PIA 65

After entering the first floor of the hospital and registering at the reception desk, Ji-an followed the nurse to measure his blood pressure and weight. Jeong Hee-seo was given the task of writing down some information and Ji-an’s personal details, but he ran into difficulties from the start.

“…”

It wasn’t difficult to fill out simple personal information because Jeong Hee-seo had memorized everything he had seen before. The same was true for test records at other hospitals and simple allergy information. The problem was at the very bottom of the paper.

Filling in ‘Jeong Hee-seo’ for <Guardian Name> was easy. The difficulty came after that. Jeong Hee-seo froze with his pen in hand, staring intently at the paper.

< Relationship with the pregnant person >

That small blank to simply and clearly indicate their relationship shook Jeong Hee-seo’s heart. There was nothing he could write. Since Ji-an had filled out everything himself at the previous hospital, he had been unaware of this.

His relationship to Seo Ji-an…

A peculiar sense of loss settled coldly in the pit of his stomach.

‘It might be good to try living together as a trial.’

‘If you don’t want to get married, I don’t mind either. I just don’t want to leave behind any loose ends from things I caused.’

At first, there was no impatience or possessiveness. If he had it, he had it; if not, it didn’t matter. At that time, his feelings were closer to curiosity.

Lively, cute, and fun, with highly attractive pheromones and an appearance that made him realize this was his type—it all matched his tastes perfectly. Even more, Ji-an was a rare omega who rejected him despite knowing his family background. Initially, these superficial elements sparked his curiosity and competitive spirit.

He had thought there was perhaps also there was physical interest and an instinctive possessiveness toward the pregnant omega. But now…

“How absurd.”

Jeong Hee-seo put the pen down. How could he describe this feeling? When had the name of his emotions changed like this?

He turned his gaze, feeling a sudden pull on his head, and saw Ji-an walking towards him. Thinking back, it has been quite a while since his body started reacting in this way to Ji-an’s subtle pheromones.

From this abrupt realization, Jeong Hee-seo covered his mouth with his hand. He felt like bursting into laughter.

Not knowing Ji-an’s inner feelings, he let out a fluttering laugh mixed with amusement, appearing quite spirited as if he had accomplished something grand.

“Hyung-nim, I’ve gained weight. Looks like you can stop restricting my diet now.”

“…Not the baby’s weight?”

“Ai, this one’s not showing yet. Want to see?”

Without warning, Ji-an flipped up his thin t-shirt, exposing his belly.

“You—!”

Jeong Hee-seo grabbed the hem and tugged it down forcefully, causing Ji-an’s small frame to sway towards him.

“Ah, sorry.”

Only then did Ji-an seem to become aware of the surrounding gazes, rolling his eyes. Looking completely unapologetic as he cheekily nodded his head, Jeong Hee-seo bit his lip lightly.

As they were guided up to the second floor where the treatment room was located, the two were greeted by rows of warm colored sofas. Ji-an took a look around and sat down in a spacious area.

The surroundings were filled with couples. Since they were alphas and omegas, their outward genders weren’t discernible, but it was easy to guess based on them all sitting in pairs.

Only one group had three members, one being a baby. Ji-an shifted his butt closer to Jeong Hee-seo’s side unprompted.

“…I’m worried people will get the wrong idea.”

“What wrong idea?”

“Um, that we fought or something?”

Jeong Hee-seo laughed again.

“Why would you worry about that?”

“Because they’d misunderstand you, Hyung-nim. They’d think you’re a grumpy alpha fighting with a pregnant omega…”

“…”

Jeong Hee-seo looked down at Ji-an. His gaze was particularly focused on the quiet face that was avoiding eye contact, and the light forming on the nostrils. He cleared his throat to give a brief reply.

“I don’t care what anyone thinks.”

“I care. You’re such a good person, Hyung-nim.”

Ji-an made a slightly embarrassing confession and turned his head to avoid Jeong Hee-seo’s gaze on his cheek. He pretended to look around. He just looked the other way and looked at the monitor to see when his turn would come, or watching a baby toddling around, trying to endure. Until Jeong Hee-seo leaned his shoulder against him.

“No one has that misunderstanding.”

Only then did Ji-an turn his head to face the confident voice.

“People misunderstand a lot more than you think. They gossip a lot too…”

“That’s true.”

“They judge just by what they see.”

“Exactly, they speak based on what they see. That’s why they won’t misunderstand.”

