Even Though We’re Together (2)
“Han Yeoul, Han Yeoul?”
It seemed I had lost consciousness for a moment. When I opened my eyes, I was embarrassingly in a hospital room. I had clearly escaped from the hospital, yet here I was in a hospital room.
“Professor…?”
At least there was a familiar face, which allowed me to feel relieved. Seeing the professor, the reality of my situation finally hit me, and I swallowed dryly.
“Where is this—”
The voice that leaked from my lips was so cracked it was painful to hear. When I cleared my throat, the professor brought over a cup with a straw. After taking a sip of water, the professor looked at me with a worried expression and said:
“Don’t worry. This is a hospital I know. There were no cars following us, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
“Ah…”
Thank goodness. It seems they couldn’t chase us right away.
However, while feeling relieved, I recalled Yoo Seonjae’s face I had seen the moment the elevator doors closed. That face mixed with surprise, confusion, and sadness.
“What should I do, Professor?”
“Yes?”
“He saw me.”
“Saw what…?”
“Seonjae… Seonjae looked at me with a face like he was about to cry.”
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Seonjae.
“And I just left like that, I just left like that—”
I couldn’t finish my words and burst into tears. Even though it was to protect the child, my heart ached so much it felt like it would burst from leaving Yoo Seonjae like that.
“Han Yeoul. Can you tell me what happened?”
The professor asked me with a worried expression. Well, the professor must be confused too, yet came all the way here without asking anything.
“Just…”
“Just?”
“I remembered.”
Yoo Seonjae’s voice stirred in my head again.
“I remembered him saying he would get rid of the child.”
“Did your memory return?”
“No. It’s not like that.”
Unable to continue speaking, I just trembled, and the professor patted my shoulder.
“It’s okay, Han Yeoul. You need to stabilize first, so rest for a bit.”
“…Yes. Thank you, Professor.”
The professor smiled at me once as I thanked him and left the hospital room. I thought he would ask what on earth had happened, but the professor didn’t ask anything. Only questions about my condition. As a attending physician.
Did I do the right thing?
I had vaguely felt I needed to escape and came out recklessly, but I wasn’t sure if I had really done the right thing.
The thought that perhaps I should have tried talking it out wouldn’t leave my mind. My reason clearly said leaving was right, but something deep in my heart kept saying something was wrong.
“What should I do?”
I buried my face in the blanket. Yoo Seonjae’s face kept lingering before my eyes.
“You should be hospitalized for a while to monitor your progress.”
At the professor’s words, I was momentarily flustered. Although I had been confined, there was nothing particularly wrong with me. And for good reason—it was confinement in name, but in a way, I had been receiving devoted care from Yoo Seonjae…
“I’m not uncomfortable enough to be hospitalized, Professor.”
At my words, the professor chuckled. For some reason, that smiling face seemed familiar, and I was briefly confused.
“It’s not a matter of whether Han Yeoul is uncomfortable or not. You don’t know what state you’re in right now.”
“What?”
“You’ve been exposed to the pheromones of an alpha you’re imprinted with after a long time, so shouldn’t we observe what symptoms might appear?”
“Imprinted… you say?”
“Han Yeoul, you’re in an imprinted state.”
I hadn’t heard such a thing. Throughout treating me until now, the professor had never once told me I was imprinted. Why on earth?
“…You said there was no problem.”
My voice trembled. Perhaps the one I should have been wary of wasn’t Yoo Seonjae, but the professor?
Come to think of it, why haven’t I ever doubted the professor? From the moment we first met until now, I had believed without question that the professor would be on my side no matter what. Why on earth?
I first met the professor when I came to the mainland in Kim Yeonghyo’s car.
*
“I want to go to the hospital with you.”
“It’s okay. You must be busy too, so go ahead.”
I smiled brightly at Kim Yeonghyo, who seemed reluctant. I appreciated him trying to take care of me, but being with Kim Yeonghyo wasn’t very comfortable for me.
He said we were classmates, but we didn’t seem to have been that close, as his attitude toward me was strangely awkward. And more than anything, I was suffering because of the pheromones seeping out from him.
I didn’t say it out loud, but I felt like I was going to vomit. I wanted him to disappear from my sight as soon as possible.
He was a kind person who recognized me and helped me, yet I hated the situation where I ended up thinking such thoughts about him. In any case, I wanted to send Kim Yeonghyo away before he caught on to these feelings of mine.
“I’m really okay. I’ll contact you when I get a new phone.”
“Okay. You still have the number I wrote down, right?”
“Yeah. I told you not to worry.”
I waved at Kim Yeonghyo, who kept looking back as if he couldn’t bear to leave. Only after looking back for a long while did Kim Yeonghyo finally get in his car.
“Phew—”
A sigh escaped naturally. Once he disappeared, I could finally breathe comfortably. After taking a few more deep breaths, I took out the mask I had put in my pocket and put it on.
I didn’t know when I was on the island. That I would react so sensitively to alpha pheromones. Because all the grandmothers and grandfathers living on the island were betas, I hadn’t realized it. I learned for the first time when I met Kim Yeonghyo and he hugged me lightly out of happiness. The alpha pheromones I felt from him were disgusting to the point of making my stomach turn.
…Is it because of the baby in my belly?
I hadn’t told anyone, but I already knew I was pregnant. I don’t know how I remember having a child when I’ve forgotten my own name and face, but that’s how it was.
With no doctor or hospital on the island, I couldn’t remember at all how I had managed, so I thought I needed to get to the mainland as soon as possible. I had to be certain. I wanted to be proven that both I and the child were fine. Only then would I be able to think about what I needed to do.
I looked up at the hospital in front of me and steeled my heart. Fortunately, I had my ID in my wallet. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to know who I was, let alone go to the hospital.
Why can’t I remember anything? It didn’t seem like I had hit my head. It felt like I just went to sleep and woke up, opening my eyes as usual, but I couldn’t remember anything.
So I must find out. Why I ended up like this.
It was a small hospital in the countryside. Strangely, even though I couldn’t remember anything, it seemed that common sense or knowledge learned through experience remained intact, as I could receive registration, find the department, and wait for my turn without difficulty.
What I couldn’t remember was really just my personal things. For example, my name, appearance, relationships, family, etc… Why did I forget only those things?
“Well, I’ll find out once I get examined.”
I thought I’d have to wait a long time, but surprisingly, my turn for examination came quickly. I thought I always had to wait a long time when going to the hospital, then realized this too was a memory left to me, which made me feel strange.
“Han Yeoul.”
At the call, I stood up and headed to the examination room. I took a short deep breath and entered. Yeah, what could possibly be wrong?
“Yeoul—”
“Hello.”
I was in such a hurry that I greeted before the doctor could finish saying my name. When I smiled awkwardly, the doctor’s face looking at me hardened.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I was in a hurry.”
“Han… Yeoul?”
“Yes.”
The doctor stared at my face intently, then turned their gaze to the monitor. What is it, why are they staring at someone’s face like that? Is this their examination style?
Trait Medicine Specialist Lee Minseong.
That was the doctor’s name. A stranger, yet somehow they seemed familiar. Funny. Familiar. When I only recognized my own face after looking in a mirror.
“Um, Professor—”
“Ah, I need to tell you something first. I’m not Dr. Lee Minseong.”
“What? What do you—”
The doctor’s expression became even more complex as they looked at my confusion. I looked back uncomfortably at their face, which seemed like they had something to say.
