If You Want Me - Episode 34
<Episode 34>
So they do all this at the hospital.
The ultrasound picture felt strange and gave him an odd feeling even when he looked at it again, making it difficult to take his eyes off it. As Seo-won was looking at the booklet with curious eyes, the nurse slightly raised the corners of her mouth and continued.
“Since our hospital attaches photos like this every time you get an ultrasound examination, please make sure to bring it with you when you come for checkups.”
“Thank you.”
If he came to the hospital often, it seemed like he could fill up the back pages with ultrasound pictures, but it was a bit unfortunate that he probably wouldn’t be able to due to the circumstances.
Seo-won bowed his head, finished paying, and left the obstetrics and gynecology clinic. Even after coming out, he blankly looked at the booklet, and his mother also looked at it together with a satisfied smile.
“It’s cute. Right?”
“Yes… It is.”
Actually, there wasn’t much to see, but Seo-won nodded his head.
The feeling was strange the whole time he looked at it. What kind of thoughts did he have about giving birth to the child until now…? It seemed like he only thought about the possibility of not being able to have a child next time and the fact that it was Do-gyeom’s child, but now he felt a sense of responsibility for some reason.
As he was blankly looking, his mother leaned in and asked.
“By the way, have you chosen a prenatal name?”
“A prenatal name? No.”
“Give it a prenatal name and call it by that name while adoring it.”
A prenatal name… He had never thought about it before.
It wasn’t even a real name, just a prenatal name, but for some reason, he became cautious. When Seo-won couldn’t readily give it a prenatal name, Ji-hee, who couldn’t stand it, intervened.
“What kind of child would you like it to be?”
“I… Well. Right now, I think it would be nice if it’s just born healthy.”
Since he didn’t particularly want to give birth to a specific kind of child, he thought he would be grateful if it was just born well.
Of all things, he was carrying a child in this situation, and his body was a fervent omega at that. He didn’t even dare to think that he wanted the child to be smart or pretty.
As Seo-won spoke with a faint smile, Ji-hee, who had been pondering quite seriously, widened her eyes as if she had a good idea and said,
“Then how about Tteokbokki?”
“Tteokbokki?”
“Tteokbokki, so that it sticks close to you like a rice cake. What do you think?”
Sticking close like a rice cake? Perhaps it was because fervent omegas had several times higher risk of premature birth or miscarriage compared to others, so she thought of that prenatal name.
“The meaning seems good, but isn’t it too old-fashioned?”
“There’s a saying that the more old-fashioned the prenatal name, the healthier the fetus is.”
“There’s such a saying?”
“Yes.”
Ji-hee answered confidently as if it were true.
Is it true? Although he was doubtful, when he thought about it, most of the prenatal names he heard nearby seemed to be simple names. Like Tunteun-i, Ssuksseuk-i…
When he thought about it that way, he suddenly liked the prenatal name Tteokbokki. He hoped that it would really stick close to him like a rice cake without falling off and be born well.
“Then let’s go with Tteokbokki.”
After answering like that, Seo-won fiddled with Tteokbokki’s ultrasound picture a few more times before finally taking his eyes off it and putting the booklet into his bag.
* * *
“Phew…”
Do-gyeom slightly loosened his tie and let out a sigh, feeling suffocated.
The meetings that had continued from the morning after arriving at work could only take a break at lunchtime.
Perhaps it was because he had become sensitive, or because the employees were disorganized, but nothing was properly prepared. Because of that, he wasted several hours on a meeting that would normally end in an hour or two.
Even if it wasn’t a meeting, there was a mountain of work piled up. As he tried to work while eating coffee and a sandwich in the executive office, Secretary Bae hurriedly entered.
What story was he going to tell now? Do-gyeom felt like he would react sensitively again if he heard something now, so he tried his best to compose himself and opened his mouth.
“If it’s about work again, let’s talk about it later.”
“No, it’s not that… I heard that Yoon Seo-won is currently in Seoul.”
“…Seoul? Why?”
Even though he was going to move on to the next topic no matter what was said, it was different if it was about Yoon Seo-won.
Suddenly came down to Seoul? A hope arose that perhaps he had changed his mind.
Until last weekend, Yoon Seo-won was acting like he would never come to Do-gyeom. However, in the meantime, he might have gotten tired of living in that shabby and narrow house, found rural life inconvenient, or thought that such lies wouldn’t work on Do-gyeom anymore… Well, there were many reasons.
As expected, it was a lie that Yoon Seo-won had come to love someone else. Do-gyeom thought his assumption was correct and slightly raised one corner of his mouth, but Secretary Bae carefully opened his mouth.
“I heard he received treatment at the hospital with his mother in the morning.”
“Hospital? Is his mother sick somewhere?”
“No. I was told that Yoon Seo-won was the one who received the treatment.”
“…Yoon Seo-won? Where, for what reason did he receive treatment?”
Do-gyeom’s eyes changed completely at the words that Yoon Seo-won had received treatment. His heart seemed to drop with a thud, wondering if he had suddenly gotten into an accident.
“I’m not sure about that. I was reported that he received a pheromone test at the obstetrics and gynecology clinic, but I don’t know exactly for what reason he received treatment…”
“You should have found that out.”
“It’s difficult to check a patient’s medical records due to medical laws.”
“You think I don’t know that? If it was something that could be found out so easily, I would have personally looked into it.”
“…I apologize. I will tell them to find out again.”
When Do-gyeom frowned and snapped at him in a sharp tone, Secretary Bae bowed his head deeply at the frustrating answer.
