The Alchemists

After they finished their dinner, Finland excused herself and looked for Jean to go home together. She was surprised to see that Jean was indeed meeting someone at the restaurant.

"Oh... I didn't know you actually came here to eat," Finland said in surprise.

"I really did have a meeting. It was supposed to be at my apartment, but because you sent an SOS, I moved it here. Let me introduce you; this is Louisa Chen, a reporter for a lifestyle magazine. She is interviewing me for their cover next month. Louisa, this is Finland, my best friend."

The girl with glasses who was sitting with Jean swiftly stood up and shook hands with Finland.

"Please sit down. Our interview is almost complete," Louisa said, allowing Finland to sit down.

"Thank you." Finland also sat next to Jean.

Seeing the two very beautiful human beings, Louisa could not help aiming her camera at them.

"May I take a photo of you two together? You two are very beautiful to look at," she said. Jean and Finland looked at each other then they burst out laughing. "If you guys had a child together, it will definitely be the most beautiful baby in the world."

Finland covered her mouth with her hands and held her laughter, but Jean just nodded and smiled.

"Actually, we did talk about children once," Jean said suddenly. "But this story is very funny."

Louisa seemed interested. "Can you tell me?"

"Well... many people used to say that we were both very good looking. One day, someone from a fertility clinic approached us and we were offered a large sum of money for Finland's egg and my sperm. They said, many people would want to have beautiful children from our genes. Finland badly needed money at that time, so we decided to sell our seeds."

"Gosh, Jean... that was a gazillion years ago!" Finland protested quickly, "You are a celebrity now, you know... Don't just say things openly like that. How would people think about you later? It's been a long time..."

Louisa seemed very interested to hear more about this story. "Then what happened? Has there been a child made from your seeds yet?"

Jean shook his head.

"We don't know. We agreed to an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) so we have no right to know what happened to the cells. We won't be told if they have created embryos out of it, if they're already used in the IVF process, or if they've been destroyed."

"As far as I know, Jean, you come from a financially well-off family. Why did you also sell your sperm cells to a fertility clinic?" Louisa asked again.

Finally, Finland replied, "Actually it was I who needed the money for my grandmother's medication. I was offered to sell my eggs, but because at that time Jean drove me to the clinic, they also asked for his sperm cells. They turned it into a condition for me to sell my eggs. They said they wouldn't accept my egg cells if Jean didn't give his too. They insisted that our seeds together would make beautiful babies desired by many infertile parents."

When she thought about her situation three years ago, Finland realized she was really deep in poverty. She became really embarrassed. She had to do, and she would do, whatever she could to make ends meet and survive; even the unthinkable. Her only pride was that she never sold herself and never did anything illegal.

The story of how she had to sell her eggs to live was only one of so many things she did to make money back then. She didn't even remember it until Jean brought it up. This is a secret that Caspar didn't know yet, and Finland didn't know whether she would tell him about it or not.

"If these seeds still existed, or if they had been fertilized and become frozen embryos, what would you do? Would you let them be born?"

Louisa's question made Jean and Finland think. They never talked about this possibility since they sold their eggs and sperm three years ago.

The child would connect them genetically, forever. If the child were to be born, they could have a new family of their own. Finland, who was now alone, would not be alone anymore. Jean, who was an only child and grew up feeling lonely, would also have a family...

Neither Finland nor Jean answered.

"Sorry if my question puts you in a difficult position," Louisa apologized.

"Well, we are in no position to understand what happened to those cells. However, if I have an opinion about the fertilized egg, I will let it be born," Jean replied later. "That is, if Finland agreed to it."

He turned to Finland who was still amazed to hear Jean's words.

"I agree." Finland finally answered with a smile.

She never gave much thought about her eggs when she sold them three years ago to be frozen.

Now that they were discussing this matter, Finland became a little curious about what actually happened to their seeds…

After the interview, Jean took Finland clubbing. He said that this was part of the learn-how-to-have-fun program he prepared for the next two weeks. She asked Jadeith not to pick her up because she would be with Jean until she didn't know how late.