Chapter 2
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Starting Again from the Sperm
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Donghyun came back to his senses surrounded by a hazy, milky liquid.
What the hell? What's going on?
He tried to shake off the dizziness and gather his thoughts, but just then, something bumped his shoulder and swam past.
Ugh!
It was a light collision, but his body floated buoyantly and shot forward.
If this hadn't been inside liquid, it would've been enough impact to snap a bone somewhere.
Which bastard was that!
Donghyun righted himself and scanned for the culprit, catching a glimpse of what looked like a tail wriggling away.
...Damn, it's fast.
He started to chase it but stopped. It was too quick to catch, and even if he did, there was no guarantee he'd win a fight against it.
First things first, I need to get out of this weird place.
Right then, his body jolted.
The liquid surged forward like a tidal wave in a typhoon.
Whooooosh!
It hit with enough force to rip his head and tail clean off.
Huh? Tail? Why do I have a tail?
Donghyun forced his head up to look down at himself.
Only then did he get a proper look at his body.
A sleek form with a long tail.
Or was it even a tail?
More like a tentacle or something.
Pushed along by the impact, Donghyun spotted other bizarre creatures.
They were all like him: heads with tentacles.
Donghyun cautiously approached the nearest one and spoke up.
"Hey, mind if I ask you something?"
"...Nyum nyum nyum."
"Pardon?"
"...Nyum nyum nyum!"
The thing suddenly stiffened and bolted off somewhere.
No, it swam forward, whipping its tail.
And that motion looked just like...
Sperm?
Haha, no way.
Donghyun shook his head, trying to dismiss it. But the other sperm around him shot past, ignoring him.
If these really are sperm... then that shock just now was...?
Sure enough, people do say it never fails.
Far off, strangely shaped things grabbed sperm and tore them apart whole, swallowing them down.
They were leukocytes, with heads taking up most of their bodies and freakishly long legs.
Gasp!
The sperm fled forward to escape the leukocytes.
One spotted Donghyun and bounced toward him.
What the hell is that!
"Woof woof woof woof!"
"Get lost!"
The leukocytes barked like dogs.
Donghyun whipped his tail and swam away.
His body—whatever it was—moved faster than expected. His tail was noticeably longer than the others'.
Whoooosh—
Once he accelerated, he easily shook off the leukocyte.
Whew, what a pain.
Swimming swiftly through the milky fluid, Donghyun came to a fork splitting left and right.
If I'm sperm, this must be the fallopian tubes, right?
The one class he'd actually paid attention to in school was sex ed, so he knew more about the "miracles of the human body" than anyone.
Fuck. Even from the sperm stage, it's a 50% gamble. Life's a bitch!
Pick left and the egg's on the right? You're done. Unfertilized sperm didn't exactly get VIP treatment.
Eaten by those leukocyte bastards or just wither away pathetically.
Donghyun hesitated, unable to decide.
Then a massive sperm barreled up from behind. Even at a glance, it was huge and intimidating.
"Wh-what? That's sperm?"
"Grr grr grr grr!"
The king sperm glanced at both tubes and shot right without a second thought.
The others arriving behind it mostly veered to whichever was closer.
...That one's gotta be a golden sperm.
Not golden spoon yet unborn, so golden sperm fit better.
Donghyun knew their type well.
The kind where honey drips from the heavens no matter what they choose.
Lemme taste that honey too!
Donghyun swam right after the king sperm.
Any blocking his path got a merciless tail-whip.
Thwack!
Thwack!
"Outta my way, you punks!"
Having cleared most obstacles, Donghyun finally saw his target ahead.
The egg!
A massive egg-shaped thing, already swarmed by countless sperm.
Donghyun rushed to stick to its surface, but then he spotted the king sperm just hanging back.
What's up? Why's that guy just floating there?
A strange feeling hit him, and Donghyun backed off.
Like a panorama, his teacher's words from sex ed flashed through his mind.
"Pregnancy happens between a cunning egg and the second-place sperm! To meet, sperm must first break through the egg's surrounding cells. The first arrivals do that hard work! Once they're through, later sperm slip past the zona pellucida and fuse. So you're all winners of an observation game!"
Damn, almost fed the dog my kill.
