Correction Chapter 116

After returning from his parents’ house, Jungmin started exercising again. He registered at a gym and started personal training, beginning to manage his body in earnest. He also began studying again, gradually preparing to return to his life as a doctor.

When he mentioned he was thinking of returning around next year, his parents were overjoyed and said they would help him open his own clinic. However, Jungmin liked his older sister-in-law’s hospital and preferred working in collaboration with other doctors rather than opening a clinic alone, so he told them that if his sister-in-law would have him, he planned to go back to that hospital.

And Jungmin recalled what Youngmin had said to him when he was leaving their parents’ house, repeatedly emphasizing, ‘Be careful of Kim Joohwan.’

‘We’re both alphas anyway, what kind of big deal could happen?’

When Jungmin said this slyly, Youngmin replied with a very serious face.

‘Hey, don’t you know an alpha got pregnant recently?’

He had teased him, saying he didn’t think Youngmin had any interest in how society was turning out but was surprised he cared about such things, and passed it off as a joke. But truthfully, he had been inwardly surprised. It felt like he had been reawakened to a fact he had forgotten… Thanks to Youngmin, he was reminded that such a thing had indeed happened.

“Ah.”

After finishing his workout and taking a shower, Jungmin was changing his clothes when he flinched at a pulling sensation in his lower abdomen.

“That’s strange.”

Jungmin gently touched his stomach and frowned. Ever since that day he had talked with Youngmin on the terrace, his stomach had started to hurt unpleasantly from time to time. If it hurt sharply, he would go to the hospital, but it wasn’t like that. It was more of a dull, gloomy ache… It wasn’t severe enough to go to the hospital, literally just a half-hearted pain. In any case, he had a hospital appointment in two days, so he figured he could mention these symptoms then, but seeing the pain become a little more frequent, he wondered if there was a problem with his intestines.

Or maybe he had been eating too much due to his recently increased appetite. Perhaps because he had started exercising again after a break, he had become noticeably hungrier and started eating small, frequent meals, which might have surprised his stomach, Jungmin thought as he rubbed his abdomen. Once the pain in his stomach subsided, Jungmin finished changing and left the gym.

Just then, as if by magic, a call came from Kim Joohwan.

—Are you done with your workout?

“I just came out.”

—Come quickly. To the house.

“What? At this hour?”

Jungmin quickly looked at his watch. 5 p.m. It seemed a bit early for a working professional, especially the CEO of a company, to be getting off work.

—Didn’t you say earlier you wanted to eat the jeon they sell at Gwangjang Market?

“So?”

Ah, wait a minute, no way.

“No way… did you buy some?”

—Hurry up and come.

Before his workout, while briefly talking to Kim Joohwan on the phone, he had seen some jeon on TV and had casually remarked, ‘Oh, that looks delicious,’ just once, but it seemed Kim Joohwan had remembered and bought it.

“Hey, what the… how can you take a passing comment so seriously?”

It’s not like I’m pregnant, Jungmin was about to say, but he held back, feeling that was going too far.

“Wait. I’m on my way now.”

I’m too scared to say anything. Jungmin hung up the phone and sighed. Then, he checked his phone’s messenger again. A message from Yoo Shinwoo had actually arrived earlier. He hadn’t had the courage to read it, so he had been putting it off, but he figured he had to check it now.

Jungmin, it’s been a while. Are you doing well? And your health is good, right?

The fact that I’m even saying this to you feels like something has gone very wrong.

Before, we could talk about all sorts of things more comfortably. I shouldn’t have done that to you that day. At the time, I think my rut was starting, so I completely lost my senses. The joy of finally being able to hold you was so overwhelming that I couldn’t control myself. I’m truly sorry. I was so sorry to you that I wanted to contact you sooner, even a day earlier, but I was too scared even for that, so please curse me for being pathetic for only contacting you now. You must be very disappointed in me, right? But even so, it’s okay, so I want to meet you once and talk.

Jungmin, please get in touch.

After checking the entire message, Jungmin sat in a small park in front of his apartment building and thought. He had to meet Shinwoo at least once. It was necessary to redefine their relationship. He couldn’t quite figure out what Shinwoo was thinking… but he would find out once they met.

“You’re late.”

A long, large shadow fell over Jungmin’s body. He looked up to see Kim Joohwan standing there with a face full of discontent. It seemed he had already changed his clothes, as he was in comfortable training wear. At this point, it was a waste of breath to ask how he knew he was here.

“Where did you get that training suit? It doesn’t look like mine.”

“There are probably more of my clothes in sunbae’s house than your own.”

“Wow, you’re so shameless.”

“What’s new.”

Kim Joohwan plopped down in the seat next to him.

“Why are you moping here instead of coming home?”

“Try to say it nicely.”

“Hmm, in that case… is something troubling you?”

Kim Joohwan leaned his body slightly forward, looked at Jungmin, and asked with a chillingly gentle voice. He really was ridiculously handsome. Maybe that’s why it felt a bit difficult to make eye contact. Jungmin cleared his throat and looked straight ahead.

