At Long Last

Hello There

Late April
Sankt-Anna-Strasse
Lucerne

Three days had gone by since Se-ri had discovered her pregnancy.

Three unbelievably long, crazy days.

It was a good thing that these three days were weekdays. At the very least, Se-ri did not have to go out of her way to evade Jeong Hyeok.

The latter was mostly at school, busier than usual due to preparations for an upcoming fundraising performance held by the university in conjunction with a charity organization.

Se-ri had initially missed him greatly when rehearsals kept him from coming home early.

Now, she found herself secretly thankful for his absence.

She really needed the time and space to process the issue at hand.

She had considered calling her mother about this, or even Hye-ji, but wasn't quite sure if they would go ahead to tell Jeong Hyeok directly.

Somehow, in the midst of all the disbelief, shock, worries and joy that her mind was addled with, Se-ri had found enough strength to seek a prenatal check-up.

She did not quite trust herself to drive, so she took a taxi out to a renowned private clinic located in the countryside on the outskirts of Lucerne.

That was how she came to Klinik St Anna, seeking a dating scan to understand her condition better.

It was already hard enough being here alone, when most of the ladies out there in the waiting area had their partners with them.

But it was okay; this was nothing compared to the hardship that potentially awaited them in future.

Se-ri was lying down on her back, having an abdominal ultrasound performed. The clinic's interior was bright and modern, though the air conditioning was too chilly for her liking.

Prior to her scan, she had been told to drink large amounts of water, so that the full bladder would help in pushing the uterus up, allowing for clearer pictures of the baby in the ultrasound images.

The cold gel against the warm skin of her tummy was unpleasant. Se-ri had never really thought of all these, but now that her pregnancy was a reality, she was starting to see for herself that it was no walk in the park.

Despite her conflicting emotions, she wished Jeong Hyeok was around.

The probe was pressed uncomfortably into her lower abdomen. There was nothing on the screen, and the probe shifted to press hard into another area, eliciting a small wince from the heiress.

The black and grey screen made no sense to her, until...

"Here's your baby..." The sonographer said, pointing at the screen with a typical, professional smile. "Do you hear that? That's the heartbeat."

Cloppity-clop. The amplified heartbeat sounded like horses trotting, at times with swooshing sounds.

Robust, strong and lively.

As Se-ri looked up at the screen from her lying down position, she could feel tears pricking at her eyes again.

There it was, a tiny little blob.

Almost a shapeless mass, until the sonographer patiently pointed out the head and body.

It was so surreal, to know that this little thing, a real human being, was growing steadily within her.

A baby, belonging to herself and Ri Jeong Hyeok.

"Baby is around 46mm at this point,  so it is reasonable for us to deduce that you are around two months along at this point."