Having entered full-scale pheromone treatment, I spent the entire day receiving examinations and treatment. Since it was treatment for a pregnant omega, there was nothing dangerous, but my body grew exhausted from repeatedly receiving injections and IV drips. When I woke up, I’d take medicine, get another injection, then fall asleep again in a repeating cycle.
My body was languid and lethargic to the point it was scary whether a person could just sleep this much. I was told it couldn’t be helped in order to stabilize my tangled and dried-up pheromones, but I felt anxious as if I was becoming lazy. Like that, I gradually felt my fever dropping and my body becoming lighter. The treatment seemed to be working properly.
I kept receiving warnings from the doctor that if pregnancy pheromone shock occurred again due to lack of alpha pheromones, even the fetus would be hard to guarantee next time. Right now only my body was struggling like this, but it was a frightening warning that if the same situation happened again, the fetus’s condition would also be bad.
It was a terribly anxious statement. Setting aside the contract and everything else, it was terrible that a life could fall into danger due to my complacent handling.
The fact that my body was currently lacking alpha pheromones wasn’t entirely my fault, but if Cha Juheon had let his guard down, I should have come to my senses. The excuse that I was equally thoughtless didn’t work.
Even though I didn’t know much since it was my first pregnancy, it was pathetic that I’d reached this point by missing the most important pheromone aspect. They said this pain could occur again, and if something like this happened again next time, I wouldn’t be able to endure it.
“Then… I have no choice but to do as Cha Juheon said…”
After Cha Juheon left, I worried for two full days. The conclusion was ‘Living together doesn’t seem right. We should find a better method together.’ But while repeating examinations and treatment, that thought kept going back and forth.
I learned that my situation was more dangerous than Cha Juheon’s explanation, and that a situation would come where even the baby’s life couldn’t be guaranteed. To save me, we’d have to terminate the baby, and even if I was in pain, the baby would die. In the end, I heard the doctor’s firm explanation that if this happened again, we’d have no choice but to give up the baby unconditionally.
The next time, the way for me to survive was to kill the baby. On the other hand, there was no situation where only the baby could survive. The worst case was both of us dying. It was so absurd that both our lives hung on a single alpha pheromone. But this wasn’t something to brush off lightly with feelings of absurdity. So I understood why Cha Juheon made such a proposal.
How much courage must it have taken for him to bring up those words given his personality and tendencies? It must have been a really big decision for him. If so, I should also give up my greed and step back to compromise. We weren’t playing house like children but had made a contract staking everything on each other. Above all, doing our best so this contract could be completed successfully was the duty of contractors.
The doctor also repeated that it would be good to stay with the alpha for as long as possible. Cha Juheon’s house was the place where he was most comfortable being active, so naturally his pheromones would be saturated heavily here and there. Above all, it would be convenient to release pheromones too. Then the baby and I could gain stability while receiving his natural pheromones. As Cha Juheon said, it was the best method in every way.
“He said the house is spacious, so I just need to endure for a few months until childbirth… I’ve received so much, this isn’t the time to be picky about what I like or don’t like. Above all, it’s a path for my health.”
When I tried to think of other methods, I eventually came back to the starting point and ended with this thought. I organized my thoughts that I’d think about it more, and if there were no other methods, I’d discuss it with Cha Juheon again. Definitely. That’s what I thought. But…
“Ah! Doctor! Wait, it hurts too much!”
“It hurts, doesn’t it? Right. This hurts. The tube goes in deep so it will hurt. But you have to endure it. We must do this for your pheromone balance to return to normal.”
“Ah, it’s going in more?”
“Yes. Almost done. When the medicine goes in, you’ll feel a heavy sensation and it’ll be more uncomfortable. This is the fastest treatment with no side effects, so just endure a little more.”
The doctor and nurse coaxed me like soothing a child while continuing to insert the injection. Rather than an injection, it was more accurate to say a giant tube was coming in and piercing my back. Since I was pregnant, I couldn’t receive medicine and IV drips for a long period, so we chose this method. Partial anesthesia was possible, but since I wasn’t past 3 months of pregnancy, we didn’t use anesthesia.
I was relieved and reassured hearing that many people underwent the procedure without anesthesia even when not pregnant, but I guess I relaxed too much. The process was more painful than expected, and screams came out involuntarily from the pain of flesh being pierced. And finally, whether the injection tube had fully entered, I no longer felt severe pain.
