Chapter Text
The private elevator inside the elite south wing of Kyoto Central Hospital ascended in near-perfect silence. Taki pressed his back against the polished wood paneling, his fingers trembling as he clutched the sleek black clearance card Maki had given Euijoo.
He shouldn't have been here. It was a massive, reckless gamble. But the guilt and the terrifying uncertainty of his pregnancy had overridden his survival instincts. For the past week, Taki had been experiencing sharp, fleeting cramps and a persistent, exhausting dizziness. Nicholas’s private transfers paid for vitamins, but Taki was too terrified to walk into a standard public clinic where a routine blood draw could flag his omega registry directly to the Hirota family.
Maki’s card was a golden ticket to absolute privacy—but using it meant stepping directly into the lion’s den.
“The doctors answer only to me,” Maki had said. “Complete anonymity.”
Taki had convinced Euijoo to let him use it just once, under the guise of Euijoo’s identity, purely to ensure the baby was healthy before they fled the city after finals.
The elevator chimed, the doors sliding open to reveal a pristine, quiet medical oasis. White marble floors reflected soft, recessed lighting, and the air smelled faintly of lavender and high-end antiseptics. There were no crowded waiting rooms here; the elite wing operated on strict, isolated appointments.
A nurse in crisp white scrubs looked up from the sleek intake desk, her eyes scanning Taki’s oversized knit sweater and pale face.
"Welcome to the Hirota Private Wing," she said smoothly, her tone perfectly trained. "Do you have your clearance code?"
Taki swallowed hard, his throat dry. He stepped forward and slid the black card across the marble counter. "I’m... I’m here for an emergency prenatal screening and ultrasound. The appointment was flagged under the card holder's private account."
The nurse swiped the card through her terminal. A subtle green light flashed on her screen, instantly pulling up the highest tier of confidentiality protocols. "Ah, yes. The unrestricted executive clearance. Please follow me to Room Four, Mr. Seo."
Hearing Euijoo’s family name sent a cold jolt of adrenaline through Taki’s veins. He nodded tightly, keeping his chin tucked down as he followed her into a state-of-the-art examination room.
Twenty minutes later, the lights were dimmed. Taki lay back on the soft leather examination table, the cool, clear gel on his abdomen making him shiver. He kept his eyes locked on the high-definition monitor suspended from the ceiling.
The female OB-GYN, who had asked zero questions upon seeing the Hirota executive clearance on her tablet, moved the transducer smoothly across his lower stomach. A rhythmic, rapid sound suddenly filled the quiet room—like the frantic, beautiful thumping of a tiny galloping horse.
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
Taki’s breath hitched. A fresh, hot tear spilled over his temple, soaking into his hair.
"There we go," the doctor said, her voice gentle as she tapped the screen, freezing a grainy, black-and-white image of a tiny, curled shape. "The heartbeat is strong and perfectly steady at 155 beats per minute. The development is exactly where it should be for fourteen weeks. The cramping you've been feeling is just normal uterine stretching, but your iron levels are a bit low. I’m going to adjust your prescription."
Taki stared at the screen, his soul aching with a profound, crushing sorrow. It was real. A tiny, perfect life was thriving inside him. A life that carried the genetic legacy of the ancient, powerful Hirota bloodline. And the father was currently grieving a broken friendship, entirely blind to the truth.
"I'll print a copy of the sonogram for you," the doctor smiled, wiping the gel from his stomach. "And per the card's protocol, the digital file will be encrypted and pushed directly to the account owner’s private medical log for security."
Taki stiffened, his heart instantly dropping into his stomach. "Wait... the account owner? You mean... it sends a notification?"
"Of course," the doctor replied naturally, logging off her terminal. "The Hirota executive line automatically alerts the primary account holder whenever the wing is utilized, ensuring absolute security against unauthorized access. It went through the moment the card was swiped at intake."
The room went completely spin-dry. Taki’s vision blurred as absolute panic slammed into him.
Maki knows.
On the other side of the city, inside the quiet university library, Maki’s smartphone buzzed violently against the mahogany table.
He pulled his gaze away from his economics textbook, his brow furrowing as he picked up the device. A high-priority, encrypted push notification from the Kyoto Central Hospital app was flashing on his lock screen.
[HIROTA SECURITY ALERT] Executive Clearance Card #0094 utilized at 16:14. Patient checked into Private Wing: Maternity/Obstetrics. Dr. Shimizu presiding.
Maki’s chest tightened, a strange, suffocating pressure expanding behind his ribs. Card #0094 was the exact card he had handed to Euijoo in the conservatory just a few days ago.
He’s using it, Maki thought, a heavy, intense wave of alpha protectiveness flooding his system. Euijoo was at the hospital right now. Nicholas's baby—the secret child he had sworn to protect—was being examined.
Without a single second thought, Maki slammed his textbook shut, shoved it into his bag, and stood up so fast his chair screeched against the library floor. His inner alpha was screaming at him to move, to be there, to ensure that the fragile life carrying his best friend’s blood was entirely safe.
He sprinted out of the library, completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn't racing to protect Nicholas’s secret—he was racing toward the undeniable truth of his own.