Divorce Contract C16

Chapter 16

Go Igyeol nodded and rubbed at the corners of his eyes, still heavy with drowsiness. Hunger was easier to endure than sleepiness. When he was asleep, even the nausea subsided, so his sleeping hours had steadily increased. On many days, once Seo Dohyeon left for work, he would spend the entire day asleep. His poor health had also delayed again and again his plan to go out and sell the accessories he had set aside.

“You look thinner every time I see you.”

“…Do I? I don’t really notice.”

“Even your face looks like it’s about to disappear.”

“What kind of thing is that to say.”

Feeling absurd at the comment, Igyeol thought he should have looked in the mirror one more time before leaving the house.

“So where are we going?”

“Let’s eat. I’m hungry.”

“Eat?”

“Want to go get udon?”

At Na Seonwoo’s question, Igyeol nodded without further hesitation. Recently, the only things he had managed to eat were a few slices of apple and some bananas. He had thought fruit would go down easily, but it hadn’t. The things that would actually pass his throat were very limited.

When he had gone for a regular check-up looking more haggard than in the early stages of pregnancy, the doctor had pitied him for not being able to eat anything due to morning sickness and had given him IV fluids and nutritional supplements. They warned that if his weight kept dropping every day it would be dangerous, so he should force himself to find something he could eat. But there was nothing he wanted.

The only cravings that had grown lately were for Seo Dohyeon’s pheromones and for sleep. Yet because pheromones inevitably came with acts that couldn’t be avoided, he had mostly given up and chosen sleep instead.

“So, does your spouse know now?”

“Ah, of course. He knows.”

Igyeol let a lie slip without realizing it. He knew he shouldn’t, but once the lie was out, it only grew larger and larger, uncontrollably.

“He must worry a lot, seeing you so thin like this.”

“…Naturally, yes.”

“Do you receive pheromones often?”

“Yes, often. Morning and evening, he always gives them.”

His voice didn’t tremble, but his restless fingers twined together nervously, unable to stay still. Igyeol didn’t even glance at Seonwoo, keeping his eyes fixed on the window as he tried to steady his pounding heart.

“You’re still not eating, then?”

“…Yeah. Still the same. What about you? Have you been busy lately?”

“Semester started, so I go to school, then in the afternoon to the office. I should quit, but since my brother’s been so busy, I end up coming out to help again.”

“Ah… So the dates have already gotten that far along.”

As quickly as the days went by, the calendar advanced just as fast. March was already coming to an end. Without realizing it, Igyeol placed a hand on his stomach. To others it wasn’t visible yet, but he himself could feel the slight swelling.

Even while they ate udon, the two shared little conversation. Back in school, they hadn’t been particularly close, and now, with the secret he was hiding discovered, the meeting was unbearably awkward. Burying his face almost into the wide bowl as he sucked up noodles, Igyeol was startled when his phone buzzed. He set down his chopsticks in surprise.

“What is it?”

“A call. I’ll step outside to answer. Keep eating.”

Igyeol rose and walked straight out. The shop was quiet enough that he could have answered inside, but still he stepped away. Seonwoo’s gaze followed his retreating figure. Setting down the chopsticks he had been holding, he let out a faint sigh.

Jingling along with the sound of the door chime, Igyeol stepped outside and stared at the screen vibrating in his hand before swiping the green button.

“Hello?”

—“This is Seo Dohyeon.”

“…Yes.”

—“Have you eaten?”

At the voice traveling over the receiver, Igyeol swallowed dryly and nodded. I have eaten. But his voice echoed faintly, and Dohyeon immediately asked where he was.

“I met a friend.”

—“Na Seunghee’s cousin.”

“Na Seonwoo. He said Ms. Na Seunghee told him he could leave early today, so he contacted me before lunch to eat together….”

—“That works out well. I was planning to meet Na Seunghee around five anyway. If it’s alright, let’s all meet together.”

The words were so casual, as though it had been the plan from the beginning, that Igyeol asked again in surprise.

“Together? Why… all together?”

—“You’ve been spending time with this friend often lately, so I wanted to meet him too. I was going to arrange it separately, but since you’re already with him, let’s just do it now. I can see what kind of friend he is, and it’ll save time.”

“…I came out so carelessly, my clothes aren’t… and Seonwoo might have other plans, so I’d need to ask….”

—“Who are you trying so hard to impress? Don’t worry about your clothes. Since I’m meeting at five, just eat moderately there. You went for udon again, didn’t you.”

The faintly amused voice, so certain as if he didn’t even need to see, made Igyeol hold his breath. He couldn’t even bring himself to lie.

“……”

—“Don’t be late. I’ll send a car for you, so ride that.”

“Seonwoo… he brought his car. If I ask and he says he’ll go too… just give me the address, we’ll come ourselves.”

