SATURDAY 39

“It looks like someone was here? Is this rainwater? I’ll have to have someone clean this up.”

“Ah, yes, well… m—m—my husband….”

I ended up stammering because I still felt embarrassed saying the word ‘husband’. At my words, the professor frowned for a moment before speaking.

“Your husband…. Mr. Lee Taeseon. You haven’t had the wedding yet, have you? We spoke.”

“Pardon? What did you talk about?”

“Well, I suppose you could say everything. The baby you lost, the cause of the miscarriage, the adverse effects it could have on the mother’s body….”

The professor shrugged.

“Even after hearing all that, he asked if it was really his child—well, it’s a common occurrence in obstetrics, I suppose. I found it quite upsetting.”

“Ah, but… Mr. Taeseon could think that way….”

“Excuse me?”

The voice was so loud I was worried it might be heard in the bathroom. I quickly made an excuse to the wide-eyed professor.

Mr. Taeseon naturally could have thought that. He must know that Inha had a partner he spent his cycles with.

Furthermore, Inha and Mr. Taeseon have never had a relationship. In such a situation, even if he heard the word miscarriage, he wouldn’t be able to say anything other than that it wasn’t his child.

“He… he would have had no choice but to think that way. There are some circumstances…. Perhaps he mistakenly thought there was another Alpha.”

“I don’t know what you mean by that either. I gave the pheromone test results to your husband too. I told him that only one person’s pheromones were detected in the body.”

“….”

I tried to make an excuse somehow, but it was in vain.

Taking my blank stare however she interpreted it, the professor placed a hand lightly on my shoulder and spoke.

“You don’t need to protect him, Mr. Inha.”

“….”

At the name Mr. Inha, I snapped back to my senses. That’s right. I had been momentarily confused by various things, and because of Mr. Taeseon acting that way, but right now, I was Yoon Inha. The name written on my hospital bracelet and the nameplate attached to the bed were all ‘Yoon Inha’.

The reason the professor was this angry was because I was the one officially set to marry Mr. Taeseon, and with the wedding not far off at that.

“What did you say to Mr. Taeseon?”

“It wasn’t much. I showed him the pheromone test results and simply confirmed that it was definitely the child of the person he is living with. Also… I talked a bit about responsibility.”

The pheromone test result that even I didn’t quite understand. Did Mr. Taeseon start thinking of me as ‘Yoon Inyoung’ after seeing that? Really… that easily? Even I find it hard to believe.

“When I told him it was the twelfth week, he seemed to realize something, said he understood, and left the examination room. His complexion was quite bad, though….”

“….”

The professor’s expression darkened somewhat.

“Where would there be a parent who remains fine after losing a child that never even got to be born? It’s the same for you, Mr. Inha. Right… when do you plan on contacting your parents?”

Contacting my parents… and telling them about the miscarriage. No matter how much I thought about it, that was out of the question. First, I would have to speak about the premarital pregnancy in a way that suggested I was seeing Mr. Taeseon back then, and there were many other complicated issues entangled as well.

I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t intend to tell them.”

“Pardon?”

The professor’s eyes widened behind her glasses.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Actually, my parents don’t even know I was pregnant. Since I didn’t know either. It’s not exactly good news, so I don’t think there’s any need to tell them and make them upset for nothing.”

I chose a suitable excuse. It was also the truth. Since they didn’t even know there was a child, I didn’t want to cause them needless disappointment.

“….”

The professor seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding her head with a “I see.” However, she added immediately:

“Does the child’s father agree with this?”

“…If I tell him, he will agree.”

Whatever his thoughts are, that is the case. Whether he comes out from washing and regains his senses and sees me as Yoon Inha, or continues to see me as Yoon Inyoung, he will agree with my words. The former because he, like me, would feel no need to inform the parents. The latter because I asked him to.

Mr. Taeseon has never once refused my requests, as long as it wasn’t something that harmed my body.

“Mr. Inha.”

“…Yes?”

My response was a bit delayed. It was because I didn’t recognize that she was calling me. Until now, whenever someone called me Inha, I would flinch. Even though the Shaman was constantly performing exorcisms. Until recently, it was probably because of my own greed. The greed to want to live.

But now, those thoughts have vanished.

The Shaman’s exorcism… what was its purpose?

Because I was lost in thought, I remained blank even after answering. At that, the professor, who had been watching me quietly, glanced toward the bathroom, and hearing the sound of water still continuing, she leaned closer to me. Her voice dropped.

