Love Born of Pity Chapter 62

Do Yeonjae, who had been leaning over Kwon Jiho as he sat on the edge of the bed, slowly straightened up. Then he took Kwon Jiho’s hand and pulled him up. He rubbed the soft, tender part of his inner forearm with his thumb and muttered, “Here.”

“I’m going to put a chip in.”

Innocent eyes that didn’t understand what he meant looked up at Do Yeonjae.

“Ah, a contraceptive device that goes in the body. It’s more effective than birth control pills. Then even if your heat comes, getting pregnant will be difficult. Why, you don’t like that?”

“…No. I don’t dislike it. It’s fine.”

His eyes were completely watery, and his pronunciation was slurred from sniffling. Thinking his answer might have been unclear, Kwon Jiho looked at Do Yeonjae and replied once more.

“I’ll do that. I want it in.”

Although it wasn’t meant to be lewd, Kwon Jiho’s words sounded strangely suggestive. Do Yeonjae looked at Kwon Jiho, who looked so pitiful he was pathetic, and laughed. To think that even this appearance could be stimulating, truly…

“You don’t even know how that sounds.”

“…Pardon?”

Do Yeonjae gazed at the face, smudged with tears and tinged with melancholy, before pulling him into an embrace. It was surprising enough that he had presented from a Beta to a Recessive Omega, but he was a body that had even gotten pregnant with that unstable trait. Even considering that his own trait was Dominant, Kwon Jiho might have a body that was quite fertile.

Is having a weak body and getting pregnant a separate issue? He recalled what he had said to Manager Kim not long ago, about wanting to see Kwon Jiho’s child.

“Ha.”

As expected, the gap between reality and fantasy was huge. The moment he found out his body could carry a child, all thoughts of a child had vanished completely.

“I have no intention of making a baby or anything with you, Mr. Kwon Jiho.”

“I’ll be more careful. I don’t want to have… a baby either, Director.”

Watching Kwon Jiho bite his lip and meekly agree to do as he wished, Do Yeonjae recalled what he had heard from Manager Kim. It was nothing special, really. That he had presented as an Omega, and that Kwon Jiho seemed to be in considerable shock, as if he hadn’t known either.

He had requested a detailed examination, so by tomorrow morning, he would know more about Kwon Jiho’s traits.

“Mr. Kwon Jiho.”

“…Yes, Director.”

“Why did you try to leave? Where were you trying to go? You don’t have anywhere to go.”

“I just… thought you would hate it.”

Upon hearing the news that he was returning to Korea, Kwon Jiho had tried to leave the hospital room several times. He had wondered why he had made such a pointless effort, but the question Kwon Jiho asked as soon as he saw him—if he was going to be thrown away—and his current answer explained everything. His words that he was only needed as a Beta must have stuck with him. How pitiful.

Looking at Kwon Jiho, who grew anxious under his blatant stare, Do Yeonjae recalled the thought he’d had the entire way here. He was the type to not create troublesome situations in the first place. Not only was it a hassle, but Kwon Jiho wasn’t his only option. Nevertheless, his resolve to ensure contraception was firm, but he didn’t want to end the relationship.

The fact that he had become an Omega didn’t feel particularly distasteful. He could just put a contraceptive chip in his body, couldn’t he? Then the impossibility of pregnancy would be the same as when he was a Beta.

Rather, now that his body could feel pheromones, he would complain less about it hurting during sex. There might even be days when he got so turned on he’d be the one begging for sex first. Thinking about it that way, Kwon Jiho becoming an Omega didn’t seem so bad after all.

“You’ll be discharged after we get the detailed test results.”

“…Okay.”

“Are you in pain anywhere?”

“Just my stomach… only my stomach hurt. But it’s okay now. It doesn’t hurt.”

His tears still hadn’t subsided, and a sorrowful breath escaped Kwon Jiho every so often. But he didn’t seem as surprised as one would expect. Suddenly becoming an Omega from a Beta should have been baffling, but Kwon Jiho was calm.

If their roles were reversed, whether he became an Alpha or an Omega, if he had been forcibly presented due to someone else’s influence, he wouldn’t have let that person off easy. But was Kwon Jiho more afraid of being abandoned than he was shocked by becoming an Omega? His dark eyes turned to the tear-streaked face, trying to understand his incomprehensible state.

“Director… Can I hold your hand?”

At the words finally offered after enduring the blatant stare, Do Yeonjae extended the hand he had let go of while pointing out the spot for the chip. White, thin fingers grasped his hand as if holding onto something that must not be lost. With a strength that couldn’t even be called commendable.

Hooo, a sigh of relief escaped through his dry lips. The parted gap trembled as if there was something left to say, before closing tightly.

“Why.”

“…I was wondering if you were going to leave…”

The eyes looking up at Do Yeonjae wavered aimlessly. Faced with that heart-wrenching sight, Do Yeonjae was swayed helplessly. As he looked into the eyes that seemed ready to burst into tears if he said he was leaving and slightly shook his head, Kwon Jiho visibly relaxed.

