#4. Who Is Pregnant?

A sudden gasp escaped Han Gyu-ryeon's lips, reaching Shin's ears. Hwa-ya tapped Gyu-ryeon's arm lightly, whispering softly near his ear.

"Gyu-ryeon, see? What did I tell you?"

"Yeah, she called my name so naturally."

Stepping inside the hospital room, Hwa-ya stood straight and polite, tightly clutching Gyu-ryeon's arm as they shared a similar fear, muttering under her breath.

"Um, Oracle. I really have nowhere else to go besides the dormitory. They said roommate transfers aren't allowed."

Of course. Hwa-ya was destined to be Shin's companion once again.

"Or-Oracle? Ahem, Hwa-ya, I am twenty-one years old. You are twenty-three since you retook the exam. Since we were friends in the past, I am going to talk comfortably. You can speak comfortably to me too. By the way, I will give you this week's winning lottery numbers."

"Oracle, lottery numbers? Whew... Still, I am way too terrified."

Hwa-ya's glare, practically asking if money was the issue right now, weighed heavily on Shin's heart.

"Wait! What? Lottery numbers? Excuse me! If you could tell me..."

"Gyu-ryeon, please shut up for a second. Is that what matters right now?"

Hwa-ya, who loved and worshipped material wealth, glared fiercely at Gyu-ryeon.

"Excuse me, student. Are you really possessed by some spirit? Who on earth are you?"

At Gyu-ryeon's question, Shin realized an official introduction was urgently needed. That was the proper order, but just like the physical distance between them, her heart and mind still needed time.

"I am sorry for scaring you. I guess I am slow to learn. My last name is Gyeong, and my first name is Shin. I possess memories of my past lives, but my memories of this current life are completely gone. Apparently, I am a senior in the Korean Language Education department. It is nice to meet you."

"As you probably know, I am Song Hwa-ya from the Mathematics Education department."

"I am Hwa-ya's boyfriend, Han Gyu-ryeon. A medical student at SNU."

The two offered hesitant greetings to Shin, stepping a pace or two closer, only to quickly begin whispering between themselves.

"Gyu-ryeon, do past lives really exist? You are a doctor. Tell me."

"I am still just a medical student. Besides, mysterious stuff like that is outside my field."

"Gyu-ryeon. Right, what about that landlord earlier? Did our benefactor leave?"

"Yeah, he even lent us his car to use when we move in over the weekend before he left."

"He really is a lifesaver. Did you say he handled the hospital admission process too?"

"He is a truly generous person."

Watching their affectionate interaction from afar with a warm, motherly smile, Shin recalled how they had gotten married and lived happily in past lives. She also remembered feeling deeply saddened that she never got to see Hwa-ya give birth due to a weak uterus.

In her first life, she remembered Hwa-ya going through a difficult IVF procedure to get pregnant.

Wait. Pregnant?

The immediate problem Shin had pushed aside surfaced in her consciousness, snapping her back to reality.

She wasn't the Virgin Mary, so what kind of blessing could Shin herself have received? It couldn't be her, right? Just as she was thinking that!

Sure enough, a knock sounded at the hospital room door, and two nurses appeared.

"Alright, expectant mother Shin. It is time for your OB-GYN checkup."

In an instant, Shin's face turned pale as a sheet.

= = =

Sure enough, Hwa-ya's cold, rational suspicion turned out to be an established fact.

Of course, Shin hadn't committed a crime, nor was she rejecting the pregnancy.

In general society, people would worry first upon hearing an unmarried woman was pregnant, and given the conservative mindset around here, it was certainly a shocking event.

However, for Shin, pregnancy was a mind-boggling event for a completely different reason.

"I am in big trouble. I can't die early in this life. What should I do?"

Shin was deeply concerned about her fate of dying young, following the pattern of her past lives. Gyu-ryeon looked at Shin with a bewildered expression as he took the wheelchair prepared by the nurse.

"Why would you die? We came to the hospital to save you, so just get into the wheelchair first!"

Thanks to Gyu-ryeon raising his voice out of genuine worry, Shin snapped back to her senses, climbed onto the wheelchair, and began looking at the situation realistically.

"Could it be... am I going to die of a chronic illness in this life?"

At Shin's words, Gyu-ryeon and Hwa-ya raised their voices in irritation.

"You just heard you are pregnant. You should only have good thoughts. There is barely any illness you can't cure if caught early."

"That's right, Madam Shin! Since we are at the hospital, get everything tested. We will help you."

Looking up at Gyu-ryeon and Hwa-ya, Shin felt a surge of warmth in her chest. From their perspective, she was just a strange student they met for the first time today, yet they were worrying about her like this.

She thought that they were destined to be good friends in this life as well.

Shin placed her hand on her abdomen, wanting to hear directly from a doctor whether it was truly certain she now had a family of her own.

= = =

"Haha, Mr. Landlord. I will handle the move over the weekend. Thank you so much."

Taking a few steps back to answer a phone call while walking down the hospital hallway, Gyu-ryeon handed the wheelchair over to Hwa-ya.

"Ah, that tutoring... I mean, the collapsed student is getting tested right now. I am sure she will be fine."

Listening to Gyu-ryeon's conversation, Shin rubbed her belly with her hand, thinking that this life was worth living now that someone was worrying about her.

As an adult, there was rarely a need for guardian consent, but circumstances were different in a hospital. No matter how grown up you were, the moment you stepped into a hospital for admission, a guardian was required.

Shin was immensely grateful that Gyu-ryeon, acting as her guardian today, had gotten her into a VIP room and led her to the OB-GYN department. Riding the elevator to another floor, Gyu-ryeon and Hwa-ya continued to look at Shin with worried expressions.

Smiling softly, Shin opened her mouth to share a few words of blessing with this lovely couple.

"Gyu-ryeon, take good care of our Hwa-ya. Don't bottle things up inside, express everything. Hwa-ya might seem like that on the outside, but she adores you deep down."

"M-Madam Shin!"

"Ah, yes."

"Haven't you two seen every side of each other since you were wearing diapers in the same neighborhood? You can be even more affectionate. Life is short."

As Shin spoke seriously, as if delivering life's final advice, Han Gyu-ryeon and Song Hwa-ya listened in solemn silence.

"Alright, Madam Shin. Gyu-ryeon, answer her quickly."

"Ah. Right."

"You two will live very well once you get married. Ah, make sure to take out a loan and buy an apartment in Gaepo-dong soon. That will prove to be a real blessing later."

"M-Marriage between Gyu-ryeon and me..."

"A-Understood."

Hwa-ya and Gyu-ryeon glared at Shin in utter disbelief at her advice, but they didn't object and simply listened quietly.