“Mr. Inha, perhaps… do you need our help?”

“Pardon?”

I couldn’t immediately understand what the professor meant. Then, I realized a moment later. Medical staff have a duty to report situations where domestic violence is suspected. If necessary, they separate the patient from the guardian without the guardian’s knowledge.

“I saw your medical records, Mr. Inha. You once suffered injuries requiring two weeks of treatment. In the orthopedic department. And right now, you have many small bruises on your body.”

The professor continued seriously.

“If you need help, we can move you to another place immediately.”

“No!”

My voice rose without me realizing it. The professor flinched, and her gaze grew even sharper. I realized my mistake only after shouting.

It is said that victims of domestic violence often deny it strongly at first. I might have looked exactly like that.

I caught my breath and raised my upper body a little as I began to explain… no, to make an excuse.

“Ah, it’s not that…. That really happened because I tripped in the living room. The floor was a bit slippery. Because it hadn’t been cleaned properly….”

The more I spoke, the more it sounded like an excuse. That was natural. Because it was true that I hurt my wrist back then because Mr. Taeseon pushed me.

As if seeing through my lie, the professor did not lower her suspicious gaze. I pressed my hand to my forehead.

“It’s not like that. There was no violence. There was a little, well, conflict, but that’s…. You know. For Mr. Taeseon, he suddenly ended up marrying a different person. It’s true he showed some rejection toward me. But really….”

“…Thinking about it, the twelfth week would have been while Mr. Yoon Inyoung was still alive.”

The professor narrowed her eyes. I felt like I wanted to hold my head in my hands. I could see Mr. Taeseon’s image being broken down more and more in the professor’s mind.

But thinking about it, this was a good excuse. I squeezed my eyes shut and spoke.

“That’s right…. We had a relationship while Inyoung was alive. A relationship deep enough that I didn’t meet any other Alphas.”

“….”

“But then Inyoung died, and when it actually came time to marry me, he was just… confused in various ways. Since we’re in a relationship like that, why would he use violence against me?”

The professor looked at me and was lost in thought for a long time. She seemed to be deeply considering the complicated relationship I had fabricated. Then, she nodded with a “I suppose that’s true.” Fortunately, it seemed to have worked.

Domestic violence—I had never once thought of it that way. It turned into a bit of a strange excuse, but it was a relief that the point got across.

Just then, the sound of water cut off, and a moment later, Mr. Taeseon, who had changed into new clothes, came out of the bathroom. His hair was roughly dried with a towel, but perhaps it was just my imagination, but he still somehow looked damp as if he had just emerged from a swamp.

He stared at the professor with a blank face and then bowed his head a moment late.

“You were here. I’m on duty today, and they said you moved rooms, so I came by. I was just talking with Mr. Inha for a moment.”

“…Mr. Inha.”

Mr. Taeseon muttered that as he looked at me. My body stiffened. What if he thinks, ‘After washing up, I realize it was a mistake after all’? I even trembled a little.

“Well then, I shall head out now. I’ll send a staff member to clean up. The room is a mess. If anything happens, call a nurse at any time. Oh, Mr. Inha, do you have a headache?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Is it severe?”

“Just a bit of a throbbing….”

“I’ll have them bring you some medicine.”

I nodded my head and said, “Yes, thank you.” Mr. Taeseon merely bowed his head slightly again.

A while after the professor left, a cleaning staff member came, took the wet clothes out, and cleaned the moisture from the floor completely. Next, a nurse brought the headache medicine.

After a small bout of commotion had passed, the only sound in the now quiet room was the calm sound of the rain outside.

“Inyoung.”

I flinched… and looked at Mr. Taeseon with a bit of fear. Mr. Taeseon watched me quietly, then approached slowly and rested one leg on the bed.

Without realizing it, my body moved backward bit by bit. As if I were avoiding Mr. Taeseon. Mr. Taeseon bit his lip and looked at me with a face that seemed as though he were hanging off a cliff. Then he whispered in a small voice.

“Inyoung….”

His hand lightly grasped mine. Pheromones were leaking out faintly. I didn’t hate that. Only….

‘Don’t act disgusting.’

Words like that came to mind, and I merely shrank away reflexively.

“Inyoung… can I hold you?”

It was a desperate voice. A voice so desperately earnest it could melt away all my doubts until now. Without realizing it, I slowly nodded my head. His pheromones drew a step closer.

Mr. Taeseon leaned down and pulled my body into a tight embrace.