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Join the ServerThe rabbit hat was not the only item he had bought with me in mind. Cat ear headbands, dog paw slippers, and countless other childish trinkets spilled out from every corner of the dressing room.
‘He really packed them in there, didn’t he?’
A different kind of extravagant spending, it was so absurd that a laugh escaped me. Anyone could see his clear intention to tease, and it was equally laughable that he was pretending otherwise.
“Don’t these look like they’d suit you perfectly, Yoo Seo-jin?”
This time, he gently placed a cat ear headband on my head. When I glanced in the mirror, I saw him still wearing the rabbit hat, and myself with cat ears sprouting from my head.
What a sight we made.
Having a profound moment of self-realization, I removed the headband and handed it back to him. As I turned to leave the dressing room, he predictably stopped me.
“You don’t like cats?”
“…Isn’t that beside the point?”
“If not cats, how about deer? Yoo Seo-jin, your eyes are so big, I think a deer would suit you well.”
I had assumed he was merely intent on teasing me, but now I saw that he was genuinely enjoying himself. What was the point of wearing headbands and dressing up when we weren’t even at an amusement park?
“This time, with this one—”
“Han Jung-woo, do you want to go to an amusement park?”
He paused, about to place a headband with deer antlers on my head. His actions had been so peculiar that I’d thrown out the question on a whim, but his wavering eyes suggested I’d hit the nail on the head.
Han Jung-woo and an amusement park? That was an even more mismatched combination than board games just moments ago. Wasn’t this guy the one who loved nightlife and omegas more than anyone?
“You bought all of this… because of that?”
“…It’s not exactly like that, but—”
Embarrassed, he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck, uncharacteristically avoiding my gaze. Then, with a brief sigh, he made what he clearly considered a shameful confession.
“I’ve never been to a place like that before.”
“But next to the resort—”
“There was no adult to go with me.”
Han Jung-woo’s mother had passed away early, and his father had remarried quickly, almost as if he’d been waiting for it. After that, Han Jung-woo spent most of his childhood neglected.
Even amidst such circumstances, his ability to securely maintain his position as the Daejin Group successor was partly due to his manifestation as a dominant Alpha. However, a larger factor was his stepmother’s inability to bear children.
Even if he had manifested as a dominant Alpha, had his stepmother given birth to a half-sibling, he would not have ascended to this position. This was a fact he knew all too well.
‘Han Jung-woo… he’s a pitiful soul, after all.’
It felt like the saying, “If you pick apart everyone’s life, no one is truly without pity,” applied perfectly here. Honestly, Han Jung-woo objectively possessed everything one could desire.
‘Useless worry.’
Quickly dismissing the thought, I pushed away Han Jung-woo’s hand, which still hovered over my head. He awkwardly retreated, his face visibly darkening. Truly, this was so unlike Han Jung-woo.
“Next time, if we have time….”
“You mean we should go together?”
His eyes sparkling, he cut me off. While that had indeed been my intention, the dramatic shift in his expression was so absurd that I couldn’t continue.
This bastard, he was definitely acting.
“Promise me, quickly.”
He brazenly extended his pinky finger. Even seeing the desire to argue brimming in my eyes, he merely smiled brightly. Realizing that getting angry would only harm me, I casually hooked my finger around his.
“If we have time.”
“Yes, if we have time.”
I didn’t know when that “if” would come, but if it were after the baby was born, this promise would surely never be kept. Yet, he would likely believe in this fleeting, lightweight promise.
‘I feel unwell.’
Was it because of the overwhelming scent in this place? It wasn’t quite unpleasant, but the subtle mix of another person’s pheromones within the familiar aroma felt intensely strong.
“Wait, just a moment….”
I tried to hold it back, covering my nose and mouth with the hand that had just unhooked from our pinky promise. But the nausea surged instantly, rising to my throat.
“Ugh.”
“Yoo Seo-jin?”
He, who had been tidying up, discovered me retching, bent deeply at the waist. But before he could approach, I frantically rushed out of the dressing room and ran towards the bathroom.
The moment I opened the door, I knelt before the toilet and emptied everything inside me. Ugh, ugh, half-digested remnants and stomach acid poured out relentlessly.
“Are you alright?”
He, having followed me, gently stroked my back. Each time my body shuddered, I wanted to tell him to stop the torment, but the retching wouldn’t cease.
