“Right, and you also need to be having sex to get pregnant, don’t forget that either,” Ho Jin called, and pulled the door shut before I could throw something at him. To all the Song men, I must have looked like some closeted, spoiled little princess who was sheltered like a Joseon-era royal. Well, little did he know I was having sex. Spectacular sex. I hugged my secret to myself like it was my most prized possession.
Another knock jolted me out of my reverie. Doctor Lee entered, and the nurse came with him. He smiled kindly at me, and sat down, as the nurse hovered.
“So, Hana, I hear you’ve been feeling under the weather?”
“It’s nothing really, just a tummy bug, but you know my mother.”
“She likes to be thorough,” Doctor Lee supplied.
I nodded in agreement.
“Well, I’ll take a look at you, but to be honest, after the tests we’ve just done, there is an obvious explanation for your symptoms, and don’t worry, you’re not ill,” he said, as worry jumped to my eyes.
I relaxed under his smile. “Ok, what is it?”
“Nothing that won’t resolve itself in about seven or eight months,” Doctor Lee said, and took my hand. “Hana, you’re pregnant, dear.”
I stared at him, uncomprehendingly. “I’m sorry, what?”
“You’re pregnant. It’s early days, but the test is definitive.”
“Pregnant,” I repeated dumbly.
He nodded. “Pregnant.”
“I can’t be pregnant, I’m on birth control,” I said rotely, as my brain searched for a way to reboot.
“No birth control is one hundred percent effective. Did you miss any pills?”
“No! Not even one.”
“Or did you have an upset stomach any days a month or so ago?”
A sudden memory returned to me of the stress and anxiety of my plan to sneak out making me nauseous for a few days. I’d thrown up most meals, hadn’t I? Had I thrown up my birth control pills too??
Doctor Lee saw the understanding dawning on my face and nodded to the nurse to bring water. “I take it this is unexpected?”
“Unexpected… I’m nineteen!”
“Yes, I know. I also take it your parents aren’t aware that you were… seeing someone.”
“I’m not seeing someone, I mean, not really,” I babbled, sudden tears springing to life behind my eyes. What had I done? When my father and brother found out about this, they’d kill Konstantin, even though it wasn’t his fault. They’d find a way, and make it happen, no matter what. In their eyes, not only had he besmirched the honor of the Song family, and me, but to join our families together through a child? They’d never allow it.
A tear dripped down my cheek, quickly followed by another.
“Do you want some time alone, Hana, dear?”
I nodded miserably and then gripped Doctor Lee’s hand before he could move away. “You won’t tell them yet, right? Please don’t tell them yet.”
We both knew in family matters, things like privacy had no meaning. Doctor Lee was a Song man, through and through, and no matter what, he would tell my father.
He went to the door, and pulled it open, just as the sound of a shout in the hallway sent me to my feet.
The nurse looked out into the hallway and screamed as Ho Jin staggered inside the room. His head was bleeding, and his eyes were wild.
“Hana! You need to run. Get out of here, use the other door,” he started but didn’t get any further, as a body appeared behind him, and thumped him on the back of the head. He went down like a sack of potatoes, and I clamped a hand over my mouth to stop my scream. Boots crossed the floor toward me, as I looked slowly up familiar legs.
“Konstantin?” I asked, my voice sounding like it was coming from very far away.