To be exact, it wasn’t Secretary Bae but the people Do-gyeom had assigned to Yoon Seo-won who weren’t doing their job properly, but they were all equally frustrating.
A pheromone test at the obstetrics and gynecology clinic… When it came to obstetrics and gynecology, the first thing that came to mind was pregnancy, but since Yoon Seo-won was a fervent omega, it wouldn’t be something like that.
Of course, even if it wasn’t pregnancy, there were many reasons to go to the obstetrics and gynecology clinic. Omegas often received treatment there when their pheromones were unstable, so it seemed like that might be the reason.
But even though it was the countryside, there should be hospitals there, so why did he come all the way to Seoul to go to the hospital? It was strange.
Come to think of it, he was sick a lot even before quitting his job. Could it be that those crazy guys put heat cycle inducers in the alcohol, causing side effects? If he went to the obstetrics and gynecology clinic because of a problem with his pheromone gland due to that, it wouldn’t be nonsense. He would need to get tested at a larger hospital rather than the countryside for issues related to side effects.
Seo-won, whom he saw on the weekend, seemed to be in a similar condition as usual, but he had lost a lot of weight and looked tired. He was also being sensitive to Do-gyeom… The speculation gradually became a fait accompli, and the worry snowballed.
“Ha… Then what is he doing now?”
“I was told he is currently spending time at Yoon Seo-won’s mother’s house. I heard he made a bus reservation for three o’clock tomorrow afternoon, so it seems he plans to stay in Seoul today.”
“…”
At Secretary Bae’s words, Do-gyeom clenched his fist tightly. Bluish veins prominently protruded on the back of his hand.
He wanted to see Yoon Seo-won right away. Although he went to see him every week, it wasn’t enough, and a thirst arose. Moreover, he wanted to ask what was going on and if he was sick somewhere since he went to a hospital in Seoul with his parents.
However, he had to go back to a meeting when lunchtime was over. On top of that, there was a mountain of work piled up recently because he had been visiting Yoon Seo-won’s house every weekend, sacrificing his weekends.
“If you find out anything, report it to me right away. I don’t care if it’s during a meeting or whatever. Especially the hospital records, make sure to find out.”
“…I understand.”
Secretary Bae made a difficult face at the words “hospital records” but reluctantly nodded his head. It was an unreasonable request, but it was a situation where even the impossible had to be made possible.
After Secretary Bae left the executive office, Do-gyeom, who was left alone, exhaled while emitting an unpleasant pheromone.
“Hoo, it’s suffocating…”
Not only was he born into a good family, but he had also immersed himself in work and devoted himself to it more than others to reach this position. It was something he had achieved under the teaching that he could obtain anything he wanted if he had an outstanding physique as a dominant alpha, money, and honor since childhood.
However, recently, he began to doubt if this was right. He had excellent money, honor, and physique, but his life was completely tilting just because Yoon Seo-won wasn’t by his side.
Moreover, they say dominant alphas have such an excellent physique, but it wasn’t like that these days. Unlike before, he was getting tired, struggling, and filled with irritation day by day. It was because of the damn pheromone congestion.
Even taking medication didn’t solve it, so now it felt like he was cursed. It got a little better when he met Yoon Seo-won… It felt like being trapped in a maze with no exit.
* * *
After visiting the hospital, Seo-won came to his mother’s house and rested thoroughly.
It was his first trip to Seoul in a long time, but his only business was going to the obstetrics and gynecology clinic. Moreover, his stamina had significantly decreased after getting pregnant, so just riding in the car for a long time had drained his energy.
After finishing the checkup at the obstetrics and gynecology clinic and having a simple meal, Seo-won lay down on the bed as soon as he arrived home, as if he had collapsed. Fortunately, since he had considered living together with his mother when he bought this house for her, he had his own room and even a bed.
How long had it been since he fell asleep like that, as if he had passed out? When he regained consciousness, it was when darkness had descended outside the window.
“How long did I sleep…?”
It seemed like he had slept for a long time for a nap, but his head still felt hazy as if it had sunk below the level of sleep.
As he was sitting in a daze, as if wandering in a dream, the door suddenly opened.
“Seo-won-ah. Are you awake?”
“Yes…? Yes, just now…”
Feeling like he had slept too long, Seo-won tried to wake himself up and sat up on the bed. He was just about to get up when Ji-hee hesitated and carefully opened her mouth.
“Umm… The young master is outside. Did you receive any contact?”
“…The young master?”
Do-gyeom is outside the house?
What is this about, suddenly waking up from sleep? At those words, his hazy mind became starkly clear as if cold water had been poured over it.
With a thought of perhaps, Seo-won checked his cell phone and unknowingly let out a small sigh.
“Ha…”
He didn’t know, but there were several missed calls and messages from Do-gyeom. Even if he was asleep, he should have noticed if he had contacted him this much, but he must have really passed out.
By the way, why did he contact him so much…? He had a tendency to contact him obsessively, like when he rested after returning from the US last time. Considering that this had never happened during the 6 years they were partners, it seemed like he didn’t know because Seo-won had always been prompt in answering his calls.
As Seo-won was looking down at the missed call records with a displeased expression, Ji-hee glanced at him and asked.
“Should I tell him to come back another time?”
“…No. I’ll go out and see him.”
Translation Notes:
Been translating Mpreg many times, prenatal name is really one of their culture cause here in The Philippines we don’t do that we only just give name after birth. How bout in ur country? I wanted to know too.