“Did you eat something bad?”
“It’s not that… ugh.”
“Don’t talk now. I’ll call the doctor first….”
Before I could stop him, he pulled out his phone and called the doctor. While he was on the phone, I, exhausted from only expelling thin stomach acid, leaned against the toilet, gasping for breath.
“Are you feeling a bit calmer now?”
He bent his knees to meet my eye level and asked. When I weakly nodded, he reached out and wiped away the residue around my mouth. “It’s dirty,” I mumbled, my lips barely moving, but he just smiled, assuring me it was fine.
“The doctor will be here soon, so let’s clean up around your mouth first.”
He carefully helped me up and led me to the sink. He personally washed my face and even brushed my teeth before we left the bathroom. Being washed by someone else at my age made me feel like a child again.
Shortly after he settled me in bed, the summoned doctor arrived. His appearance was much quicker than expected, which surprised me, but my exhaustion meant my expression barely changed.
‘That person…’
Though he likely didn’t know me, I recognized the doctor Han Jung-woo had called. He was a former child actor, roughly my age in terms of career seniority. And that actor’s role was Kim Min-sung, Han Jung-woo’s friend and personal physician.
“He was making such a fuss, I thought someone had died, but you look perfectly fine.”
Kim Min-sung, seeing me lying in bed, retorted with a look of disbelief. Regardless, Han Jung-woo, who had been consumed with worry for me, calmly explained my condition.
“Can I lift the blanket for a moment?”
Even just to lift the blanket, Kim Min-sung sought Han Jung-woo’s permission. Han Jung-woo, his straight eyebrows slightly askew, eventually nodded his chin in assent.
Kim Min-sung gently pulled back the blanket and began to check my condition. From my breathing to my focus, complexion, and more, he quickly completed his examination. Finally, Kim Min-sung looked at my belly, which was slightly more swollen than before.
“You said you were pregnant, right?”
“…That’s right.”
“How many weeks along?”
“It should be ten weeks.”
Kim Min-sung, who had been listening intently to Han Jung-woo’s reply, then met my gaze. This time, he directed his question to me, not Han Jung-woo.
“What happened right before you started feeling nauseous?”
“I was just… in the dressing room with Han Jung-woo.”
“And you didn’t feel anything specific?”
“Not really, I don’t think…”
At my vague answer, Kim Min-sung’s brows furrowed deeply. He told me to think a bit harder, so I carefully recalled the recent events. Ah, there was something. Something specific I felt.
“I sensed another person’s pheromones in the dressing room.”
“Aside from Han Jung-woo’s?”
“Yes, it was a very small amount, but… I think I started feeling unwell after smelling that.”
Only after hearing my subsequent answer did Kim Min-sung’s furrowed brow relax. Calming Han Jung-woo, who continued to express mountain-sized worries about a potential major problem, Kim Min-sung delivered a clear diagnosis.
“Omega pregnant individuals are naturally several times more sensitive to pheromones. Even a small trace of another’s pheromones can easily stimulate them, and in such cases, the only solution is for their Alpha partner to soothe them.”
“How can I—”
Kim Min-sung lightly nudged Han Jung-woo, who was struggling to articulate, and grinned. Only then did Han Jung-woo understand the meaning, nodding his head. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be anything good.
“Anyway, Han Jung-woo, I need a word with you.”
Just before leaving after the quick examination, Kim Min-sung called out to Han Jung-woo, who was clinging to my side. Han Jung-woo reluctantly stood up, telling me to rest as he would be back soon, and then kissed my forehead.
After the two men left, I, now alone, finally closed my eyes in comfort. Unlike before, only Han Jung-woo’s pheromones remained in the room. Perhaps because of this, my churning stomach also felt better.
‘This is truly serious.’
If merely detecting a small amount of another person’s pheromones, not Han Jung-woo’s, caused such a reaction, then going out might be impossible for a while. After all, I couldn’t just throw up every time someone passed by me.
Since I naturally liked staying home, I would spend my time here until I felt better. Han Jung-woo would likely prefer that too.
‘We could just play board games together.’
Thinking of avenging my previous defeat, I gently closed my eyes. By the time he returned from their long conversation, I had already fallen into a deep slumber.
“Sleep well.”
A tender greeting seemed to echo from somewhere far away.
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