“I’m not leaving.”

“…Don’t go, Director.”

“Go to sleep now. You said you couldn’t sleep. Or was it that you didn’t sleep.”

Do Yeonjae operated the electric curtains, darkening the room. He laid Kwon Jiho down on the bed and dimmed the mood lighting. As he sat on the edge, Kwon Jiho’s hand wriggled out from under the blanket. It stealthily gripped the hem of Do Yeonjae’s jacket tightly. Only then did he close his eyes.

Do Yeonjae looked down at Kwon Jiho’s hand clutching his clothes like a lifeline and became certain. No matter how he thought about it, it seemed clear that Kwon Yoon Taek had given Kwon Jiho something to ingest that day. The cause of the miscarriage might not have been the sex, but the drugs. Whatever it was, Kwon Jiho wouldn’t have had the child anyway, but he still needed to confirm. Should he meet him in person?

“Fucking son of a bitch…”

At the low-spoken curse, Kwon Jiho’s shoulders flinched. He must have been lightly dozing, as his fluttering eyelids lifted to reveal his teary eyes again.

“…Please don’t be angry. I’m sorry…”

His body, lying on its side, curled into a ball, shrinking its volume. Why was he being so pathetic even in his sleep? His tired eyes hid behind slowly closing lids. After watching for a moment, his breathing evened out. Do Yeonjae’s hand gently touched the raw skin around his eyes.

By now, Kwon Jiho’s high body temperature felt natural. Smelling the unique, sweet body scent that spread from his tear-dampened hair and warm skin, Do Yeonjae lowered his head as if he had realized something.

“What the.”

He pressed his nose behind the ear, to the nape of the neck, and to the inside of the wrist, inhaling deeply. The scent he could pick up from the delicate skin was the usual body scent he always got from Kwon Jiho, not pheromones.

“There’s nothing.”

This was the persistent feeling of wrongness. He couldn’t sense any pheromones from Kwon Jiho. Can an Omega not have pheromones?

The thought of how can he not have any briefly crossed his mind, before he decided it was much better for him to have no pheromones than to let others smell Kwon Jiho’s. His was a body that attracted all sorts of crazy flies as it was; it was painfully obvious what would happen if he were to leak pheromones on top of that.

♬⋆.˚

The detailed test results showed no anomalies. Kwon Jiho was a Recessive Omega, it said. Although the exact timing of his presentation couldn’t be known, it was certain that a considerable amount of time had passed since he presented.

“You must have had a presentation fever, weren’t you aware?”

At the doctor’s question while looking at the test results, Kwon Jiho trembled. Do Yeonjae also knew that he had been to the hospital around that time. His voice rang out, so nonchalant it made Kwon Jiho’s worry about raising suspicion seem pointless.

“Ah, there was a time when he had a persistent low-grade fever. Should we assume he presented around then?”

“Yes, most likely. There are various causes for a miscarriage, but in the patient’s case, it was a first pregnancy, and he was in an unstable state having only recently presented, and…”

He glanced at Do Yeonjae for a moment before continuing.

“I believe the miscarriage progressed quickly due to an overdose of stimulants, tranquilizers, and painkillers.”

It was a relief that the cause of the miscarriage wasn’t the sex. Kwon Jiho probably didn’t care either way, but a miscarriage for that reason? Wasn’t that too trashy? Do Yeonjae was genuinely relieved. However, the names of the drugs mentioned at the end of the doctor’s explanation caught his ear.

“It seems you are taking tranquilizers, but there are studies showing that taking benzodiazepines during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage. Furthermore, a stimulant ingredient called amphetamine was also detected. The blood test results also showed that codeine levels were all higher than the standard amount.”

“…”

“While we cannot say the detected substances were the direct cause, it is highly likely they had an influence. Therefore, you must be more careful with medication during pregnancy. Especially stimulants, which must be taken as prescribed. If you constantly chase the immediate stimulus, you’ll keep looking for something stronger, and in the end, there’s nothing but illicit drugs. I trust that you, Mr. Do, are also aware of the dangers of drugs.”

The doctor looked at Do Yeonjae with a serious face. He looked somewhat displeased. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it tightly without speaking.

“There were no other major points of concern. The shape of the gestational sac was good, and its position was not bad. I think that’s why he was able to get pregnant right away despite being a Recessive. And you, Mr. Do, are a Dominant. If you have no plans for marriage or children, you will need to be careful with contraception. As a Recessive, his heats won’t come periodically, but you must be especially careful during that time.”

The doctor, who had been speaking slowly in a gentle tone, pushed up his glasses as he looked at Kwon Jiho. Clinging tightly to Do Yeonjae’s arm as if his life depended on it, he hadn’t made eye contact with the doctor even once during the hospital rounds.

In fact, the face lying on the emergency room bed, paler than flour dough, had looked so young that he had wondered if he was a student. The way he cried in fear looked so much like he had suffered something terrible that he had even misunderstood the situation before hearing the details.