Since Mingyu found out about Eunseo, he would say, "Oh, I don't know," and bring her home every other day, so Wonwoo's days were a series of hardships. Wonwoo could only eat a little fruit, bread, soup, or porridge, and couldn't even leave the living room. The smell of food Eunseo brought for them to eat together made Wonwoo constantly feel nauseous. Fortunately, if she occasionally brought food that was barely odorous, he could eat a little bit, so there was no need to suspect anything. Eunseo and Mingyu just thought that the nauseous feeling was due to gastritis, and because they made excuses about taking medicine, they just often felt unwell.
Wonwoo, who was watching TV alone because no one was home, absentmindedly glanced at his phone and realized that about two weeks had already passed since his scheduled hospital visit. It was still lunchtime at the hospital, so he hurriedly started getting ready, intending to arrive in time for the afternoon clinic. Arriving on time, Wonwoo checked in and had to wait a bit. While he was debating whether to leave a message for Mingyu, telling him to come in early because he had something to say, his name was called.
The doctor greeted Wonwoo as soon as he sat down. It was understandable, as he said that only a handful of women find out they're pregnant before the fourth week.
“Why didn’t you come earlier? If you’re as sensitive as Wonwoo, you should come more often.”
Wonwoo, who had been smiling awkwardly at the doctor's playful remark, paused for a moment when asked if the child's father had not come.
"Ah... The baby's father doesn't know yet that she's pregnant... He'll tell her when he finds out for sure."
The doctor simply brushed it off, saying it could be a possibility. Since it had been six weeks, he said the baby would be visible on an ultrasound, so he decided to get one.
He pulled up his top and lay down as if nothing had happened, but Wonwoo's body shrank slightly at the feeling of the colder gel and unfamiliar machine than he had expected.
"It's okay, can you see it on the screen?"
The doctor reassured Wonwoo, saying it was okay, and told him to look at the screen. At the spot where he pointed with a laser pointer, something that looked like a small seed was visible.
"Do you see that little seed-like thing here? That's the baby's nest. You can't see the baby right now, but you will soon."
When the doctor asked Wonwoo, who was sitting up after wiping off the gel, how many ultrasound pictures he would take, Wonwoo was lost in thought.
'But he's your baby, shouldn't you give him one too?'
After a moment of hesitation, Wonwoo said, "Give me two," and the doctor said something to the nurse next to him and started giving Wonwoo precautions. He is sensitive, so stress is absolutely prohibited, he should not take medicine carelessly, he should not drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages, etc. There were more precautions than he thought, and Wonwoo looked embarrassed as he wondered if he would be able to remember them all, so the doctor reassured him that there were precautions in the prenatal care booklet, so he did not need to try to remember them now. The nurse came back and gave him two ultrasound pictures and the prenatal care booklet, and after explaining the general use of the booklet, the examination was over.
On the way home after the treatment, Wonwoo, who had been pondering the matter for a while, finally sent a message to Mingyu, asking him to come home early today. He also added that he shouldn't bring Eunseo. If Eunseo found out, it wouldn't be good for either him or Mingyu.
Wonwoo returned home, ate some bread and soup, and then opened his notebook.
'Didn't I say I should write this in diary format every week?'
While scouring the internet for a baby name, Wonwoo was overcome with emotion when he saw an article stating that the father usually names the baby. He finally decided to search for a word with a positive meaning after asking his unborn child to understand. After searching for a while, the word "star" (별) caught his eye. It was a popular name, as it was both pretty and meant to symbolize a person who sparkled brightly. He liked it.
"Star, from now on your name is Star."
After deciding on the baby's name and attaching the ultrasound photo with the baby's name and date to a notebook, I put it in a drawer with the other photo.
'...When will Min-gyu come?'
There were still about two hours left until Mingyu arrived, so Wonwoo, who was tired, tried to set the alarm, saying he would only sleep for an hour. However,
"brother,"
'..? You're already here..?'
Wonwoo was surprised by Mingyu coming in two or three hours earlier than usual, so he quickly put down his phone and went out to the living room.
"Min-gyu!"
Wonwoo, who had greeted Mingyu cheerfully without realizing it, smiled brightly. As Mingyu sat on the sofa with an annoyed expression, Wonwoo went into the room and came out with another ultrasound photo he had received.
"So, what's going on? You don't usually say things like this."
Wonwoo, who sat next to Mingyu with a bitter smile at the chilly Mingyu, gently handed Mingyu an ultrasound photo.
"...what is this?"
"Baby pictures,"
"Brother, are you pregnant?"
"..no..?"
Min-gyu muttered a curse under his breath and crumpled the photo.
"Mi.. Min-gyu, photo.."
"Erase"
"..uh..?"
"Didn't you hear? Erase it. Neither you nor I can handle it."
"...uh..,"
"what?"
"I don't want to, I won't erase the baby."
Wonwoo, who had just gotten up, heard Mingyu say something behind him, but he pretended not to hear and went into his room, locking the door. Hoping the child hadn't heard him, he pulled the blanket over his head and cried, clutching his stomach, repeatedly apologizing to the child, whose limbs hadn't even fully developed yet.
After Wonwoo went into his room, Mingyu tried to follow him, but the door was locked and he couldn't get in. He found his key and tried to open the door and go in, but he couldn't do anything because of the crying and apologies coming from inside the room. He stood in front of the door for a long time. Only when Wonwoo's crying subsided and the phone rang did he answer it and leave the house.
-
Ah... there's one save file left... I was originally going to upload this over the weekend, but my friend threatened me to upload it today, so I'm uploading it today... Ah... there's one save file left...
Now the curtain has risen on Min-gyu's full-blown regret :)
Please look forward to it(?)