By Zephyria The hospital was quiet. Seo Jeong-won, looking around with uneasy eyes, turned his head when he felt a tap on his shoulder and met Song Hae-seop’s eyes. He pointed to the waiting area and told him to sit for a moment.
“Wait here.”
“Yes.”
Song Hae-seop walked straight to the desk to announce their arrival, then plopped down next to Seo Jeong-won with a thud. The only sound in the quiet room was the tapping of a keyboard.
“Seo Jeong-won, you can go into the examination room now.”
Soon, a nurse approached them, her voice gentle. Seo Jeong-won followed the kindly nurse, who smiled as she opened the examination room door.
“Hello.”
Awkwardly greeting the person inside, Seo Jeong-won entered the examination room, where a beauty with a cool demeanor was waiting. It was a voice as sharp as her impression that stopped Seo Jeong-won from awkwardly trying to sit down.
“Teacher, please guide Seo Jeong-won to the ultrasound room. Let’s check on the baby first.”
Seo Jeong-won, shrinking at the cold tone, glanced at Song Hae-seop and made eye contact. He nodded as if to say it was okay. Only then did Seo Jeong-won feel relieved and move his feet.
“Mom, would you like to come this way?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll have to pull up your top because the gel might get on it.”
Seo Jeong-won obediently did as he was told. He lay on the bed, pulled up his top, and waited again. Soon, the doctor entered with a click-clack sound.
“How many weeks are you now?”
“22 weeks.”
“It’s the right time for a detailed ultrasound. But… your belly is quite small. Teacher, please turn off the lights here. The gel is cold.”
Seo Jeong-won, who was about to ask what was wrong with having a small belly, shut his mouth at the added comment. Lukewarm gel fell with a loud noise. When he was with Kwon Tae-hee, he mostly saw the ultrasounds with him. So, he always stared at the air, trying not to look at the monitor… His wavering gaze cautiously turned to the screen. Seo Jeong-won bit his lip tightly as he looked at the baby in the water balloon-like pouch.
“Not only is your belly small, but the fetus is also small for its gestational age. Fortunately, it’s not small enough to worry about. Did you have severe morning sickness?”
“…Ah, in the beginning. But now… now I’m eating well.”
“That’s good. Eat whatever you crave. And you’re taking your supplements, right?”
“Yes, I’m taking them regularly.”
The doctor, moving the ultrasound machine here and there, continued to check the baby and spoke calmly.
“Keep asking for a Pheromone shower whenever you have the chance. Alpha Pheromone has a significant impact on the baby’s growth and development. Maybe it’s because it’s early, but the baby isn’t moving much. How is the fetal movement usually?”
She had met Kwon Tae-hee before coming here and heard about Seo Jeong-won’s situation, so she especially emphasized the importance of Alpha Pheromone. She had subtly let him know that it would be better to change his mind and go back now, but the innocent patient didn’t understand the hidden meaning and lowered his gentle eyes, speaking in a soft voice.
“The baby plays well at night. It doesn’t move much in the morning. But… about the Pheromone shower you mentioned earlier.”
The doctor, who was measuring and recording something, turned her head and met his eyes at his cautious voice.
“Is there anything else that can replace it? I mean, I’m eating well and eating a lot of fruits and meat, but is that not enough? So, something else…”
“…”
“I’m not in a situation where I can receive it adequately. I’m not in a situation where I can ask for it whenever I have the chance. It’s difficult. Or maybe, would other Alpha Pheromone besides the baby’s father not be helpful?”
His clear face turned pale in an instant. Pheromone, which usually doesn’t leak out when pregnant, flowed out as if representing his uneasy feelings. The doctor stared at his young face for a moment, then reacted as if it were nothing.
“I’ll prescribe you supplements, so take them regularly. It seems like you have some stress related to Pheromone.”
“If I take that, will the baby… be okay?”
“Yes, it’ll be okay. And other Alpha Pheromone won’t be helpful. It’s more likely to cause a rejection or a Pheromone shock. It’s best not to try that.”
Only after hearing that it was okay did the faint floral scent that had been spreading disappear.
“Today, we’ll check the baby’s head size, brain, organs, heart, heart valves, spine shape, abdominal circumference, number of fingers and toes, leg length, and amniotic fluid volume. We’ll see the 3D image at the end when we show you the face. It’ll take about 15 to 20 minutes.”
“Yes.”
The doctor moved the ultrasound machine here and there, carefully checking the baby’s condition. When Seo Jeong-won saw the small arrows accurately pointing to five fingers, he unknowingly exclaimed softly. The baby was holding its hand wide open as if saying, “Hello?”
“The leg length is longer than the gestational age again. The abdominal circumference is a bit small, but… it’s okay.”
“Yes.”
