I've Been Possessed, But What If I Get Pregnant First? - C40
#40
“No…. Sob.”
I couldn’t let the baby go like this. None of this was the child’s fault. I got up from my spot and took a step forward to follow White Tiger. Right then, something formless grabbed my ankle and firmly held me in place so I couldn’t move.
“Ah, no. Don’t, hic, don’t!”
No matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t move. The more anxious I became, the more tears welled up. I grabbed and tore at the shapeless thing firmly gripping my ankle with my hands. I felt a burning pain in my hands as if they were on fire, but I paid it no mind. Even if I couldn’t use my hands in the future, I didn’t care.
“Don’t go! Please, sob, I, I was wrong, please…!”
Perhaps hearing my sobs, baby White Tiger looked back at me. With a desperate heart, I reached out towards the child and shouted.
“L- Let’s live together…. Hic… I was wrong, baby.”
With the last of my strength, I ripped off the formless thing holding me under the gaze of the child staring intently at me. My palms were torn and bleeding, but this pain was nothing.
“Baby!”
And finally freed from those things, I spread my arms wide, calling out to the child at the top of my lungs. Blinking back tears welling up with regret and relief, I called for the baby desperately once more. Then baby White Tiger, who had been looking up at me, leapt into my arms with vigorous steps as if he had never cried.
“Hrrnng-!”
“Mmm…. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
Baby White Tiger licked my cheek and burrowed into my arms. It seemed he was wiping my tears and comforting me, making my heart ache even more. I held his warm, small body tight and kissed him.
“I’ll take responsibility for you my whole life. Don’t worry about anything now.”
The child cried pitifully at my words. I whispered that I would protect him for a lifetime, until those cries stopped.
After the long dream ended and I woke up, my mind was clearer than ever before. Everything felt vivid as if I had really met the child. The dreams I had been having were prenatal dreams. Thinking of how the child had visited my dreams countless times because of me who didn’t acknowledge it, I felt so sorry.
I slowly lowered my hand and gently rubbed my belly. It felt strange to think a baby was here. But hoping my feelings would be conveyed to the child, I opened my mouth.
“…Daddy will protect you no matter what.”
Having made up my mind, I got up, took out the abortion surgery pamphlet I had hidden in my desk drawer, and tore it to pieces.
Only after throwing the paper, shredded beyond recognition, in the trash did I feel at ease. I felt terrible towards Grandma and the real Cha Yuwon, but I couldn’t give up on the child that had come to me like this.
“Baby, for your sake… I’ll become a sinner.”
I covered my guilt-stained face, thinking of the child in my womb.
***
“Foods good for… pregnant women, precautions in early pregnancy….”
Stroking the tiger doll Taebeom had left behind, I searched for information on early pregnancy in my phone’s search bar.
“It says to make sure to take folic acid? And iron supplements starting from 16 weeks. Also… no running, no intense exercise.”
I did everything they said not to do….
I shook my head, recalling how I ran around like a madman on a rainy day.
“Baby, I’ll really be careful from now on. It’s a promise.”
I smiled brightly, lightly patting my stomach.
“By the way, when is Taebeom coming?”
I heard he was arriving by plane this morning. Waiting for him eagerly was also something else.
I should probably discuss the baby with him when I see him.
I was also worried that maybe he lost interest in me after meeting Yoon Seolah in Hong Kong, but the thought of being with the baby from now on made me unafraid of anything.
“Let’s just subtly bring it up first and see how the atmosphere is. He didn’t mention meeting Seolah anyway.”
I couldn’t find any changes in how he looked during our daily calls. That put me at ease, but I couldn’t just thoughtlessly say I was pregnant, so I’d have to watch the situation and talk about it.
“They said light walks are good!”
Although the weather had gotten much warmer, I put on the thickest navy sweatsuit to avoid catching a cold, and layered a thick, fuzzy jacket over it. I retied my shoelaces so I wouldn’t trip and headed out the front door. As I stepped outside, the newly arrived spring breeze greeted me. Feeling a pleasant refreshingness, I walked with a light step.
After walking a few steps, it seemed particularly noisy somewhere today. …Taebeom isn’t here either, so should I go check it out?
Until now, Taebeom couldn’t stand the sight of me and his men being in the same space together, let alone a man and woman of marriageable age being together.
So if I counted the people I had met so far, it was Taebeom… Secretary Junseok, the head chef, and the two men who had been watching me. That was it. And the most important thing was, I never saw those amazing six-pack ahjussis again after the first day I entered this house!