“Tomorrow is the day I have to go to the hospital.”

“Right.”

“It seems to be the day my brother is being discharged, so I was planning to meet him at the hospital for a bit.”

“Aha.”

Kim Joohwan straightened his posture and looked forward, just like Jungmin.

“So? What are you going to do when you meet him?”

“When we meet… I’m going to tell him let’s stop. Since it doesn’t seem like I’m going to become an omega. To stop.”

As Jungmin finished speaking, Kim Joohwan let out a deep breath. It somehow seemed to hold many meanings, but Jungmin didn’t ask.

“…So you’ve really given up on becoming an omega now?”

“It’s funny to even call it giving up. It’s not like I didn’t try. It’s just not happening.”

“That’s true too. You really tried hard, sunbae. I can vouch for that.”

“Thaanks a lot. Really.”

“Then… you don’t need the medicine anymore, right?”

“Mm, I guess so?”

“Then I…”

“Hmm?”

“No, I don’t think this is something to talk about right now. Especially not dressed like this.”

Kim Joohwan shot up from his seat.

“Let’s talk tomorrow.”

“About what?”

“Let’s go. The food I went to the trouble of buying will get all cold.”

Seeing him change the subject, it seemed he didn’t want to talk about it now, so Jungmin didn’t press the issue either.

✽✽✽

“Ugh…”

Jungmin clutched his aching stomach, groaning. The pain had started little by little since dawn, and from the morning, the interval between pangs had been getting shorter. Fortunately, it wasn’t so bad that he couldn’t walk, and since he had to go to the hospital anyway, Jungmin prepared to go calmly without making a fuss.

After sending Kim Joohwan home last night, he had sat alone, organized his thoughts a bit, and then called Shinwoo. He had told him to meet at the hospital tomorrow, and he had readily agreed.

But if his stomach keeps hurting like this, it seems like talking today will be impossible… But dragging it out won’t do any good… Hoping the stomach pain would stop, Jungmin called a taxi to the hospital instead of driving himself for once.

He sent a short reply to a message from Kim Joohwan that came in the meantime, saying he was on his way to the hospital, and curled up in the taxi.

“Sir, are you okay?”

The taxi driver, seeming concerned, asked Jungmin cautiously.

“Ah… yes… Please hurry. I beg you.”

He wanted to avoid making such a request if possible, but the stomach pain was becoming increasingly frequent, so he had no choice. Fortunately, there was no traffic on the road, so they were able to arrive at the hospital quickly. But he couldn’t open the car door. His stomach was cramping too much.

Seeing Jungmin’s pale face, the taxi driver got out of the driver’s seat, opened the back door for him, and repeatedly asked if he was okay. Jungmin couldn’t answer. He could feel his body turning cold. A cold sweat was already drenching his entire body.

Jungmin barely managed to tell the taxi driver the name of his doctor before losing consciousness.

✽✽✽

“Jungmin, Jungmin.”

It was Shinwoo hyung’s voice. A voice that was always pleasant to hear. When he called his name with that voice, he couldn’t be happier. So, if possible, he wanted to enjoy that happiness for the rest of his life. And he wanted to share it with him. He thought he could…

“Jungmin.”

“…Shinwoo hyung…”

Jungmin answered Shinwoo’s voice, which called to him just as it always had. And he slowly opened his eyes. Yoo Shinwoo was looking at Jungmin with eyes full of worry.

“Hyung…”

“Are you conscious?”

Conscious? What happened? Jungmin looked around. It was a hospital room. Ah, right, I was in a taxi on my way to the hospital when my stomach started hurting…

“Did I collapse?”

“Yes, you collapsed in the taxi. Do you remember up to that point?”

“Yeah… How much time has passed?”

“Not long. About an hour.”

“Ah…”

“Wait, I’ll call the doctor.”

Jungmin sighed and closed his eyes. The stomach pain was gone now. What on earth was it? A side effect of the medicine? He hadn’t had any noticeable side effects for a while, so it wouldn’t be surprising if something new appeared, but the location of it was strangely bothering him.

“Mr. Shin.”

Soon, Doctor Kim rushed in and checked Jungmin’s condition.

“My stomach kept hurting. It would be a sharp, stabbing pain, then a heavy ache… but the pain was especially severe today…”

At Jungmin’s words, Doctor Kim put a hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh.

“Back then, during the rut…”

“Yes.”

“…Did you knot?”

This is strange. Doctor Kim had never asked for this much detail before… While harboring doubts, Jungmin, who knew better than anyone that one shouldn’t hide things from a doctor, answered seriously.

“Yes, I did.”

“Haaa… We drew your blood last time, didn’t we? The results for that came out. But honestly, I couldn’t believe it when I saw them. I was planning to draw blood again when you came in today… but it seems the test results weren’t an error after all.”

She held out a tablet with the test results to Jungmin. Jungmin calmly read it from the top, line by line, and soon stopped at a certain part.

It was a pregnancy.