Divorce Contract C9

Chapter 9

Go Igyeol drove the car that Seo Dohyeon had provided for him to use, parked it in a public parking lot far from the hospital, then caught a taxi and got out in front of the hospital. He wasn’t late, but it was cutting it close.

The hospital was crowded with people. Things he hadn’t really noticed during his first visit stood out much more this time. There were people who, like him, didn’t yet have a protruding belly, and there were also couples waiting together. The common thread was that everyone’s expressions revealed the excitement they carried. It was especially heartwarming to see people stroking their round, swollen bellies as they chatted with their spouses.

Even as Igyeol reported his arrival at the desk, his eyes kept darting around. Do people really come together with their spouses from the very beginning? Aren’t they busy? The fact that they could make time to come to the hospital together struck him as strange.

“Go Igyeol-nim.”

“Yes.”

“Please come in.”

The examination room door opened, and Igyeol’s name was called. Sitting at the front of the waiting area, he rose with a somewhat stiff expression and walked forward.

“Hello, have you been doing well these past two weeks?”

The doctor sitting at the desk turned her gaze toward him. At her gentle voice, Igyeol hesitated briefly before slowly opening his mouth.

“My spouse… had a rut.”

“Oh my, I see. What is your spouse’s secondary gender?”

“…He’s a dominant. And maybe it’s because of that, but my stomach keeps… hurting.”

Igyeol confessed, unable to hide the unease in his eyes. The doctor let out a long sigh, then rose from her seat.

“Have you told your spouse about the pregnancy yet? Did you perhaps knot?”

“…Yes. We… knotted. Several times….”

“There wasn’t any bleeding, was there?”

“No, there wasn’t.”

Igyeol quickly answered as he too stood up, and the doctor moved as if reassured.

“First, let’s check with an ultrasound.”

Nervous, Igyeol followed the doctor. As he lay down on the bed and lifted his shirt, tears welled up at the thought that something bad might have happened. At the sound of his sniffles, the nurse silently handed him a tissue, and the doctor tried to comfort him.

“It will be fine. Fetuses are stronger than we think. Now, this may feel a bit lukewarm, so don’t be startled.”

“Yes…”

The gel was squeezed out with a squelch, and then the ultrasound device pressed against his stomach. Hm, hmm, mm—after a series of thoughtful hums and the sound of long breaths through the nose, there came the clicks of the machine. Igyeol’s gaze shifted toward the monitor. The first time he saw the baby, it had looked like a bean clinging to a tiny pouch, but today was different.

“Fortunately, the fetus is growing well. Its size is 2.6 cm, and here, you can see the head, the arms, and the legs, right?”

“The baby… the baby is…”

“Just two weeks ago, it looked like nothing more than a little jelly, but now it’s starting to look like a person, isn’t it? At this stage, fetuses usually don’t move around this actively, but it seems like your baby wants to tell its daddy that it’s healthy, so you don’t need to worry.”

After checking the heartbeat and pulse, the doctor concluded the ultrasound. Igyeol wiped his stomach with the warm towel the nurse handed him, then used a tissue to dab at the remaining dampness.

“How has the morning sickness been?”

No sooner had he sat down in the consultation chair after leaving the ultrasound room than the next question came.

“When I receive pheromones, the morning sickness disappears completely, but without them, I constantly feel sick. And… I can’t put rice in my mouth.”

His voice carried the weight of genuine suffering, and the doctor smiled as if finding it endearing.

“Rice?”

“Rice grains.”

“Mm, that can happen with morning sickness. For now, just eat whatever you can, and be sure to have plenty of fruit and meat. You’ve been taking your supplements regularly, right?”

Thinking of the supplements he hadn’t been able to take recently, Igyeol subtly shook his head. The doctor, still smiling, said it would be best to start taking them properly from today.

“Even if you forget other things, folic acid must be taken faithfully until twelve weeks. The stomach pain didn’t show any problems on the ultrasound, but if the pain doesn’t subside, come back. And until delivery, refrain from knotting as much as possible. Also… hmm, I see you’re scheduled for a prenatal test today.”

“A prenatal test?”

“Yes. It’s to check the mother’s health. It’s best to do it before pregnancy, but since you’re already pregnant, we’ll proceed right away. It checks things like kidney function and sexually transmitted diseases, so there’s no need to be afraid.”

“Ah…”

The doctor made some notes on the chart, then looked Igyeol in the eye again.

“As I mentioned before, make sure you get frequent pheromone showers from your spouse. If pheromones help with the morning sickness, you should use that to your advantage.”

“…Yes. But… when does the belly start to show?”

At his question, both the doctor and nurse let their eyes fall to his flat stomach. With not the slightest swelling to be seen, both of them scratched their cheeks.