She stopped the screen several times and took pictures.
“Let’s check the 3D ultrasound.”
“Yes? Yes.”
The screen brightened in an instant. Seo Jeong-won squinted slightly for a moment, then opened his eyes wide. It was because the baby’s face was quite clear.
“It seems like the baby wants to show its face. It changed its position.”
“…”
“Here you can see the eyes, nose… oh, it’s yawning. I must have woken it up.”
It was a magical scene. Seo Jeong-won stared at the baby’s face and smiled without realizing it. The first time he heard the baby’s heartbeat, he had to hold his breath, but now he was watching it yawn in his belly.
“It’s so… pretty. It looks so cute.”
At the soft voice, the doctor chuckled.
“It is. It looks like its father. You’ve done a great job.”
The doctor, who had finished the detailed ultrasound, left the ultrasound room first with the printed photos. Seo Jeong-won wiped his belly with the wet towel that the nurse handed him. It was his first time doing it, so his movements were clumsy. He pulled down his top roughly, leaving sticky spots here and there.
“Be careful getting down.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Seo Jeong-won, who got off the bed without any complaints despite the damp feeling, hurried his steps. As soon as he left the ultrasound room, he met eyes with Song Hae-seop, who was touching his phone with a bored expression. He raised and lowered his eyebrows slightly as if to acknowledge him, then focused on the screen again.
As Seo Jeong-won sat down, the doctor began to explain in a plain tone.
“The baby is growing normally. There are no parts that require special attention or parts that seem to have problems.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“This is the detailed ultrasound photo, and this is the 3D ultrasound photo.”
“Thank you.”
Seo Jeong-won, carefully holding the photos in his hand so they wouldn’t get wrinkled, hesitated and stood up. The doctor gave a nod and indifferently tapped on the keyboard.
“Do you have any questions or anything you want to ask?”
“No, I don’t. Thank you.”
“Then you can go.”
With a smile that barely curved her lips, the examination ended. The nurse, who came out of the examination room with Seo Jeong-won, said to him.
“If you sit here for a moment, I’ll call you as soon as the prescription comes over.”
“Yes.”
Song Hae-seop stared at the air with a listless gaze, then stared intently at Seo Jeong-won, who was looking at the ultrasound photos as if he were holding a treasure.
“Are you that amazed?”
“Ah… yes, it’s pretty. This is the 3D ultrasound, and you can see the baby’s face. It’s so small, but it has eyes, a nose, and a mouth.”
“Looking at it like that… it just looks ugly.”
“Is that so? I think… it’s cute and pretty. They say this is it yawning. The shape of its mouth is amazing. How can it… be like this in the water? It has a nose, but doesn’t water get in?”
Song Hae-seop found it strange that Seo Jeong-won was amazed by such things. It was a sight he had seen once or twice a month for five months, so what was so special about it? Other than the size changing, it seemed like it would be the same. Although he hadn’t looked closely, the fetus in Seo Jeong-won’s belly looked like an alien.
“Haven’t you been seeing it all along? Are you still that amazed every time you see it?”
“Actually… when I went to the hospital with Executive Director, I deliberately didn’t look at it much. I just… I thought I shouldn’t get attached. But, I should have looked at it all back then. I regret it. I couldn’t see it when it was small.”
“No…”
Song Hae-seop seemed speechless, moving his lips before closing them tightly. He squeezed his eyes shut at the accumulating guilt. He shouldn’t have told him to contact him… He regretted it immensely. He shouldn’t have interfered. He was choosing the right words to say, not knowing what to say, when the nurse called Seo Jeong-won’s name.
“Sit here. I’ll pay for it.”
“With my money—!”
“No, I’ll do it with my money. It’s just… I feel like I should.”
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Kwon Tae-hee calmly watched the two of them leave the hospital. Song Hae-seop’s expression was consistently bad, no matter what they were talking about. He was worried that the sly one might have other intentions, but he decided to trust his cunning. The two of them stopped by the pharmacy and reappeared, slowly heading to the parking lot.
Only after Song Hae-seop’s car completely disappeared from the monitor did Kwon Tae-hee slowly stand up. He received a report from Chief Jung about the contents of the text message Song Hae-seop had sent and snorted with laughter. He was worried that he might change his mind, so he was sending the conversation as an audio file because he couldn’t write down every detail.
“I will deliver it to Executive Director immediately.”
“Yes.”
“Professor Lee Ye-rim will be coming down soon as well.”
Lee Ye-rim was the doctor who had been examining Seo Jeong-won until recently, and she was a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology at the general hospital under the Taehwa Group. He had planned to move her to the hospital in time, put her in charge of Seo Jeong-won’s care as his primary doctor, and have her handle the delivery, but everything was ruined due to his sudden runaway.