The Omega Is Pregnant

Yoon Tae-seo stared at the drink in front of him. Yesterday, it had been a smoothie, but today, it was an ade. He could have had caffeine, but for some reason, he kept craving these kinds of drinks. Yet, something about it didn’t sit right with him.

"Why are you glaring at it like that? Did it do something wrong?"
"It's too refreshing."
"So, being refreshing is a problem now."

Rather than treating Tae-seo like he was being ridiculous, Kang Se-heon seemed determined to go along with him. He picked up the drink and brought it to his lips.
"Then just drink it all and make it disappear."
"I'm planning to."

Tae-seo bit down firmly on the straw and sucked in the ade with determination. The cool, citrusy drink rushed into his mouth.
"Happy now?"
"No."

"Then what's the problem this time? Tell me."
As if ready to solve every issue, Kang Se-heon crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.
"This. This is the problem. I don’t get why it’s so unnecessarily refreshing that it’s distracting me, and I also don’t get why I’m meeting you again today."

Tae-seo shook his now-empty cup as he spoke, then suddenly turned the blame on Se-heon.
"What did I do?"
"You said you'd give me time to think."

"You still haven’t?"
Se-heon’s shameless question made Tae-seo bristle, but he barely managed to keep his emotions in check. Getting worked up here would only be a loss for him.
"Every day after class, you call me over, we sit across from each other eating, drinking coffee, then you let me go after a long while. When exactly am I supposed to think?"

"Anyone listening would think I keep you hostage all night. You said you’d do it at home."
"By the time I get home, shower, and sit down, I’m too sleepy."
So, by the time he woke up, it was time to go to school again, and when school ended, he’d inevitably end up spending time with Se-heon all over again. No, it wasn’t that he had absolutely no time after washing up, but even that was taken away by someone.
"And I end up on the phone the whole time, and before I know it, it’s morning."

Tae-seo grumbled, stirring his drink absently with the straw. Every single day, Kang Se-heon picked him up, spent time with him, and before he knew it, the day was over. When he was with Se-heon, time seemed to pass without him even realizing.
Se-heon, however, had something to say about Tae-seo’s complaints.
"If you need time, you can just tell me not to call next time."

"That’s true, but…"
Tae-seo’s words trailed off. Se-heon was right. He could cut the calls short. And yet, for some reason, whenever they talked, it just kept flowing, and he never knew when to stop.
"Fine. From today, don’t call me."

Determined not to be swayed anymore, Tae-seo raised his palm firmly. Se-heon, seeing this, casually placed a pretty sky-blue macaron in his hand.
"Eat first."
Tae-seo stared at the macaron for a moment before popping it into his mouth. Today, they had come to a café famous for its macarons. At first, the number of people had been a bit overwhelming, but he had quickly gotten used to it.

Every place Se-heon deemed "famous" was always packed, and by now, he had adjusted. He had reached the point where he could enjoy his dessert without caring about the stares they received.
As he chewed the chewy yet delicately sweet macaron, Se-heon brought over a new drink. He had timed it perfectly so that Tae-seo wouldn’t feel parched. He even handed him another macaron to eat.
Tae-seo, who had been accepting everything like a baby bird, suddenly stopped mid-chew as a thought crossed his mind.

"This…"
He lifted the macaron toward Se-heon, as if making a point.
"I never liked these before. But somehow, I keep eating them. At first, I thought my taste had changed, but…"

He didn’t finish the sentence. He suddenly remembered when Park Han-su had once bought him macarons to match his mood, even though he hadn’t liked them at all. Now, as Tae-seo, he found them strangely delicious—but more than that, it was because his tastes had changed after getting pregnant.
"It’s not just macarons. The idea of having dessert after a meal was unfamiliar to me, too."
Originally, Tae-seo had never enjoyed snacks or sat in cafés to soak in the atmosphere. But now, here he was, visiting cafés every day with Se-heon. It was strange.

"Well, you did mostly stay in hotels."
"You really say things that can be misunderstood. I’m the son of a hotel-owning family. Of course I’d be in a hotel."
"Must be nice."

"Want to be a hotel heir too? You can be the eldest son, and I’ll be the second."
Tae-seo giggled, joking around. His mood had softened thanks to Se-heon, and he felt lighthearted enough to tease. But Se-heon’s response was unexpectedly sharp.
"No."

