Chapter 127
Ye Jun
I woke up the next morning feeling like someone had stuffed cotton in my head and left it there to rot. The fever was still hanging around, not as bad as yesterday but enough to make everything feel heavy and slow. I dragged myself to the bathroom mirror and stared at my reflection for a second, eyes all puffy, skin looking kinda pale. Then I lifted my shirt without thinking much about it and froze. There was this tiny bump right below my belly button. Not huge or anything, just a little swell that definitely was not there before. My stomach dropped so fast I had to grip the sink.
No way. This could not be happening.
I poked at it gently, like that was going to make it disappear, but it stayed right there, all innocent and terrifying. My hands started shaking a little and I pulled my shirt back down quick, heart banging against my ribs. I needed to talk to someone before I lost my mind completely. Titi. Yeah, Titi would know what to do. She always acted like she had all the answers even when she did not.
I grabbed my phone and called her, pacing the room in small circles because sitting still felt impossible. It rang a couple times before she picked up, sounding half asleep and annoyed.
"Ye Jun? Do you know what time it is? Some people actually sleep at night you know."
"Yeah well some people wake up with a fever and a bump on their stomach so sorry for disturbing your beauty rest or whatever."
She went quiet for a second then laughed like I had said something stupid. "A bump? What are you talking about? You remember I exist now because you need me? Classic."
"Shut up Titi this is serious. I think I might be pregnant."
She burst out laughing so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear. "Pregnant? You? Come on man that is the funniest thing I have heard all week. You are not even a full omega. Stop playing around."
"I am not playing. Exactly. The traits are in the family but I am not purely omega and Si Woo is not fully alpha either. How the hell could he knock me up? It does not make sense but here I am feeling like crap and staring at this little bump like it is going to bite me."
Titi snorted. "Okay first of all calm down. Second you sound crazy. But fine if you are this worked up I will help. Act sick today. Like really sick so your family leaves for work without dragging you into anything. When they are all gone text me and I will come over with some tests. We will figure this out fast."
"Act sick? I already am sick. That part is easy."
"Good. Do not freak out until I get there. And Ye Jun? Do not google anything. You will just make it worse."
She hung up before I could say anything else. I tossed the phone on the bed and tried to breathe normal but my mind would not stop spinning. What if it was real? What if it was not? The bump kept popping back into my head every time I closed my eyes.
The morning dragged on with me pretending to be half dead. Mum kept coming in to check on me, feeling my forehead and sighing like she knew I was milking it a little but not enough to call me out. Dad muttered something about young people and their weak immune systems before he left for work. Si Woo did not even come near my room. He just grabbed his stuff and walked out without a word which honestly made the knot in my chest tighter. Good. Let him stay mad. I had bigger problems.
When the house finally went quiet I texted Titi. She showed up twenty minutes later carrying a plastic bag like it was no big deal, slamming the door behind her and kicking off her shoes.
"Alright where is the patient? Let me see this mysterious bump."
I lifted my shirt again and she leaned in close squinting. "Huh. Yeah that is a little something. Could be bloating from being sick though. Do not panic yet."
"Easy for you to say. You are not the one whose life might be ending."
She rolled her eyes and dumped the bag on the bed. Five boxes spilled out. "I got five different ones just to be sure. Different brands. Some say early detection some are super sensitive. We are doing this properly."
My mouth went dry. "Five? You think I need five?"
"Better safe than sorry. Now go pee on the first one. I will wait out here."
I took the stick into the bathroom and stared at it for way too long. My hands were sweating so bad I almost dropped it. Finally I did what I had to do and set it on the counter. Titi knocked after a couple minutes.
"Done? Let me in."
We stood there side by side watching the little window. One line showed up clear and strong. Negative. Titi let out a huge breath and grinned.
"See? Negative. You are not pregnant. Probably just some weird stomach bug plus the fever messing with your body. We can celebrate now. Want me to order food or something?"
I laughed but it came out shaky. "Yeah okay. I was losing my mind for nothing."
We high fived like idiots and I felt the weight lift off my shoulders. For about thirty seconds. Then I looked closer at the test and my stomach flipped. There was a second line. Faint but definitely there. Pink and getting darker by the second.
"Titi."
"What?"
"Look."
She leaned in and her smile dropped. "That is not possible. It was just one line. Maybe it is an evaporation line or something. These things are tricky. Try the next one. Right now."
We ripped open the second box. I peed on it fast heart hammering and we waited again. This time only one line. Clear. No second one at all.
"See?" I said trying to sound relieved. "Just a fluke. The first one was broken or whatever."
Titi nodded but she looked nervous now. "Yeah probably. But let us do one more to be extra sure."
Third test. One line again. We both started breathing easier. She even cracked a joke about me being dramatic for no reason and I shoved her shoulder laughing for real this time.
"Shut up I am never calling you again if you keep making fun of me."
"You love me. Admit it."
We were still joking around when I grabbed the fourth one. I peed on it and set it down. We closed our eyes like idiots not wanting to look too soon.
"Okay on three," Titi said. "One. Two. Three."
We opened them at the same time. Two full pink lines stared back at us. Bright. Clear. No mistaking it.
My knees went weak. The room spun a little and I felt myself starting to tip forward. Titi grabbed my arm hard.
"Hey. Do not pass out on me you idiot."
She lightly smacked my jaw with her palm not enough to hurt but enough to snap me back. "You are not traumatizing me like that. Breathe. We still have one more. Maybe this one is wrong too. These tests are cheap sometimes."
I nodded but my throat felt tight and my eyes were stinging. We opened the fifth box with shaking hands. I did the pee thing again and we set it on the counter. This time we did not even pretend to be calm. We just stood there staring at each other.
"Close your eyes," she whispered. "And pray or whatever you do."
We shut our eyes tight. My heart was pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears. After what felt like forever Titi squeezed my hand.
"Okay. Look."
We opened them together. Two full pink lines. Strong and obvious like they were mocking me.
Everything went fuzzy at the edges. My legs gave out and I slid down to the floor hard, back against the wall, staring at nothing. My life was over. Just like that. Everything I had planned or wanted or thought I could handle was gone. A baby. With Si Woo who was not even fully alpha and me who was not even fully omega. In this stupid house with my parents who joked about it like it was nothing. I could not breathe right. Tears started coming before I could stop them and I did not even try to hide it.
Titi crouched down next to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Ye Jun. Hey. We will figure this out. You are not alone in this okay?"
But her voice sounded far away and all I could think was how nothing was ever going to be the same again. The tiny bump on my stomach suddenly felt huge. The fever did not matter anymore. Nothing did except the two pink lines that had just ruined everything.