* * *
‘It feels like my heart will jump out of my mouth.’
Whenever I heard that expression, I thought it was an exaggeration, but it wasn’t.
Right now, it felt like his heart was climbing up his esophagus and about to leap out of his mouth.
Like a rocket launcher.
On the outside, Jaehyuk maintained a face so cold that the doctor was clearly uncomfortable, but throughout Junghyun’s conversation with the doctor, his heart had been pounding loudly. By the time they went in for the ultrasound, his heart was beating so fast he felt like throwing up.
Barely holding back the urge to run to the bathroom, he waited, and finally, the moment of destiny arrived.
“Then, let’s begin.”
At the doctor’s polite announcement and Junghyun’s response to proceed, Jaehyuk stared at the screen with such an intense gaze he could have pierced through the monitor.
Immediately, something began to appear.
A nut encased in a round membrane.
No, no. This time it wasn’t a nut.
He could really see a face, arms, and legs.
“The baby is growing very well. You can see the head and legs here, right? And these are the fingers.”
As the doctor explained, pointing to each part with the cursor, the image of the baby energetically kicking its feet in that small space was vividly captured on the screen.
“The baby will be good at sports. Would you like to hear this vigorous little one’s heartbeat?”
“Yes.”
Perhaps because he had done this several times before, Junghyun was calm. No, beyond calm—he seemed almost indifferent.
Unlike the very comfortable-looking Junghyun, Jaehyuk couldn’t collect his thoughts due to his heart beating even louder than before.
He had prepared himself for the ultrasound images and videos, but the heartbeat was an issue from a whole different realm. As he was steeling himself mentally, a small noise was heard.
It sounded like a train, or perhaps rain.
That small but energetic, rhythmic sound, along with Jaehyuk’s own heartbeat, began to resonate in his ears.
As if forming an ensemble, with beats echoing both in his ears and from far away, Jaehyuk unconsciously leaned forward and stared intently at the monitor screen.
And this time, he murmured only inside his mouth.
Even the heartbeat resembles me.
Beyond just being moved, Jaehyuk was overwhelmed with emotion and had one thought in his mind.
Though the baby was barely 10cm long, he felt he could die for this child if necessary.
* * *
“It will take about a week for the results of the additional tests to come back, so please make an appointment and visit again.”
After confirming the results of the just-arrived basic blood test, the doctor combined them with previous medical records and ultrasound results to conclusively finish the diagnosis.
Both the baby and the mother were very healthy.
“Thank you. But…”
Having started with the normal expression of gratitude, Junghyun briefly paused before continuing.
“You know that the baby’s ultrasound records and photos are my medical records, so they absolutely shouldn’t be shown to other people, right?”
At this sudden request for record protection, Jaehyuk, who had been looking down at Junghyun with an expression that suggested such a statement was obvious, suddenly realized something.
And then he finally recalled whose hospital this was.
To be precise, Hanju Medical Center was a secondary hospital under Hanju Trading, but the director of this hospital was his uncle’s close friend.
This meant that the hospital itself was within his grandfather and uncle’s boundary.
Recalling that much, Jaehyuk finally had to understand what kind of trouble Junghyun had caused.
No wonder his grandfather’s contact had suddenly stopped…
He had thought his grandfather had given up due to the lack of response, but that wasn’t it—he had made a deal with Junghyun in the meantime.
So this time, Jaehyuk followed up on Junghyun’s words.
“That includes my grandfather. And of course, our parents and my uncle as well.”
Explicitly pointing out each one, warning that no photos, videos, or records should be provided no matter which family member requested them, the doctor rolled his eyes quickly as if flustered.
“…Um… The Director asked me to report directly to the Chairman and CEO Cha Jinwoo.”
“…To my uncle?”
“Yes. It was CEO Cha Jinwoo who urgently made the appointment this morning…”
The doctor explained that he had come in despite it being his day off, and Jaehyuk silently looked down at Junghyun.
It seemed this megalodon had hooked both his grandfather and uncle simultaneously.
Jaehyuk had mentioned that occasionally, it’s okay to harpoon, but Junghyun had not only harpooned but also thrown a net to catch them.
“Since my uncle made the appointment, there’s no problem with informing him of the results.”
With a face that said, “But you know that photos or videos beyond that are not allowed, right?” Jaehyuk smiled slightly, and the doctor nodded as if he immediately understood.
“Of course. I was only planning to convey the fact that the baby is very healthy. The two of them were quite worried.”
After all, the “Chairman” was just an honorary title for someone already retired, and CEO Cha Jinwoo was from Hanju Chemical.
