143. Enough Is Enough

Forced to lie down on her left side on the stretcher, all attention was on Mijin after she'd began screaming, causing a commotion once taken out of the waiting room. "Get it out of me right now!"

"Mijin please! This is a hospital!" Mijin's mom held onto one of the nurse's hand to keep them from pinning her daughter down.

"Madam, I'm sorry but she can't lay on her back after 28 weeks. We have to keep her like this to improve circulation to the heart and also keep the uterus off large blood vessels and other organs."

"O-okay..."

Both Mijin and her mom had run out of patience after almost an hour of waiting. Having been advised upon conversing with the doctor that she wasn't ready, she began screaming and shouting, demanding to be set free from her pregnant state. She'd been hysterical that despite efforts to deescalate, the commotion only encouraged her to heighten her tantrums.

Unable to handle the situation by herself and not wanting to frighten others with her scent, Mijin's mother ringed her husband to come in for assistance. It saddened her that every time she tried to comfort her daughter, Mijin would complain feeling triggered whenever she'd set eyes on her.

"How long must I wait? It's more than nine months! Get it out of me! I'm done! I can't stand feeling this way any longer!" Mijin cried hysterically as two nurses pinned her down on the stretcher, lest she harm herself and anyone around her.

"Hold her!" The doctor exclaimed and administered an epidural injection together with an anti-emetic agent on her upper thigh that had an instant effect on Mijin. She flinched and within seconds, her speech was slurred after which managed to she calmed down.

Looking at Mijin's mother, the doctor spoke upon advising the two nurses to let her go of the patient. "That will keep her down for sometime. From the state of her skin, the colour and texture, she seems to be under-scented and fatigued, not to mention melasma. I'm surprised this sign came at a later stage of her pregnancy." Studying Mijin closely, he added, " She also has veins protruding at the corner of her puffy eyes. I had thought she wasn't sleep deprived as per her medical chart."

"She told us she was sleeping well... I've monitored her closely."

"Hmm... Perhaps she did but it seems she wasn't getting enough sleep. Her skin is oily, her nose swollen and I've observed broken capillaries across her face. These symptoms are normal for her case especially since she's refused any more help from her partner.

Her pregnancy has belated three weeks than the stipulated date of delivery but her cervix is still too small. To reduce the risk of neonatal death and stillbirth, we might have to operate on her or settle for induction."

"...But we were advised to go for a normal delivery, that was why we were waiting. She doesn't experience any contractions nor exhibit any signs and symptoms of someone going into labour soon apart from feeling extremely fatigued."

"I understand. If she goes another week, it will be ten months increasing the chances of a stillbirth or the infant might weigh too little than normal and experience neurological disorders. If the placenta stops functioning normally, that is a huge problem. Additionally, I do not think her current mental state will not prompt her to provoke harm on herself and the fetus."

"Do whatever you can doctor." Mijin's mom said, fearing the worst. Despite her daughter's empty threats to force her own delivery, she didn't want to take it lightly that Mijin wouldn't try something outrageous especially after finding out that she had been taking unknown supplements she'd claimed to be iron boosters when in fact, they had been prednisolone tablets infused with high amounts of steroids. A huge argument broke between them, Mijin stating she needed an energy boost as her excuse. 'That explains her aggressive behavior. To think she'd thought to fool me, a certified nutrition and personal trainer.'

"We also need consent from her partner. Is it fated or pair?"

Just then, a female doctor showed up and Mijin's moms face lit up, relieved to see a familiar face. Grabbing onto Mijin's file from his colleague, she declared. "I'll take over this. She has been my patient."

The other doctor appeared bewildered however, his colleague assured him that she'd been handling Mijin's case for sometime. She further went on to explain she had been in surgery and that was why she wasn't able to attend to Mijin immediately.

"What about her concept?"

"I'll brief you later. For now, we need to scrub and prepare the surgery room. Where are my nurses?" She asked, looking around and in a few seconds, the two nurses advised Yeon's mother to await a briefing outside.

