By Zephyria Even after visiting the hospital, Kwon Tae-hee felt that Seo Jeong-won’s morning sickness wasn’t improving. After a few more weeks, it seemed to be starting in earnest. Before, he would only gag and rush to the bathroom when he saw his face, but now, even the smell of cooking rice made him shudder and turn away.
Following him every time was also too much. Seo Jeong-won retched as if he would vomit out his entire stomach when he saw his face, so Kwon Tae-hee was always on edge outside the bathroom.
“Jeong-won, are you okay?”
There was no answer from inside. They were supposed to go out to meet his parents soon, but Seo Jeong-won’s condition was not good.
“I’m, okay. I’m okay…”
Only after some time did a weak voice mumble from inside. Kwon Tae-hee listened quietly, and then he heard the sound of the faucet turning on. He was so weak that even simple actions took a long time. After waiting a few more minutes, the bathroom door opened.
Seo Jeong-won didn’t even lift his head properly. He just stared at his feet and stopped with a desolate look on his face.
“Can you go?”
“…Yes. I’m okay.”
“It’s a place that specializes in flower tea, so it only smells good. If you feel even a little strange after going in, just come out right away, so don’t hold back and tell me.”
Even though it was a meeting to replace the formal meeting between families before a wedding, Kwon Tae-hee chose a traditional teahouse located halfway up a scenic mountain on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province instead of a nice Korean restaurant because of Seo Jeong-won’s morning sickness. Seo Jeong-won said that his nausea subsided when he was in the garden at home, so he spent most of the day outside. He said that the smell of soil or grass quickly calmed his queasiness.
“I’m sorry because of me. I shouldn’t have…”
“My parents understood, so you don’t have to worry about that issue, Jeong-won.”
Seo Jeong-won didn’t even have the energy to answer, so he moved with Kwon Tae-hee’s support. The fake morning sickness had turned into real morning sickness. Food that he used to eat well suddenly became impossible to even smell, and even the water tasted fishy, so he couldn’t swallow even a sip properly. He tried most of the fruits that people usually crave during pregnancy, but he threw them all up.
Ironically, Kwon Tae-hee was the most helpful with his morning sickness. Seo Jeong-won leaned his head on his chest and let out a faint sigh. It felt like he was being punished for deceiving Kwon Tae-hee.
When they entered the bedroom, he wanted to lie down on the bed and soothe his nausea, but he couldn’t. As soon as he entered the dressing room, almost half-carried, he was seated on the stool. Kwon Tae-hee took out the clothes he would wear, as if he had chosen them in advance.
“Can you put them on by yourself? Or would you rather I dress you?”
“…I’ll do it myself.”
“You look like you’re going to fall over. It’s dangerous.”
“It’s not that bad.”
Seo Jeong-won’s hand rested on his stomach as if it was a habit. The fetus was now the size of a plum, and the belly hidden under the loose clothes felt bulging when he put his hand on it. The hospital said that he would feel the baby’s movements at 16 weeks.
“Take your time and come out. It doesn’t matter if you’re late, so don’t rush. I’ll… be in the living room.”
With those words of concern, Kwon Tae-hee left the dressing room. Seo Jeong-won, who had been staring at his feet, slowly raised his head and looked at his receding figure. It was driving him crazy. He hated being with him so much, but he felt like he would die from morning sickness if he wasn’t by his side.
He sighed deeply and inhaled the Pheromone that Kwon Tae-hee had released as a habit. He felt that his nausea was subsiding a little. Seo Jeong-won slowly got up and put on the clothes that Kwon Tae-hee had laid out one by one.
It wasn’t a suit, but it looked neat. And it was comfortable. In particular, the waist part was elastic, so it didn’t feel tight or stuffy. The cream-colored, thick knit was cozy and covered his lower abdomen securely.
Seo Jeong-won gently swept back his rather long hair and checked his appearance. He didn’t look pregnant, but he did look like a patient with a deep illness. The dark circles under his eyes made him look like a skeleton. He felt disgusted that he had lost so much weight after not being able to eat properly for a few weeks.
“…Hah.”
The moment he lifted his pajamas and showed his bulging belly in the mirror, he felt nauseous. He covered his mouth and shuddered, then ran to the bathroom and vomited a watery liquid. It hit him hard that he had been holed up here since the funeral. And today, he was even going to meet Kwon Tae-hee’s parents. As if marriage was a predetermined order. He said he would give him a choice. He said he could just leave the baby.
His bony, thin hand lightly gripped his lower abdomen. Every time he checked the ultrasound, every time he saw the baby with its hands and feet moving actively in his belly, his firm heart became blurred. His determination to leave without looking back after giving birth crumbled.
He rinsed his mouth roughly and went out to the dressing room to put on his outerwear.
