SUBSTITUTE 9

Seohyun shifted her glance to her watch that indicates it was already 1.35 pm. Where is her sister? Yoona said that she would be here to accompany her for the pregnancy check-up but she was nowhere to be seen. Is she stucked in traffic? Seohyun was certain she was going to be late so she decided to go first. "Jong In ah... I'm gonna go first, you can take care of these right?" She said to Jong In as she spotted him talking to Minnie.

Jong In looked at her confusedly. "I thought your sister was supposed to fetch you, noona?"

"Yes. But, now it's 15 minutes before two o'clock. At this rate, I'm going to be late for my first checkup. I'll just call or text her later to just go straight to the hospital." Upon seeing him nodded, she grabbed her sling bag and her car keys. She said her byes to her workers before she began to walk out from the building.

The second she closed her store's transparent glass door, a black car stopped in front of her. She knew the car belongs to her brother in-law, she sighed. So he was going to come as well? Thank goodness Yoona will be there.

As the passenger's door was opened, she blinked at her sister's absence as there was only Luhan on the driver's seat. A scowl marred her face. Where was Yoona? Why aren't she's here? Suddenly the feelings that everything is going to be wrong creeped in her. She didn't like this. Not at all.

"Come in... we're going to be late." Luhan called her. With a heavy steps she climbed in to her seat and shut the door.

Once she buckled the seatbelt, Luhan changed the gear and drove through, leaving her store out of sight. Nervous has already rooted in him the minute he neared her store before and now his heart thumped so fast that he had to take deep breaths to calm the fast beat. He stole a glance towards Seohyun whom sitting beside him quietly. He wondered why she hasn't asked about Yoona. Wasn't she supposed to ask when she saw that Yoona wasn't here like any person would? Or was he the one who suppose to tell her?

"I'm sorry Yoona wasn't here. She wanted to come but her client changed the appointment so she couldn't be here."

"Ohhh... too bad." Seohyun muttered. Knowing Yoona, she knew that her sister is a workaholic. Yoona dedicated all of her to her work. After Yoona graduated, their parents died in an accident leaving Seohyun who were still in college. Her sister worked hard for her and all other things that made her feel indebted to Yoona.

"We're here." Luhan's voice brought her back to reality. Seohyun looked at her surrounding and noticed that they had arrived at the hospital since the hospital wasn't that far from her store. When Luhan had parked the car safely, she got out from the car and suddenly feeling nervous so she took a deep breath.

"Nervous?" Luhan asked as he neared her. Seohyun wondered how he knew she was nervous? Probably he noticed she took a breath earlier, she tought. "Kind of." She forced a smile.

"It's going to be alright." He reassured her, channeling some strength to her even just by words.

-

"Please change into this clothes and lay back onto that bed. There's a blanket on the bed to cover yourself up." Seohyun nodded as the nurse gestured to the singular bed in the small white room and told her on what she supposed to do before the doctor came.

Thank goodness they made it here with only a minute late. Explaining and using the lame excuses ever which was the 'traffic jam', the nurse that they met earlier were skeptical and doubted but refrained to ask more and just told them which room they were supposed to go.

She then hurriedly changed, not wanting to waste any time. After she was done, she sat on the bed and arranged the blanket to cover her exposed legs as the hospital gown was short as she laid back on the bed. She scrunched the hem of the clothes and moved it upward to the below of her chest and used the blanket to cover the exposed stomach. After making sure that none of her skin were exposed when it wasn't needed to, she took a deep breath and lay comfortably on the bed.

Upon hearing the sound of the door were being opened, she felt tensed as she heard the doctor's voice talking to someone.

"Are you coming inside? Mr...?"

"Luhan. Just Luhan." Seohyun heard Luhan's startled voice. Since he's a Chinese-Korean where his father is chinese and his mother is korean, his name just consist of Lu and Han just as his father's compared to most koreans where they have like three words to create a name.

"C-could I go inside?" Luhan timidly asked. "Of course. I assumed you're the father, am I right?" The doctor asked again. Seohyun's heart raised its beat for a second, waiting for his answer.

"Y-yeah... But I didn't want to impose you or anything."

"It's okay. Really. But if you still doubting I could ask your partner." The doctor turned to where Seohyun were. "You don't mind if he's here, aren't you?"

Not knowing on what to say as she was taken aback with the word 'partner', Seohyun thinks for a second before nodding her consent. It's not like something were bound to happen. He would just sit and accompany her. Besides, she really need someone at this time though.

"See, she says it's okay. Please come." The doctor gestured for Luhan to enter with