I’m Pregnant with My Friend’s Child - Chapter 2.2

She remembered that night with Woo Jae. Though they had been inexperienced, they had used protection. But once the thought crossed her mind, she couldn’t help but obsess over what had happened a month ago.

Lee Jin, her face pale, reentered the meeting room. The strong scent of cologne still made her nauseous, but she steadied her breath and took her seat.

“Where’s Attorney Cha Woo Jae?” she asked.

“No idea. After you left, it’s just been me here,” CEO Lee Do-joon replied.

Where did Woo Jae go, leaving the client alone?

There was no way an intern lawyer could handle this consultation without the partner present.

“Apologies, I’m feeling unwell today,” she explained.

“I was worried because I hadn’t heard from you since that day,” Lee Do-joon said, seizing the opportunity to make conversation in Woo Jae’s absence. He had tried to contact her a few times over the past month, but she had ignored his messages.
Could he have come here today just to talk to her in person?
“I couldn’t reach you, so I thought I’d come in person,” he added.
Oh, great. No wonder she had thought it strange that Lee Do-joon had shown up instead of his sister, Director Lee Do-hee.
She had thought their case was over, and she had gone on that date casually, assuming there would be no further professional interactions. But now things had gotten complicated. Clients’ post-service evaluations were part of the criteria for securing a full-time position, so handling this situation carefully was critical.

“I thought we had a connection that night,” he continued.

“Ah, I see…”

“Please give me another chance. I’m serious about you, Attorney Lee Jin.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m currently an intern. At the time, I only went out with you because the case was finished. Now that your company has rehired us, meeting outside the office would be inappropriate,” Lee Jin replied, managing to keep her voice steady despite her pale complexion. With everything on her mind about Woo Jae, she didn’t have the energy to deal with Do-joon’s advances, but she didn’t need to explain those details.
Lee Do-joon’s face fell, clearly disappointed.

“If I had known that, I would’ve hired a different firm…”
Before the atmosphere grew even more awkward, Woo Jae returned to the room. He handed a packet of digestive medicine to Lee Jin and motioned for her to take it.

“Attorney Lee, please step out for now. I’ll handle the rest,” Woo Jae said, his tone firm.

One of the essential traits for a lawyer was the stamina to endure heavy workloads. It wasn’t an exaggeration when people joked that no lawyer at one of Korea’s top three law firms got more than four hours of sleep a night.

But today wasn’t a day where even her stubbornness could get her through. She realized that staying in front of the client against the partner’s orders would only reflect poorly on her professionalism, so she obediently stood and bowed to the client.

“Thank you for your time. I’ll see you next time.”

“Yes, I’ll be in touch,” Lee Do-joon replied.

His promise to “be in touch” made Woo Jae’s eyes harden with coldness.

When Lee Jin left the room, it was clear that Lee Do-joon was disappointed. Exhausted, she made her way toward the elevator, hearing Woo Jae’s deep, steady voice echoing from the meeting room behind her.

Shortly after, her phone buzzed with a message from Woo Jae.
Don’t worry about the work evaluation. Just take a half-day off.
Don’t stress, she replied before heading back to her desk. Taking time off wouldn’t make the mountain of briefs and complaints disappear. If anything, tomorrow’s workload would pile up even more. As much as she wanted to rest, pushing through seemed like the only option.

No sooner had she sat down than Kim So-jin from the litigation team approached, holding a draft for the HW Finance case.
“Attorney Lee, what should we do? Attorney Kang Joo-taek wants you to finalize this by tonight and get it approved.”

“Sure, leave it here,” Lee Jin responded.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it.”

Lee Jin reached for the herbal digestive drink Woo Jae had bought for her but stopped when she noticed the warning label: Not recommended for pregnant women. She hesitated, then set the bottle back down.

It’s probably nothing… right?

Even though she was inclined to believe it wasn’t an issue, something about it made her uneasy.

Since interns and litigation staff didn’t have private offices, they all worked together in the 19th-floor open-plan workspace.
It was already past 9 p.m., but a few coworkers were still scattered around, glued to their desks.

Lee Jin had just returned from getting her draft approved by Attorney Kang Joo-taek. Not wanting to disturb anyone, she quietly packed up her belongings, slinging her handbag over her shoulder and grabbing her heels in a shopping bag. She headed out of the office.

“Finished for the day?”

Woo Jae’s voice caught her by surprise. His office was on the 25th floor, so he had no reason to be on the 19th floor, especially this late.

“Attorney Cha Woo Jae?” she replied, keeping the formal tone they always used at work. Even though it felt awkward, he was a senior partner, and using informal language wasn’t an option.
“How are you feeling?” he asked gently, his concern making her heart race.

Even though she felt drained from the long day and her health had been shaky, she forced a smile. Woo Jae would only worry more if she let on how bad she really felt.

“I’m alright.”

The elevator doors opened, and they both stepped inside. Once the doors closed, she exhaled, feeling self-conscious about anyone noticing Woo Jae waiting for her.

“Let’s go to the hospital,” Woo Jae said, taking her hand just as she reached for the button to the first floor. Instead, he pressed the button for the basement.

“Why the basement?” Lee Jin asked, pulling her hand back in surprise.

“I brought my car.”

