However, even in my bewildered state, a corner of my heart felt a little warm and fuzzy.
I’d wanted to have a child someday. But the probability of a male-type omega getting pregnant was far lower compared to female-type omegas or beta women. It was practically left up to luck, so it was true that I’d half given up on it. This was good news, if it could be called that.
If I didn’t have the baby this time, it was unclear whether I’d be able to have a child again when I was ready in the future. Plus, the possibility of pregnancy decreases with age. Thinking about it that way, even though it was sudden, having the baby was definitely one of the options.
But what about the company, and what about that bastard I’m living with?
I was sighing deeply and trying to predict various situations when the doctor spoke up as if reading my mind.
“You probably already know this, but it’s not an easy trait to have children with.”
“Yes…”
The doctor smiled wryly as if telling me to think it over carefully, then pulled his chair back to its original position.
“Come back in a week for an ultrasound. You do have a low-grade fever, but it’s early so it’s better not to use medication—will that be okay?”
“Yes… Is it okay that I took emergency contraception? I mean, for the—”
The unfamiliar ring of the word made my throat feel scratchy. My face felt like it was heating up for no reason.
“…For the baby.”
“It won’t affect an already implanted fetus, so you can rest assured. Do you have any other questions?”
“No… Oh, I also drank coffee.”
The doctor laughed lightly at my hurried question.
“About one cup a day is fine. Still, it’s better to be careful from now on.”
Ah, yes.
I suddenly felt like I was getting a taste of being an overprotective parent, so I shut my mouth tight and just nodded obediently.
“Then I’ll see you next week.”
I finished the payment and trudged out of the OB-GYN. This is the fourth time I’ve taken this elevator today.
Listening to the whirring mechanical sounds, I scanned my reflection in the door with my eyes. An ordinary office worker. Wearing slacks, a shirt and cardigan, with a common square backpack.
I carefully placed my hand on my stomach.
So… it’s in here?
I rubbed my stomach, but naturally I didn’t feel anything. There was only a gurgling sound because I’d neglected to eat lunch properly. Now that there are two people in one body, should I eat more?
Ah, that bastard might be at home when I get there. His work is so irregular that I don’t really know when he comes and goes.
Lately, I too have been leaving home early and coming back late at night. Partly because I’m busy, but the main reason was that I didn’t know what face to make when dealing with him.
Even while thinking I should just act like before, when I actually saw his face it wasn’t easy. Whenever I encountered him walking around in disheveled clothes, memories from that time kept flooding my mind and my palms would become drenched with sweat.
He brazenly went about the house as usual. Sometimes when he saw me, he’d hesitate as if he had something he wanted to say, but I always pretended not to notice and changed the subject. Quickly disappearing into my room with the excuse that I was tired was a bonus.
Please don’t be there, please.
I pressed the door code while praying desperately in my heart. I didn’t want to face him on the day such a major incident had occurred. Obviously I’d have to talk to him about it, but not now. Once I sorted things out for myself, I wanted to calmly discuss it then.
However, my desperate prayer was in vain, because as soon as I opened the door and entered, I saw him standing blankly in front of the entrance with a surprised expression.
Ah, I’m screwed.
“What about work?”
For some reason he’d been home all day, dressed comfortably with slightly disheveled hair. From the way he was rolling his wide eyes around, he seemed quite flustered that I, who should have been at work, had suddenly appeared.
Moreover, we’d been a bit awkward since a certain incident occurred.
“Half-day off.”
“Why? Are you sick?”
He followed behind me as I took off my shoes and entered, then grabbed me and spun me around, examining my face from different angles. If he was asking if I was sick by looking at my face, that’s a bit unfair. I’ve always looked like this. Pale and unremarkable.
He touched my cheek with his hand, then furrowed his brow sharply.
“You have a fever.”
“I’m fine.”
“How are you fine? Go lie down quickly. What about food?”
He dragged me along and laid me down on the bed, then sat on the edge. Watching him lean my backpack against the nightstand, I wriggled into the blanket. I was conscious of whether my awkwardness showed on my face.
The thought that I should change clothes crossed my mind, but once I lay down, I didn’t feel like getting up.
I’ll do it after eating.
His shortly cut hair sparkled orange in the sunset light coming through the window. I stared at his broad back with well-defined muscles, then slowly turned my head away.
Because I remembered clinging messily to that back.
