How to Have a Baby Secretly-Chapter 22

After some deliberation, he started browsing Jeju real estate listings, narrowing it down to a few promising options. Finding the contact information for a realtor, he sent a message saying he’d visit tomorrow.

Having handled everything from booking a flight to securing housing, Sunwoo felt much lighter as he closed his eyes.

This should be far enough to keep Kang Jinwook from easily following me.

Satisfied with his plan, a faint smile played on Sunwoo’s lips as he drifted off to sleep.

+++++

Sunwoo gazed down at the crystal-clear water beneath him.

The waves rolled in, then receded, their gentle rhythm stirring something warm and pleasant in his chest. After watching for a while, he began to walk slowly along the shore.

The sun was warm, the breeze soft, and the air crisp and refreshing.

Running his hand through his hair, Sunwoo admired the vast expanse of the sea.

Then, from somewhere nearby, a deep, forest-like scent wafted toward him.

A forest?

He glanced around in confusion. I’m at the beach, though. And… this smell—it feels familiar somehow. Am I imagining things?

Puzzled, he turned to look behind him, but it felt as though his body was floating. In the same moment, his eyes snapped open.

“Gah!”

Sunwoo bolted upright, his heart racing as he noticed a man standing beside his bed, looking down at him.

“Y-you! You—!”

Words failed him, leaving him stammering incoherently.

“What’s got you so spooked?”

Kang Jinwook, the man who had startled Sunwoo, was as calm as ever.

“H-how did you even…?”

Sunwoo quickly looked around, wondering if he’d fallen asleep somewhere else. But no, this was clearly his bedroom, the one he had fallen asleep in last night.

The memory of the strange signs he’d noticed in the living room resurfaced.

Of course, if it’s Kang Jinwook, breaking into someone’s house is probably nothing. Especially when he knows the door code.

“Ah…!”

That’s right—the passcode. He had been meaning to change it!

“What?” Jinwook asked, frowning at Sunwoo’s startled expression.

But instead of answering, Sunwoo dropped his head in embarrassment.

Why didn’t I change it when I thought about it last night?

“It’s nothing. I was just wondering how you got here,” Sunwoo muttered, stealing a glance at Jinwook’s face. Despite knowing the door code, Jinwook didn’t seem particularly smug about it, which was a small relief.

Letting out a silent sigh, Sunwoo resolved to change the code as soon as possible.

“Get up,” Jinwook suddenly commanded, extending a hand toward him.

“What?”

It was obvious he meant for Sunwoo to grab his hand and get up, but Sunwoo just blinked at him in confusion.

“You need to eat, don’t you? Get up.”

“Huh?”

Before Sunwoo could process what was happening, Jinwook grabbed his arm and pulled him out of bed.

This guy really has a habit of yanking people around!

Disgruntled, Sunwoo glared at the back of Jinwook’s head as he followed him out of the bedroom. Then he noticed a faint, pleasant scent lingering around him.

That smell…?

Now that he thought about it, he’d smelled the same thing in his dream.

But I don’t have any perfume at home…

Sunwoo wrinkled his nose and looked around as they walked into the living room. There was nothing in his bedroom or the living room that could produce such a scent.

His house, while meticulously decorated like something out of an interior design magazine, lacked plants or diffusers that might emit such an aroma.

“Ah…!”

As he scanned his surroundings, Sunwoo’s eyes suddenly widened.

“Why?”

Kang Jinwook, who had been pulling Sunwoo by the arm with his long strides, glanced back and asked. Sunwoo shook his head quickly. Jinwook studied him for a moment before turning back around.

Sunwoo stared at Jinwook’s back as he walked half a step ahead. He hadn’t expected this.

Well, it made sense—he’d only read about it in text before.

The first time Sunwoo felt it himself had been in the doctor’s office. Even then, it was just a fleeting impression, like standing in an overwhelming, deep forest.

This scent wasn’t just a smell.

So this is Alpha pheromones.

That’s what it was. The rich, forest-like scent radiating from Kang Jinwook wasn’t a fragrance—it was his pheromones.

But why am I suddenly noticing them?

In the original story, the sub-character Sunwoo was a recessive Omega who neither emitted nor detected pheromones.

Ah… they said pregnancy changes that, didn’t they? If pregnant Omegas gradually start emitting pheromones, it makes sense that they’d start perceiving them too.

The explanation fit.

