TSG 128

Se-hyun stared blankly at the boxes pouring down in front of him. With a bit of exaggeration, they piled up like a mountain on the table.

“Did you rob a pharmacy?”

Even a rough count exceeded ten boxes. He wondered how bewildered the pharmacist must have been to hand over all these, more than the money spent to buy them.

“I only went to three places.”

Ah, pharmacists, not just one pharmacist.

“You didn’t have to go that far…”

It was just a guess on Se-hyun’s part. It was one of many possibilities, and he was just surprised because he had completely overlooked it.

Honestly, he didn’t even know if he was pregnant or not yet.

“Anyway, thank you.”

Truthfully, when Se-hyun first mentioned the test kits, he had mixed feelings.

What if it’s not pregnancy and he mentioned it for nothing? Wouldn’t it have been better to stay quiet and check alone before saying anything?

If it’s not pregnancy, it would be embarrassing, he thought fleetingly, but seeing Shin Tae-oh also making a fuss about it made him feel it would be okay even if he was wrong.

Se-hyun picked up the boxes one by one, checking how to use them. Unlike the urine test method used for Betas, most of the male Omega tests used pheromone testing methods. Some used blood tests, but the test kit designs on the boxes were all similar.

While Se-hyun was contemplating which one to use first, Shin Tae-oh had already picked up a box and was opening it.

“What are you doing?”

“Going to take the test.”

“…I can do it myself.”

Thinking Shin Tae-oh might read the instructions first to explain, Se-hyun spoke, but he shook his head.

“I’m going to try this one.”

Why are you doing it?

“They say it tests with pheromones.”

Again, why are you doing it?

“I have pheromones too, so of course I can try it, right?”

So…

Se-hyun pressed his temples, feeling a sudden headache coming on.

“I’ve never heard of an Alpha using a pregnancy test before?”

These are all for Se-hyun to use, not Shin Tae-oh. But Shin Tae-oh was even more confident.

“In a world where Alphas can have morning sickness on behalf of Omegas, why not give this a try?”

“Well, that’s…”

Se-hyun was about to speak out of frustration but closed his mouth again. Come to think of it, he’s right?

The test kits were made to detect hormone changes due to pregnancy, so it makes sense for Omegas to use them, but what about morning sickness? That’s strictly something Omegas should have, but don’t some Alphas experience it occasionally?

“Still, an Alpha using a test kit is a bit…”

An Alpha getting pregnant?

Se-hyun’s thoughts became more tangled, unsure of what was right anymore. Meanwhile, Shin Tae-oh had carefully unwrapped the plastic packaging and taken out the test kit. He closed his eyes and pushed in his pheromones.

“I’m going to do this one and then try the blood test one too.”

He plans to try every type, huh.

Se-hyun, who was actually supposed to take the test, was so drawn into Shin Tae-oh’s serious atmosphere that he couldn’t even open the box in his hand.

Five minutes passed as slowly as fifty. During that time, Shin Tae-oh gripped the test kit tightly, pushing in his pheromones again and again. When the timer he had set on his phone went off, he opened his eyes.

He lowered his head heavily to look at the test kit trapped in his hand, then turned to the side.

“Ah, I can’t look.”

Shin Tae-oh covered his eyes with his other hand and groaned. The idea that they could know whether he was pregnant or not in just five minutes made Se-hyun just as nervous as Shin Tae-oh was trembling.

Was it really a pregnancy?

While Shin Tae-oh covered his eyes and trembled, Se-hyun, curious about the result, looked at the test kit first.

He leaned his upper body forward because Shin Tae-oh’s hand was blocking the view. Two lines would mean Shin Tae-oh was pregnant, no, that he himself was pregnant…

Anyway, eager to confirm the result, he quickly scanned the long plastic body. It had two small windows carved into it, and on the paper within…

“One line.”

It was negative.

“Looks like it’s not pregnancy.”

Se-hyun shook his head, acting as if he regretted getting excited over nothing. However, Shin Tae-oh, who had seen the result first, didn’t take his eyes off the test kit and said,

“It’s not this side.”

“What?”

“This here. A single line on the right means not pregnant, but one on the left indicates an error.”

Shin Tae-oh explained, pointing out the exact location, that Se-hyun had misinterpreted it. No one questioned the fact that Shin Tae-oh, not Se-hyun, had taken the test in the first place before they seriously discussed this.

“Let’s try another one.”

Seeing Shin Tae-oh immediately reach for another box, Se-hyun stood up.

