By Zephyria Seo Jeong-won’s emergency surgery was decided. The medical staff moved with perfect order, as they had prepared for such a situation. Kwon Tae-hee grabbed the bed as it moved to the operating room, running alongside it, endlessly calling Seo Jeong-won’s name.
After Seo Jeong-won was taken inside the operating room, he couldn’t even sit in the waiting area, only staring at the firmly closed door. He seemed to be in a daze. Only Seo Jeong-won’s face, paler than a blank sheet of paper, floated around in his head. The hand that covered his face trembled.
“Haa…”
Even if everyone said it was okay, even if Seo Jeong-won wanted it, he should have endured it. Was he really unaware that this could happen? He was worried about him going into shock… He was greedy, wanting to see him flushed from his pheromone shower. He should have refused to the end. Late regrets washed over him like waves.
Pacing in front of the operating room, his legs buckled. He leaned against the wall, his body sliding down as he struggled to support himself. He sat down, repeatedly exhaling ragged breaths, and waited a while longer. He had been told the surgery would take about 40 minutes, but had something gone wrong? An hour had already passed, and there was still no news.
What if something went wrong? A vulgar curse spilled from his parted lips. He nervously swept back his hair and paced in front of the operating room again for dozens of minutes. Finally, the operating room door opened. Kwon Tae-hee, as was his habit, checked the other person’s expression first.
“Is he okay?”
“Yes, the surgery was successful. The baby is a girl, as we mentioned, and she’s fine. She’s currently in the neonatal intensive care unit—”
“No. Not the baby, Jeong-won. Who asked about the baby?”
The doctor, taken aback by the suppressed voice that seemed to be holding back anger, lowered her head. She realized she had made a mistake in the order, intending to first share the good news that she had safely delivered the baby before telling him that Seo Jeong-won’s surgery had been urgent.
“I’m sorry. The Omega had a lot of bleeding during the surgery because the bleeding wouldn’t stop. That’s why the surgery took longer, but fortunately, a blood transfusion was done quickly, and we were able to get through all the critical situations. All the post-operative procedures are finished as well.”
“Haa.”
“He will be moved to the recovery room soon, so you can see him there. …You’ve worked hard, Executive Director.”
The doctor politely apologized, saying that she would humbly accept responsibility if he were to hold her accountable for what had happened due to her recommendation. She did not make the excuse that she had not expected this to happen. Kwon Tae-hee stared at her with reddened eyes for a moment, then turned and headed to the recovery room.
The doctor watched his back as he showed no interest in the baby and sighed softly. The urgent and critical moments during the surgery came back to her mind. It was terrifying just to imagine what would have happened if the Omega had been harmed. She was truly relieved that she had been able to complete the surgery safely.
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Kwon Tae-hee, pacing in the recovery room while waiting for Seo Jeong-won, reflexively turned around at the sound of the door opening. A bed was slowly being wheeled in. On it, Seo Jeong-won lay as if dead, wearing a respirator.
His mouth opened, but he couldn’t make a sound. Kwon Tae-hee covered his mouth and blinked rapidly. Seo Jeong-won was soon transferred to the bed. The medical staff quietly and quickly attached various medical devices to Seo Jeong-won’s body.
Kwon Tae-hee went to Seo Jeong-won’s side and took his limp hand. His body temperature was low. He mumbled that he didn’t know why his hands were so cold, and he gathered them in both of his hands and blew on them.
“The patient will wake up from the anesthesia soon. If he feels uncomfortable or in pain when he wakes up, please press the call button.”
“Okay. Thank you for your hard work.”
Kwon Tae-hee replied nonchalantly, never taking his eyes off Seo Jeong-won for a moment. The medical staff bowed deeply and left the room in unison. The chaotic space became quiet in an instant.
Kwon Tae-hee carefully stroked Seo Jeong-won’s pale cheek. Contrary to what he had been told, that he would wake up soon, Seo Jeong-won’s eyelids remained still. His white face, devoid of any color, looked more like a patient with a serious illness than an Omega who had just given birth.
“Seo Jeong-won.”
His belly, which had been so swollen, was now flat without a trace. It was hard to believe that there had been a baby inside just a few hours ago. He looked at his roughly chapped lips, buried his face in the back of his hand that felt devoid of strength, and waited for him to wake up.
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The anxious time passed meaninglessly. Because Seo Jeong-won did not regain consciousness immediately, the doctor, who had been called to the room several times, only repeated that he would wake up soon.
“He seems to be taking longer to wake up because he was very physically exhausted. This is not entirely uncommon, so if you wait a little longer—”
“Are you sure there were no problems during the surgery? Is all you can say is to just wait? How much longer do I have to wait than now?”
At Kwon Tae-hee’s sharp words, which did not hide his emotions, she maintained a apologetic attitude and repeated the same explanation. Then, she cautiously suggested to Kwon Tae-hee that he move to the ICU and watch him there until Seo Jeong-won woke up.