“For people with smaller bellies, it might not show even after six months…”

“Or sometimes it suddenly pops out all at once…”

“At twelve weeks, that’s three months, so by then you should be able to tell the size of your belly. Right now, it’s too early to say.”

“…So, you mean that at three months, the belly does start to show, right?”

Only three weeks remained until twelve weeks, and the thought that it might soon become noticeable made his vision spin.

“The uterus will inevitably enlarge. Even though the baby is only a few centimeters, the amniotic fluid will cause the belly to protrude.”

“Ah… the amniotic fluid.”

“Since it’s still early, avoid overly intense intercourse. Let’s meet again in two weeks.”

Bowing his head at the doctor’s words, Igyeol left the consultation room. Following the nurse’s guidance, he completed the prenatal test and paid the fees, then sat for a while in the waiting area to collect his thoughts. Even though it was nearly noon, he couldn’t bring himself to move easily.

They had said the belly would start to show in just three weeks. That couldn’t happen. It mustn’t. His gaze turned toward the pregnant women around him—some with noticeably round bellies, others with none at all, like him. How long could he keep hiding it?

Since it hadn’t been long since Seo Dohyeon’s rut had subsided, they wouldn’t be having intercourse for now, but he couldn’t let his guard down. If Seo Dohyeon wanted it, he wouldn’t be able to refuse. Just the last time, Dohyeon had pinned him down with sheer strength and taken him mercilessly, only relenting after Igyeol broke into sobs.

“…Huh?”

So if he cried… would that make him stop? Igyeol suddenly stared into space with a look as though he’d found the answer. Now that he thought about it, whenever he cried, Dohyeon would always stop whatever he was doing and, however awkwardly, try to comfort him. He couldn’t be sure, but looking back, that seemed to be the case.

“…Then…”

If Dohyeon made excessive demands again, he thought, maybe he should just cry. With that resolution, he rose from his seat just as his phone buzzed in his pocket.

“Hello?”

—Igyeol, where are you?

“Hm? Ah, I’m…”

Glancing at the digital clock on the hospital wall, Igyeol hurried toward the stairs. It wasn’t even noon yet, but had Na Seonwoo already arrived?

“Where are you?”

—I’m at the bus stop now. We agreed to meet here, remember? Where are you? I’ll come over.

“I’m almost there. I’ll be right out.”

As soon as he stepped out of the hospital building, he spotted a familiar figure. Before Seonwoo could turn, Igyeol dashed into the convenience store on the first floor. He bought two warm bottled drinks, paid, and walked toward him at a slower pace. Sitting and staring blankly at the roadside, Seonwoo jolted in surprise when warmth touched his cheek, springing to his feet.

“I thought you’d be later. Were you just in front of the convenience store?”

“It was cold. Here, put this in your pocket.”

“What did you come by?”

“I brought the car. But there wasn’t really anywhere to park here, so I left it a bit… far away.”

Seonwoo nodded at the explanation, murmuring that it must have taken him some time to walk over, then asked what he wanted to eat.

“I asked earlier too, but you ignored me.”

“I wanted to talk about it when we met. I prefer noodles over rice. What about you?”

“I like noodles too. There’s a place here that makes seafood jjambbong really amazingly—want to go there?”

Supporting Igyeol with a guiding hand on his back, Seonwoo gently steered him from going straight ahead, adjusting his direction. Then he laughed heartily, as though something amused him.

“What?”

“Just remembering how, back when we were in school, you’d always charge straight ahead without knowing the way.”

“When I was with you?”

“Yeah, when we did group projects together. You don’t remember, do you?”

Igyeol gave an awkward nod, embarrassed. To be honest, his memory of Seonwoo was limited to the fact that he had been the class representative.

“I figured as much. But it’s fine, because I remember everything.”

“……”

“Seeing you again like this makes me really happy. It feels surreal.”

“Me too. I’m really glad, and… yeah. It feels surreal.”

Pleased with his answer, Seonwoo grabbed his slender arm and pulled him closer. But then, sensing that Igyeol’s body was drenched in an alpha’s pheromones, his brows furrowed faintly.

“Huh?”

“Watch your step.”

“Why?”

“The paving blocks stick out here. Lots of people trip.”

Muttering his thanks, Igyeol slipped his arm free with an awkward smile. Seonwoo looked down at the arm that had slipped away with a trace of regret, then smiled out of habit.

“How’s married life? Is it good?”

“…It’s just… okay.”

“You must be really happy, right? Being with the person you love every day.”

At his excited voice, Igyeol lifted his gaze from the ground to look straight ahead. Since marrying Seo Dohyeon and living with him until now—had he been happy? His face turned expressionless, and seeing that, Seonwoo asked again in a more serious tone.

“No? Then… do you regret getting married?”