To Fall In Love Again [JEONGKYU FF]

Chapter 38

Kneeling beside Junkyu's nest, Dr. Yoshi turned his head and stared up at JeongWoo. "Mr. Park, how long has he been like this?" He inquired, tugging his stethoscope off his ears.

"Four days." JeongWoo answered, biting his inner cheek. His eyes locked on his omega who was laying in a fetal position.

"This won't do." The doctor murmured as he looked back at Junkyu. "He doesn't even give any reaction with my hands breaching his nest. It's not normal." He reached forward and carefully placed his hand on the back of Junkyu's. "Junkyu, can I check your pups?" He asked with a smile, trying to appear as harmless as he could.

No response coming from Junkyu, not even a glance. The omega was mindlessly staring at nothing through his half-lidded eyes like he was in a trance.

"Mr. Park, can you help him to lay on his back? We'll scan his fetuses." The doctor said as he shifted to take the box he brought with him to the penthouse and took out what looked like a thick, bulky laptop.

JeongWoo did as he was told, coming into the nest and coaxing Junkyu to change his position on the frameless mattress. He showered Junkyu with praises when the omega didn't return to his side, gently stroking his hair as he whispered sweet words into his ear.

Dr. Yoshi quickly set up the portable ultrasound machine and put his gloves on. As they weren't at hospital, there was no nurse to help him and he had to do everything by himself. "Mr. Park, could you please lift up his shirt and pull his pants down below his belly? And if you can, try to release your pheromone until we're done."

Junkyu might think the beta was going to harm his pups if he touched his belly while he's in his nest, and JongWoo's pheromone was to stop Junkyu from going feral. The omega would feel safe in his alpha's presence.

"Junkyu, I'm going to start. Let's see your pups, okay?" Dr. Yoshi said before he squeezed a glob of cool gel onto Junkyu's stomach, and again, Junkyu was as silent as a log, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes.

The corners of Dr. Yoshi's lips fell down, seeing no reaction coming from Junkyu as he moved the wand around the omega's belly. He pressed some keys on the machine and heartbeat-like sounds came from it. Instead of glowing with excitement like he usually did when the doctor let him hear his pups' heartbeat, Junkyu's eyelids fluttered close and he fell asleep when the check-up barely began.

"He's shutting himself down." Dr. Yoshi said in a whisper.

JeongWoo's eyes moved warily between Junkyu's face and the doctor's, "What do you mean shutting himself down?"

"Humans have what is called fight-or-flight response, also known as acute stress response. It's a physiological reaction that occurs when in the presence of something mentally or physically terrifying. It's triggered by the release of hormones that prepare your body to either stay and deal with a threat or to run away to safety. The same hormones that caused you to have adrenaline rush." Dr. Yoshi explained while his fingers continued moving around the machine's keyboard, capturing one baby's heartbeat wavelength and the baby's size.

"There are three stages of fight or flight. First stage is the alarm stage where your central nervous system is ramped up, preparing your body to fight or flee. Second stage is the resistance stage where your body attempts to normalize and recover from the initial elevated fight or flight response. And the third stage is the exhaustion stage. If the first two stages occur repeatedly over time, such as when under chronic stress, this can cause your body to feel exhausted and begin to break down."

The doctor paused as he moved the wand again to find the second fetus. A new heartbeat can be heard from the device and he continued talking after he froze the screen to capture the heart rate.