside, and Kim Ju-hwan closed the door behind him as he entered.
“How did you know I was here?”
“You’re so careless.”
Kim Ju-hwan smiled and tapped the watch on Jeong-min’s wrist. Come to think of it, the watch Kim Ju-hwan had given him was fastened to his wrist. It was a specially made watch considering Jeong-min’s health condition. It seemed he had checked Jeong-min’s heart rate and location information, which were transmitted in real-time.
“Looking at it now, this was a shackle.”
“To only realize that now, you’re quite slow when I look at you, Sunbae.”
Kim Ju-hwan pulled over a chair and sat opposite Jeong-min.
“But I agonized a lot over whether to come in or not. I thought you might hate it. But… I couldn’t stand it.”
He gripped his own two hands tightly and fell silent for a moment.
“What did you talk about with Yu Shin-woo? You’ve been strange since then.”
Jeong-min thought there was no way Kim Ju-hwan wouldn’t know. Since he was a guy who could tell his state or emotions like a ghost, he was certain Ju-hwan would know. For Jeong-min, escaping that place had been the priority, so he hadn’t had the leisure to think about Kim Ju-hwan.
“I was going to ask Yu Shin-woo… but I felt like he might hit me, so I couldn’t.”
“Violence is not allowed.”
“Exactly. It would be a disaster if the child grew up, searched for their parents’ names, and found an article about violence, wouldn’t it?”
Kim Ju-hwan joked with a smile, but Jeong-min couldn’t bring himself to laugh. The child… that’s right. This guy believes it’s his child. No, Jeong-min thought the same. That this child was Kim Ju-hwan’s.
“What if it’s not your child?”
The smile on Kim Ju-hwan’s face gradually stiffened. Then, he looked into Jeong-min’s eyes.
“That… couldn’t be.”
“…Think carefully. About who I was entangled with before you arrived that day.”
“Sunbae.”
“Kim Ju-hwan.”
“Shin Jeong-min!”
Kim Ju-hwan grabbed Jeong-min’s arm.
“Shin-woo hyung told me. He said you cured your azoospermia. So he said this child might be his.”
His fingertips loosened slightly, then he gripped Jeong-min tightly again. His hand held on with strength, like someone afraid that the other might disappear.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter. No matter whose child it is, it doesn’t matter. I’ll raise it. I’ll help you so you can give birth healthily, and I’ll raise it. And that child will be my successor; I’ll leave everything I have to them.”
“I’m telling you, it might not be your child.”
“What does that matter? It’s a child you gave birth to. That’s all that’s important. To me… so Sunbae, don’t think about anything. Don’t think about anything other than your body and the child. Now is not the time for that. And until you grow old and die, and until the child grows old and dies. Never wonder who the child’s father is for the rest of your life. Because there will only be me, now and in the future.”