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The gray-haired man who entered the hospital room exuded a somewhat mysterious atmosphere. He wasn’t wearing particularly stylish clothes, just comfortably casual attire, yet his bearing was different. Perhaps it was due to his rare heterochromatic eyes.
The doctors and nurses who had been moving urgently reached a momentary lull. As soon as Yeon Ji-ho saw the man, he threw himself into his arms and started squirming. It was unimaginable compared to how lifeless he had been just moments ago.
“Why, why did you come only now? We… hic… we were supposed to come together…”
“Ji-ho. I’m sorry, I’m late.”
“The baby, I was going to tell you about the baby, do you know how scared I was? Hic…”
Seon-rok had never seen Yeon Ji-ho throw such a tantrum before. Yeon Ji-ho, who was famous for being mature and composed since childhood, had never cried or thrown tantrums even when his parents were alive. After his parents passed away, he became even more so, perhaps because he was alone.
Now, that same Yeon Ji-ho was pouring out tears in Set’s arms. He raised his weak arms to pound on Set’s chest, then his head tilted back as if he was short of breath.
Only then did the doctor, who had hesitated for a moment, approach and speak.
“Patient, please calm down and breathe. And… Excuse me…”
The doctor hesitated for a moment while speaking to Yeon Ji-ho, unsure about Set who was holding him. He hadn’t heard whether this man was Yeon Ji-ho’s alpha partner.
He had seen countless unmarried omega fathers before, but among them, cases where the alpha returned were almost non-existent. Alphas tend to be more possessive of omegas pregnant with their children than betas, so if they had left despite that, it was often due to death or complete estrangement.
As the doctor hesitated, Set spoke with a hardened expression.
“I’m his husband.”
Set answered in formal speech, which he hadn’t used in a long time, but it didn’t sound awkward at all. The doctor’s face immediately brightened at Set’s response and he began explaining various things to him.
“First, please lay the patient down on the bed… Yes, there’s a lot you need to hear as the husband. Um, do you perhaps plan to leave again in the near future?”
Set frowned as soon as he heard the doctor’s words. Although he merely narrowed his brows, the doctor shrank his shoulders, overwhelmed by the aura emanating from Set. Even though the doctor himself was an alpha, the man before him was somehow different.
“P-please don’t misunderstand. I was going to say that if you were planning to be away, we should give you something with your scent on it.”
“From now on… I’ll be with him constantly.”
“Ah! Oh, that’s fortunate. Yes, very fortunate indeed.”
The doctor swallowed hard as he pushed up his glasses. He rarely got nervous despite facing many patients, but this was the first time in a long while. The doctor took a deep breath and spoke again.
“First of all, the patient’s condition is very poor. He’s experiencing various complications due to pheromone deficiency symptoms. In fact, it’s remarkable that he’s endured this much on his own.”
The doctor reattached the oxygen mask to Yeon Ji-ho’s mouth as he lay on the bed. Set stared intently at the doctor’s hands, and as soon as the doctor removed his hands, Set shielded Yeon Ji-ho from the doctor as if protecting him while listening attentively.
“Please stay by the patient’s side for at least a week. Not just for the pheromone issue, but he also needs emotional stability. Ah, and you’re a dominant alpha, right?”
The doctor referred to Set as a dominant alpha as if it were obvious. In fact, he thought Set might be an extremely dominant alpha, but he was just guessing since he hadn’t seen the husband’s chart yet.
Before Set could answer, the doctor continued.
“Please keep your pheromones released at all times if possible.”
Set quietly nodded at the doctor’s words. As the situation settled, the doctor and nurses performed some final simple treatments before leaving the room. Now, only Yeon Ji-ho, Set, and Seon-rok remained in the hospital room.
Just as Seon-rok was looking at Set with an indescribable expression, someone tapped Seon-rok’s shoulder.
“Seon-rok, let’s call it a day and go.”
“…Jang Soo-cheol? When did you get here! What about the hospital!”
“Hmm, let’s talk about that outside.”
Seon-rok was pulled out by Soo-cheol before he could say anything more. As soon as the hospital room door closed with a sliding sound, Seon-rok let out a deep sigh.
“Hah, now I can finally catch my breath. How on earth did Set get here?”
“I don’t know how he crossed over… I got a call while I was working and rushed over immediately. Don’t worry about the hospital. It was slow today anyway.”
Seon-rok lightly hit Soo-cheol’s shoulder, not hard enough to hurt, and moved past the hospital talk. Instead, he glanced worriedly towards the hospital room and spoke.
“Ji-ho, he’ll be okay now, right?”
“Yes. Set is here now. Let’s go eat first. You’ve lost weight.”
“Huh? I’ve lost weight? Really? You think so too?”