“I’ll go do it in the bathroom.”

“Should I go to the bathroom too then?”

The idea of him following into the already cramped bathroom made Se-hyun press down on Shin Tae-oh’s head, keeping him from standing up.

“Stay here and do it. That one requires pricking your finger, so it might sting.”

Se-hyun said this after noticing the finger illustration on the box Shin Tae-oh was holding, then headed to the bathroom alone.

Se-hyun reversed his earlier thought that having Shin Tae-oh nearby was calming.

Rather than being scared together, it’s better to do it alone!

“Se-hyun!”

But Shin Tae-oh grabbed Se-hyun’s hand and wouldn’t let him go.

“I’m anxious, can’t you give me a kiss before you go?”

He was a pervert cat who didn’t miss a chance to cling to Se-hyun until the end.

***

Se-hyun gave Shin Tae-oh as many kisses as he wanted. Though he doubted it would completely erase the current anxiety, he needed to give lots of kisses to prevent Shin Tae-oh from coming to the bathroom.

Having gained his freedom this way, Se-hyun savored the feeling of being alone and looked at the box he had brought. Unfortunately, the one Se-hyun had brought to the bathroom was the same kind Shin Tae-oh had picked up second. In other words, it was a blood test kit.

After unwrapping the test kit, he pricked his finger with the very thin sterilized needle and dropped a single drop into the hole. As it was absorbed into the test paper, it gradually changed the color of the paper.

If pregnant, the paper would turn pink, and if not, it would remain white as before.

Se-hyun placed the test kit on the flat sink and looked in the mirror. Not only were his dark circles particularly noticeable, but his lips were also chapped. In this state, he had been making eye contact with Shin Tae-oh, laughing and chatting…

When he should be showing his best face to his lover.

Se-hyun quickly turned on the water to wash his face and fixed his hair that was sticking up on one side. In fact, the idea that he should only show a handsome face was just a distraction to forcibly escape the current situation.

Shin Tae-oh is so handsome. And if he were to push his face close, would Shin Tae-oh call him handsome? He’d probably say he loves him.

Besides, wouldn’t his slightly messy hair seem cute since he always looks perfect at work?

Whatever it is, in Shin Tae-oh’s eyes…

As Se-hyun thought of Shin Tae-oh, his eyes fell diagonally downward. The test kit on the sink. The color of the paper that had absorbed the blood was…

***

Coming out of the bathroom, Se-hyun clicked his tongue at the empty boxes scattered around Shin Tae-oh. How many did he open?

As expected, he didn’t buy them for Se-hyun to use, but for himself.

“Does anything even show up when you test like that?”

Se-hyun padded Shin Tae-oh’s back, which had frozen stiff. Of course, nothing would show on the test kits he used. The result was in his own hand. Se-hyun initially tried to stop Shin Tae-oh.

But Shin Tae-oh, as if not hearing Se-hyun’s words, just stared at what he was holding tightly with both hands.

“What are you looking at so intently? Did that one show a result? Positive?”

He said this thinking most would be errors, but Shin Tae-oh dropped his head.

“Yeah.”

“Huh?”

When Se-hyun asked again, not understanding, Shin Tae-oh held out the test kit in his hand to Se-hyun. In his hand was a very small… unlike the others, it wasn’t encased in plastic, just a test strip, and there were two clear lines on it.

“Pregnant?”

Se-hyun exclaimed in surprise at seeing the two lines.

“Tae-oh, you’re pregnant?”

And he looked up at Shin Tae-oh.

Wait, really? Really pregnant?

To Se-hyun’s question, Shin Tae-oh scratched his head but kept staring at the test strip.

“Seems so.”

“What? How did you test? What happened?”

Speaking in a way that made it unclear whether he was addressing his boss or Taenyang, Se-hyun was making a fuss to the point of confusion.

“I put my saliva and pheromones that had your saliva on them from when we kissed onto this.”

Shin Tae-oh explained what he put on the test kit, still seeming amazed. In turn, Se-hyun also couldn’t believe the situation.

“And that showed two lines?”

“Yes.”

“That means pregnant, right?”

“Yes.”

Shin Tae-oh nodded obediently, then pointed at what Se-hyun was holding.

“What was your result?”

At Shin Tae-oh’s question, Se-hyun opened his clenched fist to show the test kit.

“I’m pregnant.”

“You’re pregnant too?”

“Yes.”

“So we’re both pregnant?”

“…I guess so?”

What on earth is this situation?