—“If he says he can’t make it, call me. I’ll come pick you up. See you later.”

Leaning against the wall, Igyeol closed his eyes and let out a low groan as soon as the call ended. Suddenly, unexpectedly—it was hard to explain the situation with any other words. Taking a long breath, he decided to first head back inside. He needed to check if the bowl was empty, and ask about evening plans. He prayed earnestly that Seonwoo would already have another engagement after lunch. But.

“Dinner? I’ve got plenty of time. Why?”

“…Tonight, your brother and Seo Dohyeon-ssi, so… my….”

“Ah, my brother’s dinner appointment is with your husband?”

“…He said, if you had time, we could all eat together. But if you’d be uncomfortable, then…”

The words implied he didn’t have to come, but Seonwoo didn’t seem to have either reason or desire to decline.

“Of course it’d be nice to see them all together.”

“……”

“I was curious anyway. About what kind of person he is.”

“Why would you be curious about that person…?”

As if his appetite had vanished, Igyeol picked up his glass of water and asked. Anxiety spread through him like ink bleeding along a stream.

“Why wouldn’t I be curious? Of course I would.”

“That’s…”

“You quit school and cut off contact with all the friends you used to be close to. And since you liked him, naturally I’d want to see what kind of extraordinary person you married.”

“I didn’t deliberately… cut things off. It just… happened naturally.”

Seonwoo brought up uncomfortable topics without a care. Igyeol sighed softly and scratched his cheek. When the awkward silence stretched, Seonwoo didn’t press him to eat more, simply rose from his seat. Nonchalantly telling Igyeol to pay, he even fussed from behind as if to distract him. Feeling both exasperated and amused, Igyeol handed over his card with a smile.

“But… don’t I look a bit… unpresentable?”

“Who? Me?”

“No, me. I’ve seen Ms. Na Seunghee before, but… never dressed like this.”

On one hand, he worried Seonwoo might mention the pregnancy in front of Dohyeon, and on the other, his sloppily casual outfit bothered him. A navy sweatshirt that covered most of his hands, light-colored jeans rolled up at the cuffs, and a beige cap. Seonwoo looked him over and replied simply that it suited him well.

“Doesn’t it look strange?”

“It makes you look like a freshman.”

“…That’s just a way of saying I look sloppy, isn’t it?”

“No, it means you look really young. Cute, even. Seunghee hyung’s past the age of being called cute, so he’ll probably just be jealous.”

Even with the reassurance, Igyeol still looked uneasy. Everyone else would probably be dressed like office workers, and he felt his outfit wouldn’t fit the occasion.

“Changing clothes now would be awkward… maybe I should buy something to wear.”

“Are you going to a matchmaking date? It’s just Seunghee and your husband. Why buy clothes for that? Makes me feel hurt—so I’m someone you can meet dressed however, but with him you’ve got to dress up? And I even confessed that I liked you.”

“No, it’s not like that…”

“Then just go like this. I’m telling you, it looks good. Really suits you. And besides, how could a pregnant person wear something uncomfortable? You need to dress for comfort.”

Even as they went down the stairs, Seonwoo held his arm as if worried he might trip, his protective fussing almost scolding.

“What, you want to dress up to impress someone? Just go as you are.”

And in the end, he echoed almost the same words as Seo Dohyeon.

The once-clear sky grew overcast, and soon raindrops began to fall. As the sudden downpour came, pedestrians hurried their pace. Feet splashed through puddles, scattering droplets in every direction. Igyeol and Seonwoo stood under the long awning of a café, unable to step out, watching the rain.

“Of all times, it had to rain now. Doesn’t look like it’ll stop soon.”

“…Right. Just as we were about to go.”

“I’ll get the car. Wait here a bit.”

“Why bother? Let’s just run together.”

Stretching out his hand into the air, Igyeol tested the drops and murmured. The cool wetness soaking his palm made him smile unknowingly. Unaware of Seonwoo’s eyes fixed on him, he gazed up at the gray sky and murmured again.

“It’s so close from here. I think we can just run for it.”

“…No. What if you fall? And it’s chilly—if you get caught in the rain and catch a cold, what then? You can’t even take cold medicine.”

“Where would you even park after bringing the car? That’s a problem too. Let’s just run. I’ve got a cap on, so I’ll be fine.”

At Igyeol’s firm words, Seonwoo hesitated, then shrugged off his cardigan. Puzzled eyes lifted toward him—You just said it’s cold, so why take that off, and in the rain too?

“Let’s go.”

“…What?”

“Put this over you. On the count of three, we run. Got it?”

“No, wait, then you’ll get soaked—”

Before Igyeol could finish, numbers slipped from Seonwoo’s lips. “Three!” With a grin like he was playing a fun prank, he pulled the cardigan over Igyeol’s head and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.