NOVPUB“Oh? Look who it is.”
As soon as Jiheon walked into the restaurant with Team Leader Lee, Assistant Manager Nam—who was sitting at a table deeper inside—called out to them. He hadn’t ordered yet, apparently, and quickly betrayed his colleagues from Marketing to slide into the seat next to Jiheon and Team Leader Lee.
“Geez, you’re seriously impossible to catch lately. Why are you acting so busy?”
No sooner had Nam sat beside Jiheon and nudged him with his elbow than Team Leader Lee answered for him.
“He’s not pretending to be busy—he is busy.”
She picked up the menu and gave a nod toward Jiheon, who was seated across from her.
“He’s been locked in the meeting room with Legal for days now.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Legal hasn’t even come out for lunch lately. They just order in and keep working in there. I practically dragged Deputy Chief Jeong out today myself so he could catch his breath for a minute.”
Nam looked at Jiheon with wide eyes, like it’s that bad? Jiheon only shrugged as the server came to take their order. The three of them each placed their orders.
“Come to think of it, Deputy Chief Jeong, are you not getting morning sickness?” 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
As soon as the server walked away, Nam asked.
“Oh, I barely had any nausea.”
“Whoa, seriously?”
“Yeah. I just get a little queasy on an empty stomach, but otherwise I’m fine. Honestly, I eat so well I’m more worried about that.”
At Jiheon’s response, Team Leader Lee said seriously, “Deputy Chief Jeong, you better count your blessings.”
“When it’s bad, it’s brutal. Your strength drops, you get dizzy, and you feel like you’ll die if you don’t eat—but then when you do eat, you just throw it all up. It’s enough to drive you nuts.”
She had a daughter who’d started elementary school this year. Jiheon hadn’t been at the company yet when she was pregnant, but he’d heard the “legend” about how she lost over 6kg during her first trimester due to severe morning sickness. Considering she was known as one of the top three at the company for both work performance and stamina, and that she’d even considered taking leave, that said it all.
“Your morning sickness was that bad, Team Leader?”
Nam blinked wide-eyed, saying he had no idea.
“It was. But for me, it wasn’t just the nausea—it was the frustration of not being able to control my own body and emotions. Like, I knew I wasn’t being rational, but there was nothing I could do about it. Living like that every day? It was infuriating. The nausea and the emotional swings are both hormone-related, so they hit at the same time. It was double the hell.”
“Ah...”
Nam nodded vaguely, but his face said it didn’t really click for him.
Team Leader Lee poured herself a cup of water as she went on.
“Here’s an example. I don’t even like fruit that much. But when my nausea was bad, I had to have fruit. I couldn’t eat anything else. So we always kept some in the fridge. But even then, if it wasn’t the exact sweetness and tanginess I was craving, it just didn’t cut it.”
“Ah.”
Now Nam nodded like it was finally starting to make some sense. But Team Leader Lee was just getting warmed up.
“See, the normal me would’ve thought, So what, it’s just fruit. Eat what’s there now and buy more tomorrow. But back then? No way. If I wanted it right then and didn’t get it, I’d feel sad, angry, even wronged. My husband would say, Just tell me what you want and I’ll get it, but the most frustrating part was—I didn’t even know what I wanted!”
She looked between the two of them as she raised her voice, asking if they had any idea how maddening that felt—having all that anger and despair and helplessness welling up.
Jiheon, who’d suffered through wild mood swings during pheromone suppressor side effects, could relate to some degree. But Nam, despite also being an Omega, looked a bit lost—like, Suppressor side effects? Hormones do what?
“I mean, I think... maybe the fruit you wanted didn’t actually exist? Like, it was some kind of ideal form. A Platonic fruit, you know?”
Nam was a little off-base, but he was trying to empathize, and Team Leader Lee laughed.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Anyway, it was hell. Not just for me—my husband had it rough too. Day and night, he was running around town buying every fruit imaginable, and all he got from me in return was yelling.”
“Huh? But that happens even when you’re not pregna—”
“Shut it.”
At her soft but cutting remark, Nam ducked his head and pretended to straighten his utensils. He laid them neatly on the napkin and smoothly changed the subject.
