Chapter 164: The Things We Must Change

“Pregnant?”

“Yes, I’m now at seven weeks… apparently.”

“Congratulations, Assistant Manager Oh, truly.”

“Th-thank you.”

Hyunwoo, who had been surprised, quickly smiled and spoke warmly.

However, Assistant Manager Oh’s expression remained stiff and did not relax.

She bowed her head as if she were a sinner.

“And I’m sorry.
At such a busy time….”

“Sorry?
This is obviously something to be congratulated.
Don’t apologize.”

“But….”

“…….”

Hyunwoo understood why she felt this guilty.

In the omegaverse world, omega men could also become pregnant, but trait-holders were still a minority.

In a place where most people were betas, there were still many who looked unfavorably on employees who got pregnant and took leave.

Moonseong was also one of those large corporations that prioritized efficiency.

Although the internal atmosphere had improved a lot, in other departments there were still cases where people secretly used pregnancy evaluations as an excuse to impose disadvantages and force employees to resign.

And that was the kind of behavior Hyunwoo despised the most.

No matter how much inconvenience it caused to company work, giving birth to a child was one of the noblest and greatest things in the world.

Looking at Assistant Manager Oh, who had completely shrunk in on herself, Hyunwoo spoke again.

“Straighten your shoulders, Assistant Manager Oh.”

“Yes?”

“What crime have you committed?
You absolutely have the right to maternity leave and childcare leave according to company policy.”

“Then what about the work I’m currently in charge of….”

“Are you the only one in this company?
Someone will cover it.
You can even hand it over to me.”

“Director….”

Assistant Manager Oh looked at Hyunwoo with emotion in her eyes.

He spoke confidently, but in truth, Hyunwoo wasn’t confident about taking on more work himself.

Still, if things got dire, the HR department would figure something out.

Thinking of Hyunseok, who was still lounging around like a freeloader, Hyunwoo continued.

“I’ll talk to the HR team leader.
You’ll probably be contacted soon, so prepare the documents they ask for and send them.”

“Yes, thank you so much, Director.”

“Until when do you think you’ll be able to come into work?”

“Well… if it were up to me, I’d like to keep coming even when I’m full-term.”

“Haha, that’ll be difficult, so let’s find a compromise step by step.”

“Yes, yes.
I’ll do that.”

Hyunwoo added one more thing to Assistant Manager Oh, who was now smiling brightly.

“Once again, congratulations from the bottom of my heart.
You’ll give birth to a beautiful baby.”

“Oh, um… if it’s okay, would you like to see the ultrasound photo?”

“Of course.”

Assistant Manager Oh carefully took out the ultrasound photo she had been carrying close to her chest.

She gently handed it to Hyunwoo.

“Here, this big dot is the gestational sac.”

“Oh… I see.”

Hyunwoo had to pretend it was his first time seeing an ultrasound photo.

In reality, he had seen them countless times when he was pregnant with Min-ah.

Still, memories from back then came flooding back, and Hyunwoo let out a small smile.

Watching that tiny sac gradually grow and slowly take on the shape of a human was an incredibly moving experience.

“Are you experiencing morning sickness?”

“Ah, yes…
So I’ve been eating separately for a while now.”

“There will definitely be foods that suit you and the baby.
Usually people say sour fruits help, but it differs for each person, so it might be other fruits or foods.”

“Oh… you know a lot about this, Director.”

“…….”

“You must have relatives or friends who’ve given birth?”

“Well… something like that.”

Having gotten a little carried away, Hyunwoo panicked slightly and nodded while brushing it off vaguely.

After exchanging a few more words, Assistant Manager Oh thanked him for the advice and left the office.

“Whew, I almost overstepped.”

Giving advice because old memories surfaced had nearly made him seem strange.

Hyunwoo quietly took a breath, contacted HR, and informed Junghoon about Assistant Manager Oh’s pregnancy.

“A celebration party… would that be too old-fashioned?”

“Hmm… yes, that might make her uncomfortable.”

“Then how about arranging a simple meal and giving her a gift…?”

“That should be fine.”

After reviewing the schedule with Junghoon, Hyunwoo smiled in satisfaction.

He also began thinking about what kind of gift would be good for her.

“But Assistant Manager Oh seemed to have a really hard time bringing up her pregnancy.”

“Yes… the company atmosphere still isn’t very good.”

“That’s true.
It’s about time it changed.”

