By Zephyria 
“Yoon-woo, calm down.”
Chairman Joo and CEO Yoo, who had been startled and frozen by Joo Yoon-woo’s fierce gestures, belatedly stepped in. However, they couldn’t easily calm Joo Yoon-woo, who was hell-bent on finding fault with Seo Baek-han, and eventually, even the medical staff had to join in to pull her back.
“How dare you shamelessly show your face here, after what you’ve done to Tae-hyun!”
“Madam Joo, it’s unavoidable for Young Master’s stability. Please calm down, and we’ll explain—”
“Stability? Tae-hyun collapsed from the shock of that bastard’s nonsense, so you think he’ll find stability looking at him?”
Having heard a rough account of what had just happened, Joo Yoon-woo screamed in a highly agitated voice.
“Yoon-woo.”
Chairman Joo, unable to watch any longer, grabbed Joo Yoon-woo’s arm and gently pulled her back. The added reminder not to cause a disturbance in the hospital seemed to barely keep Joo Yoon-woo’s reason in check.
“Do you even feel sorry?”
Joo Yoon-woo asked, roughly wiping away the tears that had welled up.
“Seo Baek-han, do you even feel sorry for Tae-hyun?”
Joo Yoon-woo grimaced, as if disgusted by Seo Baek-han’s indifferent demeanor even after being slapped.
“I know it was a marriage of convenience for you, but still… the person carrying your child had to undergo surgery because of you, your baby is gone, and you don’t feel anything?”
“Madam Joo, it’s almost time for Young Master to wake up.”
The medical staff patiently coaxed Joo Yoon-woo, saying that although the surgery went well, Joo Tae-hyun needed absolute rest.
“Dad, that pheromone thing, it’s not necessarily felt in the same space, with both of them having to touch, right?”
Perhaps regaining some reason at the mention of absolute rest, Joo Yoon-woo’s shoulders heaved. However, only the decibel level of her voice lowered. Joo Yoon-woo, guarding the door as if she couldn’t allow Seo Baek-han to enter the room, even seemed resolute.
“Give me a piece of clothing Seo Baek-han is wearing, or some indirect method like that. If that doesn’t work, draw some blood from that bastard and smear it on the wall—”
“I need to be there.”
Seo Baek-han opened his mouth quietly, spitting out a small piece of flesh he had bitten off from the inside of his cheek. He could endure this much venting. A couple of slaps were a cheap price to pay.
“I understand you’re angry, but I think it’s best to monitor Tae-hyun’s progress first.”
“You—!”
“Father, Mother, you saw it yourselves, didn’t you? How well my pheromones work on Tae-hyun.”
What Tae-hyun needs now is me, not good medicine.
Joo Yoon-woo gnashed her teeth at Seo Baek-han’s calm declaration, but this time even CEO Yoo stopped her.
“Yes, go in.”
“Mom!”
“We can’t help anyway. Director Seo only has to hold Tae-hyun’s hand for his complexion to improve, so why would we chase him away when our youngest is getting better?”
It wasn’t that Joo Yoon-woo didn’t know that. She hadn’t witnessed the miracle-like moment as directly as her parents, so she didn’t fully grasp the greatness of imprinting, but even Doctor Woo, the attending physician, had asserted that Seo Baek-han’s pheromones were better than any medication.
But still.
“Mom, I… I should have stopped Tae-hyun back then.”
“…Yoon-woo.”
“Instead of pretending not to know and glossing over it, I should have listened to Tae-hyun more carefully, and…”
Joo Yoon-woo couldn’t bear it any longer and collapsed into Chairman Joo and CEO Yoo’s arms.
“He was so excited about going on the Ferris wheel and boasted about it… What must he have been feeling, holding a press conference there?”
Seo Baek-han gestured to the medical staff, who were caught in the middle, unsure of what to do. It was a request to check Joo Yoon-woo’s wrist, which he had grabbed with too much force and no finesse.
“What are you doing? Go in already.”
CEO Yoo coldly ordered, as if not wanting to expose any more of the family’s private moments. Seo Baek-han smoothed back his disheveled hair, bowed his head, and passed them.
