Deal Breaker - Chapter 123
Another wave of labor pain surged. Hyeji squeezed her eyes shut and waited for it to pass.
It hurt so much her mind went hazy. It was bad enough that she was even hearing things.
“My goodness, I had no idea you were such a tall, handsome man, Director.”
“Thank you. How is Hyeji-ssi doing?”
It felt like she was hearing a grandmother and Kanghyeon talking.
“Hyeji-ssi.”
Was this a hallucination too, him holding her hand? At that moment, a pain like her belly and waist were being wrung out surged over her, and without realizing it, Hyeji gripped Kanghyeon’s hand tightly.
“Does it hurt a lot? The baby should come out quickly.”
Just imagining the moment of giving birth made her curled body shrink even more.
“I’m scared…”
Noh Hyeji, who was fearless enough not to tense up even when all kinds of abilities were deployed and she met a target in the middle of an operation zone, turned pale with fear. Feeling so sorry for her, Kanghyeon cursed himself for not having gotten a vasectomy long ago and gently patted her small back as it trembled.
“You don’t have to be scared. The doctor’s here, and there’s lots of nurses. And I checked. There hasn’t been a single medical accident here. All the reviews are nothing but praise.”
His rational words gradually soothed Hyeji.
“So it’s okay, Hyeji-ya.”
Just like during their first guiding, he called her name familiarly and whispered kindly by her ear. Tears welled up before she could stop them. He must have seen, because he wiped her tears and held her.
“You’re doing well. And I’m right next to you. You know that, right?”
It seemed she needed comfort for her heart, not just her head. Hyeji clung to Kanghyeon’s hand even more tightly.
“Please don’t leave.”
“I’m not leaving. I’m not that kind of guy, I told you.”
But not long after, Hyeji was the one who let go of his hand.
After getting the epidural, the monk who had fainted from the pain woke up.
I must be crazy. Why did I do that?
It was obvious she hadn’t been in her right mind because of the hormones and the pain. At least it was a relief that she hadn’t confessed that it was the Director’s child because she couldn’t endure the torture of labor.
No, but why did this man even come all the way here?
Leaving her body sprawled on the bed, exhausted on a completely different level from guiding, Hyeji squeezed out her now hoarse voice.
“Director Han… thank you so much for coming…. It’s very late now… I think it would be best if you went.”
At that moment, Kanghyeon looked down at her with wounded eyes.
The betrayal had been suffered by the other side, yet Hyeji’s head went blank and her chest dropped heavily, as if she had been struck from behind. That was how shocking it was.
You don’t want the child anyway. You’ve done everything you need to do, so shouldn’t you feel relieved. Why are you hurt?
She couldn’t ask that, and it wasn’t the time or place. Kanghyeon seemed to think the same, because he said nothing and went out of the delivery room.
It was the timing when she had to send him out anyway. Not long after, the delivery began.
“Would the baby’s father like to cut the umbilical cord?”
The doctor, who had placed the newly born warm and damp baby in her arms, asked Hyeji. Even the hospital staff had noticed the relationship. If this went on, they might write a melodrama worse than reality, so she had to answer carefully. Hyeji smiled first, as if pleased but embarrassed.
“No, that would be a bit embarrassing to show…”
Perhaps such mothers were common, because the doctor didn’t ask again and laughed it off.
“I’ll cut the cord myself.”
If I carried and raised the baby in my womb for nine months and gave birth, then the right to cut it is mine.
And anyway, hadn’t that man already gone home? Hyeji looked up at the clock on the wall. It was a weekday, so the Director would have to go to work soon.
After cutting the umbilical cord and finishing the follow up procedures, Hyeji let out a breath and asked the nurse.
“Please tell Grandma she can come in.”
The grandmother came in with both arms raised, as if welcoming someone back from the brink of death, and hugged Hyeji first.
“You did so well. You really did well, my princess…”
Wrinkled hands repeatedly stroked Hyeji’s pale cheeks after a night of suffering. Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she had cried while waiting outside.
“Now there are two princesses.”
Only after checking that her granddaughter was okay did Grandma look at her great granddaughter’s face.
“Her lips are exactly like a baby’s and just like yours. But what kind of newborn has such a high nose bridge and is so pretty?”
Hyeji quickly changed the subject, afraid she might say something like, just like your company’s Director.
“Oh, I don’t need to shell out nose surgery costs. Grandma, I gave birth to a filial daughter.”
“To Grandma, there’s no filial daughter like you. My big princess must be hungry after using up all her strength. Should Grandma go home and bring some seaweed soup?”
“No.”
She was thirsty and exhausted, and didn’t crave a meal.
“I want banana milk.”
“Alright, I’ll hurry down to the convenience store and get some.”
She said hurry, but Hyeji hadn’t expected her to come back as soon as she left. But why was she empty handed?
“The Director said he’d buy it.”
“What? He’s still outside?”
“Why wouldn’t he be? He’s waiting to see his daughter.”
If the hospital staff had noticed, of course Grandma would know too.
“He waited outside for you to finish giving birth, and he sat next to me, holding my hand tight, and kept reassuring me that everything would be okay. Such a good young man, and so kind and polite.”
He even soothed Grandma’s anxiety about possibly losing her granddaughter too.
“How is he not someone fit to be the baby’s father. If he didn’t want to be the baby’s father, would he have come all the way to the hospital.”