And in this room, too.
“Not yet.”
“Should I make you some porridge?”
“That’d be great.”
“Okay. Wait for me.”
He smiled broadly as he pulled the blanket over me. His prominent eyebrows revealed along with his forehead and his straight nose bridge were sharp. Though his handsomely curved eye corners and lips gave off a somewhat fierce impression, he was worthy of being called handsome.
So, it’s him.
“You seem okay today.”
“…What do you mean?”
The biological father of the child in my belly,
And my housemate and childhood friend.
“I thought you were avoiding me lately.”
Won Dogyeong.
He left those words in passing with a rough, dry tone. Then without waiting for an answer, he got up from his seat as if fleeing and headed to the kitchen. I followed his retreating figure through the door crack, then just blinked my eyes quietly while listening to the sound of the knife running across the cutting board—thump thump thump.
So you knew, that I was avoiding you.
I raised my hand and rubbed my face. A small sigh escaped.
The reason Won Dogyeong and I ended up in this situation is all because of work.
No, really.
During that time, work was truly so busy I couldn’t catch my breath. A big project was in its final stages, and it was the very end of the very end. Far from catching my breath, I barely slept three or four hours a day and didn’t even remember what weekends were.
In other words, I was living days with zero personal life, like a cog in a corporate machine.
In the midst of that, I ended up making two critical mistakes.
The first was not taking my suppressants on time for three whole days.
Normally this wouldn’t have been such a big problem. If the period I missed taking them wasn’t long, it would sometimes be fine if I got back to taking them properly. Even if heat came, it was just a matter of taking a few days off work.
The work I needed to handle was almost finished, and well, the company wouldn’t stop running just because I wasn’t there.
That’s probably why I was unconsciously thinking about it complacently.
I need to take my suppressants first thing when I get home today—I’d looked at the calendar while working and been startled enough to make exactly that resolution.
Fortunately, that day’s work was the last of the major things I needed to knock out. With the single-minded determination that I could breathe easy once this overtime was over, I’d long since missed the last train and finally got up from my seat past 3 AM. Since I’d gotten permission to take a half-day off the next morning, even though my body was tired, my steps heading home were light.
Whether I was excited because work was wrapping up or out of my mind from exhaustion, after getting out of the taxi I even bought two cans of beer from the convenience store.
When I get home I’ll take a bath, drink beer, watch TV and sleep. If Won Dogyeong happens to be awake, I should ask him to drink with me—I was thinking such things.
Even as I pressed the door code, I was only thinking about getting into warm water.
I had a gut feeling something was wrong from the moment the door closed behind me and I stepped into the entrance, kicking off my shoes.
The air inside the house was strange.
That’s when I suddenly remembered the contact I’d had with Won Dogyeong a few days ago.
[Won Dogyeong: Clear out of the house starting next Wednesday]
[Me: Why?]
[Won Dogyeong: Rut]
[Me: Is it already that time?]
[Me: Got it]
The second mistake. I’d forgotten about Won Dogyeong’s rut.
It was a far more serious error than the first one.
Due to our traits, we’d been clearing out of the house when each other’s cycles came, but I’d been so swamped with work that my brain capacity must have been insufficient—I’d completely forgotten the top priority for safe house-sharing between an alpha and an omega…
However, before I could even contemplate whether I should turn around and leave immediately after realizing that fact, the pheromones that had been settling like fog inside the house began to engulf me. My breath caught and my whole body shivered. The concentration of pheromones floating in the air was excessively thick, as if Won Dogyeong had already been in rut for more than half a day.
As a temporary measure, I raised my trembling hand to cover my nose and mouth, but there was no way that could block all the pheromones that were also absorbed through the skin.
Especially not in a situation where pheromones were spread everywhere like this.
Heat kept rising in my body. My legs lost strength and I leaned against the wall. I wasn’t even standing. The wall was barely holding me up. My lower abdomen tingled and all the fine hair on my body stood on end.
I can’t stay any longer, I need to get out.
I tried to take a step toward going outside, but felt my strength drain away completely and fell ungracefully with a crash. I barely managed to lean against the wall and just gasped for breath. Already below I was fully erect, my pants bulging prominently.
Dangerous.
I could tell instinctively. The uncontrollable surge of heat I’d felt several times before was crawling up from my toes.
It was a precursor symptom of heat.
