Seyeon couldn’t keep her hands on her phone or laptop as she waited impatiently for her turn in the hospital’s waiting room. Even though she had taken half of an unplanned work day off, she had been notified she needed to complete a job that had been delayed. She found she couldn’t concentrate as well as she thought, and no progress was made as she had hoped.

Seyeon sighed a few times and shifted her gaze to the treatment room. A bin on the wall with the folders of patients to be seen was next to the tightly closed door. There was no one else besides Seyeon’s folder. Hers alone was empty in the bin as it waited to be collected. She realized that must mean that no one was being treated inside the room, and she was still waiting for the test results to come out. 

‘Re-examination?’

‘Yes. According to the blood test you took the other day, you need to come in for a follow-up examination.’

A re-examination was revealed after last week’s medical annual check up that she had to be given under the orders of the company she had worked at for two years. She couldn’t hide her anxiety when she was told she needed to take another blood test. Especially when she heard she would have to do one for obstetrics and gynecology tests.

Seyeon’s gaze fell down to her rolled-up sleeves on her arms. She was drawn to the small white cotton ball that was pressed against the spot where blood was drawn. The nurses only told her they were collecting blood for the tests and an additional one that they didn’t tell her what kind it was.

Being busy wasn’t merely an excuse to miss it. Going to the hospital or the bank wasn’t easy when you worked in a company. They eventually told her she could take a half-day off because her examinations had been pushed back due to work priorities and other duties.

Seyeon worked on the service support team. They had a great deal of work, but there were only a few people appointed to work there. This meant if one person went missing, all the other people’s workload increased. Seyeon was the youngest member on the team and because of the lack of people she was a little wary of taking a vacation or a day off.

‘Haa, Seyeon. I can’t even say anything because I have a real health problem… Not today, really out of all days. This is driving me crazy.’

Today was the busiest day of the week because there was a strategy meeting. She wondered how much attention she’d get if she told them that she had a re-examination on this particular day. It didn’t seem right if the youngest member was absent because she was in charge of the difficult work. She would rather give a reason to why she would be missing, but it felt too personal to share.

Seyeon had wanted to avoid a day like today, but she couldn’t help that she needed to go to the hospital. She thought she would see a doctor right away and then be sent back to work. However, she couldn’t get the concerns off her mind about whether or not she had a serious disease. It seemed the only likely possibility as to why they had called her back.

“Miss Im Seyeon. Please head to the third treatment room.”

Her name was called, while she nervously bit her bottom lip. She hurriedly packed up her belongings before she made her way to the designated room. She entered the treatment room and noticed a very young, well dressed male doctor sitting at the computer. 

Seyeon checked the nearby window by reflex. It wasn’t enough to be called Hyperosmia, but she was sensitive to the smell of human sweat and body odor. She made sure she avoided confined spaces because of how they made her feel. Fortunately, the window was open enough to let out the strong scents of those inside. Even though it was quite chilly from the air being let in. A comforting minty scent tickled her nose as she inhaled deeply.

[TL/N: Hyperosmia is an exaggerated or abnormally acute sense of smell.]

“Miss Seyeon?”

“Oh, yes.”

As she stood still, the doctor took his eyes off the monitor and looked at Seyeon. She sat down in the chair in front of him and noticed the indifferent look behind his glass lens became slightly artificial. He seemed to be trying to act professional in his own way.

The doctor looked through the medical records on the monitor for a long time. Seyeon glanced at the back of it, but there was no way she could figure out what it was. She bit her lower lip as she felt crushed by the deafening silence. The only sounds in the room was the doctor clicking the mouse and tapping the keyboard while staring at the screen. His voice was low and clear. She heard the words muttered to himself.

“It rarely happens this late, which is interesting.”

The words made Seyeon’s heart sink deep into her stomach. The fact that it was discovered late meant that it was difficult to treat. No way…. The doctor took his gaze away from the screen and turned to look at Seyeon. He was unaware of the negative thoughts reaching their peak inside her head. He smiled and shook his head, as if he could read Seyeon’s thoughts just by looking at her face.

“Congratulations. You’re an Omega, Miss Im Seyeon.”