The next morning, when I went to meet the Chairman, I couldn’t stop drinking water to calm my nerves.
So this was it. From now on, I really had to carry the child of a complete stranger.
They said pregnancy was much harder for male omegas than for women, but I had already come this far. That meant there was no turning back now.
Baek Eun-woo, you idiot.
I kept berating myself as my hands, resting on my knees, repeatedly clenched and relaxed.
A child?
Even though I had made up my mind, the more I thought about it, the more ridiculous the whole situation seemed. Someone like me, who had never once intended to have a child, was now about to become pregnant. It was hard to believe.
Taking care of my mother had already exhausted me for most of my life, so I had never dreamed of getting married to someone else, nor had I wanted to. On top of that, the bitter experience of being abandoned by the person I trusted most had left me with a general aversion toward people.
The wounds and distrust Kang Gyu-ho had left me with seemed like things I would never be able to shake off, no matter whom I met.
So perhaps someone as damaged as me was better off living alone. I didn’t want to burden someone else’s precious child with a version of myself covered in scars.
In that sense, this contract wasn’t such a bad thing.
Giving birth to a child in order to save my mother’s life… That wasn’t such a bad life, was it?
It was only going to happen once. I’d be fine. They had promised to take good care of everything.
There was nothing to be afraid of.
—-“First of all, I sincerely thank you for making such a wise decision. It’s as though you’ve saved our entire family.”
The Chairman’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.
I was signing the contract to save my mother, so hearing those words made me feel a little embarrassed.
“Ah, it’s not quite that serious…”
—-“No, it is. I can’t tell you everything about the complicated matters within our family, but you truly saved us from a very difficult situation. By the way, you were so adamant about refusing before. What made you suddenly change your mind? I was quite worried.”
As I looked at the Chairman’s puzzled expression, I suddenly saw my mothers face superimposed over his.
The image of my mother looking overwhelmingly happy when she saw me yesterday came rushing back.
Then I remembered the look on her face when she stroked my cheek with the hand that needed a skin graft, and tears suddenly spilled from my eyes.
The skin graft had already been performed once, but because the wound was so extensive, it eventually became infected, leaving my mother in pain for a long time.
The pain and lasting effects of the burns covering her body were slowly eating away at the woman who had once been so beautiful.
Now, I wanted her to be free from that pain.
So what was there that I couldn’t do?
Although I was embarrassed by my sudden tears, I quickly wiped them away and did what I had to do.
“The surrogate pregnancy contract includes treatment for my mother, right? You promised to cover all of her medical treatment, didn’t you? If so, I’ll sign the contract. In return, please save my mother.”
I tried my best to keep my voice from trembling, but the moment I said the word mother, my voice caught in my throat.
Still, I wasn’t ashamed at all.
If a conglomerate this powerful helped her, my mother wouldn’t have to suffer from those scars anymore.
Seeing me speak through my sobs, the Chairman’s eyes wavered slightly. Then he nodded firmly.
—-“Of course. That is an explicit condition of the contract, and it is also my promise. There will absolutely be no change to that. Has her condition suddenly gotten worse?”
“…My mother has always been weak. She’s never really gotten better. But lately, she’s been in a lot of pain. She needs another operation on the grafted skin, as well as multiple regenerative treatments in different areas. The treatment is complicated and expensive, and more importantly…”
I stopped, biting my lip before lowering my head slightly.
It was difficult to put the next part into words.
—“It’s all right. Just speak freely.”
“More importantly… I think that if someone as influential as the Chairman personally asked them, the medical team would certainly pay more attention to my mother…”
From the listener’s perspective, the request was rather audacious.
I knew I was shamelessly asking for a favor, but this was my most sincere wish.
I knew very well that a single word from the chairman of a major conglomerate could completely change the level of care my mother received.
I didn’t need a mansion or a skyscraper.
As long as my mother received proper treatment, I didn’t care about anything else. I wasn’t asking for anything more.
I tried to emphasize it as much as possible so that my mother could receive the best care available.
“As long as you make sure my mother receives proper treatment, I’ll do everything I can to give birth to a healthy baby. I don’t need an apartment or a building or anything like that. That’s all I need. I don’t know how capable the Director is, but if the child is anything like me, I can guarantee they’ll be very intelligent. So…”
Seeing how earnestly I was speaking, the Chairman gave me a gentle smile.
—“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. Calm down, Eun-woo. While she is receiving treatment, I’ll make sure everything is taken care of so there won’t be any inconvenience whatsoever. During your pregnancy, you won’t need to worry or stress about any of this. I’ll cover all the medical expenses and anything else you need.”
“…Thank you.”
—“And another thing. Why wouldn’t you need an apartment or a building? If I’m giving them to you, just accept them. You’ll need them when you bring your mother home to take care of her. Having them will make it much easier for you to look after her.”
Before I could respond, the Chairman acted remarkably quickly.
He immediately called his secretary into the room.