At first, Hyunwoo thought she hesitated because it was hard to tell him directly as the division head.

Since the management planning team was formed directly by Hyunwoo and had no team leader, he was her direct superior.

He thought she was reluctant to report something she’d done wrong to him.

But the fact that she hesitated simply because saying she was pregnant was difficult made his head go blank.

Fortunately, Hyunwoo had possessed a chaebol body and could hide his pregnancy while taking a long leave.

But for most people, that wasn’t the case.

Being pregnant itself felt like committing a crime against the company.

“You can change all of that from now on, Director.”

“Me?”

“Yes.
Honestly… the reason the atmosphere is like this now is partly because of the Chairman’s values.”

“Ah….”

Junghoon answered carefully.

Without realizing it, Hyunwoo nodded.

Chairman Joo Moon-hyuk, a staunch trait supremacist, was extremely conservative.

He naturally discriminated against omegas, prioritized hiring alphas, and even favored male betas.

Since those were the chairman’s instructions, the executives and employees had no choice but to follow.

But once the next chairman’s direction changed, the company’s nature would inevitably change as well.

A workplace that hired purely based on ability and allowed employees to confidently claim the benefits they deserved.

Unless the next chairman personally created that environment, it would be difficult for now.

“It’ll take some time.”

“It’ll be hard to change everything at once.”

“That’s true.”

Nodding, Hyunwoo felt burdened by the subtle look in Junghoon’s eyes.

It was a gaze full of expectation.

As if he believed that one day Hyunwoo would change the company.

“Ahem.
Anyway, if Assistant Manager Oh is okay with it, let’s arrange a small congratulatory gathering soon.”

“Yes, I’ll prepare it without any issues.”

With a bright smile, Junghoon left the office.

Left alone, Hyunwoo fell into thought.

He had planned to reveal Min-ah’s existence to the world someday and explain his own circumstances.

But after meeting with Assistant Manager Oh, his feelings became complicated.

If he told his own story and Min-ah’s, he definitely wouldn’t be able to become chairman the way Junghoon hoped.

Feeling stifled, Hyunwoo let out a long sigh.

Pretty One
Hyung, when are you coming home?

“…….”

After work, Hyunwoo took out his phone and checked his messages.

The last message from Seunghyuk had been sent two hours earlier.

After that, there were no more messages.

As he left the office, Hyunwoo made a call.

Ring… ring… ring….

But even after the ringing ended, Seunghyuk didn’t answer.

When the automated voice asked if he wanted to leave a message, Hyunwoo simply hung up.

Was something busy happening at home?

Or was Min-ah crying badly again?

Just as he decided he should hurry home—

Ring!

“……!”

Hyunwoo’s phone rang.

The caller was Seunghyuk.

Hyunwoo answered immediately.

“Hey, it’s me.
I just finished work—”

– Hyung, I’m sorry for telling you so late.
I’m at the hospital right now.

“What?
The hospital?”

– Min-ah suddenly had a high fever…
She’s okay now.
I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier.

“No, it’s okay…
She’s really okay, right?”

– Yes, she’s fine.
If you’re on your way home, do you want to come to the hospital and go back together?

“Yeah… okay.
I’m coming now.”

After hanging up, Hyunwoo moved as if his mind had gone completely blank.

His heart pounded violently.

Min-ah was generally healthy, but sometimes she suffered from sudden high fevers with no clear cause.

The doctors said that all babies were like that.

They reassured him it wasn’t anything serious.

Until now, Hyunwoo had always been by her side when she was sick.

But this time, he wasn’t.

Even after Min-ah had been sick and recovered, he hadn’t been there for her.

The world blurred before Hyunwoo’s eyes as he gripped the steering wheel.

“Ugh….”

But he couldn’t sit here crying.

He had to get back to Min-ah and Seunghyuk as quickly as possible.

Rubbing his eyes roughly, Hyunwoo started the car and stepped on the accelerator.

“Min-ah!”

“Hyung.”

“Where’s Min-ah?”

“She just fell asleep.”

“Ah….”

Hyunwoo walked over to the bed where Min-ah was lying.

She was sleeping softly.

Judging by the lingering redness on her cheeks, her fever must have been quite high.

“I’m sorry.
I should’ve gotten off work earlier.”

“No.
If you’re busy, it can’t be helped.”

“But still…
I feel so sorry to Min-ah….”

“Hyung….”

Without a word, Seunghyuk wrapped his arms tightly around Hyunwoo from behind.

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