“But you walked to work this morning…”

“I went home and got it so I could take you to the hospital.”
“What? Why?”

“Lee Jin, are you really going to keep neglecting your health like this?”

Lee Jin looked up at him, her flats making him seem even taller than usual. His face was full of concern, his brows furrowed slightly, though he remained calm.

“It’s just indigestion. I’m probably just overtired. It’s already past 9 p.m., and you know what emergency rooms are like. I’ll end up waiting for hours. By the time I’m home, it’ll be after midnight, and I’ll be even more exhausted. Right now, sleep is the best remedy.”

The elevator doors opened, and Woo Jae sighed heavily, as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders, before walking ahead.

It hit her that, despite his busy schedule, Woo Jae had gone all the way home to bring his car just for her. It was as if he knew exactly how much she hated taking taxis and made the extra effort, even during this hectic day, to look after her.
Today felt like a return to the friendship they had before anything intimate had happened between them.

Even though Woo Jae’s caring actions made her heart flutter, Lee Jin thought that maybe if she continued to hide her feelings, they could remain friends forever. But what if they became more than friends?

They would be happy for a while, but could she handle the potential heartbreak if they were ever to break up? Just imagining not being able to see him made her chest tighten painfully.

How did things end up like this? They bickered constantly, yet she couldn’t bear the thought of losing Woo Jae. Ever since that night, she had started seeing him differently—he had begun to appear as more than just a friend.

Whenever she lay in bed, her mind replayed the memory of that night over and over. Every time they crossed paths at the office, her heart would drop into her stomach.

She even found herself smiling when thinking about him.
Sometimes, she’d hold back her feelings when she saw him respond curtly to Seon-hwa’s chatty messages in their group chat. Despite his gruff exterior, it only made her heart race more.
However, when she really thought about it, her feelings for Woo Jae weren’t just romantic. She deeply cherished him as a friend, maybe even more than as a man.

After all, it was Woo Jae who had always supported her, who had helped her become the person she was today.

Could she really risk their friendship, which had been such a constant in her life, for the fleeting excitement of romance?
Besides, if she secured a full-time position at the firm and followed the standard promotion track, she’d have to go to the U.S. within three years. Unlike graduates who had passed the bar exam or had family connections, her only path to becoming a partner lawyer at a large firm was by earning an American law certification. She had worked tirelessly toward that goal, studying relentlessly for three years. It was her dream—to succeed in her 30s after wandering through her 20s.

Long-distance might be an option, but given how demanding her work was in Korea, how could she juggle both a career and studying in the U.S. while maintaining a relationship? It seemed impossible.

And meeting Woo Jae now, before she even had a permanent position, didn’t feel right. Success was important to her. She couldn’t just jump into a relationship without having secured her career first.

“Get in, Jin,” Woo Jae called, opening the passenger door of his sleek black sedan, waiting for her to climb in. He gently helped her settle in before walking around to the driver’s seat.
As the car pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward her home, Woo Jae, who had been quietly focused on the road, spoke up.

“I convinced you to join our firm because of my selfish reasons,” he said cautiously.

“Huh?” she responded, surprised.

“If this is too much for you, why not consider moving to a smaller firm? With Taejung on your resume, you’d be welcomed anywhere,” he suggested sincerely.

“Why is that your selfishness? I like our firm. There’s pride in working for one of the top three law firms. And even if I’m from Taejung, I’m still just an intern. It’s not like a smaller firm would treat me any differently without a permanent position,” she explained.

“But your health is suffering,” he said quietly.

“My sister had to give up her career just because she got pregnant after university. I don’t want that for myself—I want to succeed,” Lee Jin replied, her voice steady.

After she spoke, the atmosphere in the car became noticeably heavy.

I’ve been building walls around myself, she realized.

It hit her then why Woo Jae had never crossed the line with her. She had unintentionally kept him at a distance, focusing so much on her career and her fear of ending up like her sister.
“Men. I can’t stand them. Look at my brother-in-law, doing nothing around the house. He acts like he’d give the world, but men are all the same,” her sister had once complained.

In their school days, Lee Jin’s older sister, Ha Jin, had been just as academically gifted as her. With both sisters holding the top rank in their high school, their father took immense pride in his daughters.

However, before Ha Jin could graduate from college, she became pregnant and chose to marry her first love—the man who had once promised she’d never have to lift a finger. She was too lonely to choose her career over having the baby, and her boyfriend had seemed dependable enough to rely on.

Even in college, Ha Jin had been a standout student, preparing for the civil service exam with everyone expecting her to secure a high-ranking government position. But despite her strong, resilient exterior, Ha Jin had secretly felt isolated. Her boyfriend, who had also lost his parents young, became the person she leaned on, and together they decided to build a life and home of their own.

Without a mother to guide her, Ha Jin had no idea how demanding it would be to raise twin boys. No matter how hard she tried to clean, the house would become a disaster again in the blink of an eye.

Marrying young and having twins was difficult for Ha Jin, but it was equally tough for her husband, who also shouldered the burden of starting a family at a young age without much support.
Determined to build a stable foundation before the kids started school, the couple threw themselves into work. Her husband worked two jobs—at an office during the day and at a logistics center at night—pushing his physical limits to earn money.