“Jeong-won, are you all dressed?”
Just in time, Kwon Tae-hee entered the dressing room. Seo Jeong-won glanced at Kwon Tae-hee through the mirror and then lowered his gaze. Depression spread like ink.
Kwon Tae-hee quickly approached Seo Jeong-won, who was standing in front of the mirror, and assessed his mood while checking his clothes. He was sure that he was just lacking energy when he left, but when he came back, he was in a bad mood.
“It suits you well, you look pretty.”
Kwon Tae-hee deliberately praised Seo Jeong-won. In fact, it wasn’t a lie that he was pretty. Even though he had lost weight, Seo Jeong-won was still pretty. His cheeks were gaunt and his jawline was sharp. His atmosphere changed from a gentle beauty to a sensitive beauty. Unlike before, when he looked like a country puppy, he now looked like a wary kitten that had been brought from a shop at a high price.
“Do you want to go out and wait for a while?”
“…Yes.”
Kwon Tae-hee didn’t let Seo Jeong-won go out alone, but naturally supported him. He sat him down on the living room sofa and went back to the dressing room. After quickly changing his clothes, he habitually chose accessories, but then closed the showcase, thinking that he might hurt Seo Jeong-won’s body.
Since he was sensitive to smells, he didn’t apply any hair products and neatly lowered his hair. After roughly checking his appearance in the mirror, he hurried back to Seo Jeong-won.
“Jeong-won.”
He had definitely sat him down, but he was now leaning back and lying down. In the short moment he had left, Seo Jeong-won had quickly fallen asleep. He breathed softly with his dry lips slightly parted. Kwon Tae-hee carefully grabbed Seo Jeong-won’s shoulder, who was sound asleep to the point that he felt sorry to wake him up, and shook him gently.
“Jeong-won.”
“…Ah.”
“Shall we rest at home?”
“No, I was just… closing my eyes for a moment.”
The closed eyelids fluttered and rose, revealing unfocused eyes. Seo Jeong-won blinked a few times as if trying to wake up, then propped himself up on the sofa with his arms. Every action seemed precarious. Did all Omegas become so weak when they were pregnant?
“If you’re not feeling well, we can postpone it to another time.”
Seo Jeong-won didn’t want to meet his parents at all, not just next time. He wanted to ask why he had to meet his parents, but he didn’t have the energy or the strength to argue with him, so he held back.
“Executive Director, are you going to marry me?”
“Jeong-won.”
“I’m just curious. But if something happens to the baby… would you still marry me? If you’re going to bring another person, I think it’s better not to say hello.”
Seo Jeong-won muttered quietly and shook his head as if trying to come to his senses.
“Jeong-won, Danpung will grow up well and meet us safely, so don’t think bad thoughts.”
And Kwon Tae-hee pretended not to hear his brazen words about whether he would find another Omega if something happened to the baby.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
Kwon Tae-hee’s parents had arrived at the teahouse he had reserved first. As they entered, the hall manager greeted them as if he had been waiting and led them to their seats.
Seo Jeong-won was exhausted from coming all the way here, but he was nervous about meeting elders who were even older than Kwon Tae-hee. His hands kept getting cold. Even when he held them together, the coolness spread throughout his body.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about. They’re good people.”
“…Yes.”
He didn’t believe those words. Children are said to be mirrors of their parents. Considering that they were Kwon Tae-hee’s parents, he didn’t think they would be the kind of people who generally belonged to the category of good people.
As they went further inside, they saw a middle-aged couple sitting side by side in a sunny spot. When Kwon Tae-hee slightly tightened his grip on his shoulder, Seo Jeong-won reflexively lowered his head.
“Oh, you’re here?”
At the same time as the gentle voice, the expression of a middle-aged woman who was well-suited to the expression “beautiful” softened. The man standing next to her also curved his stiff lips.
“Sit down, you must be tired from coming all this way. And you’re not even alone.”
“…Hello, I’m Seo Jeong-won. Nice to meet you for the first time.”
Seo Jeong-won finished his introduction awkwardly. The two of them looked at his cute appearance, which was different from Kwon Tae-hee, with a satisfied expression and opened their mouths as if responding.
“Nice to meet you, Jeong-won. I’m Shin Mi-hee. This person is Kwon Hyun-seok.”
“Nice to meet you, Jeong-won.”
Seo Jeong-won stared at the white, beautiful hand that was politely extended, and then shook it a beat later. Mrs. Shin Mi-hee looked at his actions with eyes that seemed to be watching the antics of a cute grandchild. Unlike what he had expected, that they would be bad people like Kwon Tae-hee, his parents had a completely different atmosphere.
“I heard that Jeong-won is now twenty-one years old.”
“Ah… yes.”
“I was very surprised to hear that you were pregnant.”