A short while later, the secretary came in, listened to the Chairman’s instructions, and discussed my mother’s condition with me in detail.
I honestly disclosed everything, from her current condition to the course of treatment she would need in the future.
The Chairman and the head of his secretarial department listened to my story seriously, taking meticulous notes the entire time.
—-“As for your mother, we will contact the hospital where she is currently receiving treatment. From now on, her treatment will be transferred to the university hospital affiliated with our foundation, and we will also obtain her medical records from the previous hospital. Everything will be arranged by tomorrow morning, and I will contact you personally, Mr. Baek. I will also send you the official contract and documents detailing the conditions tomorrow. The date for artificial insemination will be determined after we assess your physical condition. We intend to proceed with the procedure as soon as possible. I’ll explain the details again later.”
The head of the secretarial department explained the next steps quickly and clearly.
The moment I agreed, everything proceeded as smoothly as water flowing downstream.
It seemed they had already prepared everything and had merely been waiting for my answer.
We also agreed that my mother and aunt would be told that a confectionery company affiliated with the conglomerate had recruited me, and that toward the end of the pregnancy, I would pretend to leave on an extended business trip to the company’s U.S. branch for several months.
“Mr. Chairman. There’s one more thing.”
—-“What is it? Go ahead.”
“Of course, I won’t interfere with anything concerning the child. I don’t have any rights over the baby in the first place. But there’s something I’m genuinely curious about.”
When I expressed my curiosity about the child, both the Chairman and the secretary looked at me with interest.
“I know a chaebol family has plenty of financial resources, but that’s not what I mean. Um… Will the child have a stable environment to grow up in? For a child, their parents’ pheromones may be important, but I think the love and care of the person raising them is even more essential. From what you’ve hinted about the Director’s personality, I’m worried that emotionally, the child might…”
I wanted to say, I’m worried the child won’t grow up in a stable environment, but I trailed off out of respect.
The perceptive Chairman understood what I meant without needing to hear the rest and burst into laughter.
—-“Don’t worry. We’ll give the child plenty of love and raise them with the utmost care. Besides, the child will carry half of your blood, so I understand why you’re concerned.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
Right. If the child was raised in a family like this, there would be nothing to worry about.
They would surely know how to take good care of the baby.
I should worry about myself instead.
I lowered my head and smiled awkwardly.
At least everything concerning my mother had ended well.
And now, it was time for me to bear the price of that peace.
Four weeks later.
After returning from an extended business trip to Europe, Ju Heon was taking a quick nap in the car on his way to the company when he suddenly remembered a message he had received from his grandfather.
Apparently, the artificial insemination has already been performed… I wonder if the embryo implanted successfully.
Ju Heon opened his eyes, thinking about the omega whose face he had never even seen.
If it weren’t for this situation, and if that person weren’t a dominant omega, an omega who had grown up in such a completely different environment would never have had any reason to cross paths with him.
In any case, their relationship was based purely on mutual need, so there was no reason for him to care.
And yet, his grandfather occasionally sent him updates about that person.
Apparently, he was resting and recuperating after the insemination.
Of course he was.
If he had promised to give birth to a healthy child, it was only natural that he should show his sincerity by taking every necessary precaution.
He had already received plenty of benefits from the contract, after all.
He signed the contract, so he should just do his best to fulfill the terms.
What was that? The love of the person raising the child was more important?
What does my personality have to do with it?
“…How presumptuous.”
Even though he found it presumptuous, he couldn’t bring himself to be genuinely annoyed.
Having a child wasn’t something to take lightly, and he was grateful that the omega had agreed to do something that was anything but trivial.
Pregnancy placed an enormous strain on the body, so the fact that the omega had agreed was certainly something to be thankful for.
Besides, he had heard that the omega hadn’t signed the contract out of greed, but because he wanted to pay for his mother’s treatment.
In that sense, the omega was rather pitiful.
A contract was a contract, but feeling sorry for someone was an entirely different matter.
Ju Heon intended to give him a few additional gifts later as a personal gesture of goodwill.
“Director, we’ve arrived at the company.”
—-“Don’t go into the underground parking garage. Drop me off at the main entrance. And before I reach our floor, tell everyone on our floor to put on their masks.”
“Yes, sir.”
With that, Ju Heon got out of the car.
But the moment he stepped out, a familiar scent wafted from the person rushing past him.
It was a scent far too familiar to possibly belong to anyone else.
—“…Huh?”
Startled, Ju Heon immediately turned his head, but he didn’t get a chance to see the face of the man who had just passed him in an instant.
Ju Heon stood frozen in place as though he had just seen a ghost.
He turned toward the person who had carried that scent.
The man was running toward a delivery truck parked by the side of the road.
That overwhelmingly familiar pheromone scent lingered at the tip of Ju Heon’s nose, carried by the wind.
The scent he had sensed from the man he had never met before— was Ju Heon’s own pheromone.