Seo Baek-han paused, taking a breath as he gripped the doorknob. He had been indifferent even after being slapped for the first time in his life, but the thought of Joo Tae-hyun inside made his stomach churn.
Of course, the hesitation was only momentary, and he soon entered.
In fact, Seo Baek-han was confused now. He was even confused by the fact that he was only now realizing his exact condition.
There was the variable of the dirty switch, but there were no such cases in any of the research materials Seo Baek-han had examined.
The same shifters imprinted on each other.
And to top it off, a baby came along as if they had been waiting for it.
What would change if he continued to doubt and question what had already happened? However, Seo Baek-han felt a sense of helplessness in the face of an unexpected situation for which no countermeasures were useful.
‘I wonder if it’s really happening because of imprinting… but even if that’s the reason, it doesn’t make sense. I’m not that far gone.’
Indeed.
Joo Tae-hyun’s tearful outpouring left Seo Baek-han with deep questions.
It was definitely strange. To act so unlike himself just because of imprinting… it was hard to accept.
Why did he do that?
Why did he act so recklessly?
Imprinting isn’t a chemical reaction that uses emotions as a catalyst. Whether it’s one-sided or mutual, that fact doesn’t change.
It was true that he was drawn to the other person in a way he couldn’t explain. It was as if his body knew and pulled him. It wasn’t just a matter of sexual desire. When Joo Tae-hyun was in danger, he instinctively took various actions.
Unable to have sex, he embraced his imprinted partner to most effectively deliver his pheromones, struggling to ensure that his breath reached him.
Pheromones poured out to the point where another shifter in the room might have fainted from the shock. As if following its owner’s will, Seo Baek-han’s pheromones meticulously enveloped Joo Tae-hyun, forming a solid barrier.
“…”
Seo Baek-han, who had been standing by the door silently staring at Joo Tae-hyun, slowly took a step. First of all… let’s solve the immediate problem.
Joo Tae-hyun’s abnormal condition continued, so my staying in the same space was only a temporary measure.
What if there came a moment when my pheromones became toxic to Joo Tae-hyun? I can’t control the concentration of pheromones as I please, so how would I solve it then?
Aside from the divorce issue, which was only running parallel to Joo Tae-hyun, he didn’t want his body to break down any further.
In addition to the hospital’s unique cold alcohol scent, there was an abundance of fresh, verdant energy. It was Joo Tae-hyun’s pheromones, which he was now quite familiar with.
However, the delicate wildflower scent that fluttered like dandelion seeds was not felt. That energy, which seemed to peek out from under the trees, could no longer be found.
Only then could Seo Baek-han realize. That scent, which resembled wildflowers and had bloomed at some point, was a shy signal from the baby in his womb. That child, who was nothing more than a mass of blood, had a very harmonious pheromone that suited both him and Joo Tae-hyun… a pheromone that was very fitting for the modifier “our child.”
“…Joo Tae-hyun.”
He called his name without realizing it, but Joo Tae-hyun didn’t even flinch. His pale face, covered by my shadow, still had no color.
“Joo Tae-hyun.”
However, Seo Baek-han was able to immediately confirm that Joo Tae-hyun had regained consciousness after calling his name aloud.
He was dumbfounded by himself for relying on that feeling, that premonition that he hated so much, but there was no other way to explain this sensation.
“…The surgery, it went well.”
Joo Tae-hyun’s eyelids suddenly fluttered, even though he hadn’t even acknowledged him when he carefully called his name.
Were Joo Tae-hyun’s eyelashes always this long?
It felt as if there were tears welling up at the ends of his fluttering eyelashes, but he was mistaken. Joo Tae-hyun’s face, which had slowly lifted his eyelids, was so dry that it was on the verge of crumbling.
“There aren’t many cases, but I’ll still find out. What caused our imprinting and your pregnancy… I’ll figure out how to take care of your body from now on—”
“It… doesn’t matter anymore.”
Joo Tae-hyun recited in a cracked voice, averting his gaze from Seo Baek-han with his eyes half-closed.
“There’s no need to complicate things like custody or parental rights anymore.”
“…Joo Tae-hyun.”
Joo Tae-hyun only smiled emptily, as if he had no interest in his own condition.
“Anyway, Hyung wouldn’t have wanted the child, and now it’s dead.”