I clapped inwardly at Taebeom’s meticulous blocking disguised as protection and stealthily moved towards the source of the noise. As expected, there were new paths besides the walking trail I was told about. And so close by too!
Was this how Columbus felt when he discovered the New World? With an excited heart, I walked diligently and faced some unfamiliar men one by one.
“Hello, sister-in-law!”
“Oh… hello.”
As expected, seeing as they called me sister-in-law, these men were definitely Taebeom’s subordinates. But why was I so embarrassed to hear “sister-in-law” for the first time in a while? Plus, the mixed scents of the men here and there were, unexpectedly… really not great. It felt like I was rejecting it from inside, sort of.
Anyway, I quickly finished greeting them, turned around, and walked away as if running away.
“Phew…. It’s a bit better now. Is it because I’m on an empty stomach?”
It might be because I hadn’t eaten anything until now, wanting to have breakfast together after hearing Taebeom was coming early in the morning. Thinking of Taebeom who would be arriving soon, my steps felt light as I headed to the main building.
It was right when I finally walked into the yard connected to the main building. From close by, I heard a clear, pure voice and the presence of someone approaching this way.
“It’s a more interesting place than I thought.”
“Ms. Seolah, from now on he- oh, Mr. Yuwon.”
“Ah…. Hello.”
Perhaps not expecting me to be here, Secretary Junseok couldn’t hide his flustered look upon running into me.
“How did you come here- Ah, the young master just returned. He went straight to the main building, would you like to go see him?”
“Is that so? Thank you for letting me know.”
I bowed my head and peeked at the innocent beauty next to Secretary Junseok. When our eyes met, the woman smiled brightly at me, and I bowed my head, blinking rapidly.
My heart pounded loudly. I hastily moved my feet. The moment I escaped to the yard, barely breathing, my legs went weak and my eyes grew hot. If my guess was correct, that woman was probably Yoon Seolah, the female lead.
It was the moment I clearly felt this world was flowing according to the original work.
My legs gave out and I grabbed the railing. Anger surged up and I gripped the railing so tightly my hands turned white.
“He brought Seolah home now?”
How are things progressing so fast? Taebeom and Seolah must have met in Hong Kong. I bit my lip hard and tried to calm my rage. A cherry blossom petal fluttering in the spring breeze touched my cheek and fell. Looking down at the petal on my foot, I recalled the contents of the original work.
<<On the day cherry blossom petals poured down like rain, a man in a black suit approached me as I cried.>>
Just like that line describing the first meeting of the two leads, cherry blossom petals falling from a tree on one side of the yard were fluttering all over the yard, carried by the wind.
So what. Am I getting kicked out now?
“Tsk….”
After smiling so brightly at him all this time. Greeting him well and eagerly accepting what he gave me. Fine, I hate people who hate me too!
Cha Yuwon was a fresh young man 9 years younger than Taebeom. Is that all? With this cute and handsome face, a future Korea University student at that. If he let go of me, it was his loss. Hmph.
Plus, the prenatal dream for our baby was a tiger of all things. And not just any tiger, but a pure white tiger. If he let go of me and our child, the one who would regret it, beating the ground, wasn’t me but Taebeom.
“Still… I hope it’s not true….”
Although I cheered up my shocked heart, thinking boldly that Taebeom would be the one regretting it if he let us go, worry sprouted in a corner of my heart as I recalled the original female lead I encountered a moment ago.
“No. Still, I should hear him out till the end. If he tells me to leave, I’ll live with Grandma. Baby, don’t worry too much. Daddy has already mastered striking weak points.”
If Taebeom tries to kill me, I can attempt the preemptive strike I learned from him and run away. Thinking that way, an obsessive jerk was no big deal. Before I knew it, strength filled my legs and I was fully recharged with confidence. Cha Yuwon, it’s okay. It’s not like Taebeom is the only man in the world. Someone like you would have a line of men wanting to marry you!
Calmly controlling my emotions, my anxious heart settled down to some degree. I went straight inside the house and called for Taebeom in a loud voice.
“Taebeom!”
I mean, if you arrived, you should have called to say you arrived at least! No, isn’t it obvious to contact me as soon as you land at the airport?
‘Ah~ I guess you were busy being with Seolah? I wonder what you were so busy doing~’
I huffed angrily through my nose, then made eye contact with Taebeom coming down from the 2nd floor.