“The anesthesia, surgery, and post-operative procedures all went well. He will wake up soon if you wait a little longer. The test results did not reveal any abnormalities, so for now… it may be difficult, but there is no other way than to wait.”
Kwon Tae-hee told the doctor, who bowed deeply, that he would consider moving to the intensive care unit, and then impatiently gestured for her to leave.
“Please leave.”
“I will do my best to find the cause as well.”
Kwon Tae-hee didn’t even respond to the ridiculous words and turned his head. He was on the verge of going crazy with the helplessness and incompetence of not being able to do anything but watch Seo Jeong-won lying asleep as if dead.
If Seo Jeong-won never woke up because of his foolish choice, if he hadn’t done the pheromone shower, he kept making such meaningless assumptions.
Instead of being persuaded by Seo Jeong-won, he should have persuaded Seo Jeong-won. He should have told him how dangerous that act was. Instead of saying it would be good for the baby who would be born soon, he should have refused, saying that the act was poison to him, who was weakened by pregnancy.
“Haa.”
The misfortunes Seo Jeong-won experienced felt like the price of a wrong choice. Realizing that he had contributed to the misfortune that he didn’t have to experience made him feel terribly disgusted.
Nevertheless, he didn’t think that he should have let Seo Jeong-won go when he ran away. He only thought that it was fortunate that he was holding on to him like this. He didn’t understand himself. There were plenty of Omegas as beautiful as Seo Jeong-won. If he looked, he could find a Beta who was more unfortunate than him, or a Beta who was more Omega-like than an Omega. He could find someone with a more delicate atmosphere or softer lines, but he couldn’t let Seo Jeong-won go.
The time of endless waiting continued. The blue sky soon changed color, and soon the sun set. Kwon Tae-hee, who had become haggard in a few hours, was consistently by Seo Jeong-won’s side.
Just as he was sighing repeatedly as a habit, the fingers he was holding more carefully than glass beads twitched. The eyelids that had been quietly closed as if he was waking up from anesthesia fluttered.
“Jeong-won-ssi.”
“……”
“Seo Jeong-won.”
“…I’m a little, cold.”
At the trembling voice, Kwon Tae-hee immediately raised the room temperature. He replied that he would warm up soon and covered him with the blanket up to his neck, and Seo Jeong-won slowly blinked his eyelids.
“Did you, did you see the baby…?”
Seo Jeong-won looked for the baby as soon as he came to his senses.
“Not yet.”
“Why…”
Kwon Tae-hee gently brushed back the hair that was scattered on Seo Jeong-won’s forehead. While waiting for Seo Jeong-won to wake up, he had completely forgotten about the baby. If he had known this would happen, he would have at least asked about the baby’s condition. Kwon Tae-hee looked at the cloudy eyes filled with curiosity and naturally changed the subject instead of answering.
“How are you feeling?”
“Just… I’m cold, and I’m shivering.”
“Does it hurt?”
“I don’t really know. My stomach is a little… does it hurt? I feel strange. But when, when can I go see the baby?”
Seo Jeong-won instinctively sought warmth and held Kwon Tae-hee’s hand tightly, muttering that he was cold. Kwon Tae-hee called a nurse and wrapped Seo Jeong-won’s body in a blanket.
“When they say it’s okay to move.”
“But, Executive Director, why didn’t you see the baby, the baby?”
“I couldn’t leave Jeong-won-ssi alone. I was so anxious that I couldn’t move until you opened your eyes.”
“Still, the baby, first… Haa, you could have seen him. I didn’t even hear him cry.”
Kwon Tae-hee responded to every word in the mumbling voice as if he wasn’t fully conscious.
“It’s okay. Let’s go check who he looks like in a little while.”
“What if he looks like Executive Director?”
“Why, you don’t like it if he looks like me?”
“No, just… He’s a baby, so I thought he might be scary.”
His pronunciation was all garbled. Kwon Tae-hee looked at the flickering eyes and nodded that it was okay. He gave a fairly nonchalant answer that even if he looked like him, he might be cute because he was a baby.
“I want to see him, quickly.”
“You’ll be able to see him soon.”
Seo Jeong-won listened to Kwon Tae-hee’s answer and realized that it was a delusion that he thought his hands were shaking. Unlike the smile that was as smooth as a painting, Kwon Tae-hee’s hand that was holding him was trembling. Seo Jeong-won looked at him with puzzled eyes. He was unfamiliar with the different reaction from the calm expression that was no different from usual.
“Executive Director.”
“Yes.”
“…Are you okay?”
A scratching, metallic sound popped out of his throat, which hadn’t had a sip of water. Seo Jeong-won looked back and forth between the clean face with no change in expression and the hand that wasn’t. The trembling gradually spread throughout his body.
“…Executive Director?”
“Haa…”
Soon, Kwon Tae-hee’s expression distorted. He collapsed, losing his posture, and gasped for breath.
“I’m not okay.”
“…Yes?”
“I’m not okay.”