"You rejected it that firmly? Is your family so great that you’d rather stick with them?"
Even though Tae-seo playfully acted like Se-heon was being harsh, Se-heon, with his usual unreadable expression, answered without hesitation.
"The eldest and the second son can’t live together. I like things as they are now. But if we were a couple instead of siblings, I might reconsider."

The sudden, almost confession-like remark left Tae-seo speechless. His lips parted, but he couldn’t find the right words, so he shut his mouth.
"A couple? That’s a bit…"
Feeling the heat rising to his face, Tae-seo turned his head slightly, afraid Se-heon might notice. Maybe Se-heon had just said it casually, but he didn’t want his reaction to be obvious.

But even after turning away, it seemed he hadn’t escaped Se-heon’s gaze.
"You may not know what conclusion you'll come to, but one of them will include us becoming a married couple."
If Tae-seo decided to have the child and continue living with Kang Se-heon, their relationship would inevitably change. As Se-heon said, they would continue as a couple, raising the child together.

If it were just that simple…
Tae-seo let out a deep sigh.
"It's not as easy as just deciding whether to have the baby or not. My situation is a lot more complicated."

He shook his head, admitting that he was still unable to make a decision. The truth was, even if it weren’t for Se-heon, the tangled mess in his mind was too difficult to unravel.
I'm not Yoon Tae-seo, but I became him.
His very foundation was shaking, so thinking about pregnancy felt almost impossible.

He had to untangle this somehow.
"Then let's go through it step by step. I'll help you."
"You?"

Se-heon tapped the table with his fingers, watching Tae-seo’s sinking expression. He seemed intent on keeping the mood up after having worked so hard to lift it.
"How does it feel to wake up one day and suddenly be someone else?"
Tae-seo had been about to ask how Se-heon planned to help, but at those quiet words, all movement stopped. It was as if his heart had skipped a beat—his whole body froze in reaction. Se-heon's gaze carefully scanned his stiffened face, and Tae-seo awkwardly averted his eyes.

"How does it feel to be someone else…?"
It was almost as if Se-heon knew—as if he had figured out that Tae-seo’s soul had entered Yoon Tae-seo’s body. The way he cut straight to the heart of the matter left Tae-seo completely speechless.
While Tae-seo remained silent, Se-heon reached for the macaron still in his hand. He glanced at the table, as if dissatisfied with how little Tae-seo had eaten today, then looked back at him.

"Not only did you go from being a Beta to suddenly becoming an Omega, but now you're pregnant, too. It must be hard to accept. It must feel like you woke up as a completely different person overnight."
His words released the pressure inside Tae-seo, like a knot in his chest had loosened.
"…That's true."

Se-heon wasn't entirely right, but he wasn't wrong either. Since there was no way to fully explain, Tae-seo could only give an awkward response. Se-heon immediately followed up.
"If that happened to me, I'd be shaken to my core."
His low voice gently steadied the turbulence in Tae-seo’s heart.

"I wouldn't be able to smile like you. I wouldn’t even have the luxury to think things through."
"That's…"
"And that's why I think you're amazing. That's why I respect whatever decision you make."

Tae-seo had been in complete shock when he first found out he was pregnant. Even just becoming an Omega had been hard enough to accept, and then this—it had been too much. But Se-heon had softened every single one of those blows.
His pheromones had soothed Tae-seo’s frazzled nerves. He had given him space, telling him to take his time making a decision. If not for that, he might have made a rash choice.
Se-heon had helped him so much, yet here he was, calling Tae-seo amazing.

What is this…?
Tae-seo pressed a palm against his chest, feeling the weight in his heart. Becoming Yoon Tae-seo was a secret he had planned to carry alone for the rest of his life. He didn’t know how or why it had happened, and there was no way to go back to who he was before. So, he had chosen to adapt—to live as Yoon Tae-seo.
But that choice had left him feeling suffocated.

No one would ever understand. No one would ever know this burden. He had accepted that.
And yet, hearing Se-heon's words just now… it felt like a heavy stone had been lifted from his heart.
Why does he keep doing this?

Every time Tae-seo was struggling, every time he felt lost, Se-heon would say something that calmed him down. He had already comforted him twice now—once when Tae-seo had feared that everything was playing out like the original story, leading to his inevitable death, and now, this moment.
"Hey."
Tae-seo picked up the macaron Se-heon had set down.

"I’ve made my decision."
The impossibly tangled thread that had been tying him down unraveled all at once—so easily, it was almost absurd.