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Seyoung, who had looked down on Haein, was flustered.
No, flustered was secondary; it was obvious what would happen if she was dragged out like this in front of Jung Soohyun. Seyoung was desperate to somehow salvage the situation and tried to push past the security guard blocking her way.
“Please don’t do this, just leave.”
“Just a moment! Let go of me!”
As Seyoung tried to approach Haein, the security guard stepped forward and strongly restrained her. Due to the force, Seyoung stumbled and fell, grabbing the table. The overturned table caused the lunch box on it to spill onto the floor.
The moment the smell of the leaking food rose, Haein, who had been standing normally, contorted her face and began to gag.
“Ugh.”
Seyoung’s eyes, as she got up from the floor, changed ominously. In an instant, a guess flashed through her mind. Seyoung couldn’t help but ask Haein directly,
“What are you? Are you pregnant?”
“Ugh.”
Even at Seyoung’s question, Haein remained disoriented for a while, continuing to gag.
“Ugh. Get that person out, quickly.”
Even in that state, she didn’t forget to gesture to the security guard, urging them to quickly take Seyoung out, so Seyoung was forcibly pushed out of the hospital room.
‘......What was that?’
Even while being somewhat aggressively and rudely subdued and dragged out by the security guards, Seyoung didn’t care at all. Her mind was busy processing the scene she had just witnessed.
‘What? Is she really pregnant?’
Pregnant?
It was an unexpected situation.
She had heard that Soohyun didn’t like his wife and didn’t even sleep with her, so she wondered what was going on.
Even if Haein was a daughter-in-law chosen for the purpose of pregnancy, if Yoon Haein was really pregnant, there was nothing good in it for Seyoung.
What if she settled in completely? What should she do then?
Seyoung hurriedly returned to the company, and after thinking only about Haein the entire time, she went straight to Im Woosik after work.
***
“Ugh...”
After Seyoung left, Haein hurriedly entered the bathroom in the hospital room and groaned while holding onto the toilet for a long time.
Her stomach felt queasy, like having seasickness all day long.
A bitter taste kept gathering at the tip of her tongue, and she felt like she could still smell the food that had made her nauseous earlier. But when she held onto the toilet and leaned over, nothing came out.
The feeling of being about to throw up kept coming and going, so Haein just held onto the toilet and suffered for a long time before finally being able to leave the bathroom.
“Haa...”
Wiping the saliva from her lips and straightening her bent back, she remembered Seyoung looking at her with suspicious eyes.
‘Are you pregnant?’
Since she had shown such a sight in front of Im Seyoung of all people, she thought it would be best to come up with an excuse in advance about how to deal with it.
This is a big problem.
Haein left the hospital room and went straight to the obstetrics and gynecology department on the floor below.
The nurse at the reception desk recognized Haein and immediately guided her to the examination room. There were no patients waiting at that time.
“You’ve come.”
“I... I don’t feel very well.”
“Oh dear. Let’s take a look with an ultrasound first, shall we?”
The female doctor guided Haein to the examination bed.
Click.
While Haein was changing into examination bottoms behind the curtain, the nurse entered the examination room. Then the female doctor said,
“I’ll do it myself. The madam said she’s uncomfortable with anyone watching.”
At the doctor’s words, the nurse nodded as if she understood and closed the door again as she left. A moment later, when Haein came out from behind the curtain, the female doctor said with a smile,
“From today on, we’ll probably be able to do the ultrasound over your abdomen.”
“Ah, already......”
“Time really flies, doesn’t it?”
The ultrasound machine with gel slid over her abdomen. On the monitor in front of her, a black screen with scattered white and black dots unfolded.
“The baby is healthy. Look here.”
Following the direction the doctor pointed, she saw a small sphere inside a black circle, looking like an upside-down snowman.
“This is the baby. Can you see here? This is the heart.”
It was just a screen made up of black and white dots, but there was something wriggling and busily moving inside. A heart.
The female doctor, watching Haein who was captivated by the sight before her, added,
“I’ll let you hear the heartbeat. Just a moment.”
Soon after, the heartbeat of a tiny life echoed within the examination room.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The heartbeat of a fragile life, barely over a centimeter, was surprisingly loud. It sounded like it was reassuring her, saying, “Mom, I’m here,” and Haein’s eyes became moist.
Last month, when her period was a few days late, Haein had visited the obstetrics and gynecology department without much thought and received a pregnancy confirmation. It was a few days after Soohyun’s mother’s death anniversary.
Her hands and feet still trembled when she thought of that moment.
Soohyun had told her to get an abortion as soon as she found out she was pregnant, and there was also Chairman Park watching him.
Her situation was too difficult to be simply happy about the pregnancy. She had thought it would happen someday, but she wasn’t properly prepared.
