Tensegrity

“Are you already showing off as newlyweds? You are making us singles feel lonely.”

Of course, Lee Si-Eun also attended their wedding. She is not very welcomed at the wedding either. However, she is like a fairy after meeting the real mother Yoo Min-Jung who is like the final boss.

Director Min’s face was distorted by her cheerful teasing, but compared to his expressions before, it can be taken as a sign of friendliness.

“If you’re jealous, you can also hurry up and get married”.

“Then, introduce me to a man. Don’t you have any good friends that are single?” Lee Si-Eun took another bite. She was really in the mood to mingle, so she joined Jun-Kyung’s group of seniors and colleagues on one side.

The appearance of an actress-class beauty brightened up the faces of colleagues who didn’t have girlfriends yet. The laughter soon grew louder. Thanks to this, the unpleasnantness left by the uninvited guest quickly disappeared.

There were minor incidents, but overall the wedding ended in great success. From the perspectives of the guests, the guests who enjoyed the high-end course meal returned home with generous gifts presented by Chairman Taewon.

Among the guests on Jun-Kyung’s side, the relatives who had come up from far away seemed to be going to his parents’ house instead of going down right away and having a party. They wanted Executive Director Min and Jun-Kyung to come, but his mother blocked it first.

“Aren’t you tired? Hurry up and get some rest.” Jun-Kyung’s mother urged him.

“What about the guests?”

“It’s okay because Dad and Jun-Hee are here. Go ahead and greet your in-laws with Min Seobang and retire”.

“Yes, Mother.”

Executive Director Min nodded without hesitation at the word “Min Seobang”. Madam, who was looking for the two of them, readily agreed to have them rest.

“Yeah, it’s been hard. Rest well over the weekend and say hello to your in-laws first next week, okay? Call me later.”

“Go in quickly. Jun-Kyung must be tired.” Even the chairman chipped in, so Jun-Kyung decided to go in first without hesitation.

While preparing for the wedding, they also discussed a honeymoon, but ultimately decided not to go. It was partly due to Director Min’s company schedule, but the bigger problem was Jun-Kyung’s physical condition.

Jun-Kyung said he was fine, but the parents and Executive Director Min were worried about his conditions if he went out of the country.

Executive Director Min drove. It was a little strange to see him sitting behind the wheel wearing a light blue hanbok. It wasn’t such a strenuous schedule, but when Jun-Kyung got into the car, he was suddenly tired. He fell asleep while driving through the city, which was extremely congested because of the weekend.

When he got home, he half crawled in. Executive Director Min was also tired, and his complexion was not good. The sweetness of their newlyweds was no match for the enormous fatigue of a Korean-style marriage.

After washing and changing their clothes, the two stretched out completely.

The wedding day passed just like that.

Since he is a male omega, Jun-Kyung has to have a caesarean section anyway, and the doctor decided that it would be bad if his pregnancy was prolonged, so the surgery date was set a little early. He counted the due date because his bulging belly was getting heavy.

On the day of surgery, Executive Director Min accompanied him as a guardian. He expected madam and his mom to come, but unexpectedly, the chairman also came.

While he was waiting in the hospital room after changing clothes, a nurse came in, checked his condition, and inserted an intravenous drip for surgery. The president waited nervously.

“Is there a big problem?”

“No problem. But only one guardian is allowed.”

The nurse who was not intimidated even by the presence of chairman Taewon looked at the group of people surrounding Jun-Kyung. Nobody moved even though they were told to get out.

Everyone fidgeted with a flushed look. Even the usual rigid Executive Director Min looks concerned for Jun-Kyung.

“Where is it uncomfortable? Does the needle hurt?”

“Not at all.”

“Just in case…” The person concerned is fine, but the other people are overly concerned.

“I’m not going to die.”

“Watch your mouth! Words become seeds!” Jun-Kyung’s mother screamed. Even though it wasn’t cold, the hospital kept turning on the heater as if afraid that the child in the womb would get frostbite.

At least, madam sat in a far corner and left Jun-Kyung alone. She quietly chanted Bodhisttva scriptures while turning the beads.

Why is everyone like this, really?

“Executive Min, how is it? The day I finally met Junior….opps”. The attending physician, who came in excitedly, froze dramatically at the sight of the mothers and chairman in the room.

“Did I walk in for the organ transplant rather than the childbirth room?” The female alpha attending doctor conspiratorially ask the nurse.

“It’s childbirth.”

The two, like a comedy duo, didn’t even care if the chairman was there or not. Could that be the spirit of an elite alpha that transcends gender? Jun-Kyung was curious in his heart.

“Now, all but the guardian, please leave because it gets in the way.”

“I am the guardian of the children.” When the chairman yelled, the attending physician became serious.

“Are you the husband? When did Hyun-Seung Min, the Executive director, become so old? He even lost his face, which was his only strong point. Tsk-tsk.”

As expected of the alpha female attending physician.

“Please leave.”