Luckily, she was relieved when she saw her husband appear. They spoke at length, each updating the other of the situation in and out of hospital.

"I know it's long overdue but I don't know how to handle her anymore." Both Mijin's parents sat in the waiting area and soon enough, Mora's brother appeared. He bowed briefly to acknowledge them and had someone else escorting him standing beside him. After a few minutes, a nurse came and took him away.

"Sweetheart, he can't have the baby." Mijin's father appeared apprehensive after they'd left.

"I know. Elric's mother informed us he requested to see the baby once delivered just for a moment and won't ask anything from us again." Mijin's mom assured.

"So he too doesn't want anything to do with the child just like Mijin?"

"Sometimes I think he does." Mijin's mom spoke in deep thought as he watched Mora's brother walking away from them with his escort. "He doesn't speak much, but he sure looks better than the last time I saw him."

"Does any of his family members come to visit him?"

"No one has so far. Only me and Mijin from time to time whenever there is an appointment for them to share scents, and his sister whom he's completely refused to give an audience to."

"I wouldn't want to see her either. She is a monster. To think she lied about everything. She ruined her brothers life."

"Where did we go wrong with Mijin sweetheart? We neither spoiled her nor disciplined her too much."

"I often think of how she and Yeon are too different. If we had failed as parents, Yeon too would have turned the same way. Oh, I miss him so. We should probably let them know it's time."

"I'll give a call to Stan's parents." Yeon's dad stood up and paced away to make the phone call, leaving his wife lost in thought over the tantrum her daughter just threw. "I don't know why she hates me so much when I've constantly shown her my support. Mijin, my dear sturbbon daughter, I hope you truly find the happiness that you seek even if it doesn't come from your family."

Looking at her partner, she smiled and spoke in retrospect. "Even Yeon too took his sweet time to see the world having delayed by one week from the scheduled date of delivery. One would think he was already sensing the kind of sister he was going to have and was probably shying away."

"Apparently, word travels fast to Elric's mom." Mijin's dad spoke, walking back to his partner. "She advices there is no need for us to assemble here since there is that additional procedure to be performed on Mora's brother. Considering the severity of our situations and all involved, it would be risky keeping all of us in one place too."

"Sweetheart, what happens after today? What happens to Mijin? She seems to open up to you more."

"She has always been secretive of the most important things. I wouldn't be surprised if she were to disappear into thin air. She's waited for this day forever."

"Yes. She is always planning ahead by herself, acting on her own."

"I'm so tired." Mijin's father yawned. "I'm gonna take a quick nap. I haven't rested well since our gym began picking up. I think we will need to employ more staff than we already have considering the number of personal sessions have increased." Resting his head on his wife's lap, he was fast asleep within seconds.

'You and I both know we will have to raise our own grandchild. We are only going to have our hands fuller than they already are. I hardly doubt our lives will get easier as you so often wish. I'm too tired sweetheart. They said it is going to be a girl. I hope she doesn't turn like our daughter.'

"Hey." A gentle tap could be felt on her shoulder as Mijin's mom opened her eyes, setting eyes on the doctor standing in front of her. "Sorry to wake you up."

She glanced down to her sleeping husband then looked back at the doctor. "What time is it?"

"I believe you slept for five hours or more. You two must have been very exhausted."

"Is it fine? Is she okay?" Mijin's mom couldn't hide her anxiety.

"Yes. Luckily she was able to deliver normally and her pairs scent helped a lot too in calming her down. We didn't need to do a C-section. They are both doing quite well as well. For now, Mijin is resting and her pair has been taken in for further treatment."

"The baby?"

"She is fine too. She's in the nursery sleeping."

"Can we see her?"

"Yes. One of my nurses will take you to her later. Her father gave her a temporary name after Mijin refused to partake in the naming. He said you are free to change its name afterwards. For now, you'll need it to be able to identify her in the nursery."

"Oh, okay. What is her name then?"

"Princess."