Jeong Hee-seo said something Ji-an couldn’t understand.

“It’s because you don’t know what kind of expression you have.”

“What kind of expression do I have?”

“Hmm, right now, a bit smug?”

Ji-an furrowed his brows as much as possible. He was trying to maintain a polite look, but internally, he was thinking this was nonsense.

“Don’t be a brat.”

Jeong Hee-seo pinched Ji-an’s nose.

Spoiled puppies showed their nature. His sparkling, moist nose twitched adorably. He knew his owner would love him no matter what mischief he caused, so he fearlessly acted bratty despite his tiny size.

“…”

“…It’s your turn.”

The gaze that had been fixed on him suddenly dropped. Jeong Hee-seo stood up quickly and took a step away from Ji-an. It was only then that a nurse called out the dazed Ji-an’s name.

What just happened…

There was no time to think deeply. He had to follow the gesture from afar, calling him with a chart in hand. Ji-an kept touching his slightly reddened nose.

“You’ll need to get this little one’s clothes ready. You’re curious, aren’t you?”

Lying on the examination table, Ji-an’s eyes went wide. On his exposed pale belly was an ultrasound device to see the baby, and this time Jeong Hee-seo was present too, standing beside him.

Jeong Hee-seo shifted his gaze from the fetus on the monitor to the doctor.

“Are you referring to the gender?”

“No!”

Ji-an raised both hands. He seemed ready to block the doctor’s mouth if he could reach it. He panicked that the answer might slip out before he could decline hearing it.

“I don’t want to know. …I want to stay unaware.”

Jeong Hee-seo looked puzzled at Ji-an’s determination.

“Why? Do you have to stay unaware?”

Jeong Hee-seo turned his gaze towards the monitor again. The doctor had just explained how many fingers and toes, and the silhouette was quite clear, so he felt he could probably tell even without being told.

“I can see it right there.”

“Ack!”

Ji-an squeezed his eyes shut tightly and covered them with his hands.

“I am curious too, I do want to know, but I don’t want to know!”

“Alright. Then don’t listen.”

As soon as Jeong Hee-seo gave his amused response, Ji-an felt Jeong Hee-seo’s hands covering his ears. He could hear the muffled conversation between Jeong Hee-seo and the doctor while his ears were blocked. Ji-an kept his eyes tightly shut, stubbornly holding out.

This was a baby he would only give birth to before parting ways with. He wanted to keep as much distance as possible. The more concrete its existence became, the harder it would be to prevent his heart from growing attached, so he didn’t want to know the gender at the very least. Knowing the gender would make him want to buy clothes and shoes for it.

And then he would want to give it a name too. He was sure of it.

When they left the examination room, Ji-an was pouting.

“Why are you sulking?”

Jeong Hee-seo reached out and grabbed Ji-an’s lips. He had moved his hand without thinking. After playing with the soft lips for a while, he cupped Ji-an’s chin and cheek. He wondered what made them so plump and smooth.

“…”

“….”

Ji-an tilted his head back.

“I said I wanted to keep it a secret. So why did you have to listen to everything?”

“…Because I’m curious? And I saw everything. Do you want me to tell you now?”

“No!” Ji-an quickly covered his ears with both hands.

“I said I didn’t want to know!”

Hueng! As Ji-an stretched his mouth wide in an exaggerated crying act, Jeong Hee-seo couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“I won’t tell. I’ll keep it a secret until I die. Okay?”

“There’s no need to keep it that long. I’ll find out when it’s born anyway, so what’s the point…”

“Exactly.”

Jeong Hee-seo couldn’t stop laughing throughout their conversation. Before, he seemed to at least try to hide his amusement considering his usual seriousness, but now he laughed openly. It was as if he’d inhaled some laughing gas—why was he acting like this?

Seeing Jeong Hee-seo’s bright laughter, Ji-an felt an urge to pick a fight for no reason. The sound of his cheerful laughter made Ji-an’s heart race for some reason.

After receiving the maternity booklet from the nurse and picking up the supplements and pheromone medication from the pharmacy, all their appointments were done. Now, it was time to part ways, but Ji-an found himself reluctant to leave.

As Ji-an hesitated in front of the pharmacy with the medicine bag in hand, Jeong Hee-seo seemed to have read his mind and asked Ji-an if he wanted some ice cream. He stretched out his hand and pointed across the street.