Madam quietly dragged the chairman outside. Jun-Kyung’s mother tried to hold on a little longer as his real mother, but she couldn’t overcome the attack of the nurse’s eyes, so she eventually went to her in-law’s side.

On the way to the operating room, Executive Director Min dragged the intravenous stand as if it were natural.

On the other side of Director Min, his mother stood close to him as if nervous, and madam silently followed Jun-Kyung and chanted Buddhist prayers. The chairman followed with a serious attitude.

It was like seeing off someone who was about to die.

Visitors and patients they met while moving around the wide hospital looked at Jun-kyung’s group with strange eyes.

‘He must be seriously ill.’

‘It’s a shame at such a young age.’

‘What kind of disease is it that his stomach is full of fluid?’

Even in a large hospital with a variety of human groups, few people imagined Jun-Kyung as a male omega going for a cesarean section.

Instead, they saw him as a pitiful terminally ill patient with a stomach full of fluid due to a serious illness. Suddenly, heat rose to his face. He quickly lay down on the operating table.

The cesarean section was very successful. Both Jun-Kyung and the child were healthy. It was a baby girl. They are not sure about the secondary gender before the intensive hormone test, but a simple test done in the operating room that says the probability of omega expression was over 60%.

It was fortunate that she was born as a woman and known early of omega identity. At least her life won’t be twisted because of a late manifestation like Jun-Kyung.

“She has a high nose-bridge even though she was just born”.

“She looks like you.”

“Really?”

During visitation time, the madam and the chairman, who came to see the baby in a small room  could not hide their laughter as they looked at the pictures taken with their mobile phones.

Jun-Kyung’s mother kept showing pictures of the red-faced baby to Jun-kyung, who was lying on his bed and smiled at him.

“Is it because she is your first daughter? She looks just like his father. Look at how big her hands and feet are. She’ll be tall too.”

“Oh, really?”

“Look at this. She has western-like ears and a high nose bridge. But she has your forehead. Your forehead is pretty because you look like me.”

At his mother’s praise, Jun-Kyung leaned up. He actually had a hard time seeing pictures of the baby. Because of spinal anesthesia, he was conscious even during the slit.

The nurse held up and showed him a bloody baby with a twisted umbilical cord attached to its belly. He felt dizzy and vomited. He was barely able to do what they were told to do and just closed his eyes until they took the baby away.

‘The first daughter resembles her father.’

It is often said and often heard. The invisible dagger hacked Jun-kyung, who was tired after a major operation.

“The nose really resembles Executive Director Min, right?”

“Well, the bridge of the nose matches our family’s nose.” The happy chairman suddenly looked closely at his son standing next to him and smiled proudly. Executive Director Min smiled thinly as if he was a bit awkward.

Just as Jun-Kyung dealt with his mother, it was hard to see Executive Director Min silently accepting the attention from madam and the chairman.

Since his pregnancy and childbirth put him under enormous physical stress and the pain of surgery overlapped, Jun-Kyung pressed the pain injection button repeatedly.

The medicine relieved the sharp pain, but it did not dissolve the huge boulder nestled within his ribs. His sigh deepened, and the muscles on his face became strained.

Still, the mother, who is more sensitive to Jun-kyung’s condition than the baby, pressed the nurse assist button. Right after that, the doctor who was stronger than anyone else appeared and kicked out all of the adults.

Jun-Kyung closed his eyes and when he opened them, it was dark everywhere. It’s not dark because there’s a nightlight that’s always on, but his eyes are swollen and out of focus. Thanks to this, he could barely distinguish the shape of a large object.

The VIP hospital room was like a large hotel room. There was a sofa set in the middle of the room, and there was a thick and large shadow. A faint scent of cologne emanated from the statue-like, impersonal black figure. It was Executive Director Min.

“You are still here?” After talking to him, Jun-Kyung cleared his raspy neck.

“Are you awake? Do you want water?”

Executive Director Min got up from his seat and approached Jun-kyung. He slightly raised the intensity of the night light right next to the bed and adjusted the angle of the bed.

While the bed slowly lifted Jun-Kyung’s upper body, Executive Director Min poured the bottled water into the glass provided and inserted a straw into it. He didn’t hesitate to put it to Jun-kyung’s mouth so that it would be easy for him to drink. Jun-Kyung drank the water very happily.

“How do you feel?”

“It feels like I’ve been slammed by something huge from the neck down. But it’s not painful to the point of dying. You don’t have to call a doctor.”

The other expression lightened a bit. “Great job.”

“Thank you.” Jun-Kyung didn’t want to decline encouragement this time. He deserves to hear those words.

“You worked hard.” Executive Director Min deserved to be praised as well. They silently exchanged glances with each other. Executive Director Min placed the water glass down and sat down on the chair next to the bed. Jun-Kyung blankly stared into the sky.

“They say the first daughter resembles her father, and she really does.”

“That’s true”.

The air in the hospital room, which had been pleasant, quickly became edgy. There was no need to mention unnecessary names.

Director Min, holding Junkyung’s hand on the bed, declared silently.