"The baby is already about to come out, and you’re trying to die again?" the doctor snapped.
Hana swallowed hard; tears suddenly fell, soaking her face. This time, they were not because of the pain in her stomach, but because of something even Hana herself did not understand.
She wanted to safely give birth to her third child. She also wanted to hear his cry—the same kind of cry as her previous two children.
Hana nodded. "Help me. Help me deliver this baby. I want to see him," Hana said with determination.
Hana thought that even though she knew this was only a dream, she did not want to miss the chance to see her third child.
This was her third child in this dream.
The doctor nodded and returned to his previous position. The nurses, who had also looked tense when they felt Hana’s body suddenly lose its vitality, immediately returned to their positions as well.
"Ma’am... push harder," the doctor instructed.
Hana nodded and followed the doctor’s instructions. She took a deep breath and began exerting all her strength. Both of her hands gripped the sides of the bed so tightly that her fingers turned white.
"Just a little more. Push harder, Ma’am. The baby’s head is already visible."
Hana nodded.
"Aghhhhh!!" Hana screamed with difficulty. Her body trembled violently as the baby finally came out of her womb.
Hana’s body finally collapsed onto the bed.
"Hah... haha..." Hana suddenly laughed, feeling an incredible sense of relief.
After laughing widely, Hana froze. She realized that no one around her was saying anything, and no one congratulated her as they had when her previous two babies were born.
She lifted her head and looked at everyone in the room. Then she tried to sit properly on the bed, even though she was still experiencing excruciating pain in the lower part of her body.
Her fear over the baby’s condition was far greater than her doubts about whether this was a dream or not.
"What’s wrong? What happened?" Hana asked.
"Ma’am..." one of the nurses standing beside the doctor spoke.
Hana looked at her, her heart pounding violently.
"What’s wrong? What happened to my baby? Why isn’t he crying like my other two children?" Hana asked, beginning to panic.
"Ma’am, please be patient. Don’t be sad. He surely wouldn’t want to see his mother crying either."
Hana shook her head. "What’s wrong with my baby?" she asked. "Please give him to me. I want to hold him," Hana said without realizing it.
Her maternal instinct surfaced on its own.
Hana did not know what was happening. She even wondered why she felt such heartache, and why she was crying over a baby who had just come out of her body.
Even though she did not feel as if she had been pregnant with this baby, that emotional bond truly existed and tied her to the baby.
"Please. Please give me my baby," Hana begged, her face filled with exhaustion, desperation, and frustration.
"He’s my baby," Hana said again. "Let me see him. He must still be alive. He just came out of my body. Weren’t my other children healthy? Why isn’t this one?" she added, her voice trembling with fear.
The doctor, who was holding Hana’s third baby, finally nodded and brought the baby over to Hana.
"Ma’am, this is your third baby. He’s a boy, with a body slightly plumper than his two older siblings. He’s handsome, very handsome, just like them," the doctor said, holding back his tears.
The death of newborn babies was something he encountered often, but seeing Hana crying so brokenly made him feel truly sorry for her.
Hana took him with difficulty, tears pouring freely from her eyes. The baby was still covered in blood, yet Hana accepted him without the slightest trace of disgust. In the past, she had hated touching anything that looked dirty.
Hana slowly hugged him. Although her movements were still stiff, her hands moved with extreme care.
"My baby... my son..." Hana said, trying to wake the child in her arms.
Hana slowly kissed the baby’s face. Her tears fell onto the baby’s face.
"Mommy begs you... Mommy begs you, wake up. It’s Mommy. Didn’t you want to see Mommy? It’s Mommy, sweetheart..."
Hana gently patted the baby’s bottom, hoping he would open his eyes soon.
The baby was truly chubby, with thick eyebrows and hair that had already begun to grow.
The child in her arms was incredibly handsome. Very handsome.
"Sweetheart... Mommy begs you, wake up. It’s Mommy. I want to see you open your eyes. I want to hear your voice. Please," Hana said, even though she did not even know who the father of this child was.
She only wanted this baby to wake up and live, just like his two siblings.
Hana continued patting the baby’s bottom and began kissing his face, which was still warm and smelled of blood.
"Ma’am... please give the baby to us. We’ll take care of him first. We need to stitch the lower part of your body. If we don’t, you could be seriously injured and develop an infection."
Hana shook her head. "My child. He’s my child. Please don’t separate us," she begged.
A few moments later, the 10×10-meter room, which had previously been filled only with Hana’s cries, was now joined by the cries of her other two children—as if they realized that the sibling who had grown together with them in the womb for more than nine months was now gone.
Hana’s body trembled violently, and her tears continued to fall.
Hana truly did not understand what was happening to her. How could she cry so painfully and deeply over a baby she had never carried herself? She had only given birth to him, so how could she possibly have such strong feelings for him?
The lower part of Hana’s body, which had not yet been stitched, finally began bleeding heavily because of the violent trembling of her body.
It hurt. Hana could feel the pain clearly. But why did that pain feel insignificant compared to the agony she felt upon learning that her third baby had died?
The doctor beside her was about to forcibly take the lifeless baby from Hana’s arms. "This cannot continue, Ma’am. Please cooperate. Your other two children are still alive. They need you. If you fall apart together with your third child, they won’t be happy living their lives in the future either."
Hearing those words, Hana’s sobs did not subside. Instead, they became even more broken.
She only held the baby in her arms even tighter.
"Mommy begs you... Mommy begs you, don’t leave us... Mommy and your siblings want you to live so badly," Hana said, gasping for breath.