The real power in Hanju Trading was Jaehyuk anyway, so the doctor had already calculated that following his words was the right move.
And Jaehyuk was quite pleased with his political acumen.
“Thank you for understanding. We’ll be going now. Junghyun.”
Since he was pregnant, Jaehyuk stood up first and supported Junghyun’s waist from behind, and Junghyun took his escort and stood up, linking arms with him.
After giving a slight bow to the doctor to complete their farewell, they left the examination room and headed to the waiting area.
Walking closely together like a clearly affectionate couple, Jaehyuk demonstrated his ventriloquism skills once more to Junghyun.
“You should explain beforehand when you cause trouble.”
“I was going to tell you over a meal.”
Saying he hadn’t expected to have a consultation so quickly, Junghyun was about to sit down when a nurse in front of the examination room called out to the two of them.
“Mr. Lee Junghyun, I’ll set up your appointment for next week. What time would you like on the same day?”
To the nurse’s kind question, Jaehyuk answered instead of Junghyun.
“Please make it during lunch time.”
At his quick answer without any hesitation, Junghyun looked up at him.
“You’ll come too, hyung?”
“Of course, I have to.”
Jaehyuk’s attitude suggested, did you think I would let you come alone?
At his typically considerate and diligent judgment, which was as expected, Junghyun immediately agreed.
“…If you’re willing to do that, I’d be happy…”
“Then, shall I make it for 1 PM?”
“Yes.”
“Your appointment has been set. And here is a memory stick with the ultrasound video file saved on it. And these are the photos. Both the photos and videos can also be viewed through the hospital application.”
As the nurse handed over a memory stick and photos along with the printed appointment confirmation, Jaehyuk’s eyes sparkled.
Seeing his expression that clearly conveyed how badly he wanted that small stick and single photo, Junghyun reluctantly yielded the stick to him.
“You take it, hyung. It’s in my belly anyway, so…”
At Junghyun’s concession, Jaehyuk gladly accepted the stick and photos.
He planned to transfer them to his phone and laptop as soon as he got to the office, and to display them in the screening room 24 hours a day when he got home.
No, he decided to install a large screen in the bedroom so he could watch even while sleeping.
“Thank you. We’ll be going then.”
With the stick preciously held in his hand, Jaehyuk headed towards the elevator, arm in arm with Junghyun. But even as they walked, Jaehyuk’s gaze remained fixed on the stick.
Seeing his expression as if he had sold his soul for the memory stick, Junghyun silently took out an adapter from his hoodie pocket and handed it to him.
He had brought it just in case, and it seemed Jaehyuk would need it.
And that intuition was exactly right.
At that face that looked as if he had received an extraordinary gift, Junghyun smiled awkwardly while holding onto his arm.
He had been prepared to be persistently difficult, thinking Jaehyuk’s anger would last a long time, but people are easier than expected.
“We should have lunch, right? What would you like to eat?”
As Junghyun stopped in front of the elevator and pressed the button, Jaehyuk, connecting the stick to his phone with the adapter, answered absently.
“Anything…”
His face suggested that his mind was entirely focused on the video, with no thought for food.
No, in this state, it seemed like he could survive without eating anything until the baby was born.
As long as he had that video.
Having anticipated this situation to some extent since watching the ultrasound on the monitor, Junghyun casually pulled his arm and stepped into the elevator.
“Is there anything you don’t want?”
“Nothing. Eat whatever you want.”
“Then, I’ll decide as I please.”
“Sure…”
“No complaints later, okay?”
“Mmm.”
At his indifferent tone, Junghyun nodded. Then, after sending a message to the secretary saying he would drive himself, he pressed the button for the third basement floor.
Today’s menu would be jajangmyeon.
* * *
“Why jajangmyeon again?”
The place Junghyun brought Jaehyuk after driving himself for the first time in a while was a Chinese restaurant near the office.
Despite telling him to do as he pleased earlier, now that they had arrived, Jaehyuk didn’t seem particularly pleased with this menu choice.
But he had no right of refusal.
“The baby says it wants it.”
As Junghyun immediately counterattacked his complaint, Jaehyuk’s eyes instantly softened.
“Then we must eat it.”
“And dong po pork too.”
“Eat everything. Except the table and chairs.”
Adding that those wouldn’t be digestible, Jaehyuk finished ordering and then looked down again to check the scene of the small baby kicking with its short legs.
“He’ll really be good at sports.”
As Jaehyuk admired how the baby resembled him, Junghyun poured water into the cups and responded as if what Jaehyuk said was obvious.
“I think it would be stranger if a child of both of us wasn’t good at sports.”
“Don’t you think his face looks like mine?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