“But honestly, do you really need to be stuck with Legal for all this? I get that they’re swamped, but you’re just a witness in this thing, right? Isn’t it enough to just write your statement and be done with it?”
“Well, yeah, but it’s not just one organization we’re filing with.”
Jiheon began arranging his own silverware as he answered.
“We’re planning to report to at least four different sports-related bodies. And we’re filing both civil and criminal suits through the court system. Plus, I’m actually the plaintiff in one of them.”
“Damn.”
Nam held his forehead like the headache had already started. Jiheon leaned in and whispered sweetly into his ear.
“And the thing is, each body requires different supporting documents, different formats for statements, different forms entirely. Plus, with groups like the FINA disciplinary committee and the Olympic committee, there’s a strict deadline. If the paperwork doesn’t arrive within three weeks of the event, they won’t even accept it.”
“Ughhh.”
Nam groaned, burying his face in his hands—only to lift his head a second later, eyes bright.
“Wait. That means by next week, at least two cases will be wrapped up, right?”
“Pretty much. And in any case, I think my part in all this will mostly wrap up the week after.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.”
“But that’s just me. Legal’s only just getting started. They’ll have to monitor everything and respond in real time.”
“Well, that’s their job. They’re paid for it.”
Team Leader Lee cut in before Jiheon had even finished speaking.
“They’re salaried for that kind of work. What we’re worried about—me and the CEO—is that Deputy Chief Jeong’s pushing himself harder than we expected.”
Having gone through pregnancy herself, she clicked her tongue with concern.
“It’s really not that bad. I just wanted to finish quickly, that’s all.”
Jiheon answered quickly, not wanting to make anyone worry. ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) In reality, Legal had been more than willing to accommodate him and adjust schedules around his pregnancy. They offered to meet once every two days, or even once a week—whatever he needed. But Jiheon, wanting to wrap things up fast, had voluntarily shown up to the meeting room every single day.
“Is there some reason you’re in such a hurry?”
“I’ve just never liked leaving things unfinished.”
Nam made a face like yeah, you’ve always been that type.
“The more stressful the task, the better it is to finish early. Otherwise I start dreading it even more.”
Jiheon said, then took a sip of water.
“And honestly, it’s better for this case to move quickly no matter what. Public opinion’s on our side right now. It’d be a waste not to ride that momentum.”
“Yeah, but Kavva’s going to appeal no matter what, right?”
“Probably.”
“Then you’re looking at a long haul. Wouldn’t it make more sense to pace yourself? You’re pregnant, no matter how fit you are.”
At that, Team Leader Lee casually tossed out,
“Because of Kwon Jaekyoung, obviously.”
“Why, what about him?”
“When he gets discharged next week, he’ll be back to training full-time and starting prep for the next Olympics. So Jiheon’s trying to clear everything before then.”
“What...?”
Nam looked truly blindsided.
“Wait, why would you need to handle all that? Just let Minwoo or one of the other road managers take care of it.”
He furrowed his brows in disbelief, then lowered his voice suspiciously.
“Don’t tell me... his mom told you to do this? Like, ‘You’re pregnant, sure, but your husband’s going to the Olympics, so you better step up and support him’?”
“No! Of course not!”
Jiheon was horrified.
“She’d never say something like that. She actually feels bad that the timing’s like this and she can’t help more.”
True to his plan, Jiheon had informed Madam Shim of the pregnancy as soon as he hit twelve weeks. At the time, Shim had been beside herself with worry over Jaekyoung’s shoulder injury. She couldn’t ease his pain, and she didn’t know what else to do—so she would stop by Jiheon’s place now and then with food she made herself, checking up on both of them.
When Jiheon said he had something serious to tell her one day, she’d looked tense—probably expecting to be told she was visiting too often, or that it was inconvenient. She’d even preemptively defended herself when he opened with “Mother...” blurting, “Oh, I knew it. I’ve been coming over too much lately, haven’t I? I just thought, since Jaekyoung won’t come home no matter how many times I ask him...”
So when Jiheon told her he was pregnant, she burst into tears right there on the spot. Clutching his hand, she sobbed, thanking him and congratulating him in the same breath, in a mix of words too garbled to understand. And as soon as she calmed down a bit, she yelled at her injured son.
