My Best Friend's Secret Baby

Marry me?

Two days after what was supposed to be her wedding, Chaeyoung returned to work. Mina did, too.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Two days ago, she should have been on her honeymoon with Jungkook—her boyfriend, her fiancé, the man she had once thought she would spend her life with. But instead, here she was, back in the hospital corridors, walking toward Mina's office with a homemade lunch and a heart full of confusion she couldn't name.

It had been Mina's insistence to return. If it were up to Chaeyoung, she would have made her best friend stay home, rest, and take care of herself and the baby growing inside her. But Mina was stubborn—quietly strong in the way only she could be. She said she needed to keep working, that she couldn't let the hospital fall behind, that she was fine.

Chaeyoung didn't believe her.

She had seen the way Mina winced when she bent too far, how her hands instinctively moved to her stomach as if to protect something precious. The thought made Chaeyoung's chest tighten. She didn't understand why she felt this way—protective, anxious, restless. All she knew was that Mina's well-being mattered more to her than anything else right now.

So, when lunchtime came, Chaeyoung left her office with a small smile and a box of food she had carefully prepared that morning.

She'd made Mina's favorite—a bowl of acai topped with fresh fruits, oats, and honey. Sweet, tangy, colorful, and healthy. It was the perfect meal for someone like Mina, who had been craving something refreshing lately. Chaeyoung remembered the way her best friend's eyes had lit up the last time she'd brought her one. That smile alone had been worth the effort.

She walked quietly down the hall, the hum of hospital machines fading behind her as she approached Mina's office. Her heart beat a little faster—not that she understood why. Maybe she just missed spending time with her. Maybe she just wanted to see her smile again.

But before she could knock, she froze.

Voices.

She recognized Sana's voice instantly—gentle but serious. Mina's closest friend in the hospital after her, and one of the few people who knew the truth about the pregnancy.

Chaeyoung hesitated outside the door, the lunch tray in her hands forgotten for a moment.

"So, what's your plan now, Mitang?" Sana asked, her tone calm but edged with worry. "Sooner or later, your body will start showing more. You can't hide it forever. Everyone at the hospital will notice."

There was a pause—a long, heavy silence that seemed to stretch endlessly. Chaeyoung felt her pulse quicken.

Then Mina's voice, soft and uncertain: "I... I will raise the baby, Sana."

Chaeyoung's breath hitched.

"But what about your reputation?" Sana pressed gently. "You're one of the hospital's best doctors, Mina. People will talk. You come from a respected family—what will they think when they find out you're pregnant and unmarried? You know how cruel people can be."

Silence again.

Chaeyoung could almost picture Mina—sitting behind her desk, hands folded in her lap, staring at the floor with that quiet look of resignation she wore when she'd already made up her mind.

Something inside the younger woman broke. Without thinking, she pushed open the door.

Both women turned in surprise.

Chaeyoung stood at the doorway, slightly breathless, clutching the lunch tray like a shield. Her eyes darted from Sana to Mina, then landed on the older woman's face.

"I'll marry you."

The words slipped out before she could stop them. They hung in the air, heavy, trembling, real.

Sana blinked. "What?"

Chaeyoung took a shaky breath, stepped inside, and placed the tray gently on the desk. "Marry me, Mina unnie. I'll raise the baby with you. I'll be its other parent."

Mina's eyes widened. "Chaeyoung..."

The younger doctor's hands were trembling, but her voice didn't waver. "You don't have to do this alone. I'll stand by you. People won't talk if we're married. I'll take care of you both."

For a moment, no one spoke. The quiet hum of the air conditioner filled the silence.

Mina's lips parted, her throat tight with emotion. "Chaeng, you don't have to do this. You just left your own wedding—"

"I know." Chaeyoung cut her off, her tone desperate but sincere. "I know what I left. I know what people will say. But I don't care anymore. I just—" She faltered, her voice breaking slightly. "I can't stand the thought of you going through this alone. You've always been there for me, hon. Let me be there for you now."

Tears welled in Mina's eyes. She tried to look away, but Chaeyoung stepped closer, reaching out instinctively to take her hand.

"Please," Chaeyoung whispered. "Let me do this. For you. For the baby."

If only she knew.

Sana, standing silently in the corner, bit her lip. She wanted to speak, to tell Chaeyoung the truth—that the baby Mina was carrying wasn't some stranger's child, but hers. That Mina had spent years secretly in love with her best friend, long before Jungkook ever entered the picture. That she had risked everything—her career, her name—to create life from a piece of Chaeyoung herself through an experiment that blurred the lines of science and love.

But this wasn't the moment.

Mina's heart ached as she looked into Chaeyoung's eyes—those same eyes she'd fallen for years ago, never expecting they'd ever look back at her like this. Not with pity, not with obligation—but with something fierce and unspoken.

She wanted to say yes. She wanted to believe it was real. But fear held her back.

"You'll regret it," Mina murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "You'll wake up one day and realize you threw everything away for something that was never your responsibility."

Chaeyoung shook her head, a soft smile forming through her tears. "You and the baby... you are my responsibility. Whether you like it or not, you've always been important to me. Maybe I didn't realize it before, but I'm sure of it now."

Mina's breath hitched. She wanted to tell her everything—to confess that the child she carried wasn't a stranger's, but Chaeyoung's. That she had done the impossible out of love, not science. But the words wouldn't come.

So she only whispered, trembling, "Why are you doing this, Chaeyoung?"

The younger woman's answer came softly, but it carried the weight of her heart. "Because I can't let you face the world alone, Mina. Because when I think about you, everything else stops making sense."

Outside, the wind rustled through the hospital garden, brushing against the windowpane. Inside, silence wrapped around them like a fragile promise.

And for the first time, Mina let herself imagine what it would be like—if Chaeyoung stayed.

If she said yes.

If love, even the kind born from confusion and chaos, could still mean something real.