To Haein, who was lost in thought and trembling at the unexpected news, the female doctor spoke. She promised to keep it a secret for the time being, saying they should tell him when she was ready.
‘But, wouldn’t you get hurt later because of me?’
‘Well, then I’ll just have to take off my doctor’s gown.’
‘I can’t cause that kind of harm.’
‘Until the 12th week of pregnancy, there’s a risk of miscarriage, so let’s say we proceeded with utmost secrecy to be careful.’
‘Will that work?’
‘Since I thought Chairman Park wanted a definite outcome, I think it would be best to report that we were cautious. She’ll be happy about the pregnancy itself, so it won’t be a big problem then. And if anything happens before that, there’s no need to report it.’
Haein was just grateful to the female doctor who was taking a risk for her sake. Perhaps it was because they had seen each other every month for almost a year, but the doctor was unusually kind to Haein.
“The heartbeat is so tiny.”
Even while muttering the obvious, Haein couldn’t take her eyes off the monitor screen.
“Of course. It’s the heart of a 1cm baby.”
“Haha. Baby.”
At the doctor’s words, Haein unconsciously chuckled and then teared up again.
Yes, my baby. My baby is alive here.
She hadn’t specifically thought about pregnancy before. However, when she was told to get an abortion as soon as she got pregnant, Haein knew for sure what path she had to take.
She was certain that she would never, ever have an abortion. And that thought grew stronger.
So when Haein heard the word “pregnancy,” she only had one thought. How can I protect this child?
She thought it wouldn’t matter since her belly wasn’t showing yet, but the problem was morning sickness.
Recently, her morning sickness had been getting progressively worse.
At first, it was just headaches or lethargy, but now even the smell of water made her gag.
Haein, who had lived dully, unaware if water even had a smell, was living day by day in agony, as if all her five senses were being used to induce nausea.
Moreover, being in a position where many eyes were watching her, every day was a continuation of tension.
Afraid of being seen by the staff at home, she deliberately visited her younger sibling’s hospital room more often. Her sibling had been frequently ill recently, but it was also more comfortable for her to stay cooped up in the hospital room where she wouldn’t be seen by anyone.
“Your belly will probably be quite noticeable around the 20th week. Actually, you need to decide before the 12th week. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
Haein nodded seriously at the doctor’s confirmation.
She had to find a way to protect the child within that time.
“Thank you. I will never forget this kindness.”
Before leaving the examination room after her appointment, Haein politely bowed to the doctor. The doctor looked at Haein intently and then smiled warmly.
“Take care of yourself. Be careful.”
“Yes.”
Click.
As soon as she closed the door, the nurse entered the examination room. When she briefly made eye contact with Haein, she quickly bowed her head in greeting. Haein, too, hastened her steps without even properly looking at her.
Haein deliberately maintained a cold and stiff expression near the obstetrics and gynecology examination room. It was to create the image of a demanding daughter-in-law of a wealthy family in front of the nurses here.
Just in case, the doctor had been sending the nurse out of the examination room on errands before each appointment, but it couldn’t go on forever, and Haein felt increasingly sorry. So, she had come up with this method.
Therefore, whenever Haein entered the examination room, almost no one else entered. Occasionally, a nurse who had forgotten would come in, but when the doctor gave a signal, they would naturally go back out.
In this hospital with so many eyes and ears, Haein had so far kept the secret of her pregnancy well.
‘That woman won’t stay still.’
Her hand naturally went to her abdomen. She could still feel the lingering sensation of the heartbeat she had heard a little while ago. Her baby, with such a strong beating heart.
Somehow, her eyes felt cold.
***
“Grandfather!”
Seyoung, having rushed through the back door of the main house where the staff came and went, all the way to Im Woosik’s room, burst in, practically breaking down the door.
“What is it!”
Im Woosik, who had been sitting inside, was startled and jumped, not knowing what was happening.
“Hehe, big trouble.”
“What is it?”
Woosik’s eyes flashed darkly as he looked at Seyoung. Normally, Seyoung would have shrunk back at such a look, but today she couldn’t see anything.
She had been thinking about it all day, but her thoughts kept leaning towards an ominous premonition.
“I think Yoon Haein is pregnant.”
“What?”
“Grandfather, what do we do now?”
“Are you sure?”
“I need to confirm, but... I think it’s true. So, Grandfather.”
Seyoung rattled off the words, then paused and took a breath.
“It seems like things with Soohyun Oppa are already ruined, so how about you connect me with Daeho Oppa instead?”
Slap.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Seyoung’s face turned.
Seyoung, holding her stinging cheek, looked at Woosik, who, not satisfied with just one, was raising his hand to slap her a second time.
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