I felt the heaviness of medicine entering through the tube, but compared to earlier, it was bearable. I wasn’t normally this much of a coward, but perhaps because I was momentarily tense, cold sweat flowed all over my body. My face was already soaked and I didn’t even have the energy to scream. It would be better to just sleep.
Would it hurt when they pulled the tube out too? Since this is just once, I’ll endure it, but I couldn’t do it twice. If Cha Juheon’s alpha pheromones become insufficient, I’d have to repeat this, right? No, they said it would be more dangerous than now next time, so something like this might be nothing.
I can’t, I can’t do it. I hated being in pain and I hated receiving this treatment again. I need to be healthy to give birth well and take care of our mom later. Just, I’ll just move into Cha Juheon’s house… let’s move in. That’s definitely better.
“Huh? Why is Baek Eunwoo like this right now? Didn’t you say you were administering pheromone treatment? What did you do? Was the treatment done normally?”
Just as I was about to fall asleep from exhaustion, I heard Cha Juheon’s voice pressing the medical staff. They definitely said guardians couldn’t come in here, so why was I hearing Cha Juheon’s voice, who should be at the company, right now? My eyelids were heavy and sweat was flowing into my eyes making everything blurry, and I was curious how terrible I looked for him to be shouting like that.
“Ah, the treatment is going well. They’re just exhausted. We just need to inject a little more medicine, so guardian, please step back a bit. You can’t go toward the patient. You mustn’t interfere with the professor’s procedure.”
The nurse coldly blocked Cha Juheon from coming toward me. That person is really amazing. Blocking that prince like that. I wasn’t sure whether Cha Juheon had somehow come or if I was seeing things while intoxicated by the medicine. I didn’t know anything, but seeing him, it was certain that my mouth moved on its own.
“…I want to move in.”
“What? Eunwoo?”
“Into your place, Executive Director… I want to move in… I can’t live like this…”
Even if you think I’m being a baby, it couldn’t be helped. I was really in pain and what I said in that moment was my true feelings.
***
When I opened my eyes, the sun had set again. These days, waking up looking at the night sky is routine. No matter how sick I am, I seem to be sleeping too much. I’d never slept for this long before, so I felt anxious for no reason. When I’m all better, I need to exercise hard.
“Are you coming to your senses?”
“…Ah, Executive Director…”
What I saw earlier wasn’t a hallucination. Seeing him, I wanted to say things like ‘You came? Have you been waiting long?’ but my throat was scratchy and dry, making it difficult to speak. But for some reason today, Cha Juheon wasn’t wearing a mask on his face.
Then should I wear one? I don’t have a mask right now… Having always seen only his eyes with a mask on, seeing his entire face after so long made me feel like I was secretly stealing glances at him.
His features were bold and his sculptured high nose bridge was truly a work of art. But why was he looking at me with his bare face today? Since the person who used to wrap up his face and entire body tightly was like this, I worried for no reason whether something had happened.
“Why are you showing your face? Is something wrong? I can’t cover up since I don’t have a mask…”
I hadn’t been able to wash properly while at the hospital, so I was scared Cha Juheon might even have convulsions. He who had been frowning at my small voice seemed to understand my words and raised the corners of his mouth as if it was nothing. He who had been briefly feeling his own face now wiped my forehead with a towel, completely nonchalant. A fresh scent of water wafted from the towel.
“I told them to clean the second floor where you’ll be staying thoroughly. I always told them to do it, but I paid extra attention. It will be warm and clean. I didn’t know what texture of bedding you liked, so I prepared soft material. If you don’t like it, tell me right away. When you’re discharged, you just need to pack what you need and come to the house, and we’ll organize what’s at the apartment slowly. You said you didn’t have much luggage anyway since it was a temporary place, right?”
“…Yes?”
“Should we move the piano? For now, we have a piano at my house too… but what you’re used to would be more comfortable, right? After seeing the house, decide where it would be good to place the piano. There’s a dedicated elevator inside the house, so try not to use the stairs as much as possible. If even that becomes uncomfortable when your belly gets bigger, I’ll consider moving you to the first floor.”
The consequences of the nonsense I blurted out unable to endure the pain poured out through Cha Juheon’s mouth like that.
“Why? Is there more you want to hear? Anyway, you made a good decision. Think of it as for Baek Eunwoo’s health and stay comfortably. I’ll make sure you’re as comfortable as possible.”
Honestly, rather than me being uncomfortable, I was more worried that Cha Juheon’s daily life would become uncomfortable. Cha Juheon’s expression as he conveyed future matters to me was so calm it even looked peaceful. Watching that appearance, before I knew it, I was nodding my head at his words.