“Sit,” Jinwook commanded, abruptly letting go of Sunwoo’s hand and gesturing toward the dining table as they entered the kitchen.

Snapped out of his thoughts, Sunwoo looked ahead and froze, startled.

“This is…”

The table was set with food—light, simple dishes that smelled mild and wouldn’t upset his stomach.

The sight made Sunwoo completely forget about the pheromones.

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“Eat,” Jinwook said again, nodding toward the table. He had specifically instructed Housekeeper Baek to prepare a healthy meal, but he didn’t bother mentioning it.

Almost as if in a trance, Sunwoo sat down. The nearest dish was a modest plate of tofu salad.

He picked up a fork, speared a piece, and popped it into his mouth. The fresh vegetables crunched pleasantly as he chewed, and the soft, nutty tofu melted on his tongue. The dressing added a subtle sweetness without any noticeable odor.

“It’s good…” Sunwoo murmured, finishing the salad before moving on to the next dish.

A bowl of white porridge, steaming gently, beckoned to him. The comforting scent of roasted seaweed wafted up, making his mouth water.

As the atmosphere softened, Jinwook silently observed Sunwoo as he ate.

While Sunwoo focused on his meal, Jinwook thought back to the question that had kept him awake the previous night: Why does Sunwoo bother me so much? Why can’t I stop worrying about him?

Initially, it was because of his father’s pressure and his cousin Jin-tae’s schemes. But at some point, Jinwook’s attention shifted to Sunwoo himself.

He wasn’t sure exactly when that happened, but he thought he understood the reason.

“You remind me of my mother.”

Jinwook’s unexpected remark froze Sunwoo mid-motion as he rubbed his full belly.

What? I remind him of his mother?

Sunwoo stared at Jinwook in disbelief.

“My mother endured years of pain without showing it and quietly passed away on her own. I can’t let anyone close to me disappear like that again.”

“Ah…”

That’s right. Sunwoo suddenly remembered why Jinwook might feel this way.

Jinwook’s mother had died of stomach cancer. By the time he found out, it had been far too late to save her.

This is something he discussed with the protagonist in the original story, Sunwoo recalled.

That conversation had been meant to help the protagonist understand Jinwook’s character, but for Sunwoo, it was unsettling to hear firsthand.

Helping me because I remind him of his mother? That doesn’t suit him at all.

Still, Sunwoo couldn’t let on that he already knew this part of Jinwook’s backstory. The original Sunwoo wouldn’t have been aware of it.

“Your mother must have been very ill,” Sunwoo said carefully, trying to navigate the situation. Asking how or when she died felt too intrusive.

“Maybe. She didn’t want to burden me, so she disappeared.”

Right, that’s what happened.

Jinwook’s mother had secluded herself in a remote villa, refusing to let her son see her in her final days. She had called him one last time to say goodbye before vanishing completely.

By the time Jinwook found her, it was too late. She was frail, emaciated, and no longer alive.

What a tragic story.

Sunwoo sighed internally as he glanced at Jinwook. Despite his usual impassive expression, there was a heaviness in his gaze, darker than usual.

Sunwoo could guess why. Jinwook was still haunted by the past, blaming himself for failing to protect his mother.

So he has a vulnerable side too…

Normally, Jinwook was an overbearing, insufferable tyrant who bulldozed his way through everything. But seeing him like this made Sunwoo feel a twinge of sympathy.

He knew what it was like to lose a mother.

Clenching and unclenching his hands, Sunwoo finally spoke.

“Don’t worry. That won’t happen with me.”

He didn’t say anything about understanding Jinwook’s feelings or expressing pity for his mother’s story. It was a long-past event, and Jinwook hadn’t brought it up to seek sympathy.

Besides, Sunwoo wasn’t terminally ill. He didn’t even have a stomach ulcer. He was just pregnant and determined to give birth to a healthy child and live a happy life—preferably without Jinwook’s interference.

With that resolve, Sunwoo met Jinwook’s gaze, his expression firm.

Jinwook, for once, didn’t retort or push back. He simply looked at Sunwoo with an unusually calm and quiet expression.

What’s with that look?

It wasn’t the overbearing glare Sunwoo was used to. This was something far stranger, and it made Sunwoo uncomfortable. Unable to hold Jinwook’s gaze, he turned his head away.

“Right. I won’t make the same mistakes again. So, Sunwoo, you—”

Ding-dong.

The doorbell interrupted Jinwook mid-sentence.