Soo-cheol chuckled at Seon-rok’s brightened expression, which he hadn’t seen in a long time. He put his arm around Seon-rok’s shoulder and left the front of the hospital room. Of course, he glanced back at Yeon Ji-ho’s room one last time before leaving.
-Ji-ho, where… where is he?
A little while ago.
Soo-cheol was momentarily confused when he received the phone call while working. The low voice was definitely familiar, but he couldn’t believe that person had called. He repeatedly put the phone to his ear and took it away, checking the screen numerous times.
Throughout all this, Set was only looking for Yeon Ji-ho. His manner of speech had even changed to be polite. Perhaps even more desperate than Yeon Ji-ho, Soo-cheol also rushed to where Set was without thinking.
And when he met Set, his cheeks were very gaunt. Moreover, although Set himself didn’t seem to realize it, he was exuding a dangerously intense aura. Even from a doctor’s perspective, he didn’t look in good condition. His eyelids kept trembling, repeatedly opening and closing.
Although his physical condition didn’t look good, Set didn’t seem to be aware of it himself.
“Don’t come to the hospital tomorrow.”
“Huh? Why? If Ji-ho skips lunch again… …Oh, I see.”
“Yes. Let them have some time together.”
***
“Ji-ho.”
“…”
“…Ji-ho.”
Shhhh…
The hospital room was filled only with the sound of Yeon Ji-ho’s breathing through the oxygen mask. Set was struck with fear at Yeon Ji-ho’s unfamiliar appearance lying on the bed. He looked even more vulnerable than Set had imagined.
Seeing the fear in Set’s heterochromatic eyes, Yeon Ji-ho raised his hand and gently stroked Set’s head. Earlier, in the confusion, he had reproached Set, but he didn’t truly resent him.
Moreover, Set didn’t look like someone who had been doing well. His sunken cheeks seemed even more withered than Yeon Ji-ho’s own. Yeon Ji-ho stroked Set’s cheek with a sympathetic expression.
It was about ten minutes later when he removed the oxygen mask. The doctor had said he could remove it when his breathing stabilized, so Yeon Ji-ho lowered the mask with his own hand. Set was restless even at this simple movement.
“Ji-ho, is it… is it okay to remove that? Maybe it’s better to keep it on a bit longer just in case.”
“I have a lot I want to say.”
Yeon Ji-ho calmly exhaled and reached out his hand. If he spoke hastily like before, he would have to put the mask back on. Slowly, as slowly as possible, he breathed and covered Set’s hand on the bed with his own.
“Have you been well?”
“…”
“…I don’t think I’ve been doing well. I’m sorry for lying.”
He had only been able to send messages saying he was fine over the phone. It was even easier to lie since Set could only see a few lines of text anyway. As Yeon Ji-ho finally confessed this, Set closed and opened his eyes with a devastated expression.
“After sending you away like that, do you think I could have been well, Ji-ho?”
A trembling breath escaped Set’s lips. He covered Yeon Ji-ho’s hand on top of his own with his other hand. Both of Set’s hands holding the dry fingers shook slightly.
“I… I was too late.”
Set didn’t know how many hundreds, thousands of times he had regretted since Yeon Ji-ho left like that. Entrusting Yeon Ji-ho to Shango, not being alert enough to Hadad’s movements, not moving faster… All of these regrets came back to claw at Set’s heart.
Even as Set begged the gods to give Yeon Ji-ho to him, he felt suffocated when he thought about whether he deserved to have him. How could he have Yeon Ji-ho when he couldn’t even protect his own person and his own child once?
As Set’s breathing became increasingly labored with pain, Yeon Ji-ho spoke. He gently caressed Set’s rough skin with his thumb as he said:
“You’re not late.”
“But, Ji-ho. You… you’ve become so thin…”
Yeon Ji-ho smiled faintly. In fact, until yesterday, no, even until this morning, he had been too worried about his health to smile, but as soon as he saw Set, he found himself smiling weakly in an odd way.
Unlike himself, as the gloomy aura didn’t leave Set’s face, Yeon Ji-ho moved his hand. He took one of Set’s hands and placed it on his belly. And at that moment.
Thud, clatter…!
The chair Set had been sitting on fell backwards. It was because Set had suddenly stood up. His face was a mix of surprise and confusion.
Yeon Ji-ho couldn’t hold back his laughter as Set’s reaction was exactly as he had imagined. At the same time, tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.
“Ji-ho, Ji-ho, what is this…”
“What else? It’s the baby kicking.”
Set looked down at his palm quietly. He could still feel that sensation alive and breathing on his palm.
“The baby and I, we’ve been waiting well, right?”
“…”
“Thank you for coming before it was too late.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