As the teacher said, these guys were probably busy piercing the protective cells.
Donghyun needed to dart through a thinning spot.
...But no matter how I slice it, I can't beat that king sperm.
No amount of tail-whipping would outpace it.
The king would burrow in with a few strokes.
Life's about timing. Time to hitch a ride.
Donghyun glued himself right behind the king sperm.
Finally, a hole broke through—the king charged in fiercely.
If I can't win, I'll tag along!
He dodged the tail and slapped onto its body.
As expected, the king punched through quick and slipped inside.
Its tail snapped off in the process.
Now!
Donghyun shoved his head into the still-open hole.
The egg's wall hardened gradually.
Ugh! Just a bit more!
He felt his rear tail sever with a snip, then sweet relief.
Hahaha! I'm in! Made it!
Outside the rapidly sealing wall, thousands—tens of thousands—of sperm swarmed.
"See ya, losers!"
Gazing at the unfertilized rejects, Donghyun felt an inexplicable triumph and thrill.
Three months later.
Donghyun had grown until most of his body formed. Fingers and toes: all five each. A decent size overall. And the most important male part was there too.
...Phew, thank goodness.
He'd worried endlessly the past three months about possibly being born female. But nope—proudly male.
Donghyun turned to check his siblings.
Those guys have it too. Triplets, huh.
Surprisingly, three sperm had made it inside the egg.
The other two were monstrously big and strong, like the king sperm.
Even as mere three-month fetuses, they were already larger than him.
Doesn't matter—I'm the eldest no matter what.
To grow bigger somehow, Donghyun greedily absorbed nutrients from the placenta.
He didn't want to be the runt at birth.
Park Jeong-a visited a Seoul hospital with her husband, Im Myeonghan. Three months pregnant, but her belly was hugely swollen. She worried something might be wrong with her uterus or the babies.
Upon arrival, she checked straight into the VIP room.
Possible only because it was the affiliate hospital of Seonjin Group, where her husband was chairman.
Less than an hour after admission, she got an ultrasound in her room.
Beep—
The doctor peered at the screen with a troubled look.
Im Myeonghan and Park Jeong-a's faces darkened too.
"...Is something wrong with the baby?"
"N-no, Madam. It's just..."
"Just what? Don't keep us in suspense—speak up."
Urged by Im Myeonghan, the doctor answered quickly.
"...The babies are growing incredibly fast. That's why your belly's so big. No need to worry."
"Phew, that's a relief. Babies? Plural?"
"You didn't know? Triplets."
"Triplets?"
An ambiguous smile—joy or not?—crossed Im Myeonghan's face.
The doctor glanced at the ultrasound and continued.
"All three boys too. Congratulations, Chairman."
"...Haha, all boys?"
The chairman tried to hold it in, but his lips twitched upward anyway.
Married late in his forties, he'd feared infertility, but one shot yielded triplets.
"Congratulations, honey. You wanted sons."
Im Myeonghan hugged his wife tight.
A former bachelor for life, she'd changed even that conviction. Kissing her forehead, he thought marrying her was the best decision ever.
Another seven months passed. Donghyun realized birth was imminent.
Finally free from those annoying pests. Whew.
His two superior siblings were hyperactive, kicking nonstop. The relatively calm Donghyun got elbowed or kneed constantly.
Delivery was C-section, not natural.
The triplets were too big for vaginal birth.
...Finally, the outside world?
Donghyun thrashed to exit first. Thanks to that, the doctor pulled him out foremost.
Yes! Eldest!
Then—
Before he could cheer, the doctor grabbed and dangled him upside down.
"Huh? Why isn't the baby crying?"
Smack!
Wh-what! Don't hit me!
"Ah... Waah!"
Donghyun twisted in protest, but it was useless.
Babies need to cry to clear their airways. No cry meant spanking until they did.
The doctor smacked harder.
Smack!
"Uh... Waaaaaah!!"
Finally, Donghyun let out a mighty wail, expelling his first breath.
Was it past life's grudges surging up? Once started, the sobs wouldn't stop easily.
Please, this life—just let me live happily!
He prayed desperately to whatever unknown force. Meanwhile, the second and third were born too.
All healthy boys.