章 16: Taking precaution

Haeun sat at the small kitchen table, quietly eating the simple meal he'd prepared for himself. It was a peaceful afternoon in Sakuramori, the sun shining through the windows, casting a warm glow over everything. He took another bite, but halfway through, his stomach twisted violently.

A wave of nausea hit him out of nowhere, and before he could think, he bolted from the chair, rushing to the bathroom. He barely made it to the sink before throwing up. Gasping for breath, Haeun leaned against the sink, his hand gripping the edge as he tried to settle his stomach.

Wiping his mouth, he slowly sank down onto the bathroom floor, confusion and worry settling over him. "What the hell…?" he muttered to himself, feeling drained. It wasn't the first time this had happened over the past week—his appetite had been off, and he'd felt more tired than usual. But this…this nausea had been getting worse.

His heart pounded as a thought crept into his mind.

Could I be...pregnant?

His mind raced back through the past few days: the sudden sensitivity to smells, the exhaustion, the changes in his body he had brushed off as stress. Everything pointed in one direction. His hands absentmindedly moved to his lower abdomen, a mix of fear and hope flooding his chest.

"No… it can't be," he whispered, but a small part of him already knew the answer. The timing, everything, aligned too perfectly.

He stood up shakily, rinsing his face and mouth before looking at himself in the mirror. His reflection stared back, pale and anxious. If he was right, if he really was pregnant… then he would have.

"I need to go to the clinic," Haeun whispered, his decision made. He couldn't ignore the possibility any longer.

As Haeun sat nervously in the clinic, the sterile scent of antiseptic filling the air, he stared at the clock on the wall. Each tick felt like a hammer to his chest. He tapped his foot anxiously, the uncertainty gnawing at him.

The nurse had been kind, not asking too many questions when he came in for the test, though Haeun could tell from her curious glances that she suspected more than he let on.

As the door creaked open, the nurse returned, holding a folder in her hands. Haeun's heart raced as she smiled gently at him. "Mr. Yoon?" she asked softly, her voice almost calming.

He swallowed, his mouth dry, as he nodded. "Yes?"

She sat across from him and handed over the test results. "You're pregnant," she said with a smile, her voice warm. "Congratulations, you're four weeks pregnant."

Haeun's breath hitched. He stared at the paper, the word positive glaring back at him. For a moment, he couldn't process what she had said.

Pregnant.

His first instinct was to smile, to feel the warmth of happiness spread through him. His hand subconsciously moved to rest on his lower abdomen. He was going to be a parent. A child—a piece of him, a piece of… Yeongsoo—was growing inside him.

But then the conflict hit him just as hard. Yeongsoo. He had told him to stay away, to leave him alone, and now this? Would Yeongsoo even care? Would he try to come back, or would he simply leave them to their fate?

"Are you okay?" the nurse asked gently, pulling him from his thoughts.

Haeun blinked, his lips parting as he tried to find words. "Yeah… I'm just so overjoyed, I'm short of words…" He trailed off, looking down at the paper again. His heart was torn. Part of him was overjoyed—this was a new life, his child—but the other part, the side filled with memories of his last conversation with Yeongsoo, filled him with dread.

"I'll be fine," he finally managed to say, though his voice wavered slightly.

The nurse gave him a reassuring smile before standing up. "Take your time. If you have any questions or need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Once she left, Haeun sat there in the quiet room, staring at the result in his hands. He let out a shaky breath, his mind racing. A small, bittersweet smile tugged at his lips.

"I'm going to be a father," he whispered to himself, feeling the full weight of that realization. "But can I really do this on my own? I still haven't found a compatible pheromones like Yeongsoo"

Haeun returned to home, his mind swirling with thoughts as he began packing his things. His one-month duration with Taeun had come to an end, and it was time to head back. After folding a few shirts into his suitcase, he sat down on the edge of the bed, contemplating his next steps.

"If I go back to work, I'll have to change the people around me," he muttered. "Betas and omegas only. Luckily, Eunja is an omega, so that's one less thing to worry about."

He absentmindedly tapped his fingers on his knee, thinking through the alphas at the top floor with him. They were about three so he could easily move them down. "I'll move the alpha assistants down to the lobby and bring the betas up. For meetings that I can't avoid… I'll take suppressants. Doctor Choi should be able to help me with that as soon as I land."

He leaned back, eyes drifting to the ceiling. "For now, this should be enough… without needing Yeongsoo's pheromones." The thought of Yeongsoo sent a flicker of uncertainty through him, but he quickly pushed it aside. He was set on managing this on his own.

Haeun zipped up the last of his bags and stood by the window, looking out at the serene countryside he was about to leave behind. Sakuramori had become a quiet refuge, but the peace and quiet felt temporary. He had made his plans, set his course, and now it was time to go back and face reality. A part of him dreaded it, the weight of the changes he needed to make felt heavy. But he wasn't planning on backing down.

His phone buzzed, pulling him from his thoughts. A reminder for his flight back to country K. He took one last look around the room before grabbing his luggage and heading out. The drive to the airport was quiet, the peaceful scenery of Sakuramori passing by like a final goodbye to the tranquility he had sought for a month.