Divorce Contract C55

Chapter 55

 Go Igyeol paused for a moment, then gave a slight nod as he glanced at Na Seunghui, who stood by Im Yeonhui’s side with a startled expression. However, the man ignored Go Igyeol’s greeting, opened his briefcase, and handed over a brown envelope to Im Yeonhui. She passed it to Go Igyeol as though tossing it carelessly away. He struck his own chest and bent down to retrieve the envelope that had fallen to the floor. From above his head, Na Seunghui’s voice could be heard.

“These are the divorce-by-mutual-consent documents. Every clause in the agreement was written under the condition of confidentiality. Madam was very considerate of you, Go Igyeol, choosing not to pursue a lawsuit despite everything, because she took into account the years you still spent together as a family.”

“……”

“There’s nothing worth reading or hesitating over. Just sign. Do you have a pen? Secretary Yoon, give me a pen. Sit down. Do it sitting right there.”

As Im Yeonhui relentlessly pressed forward, Yoon Jaeseon tried to dissuade her, saying that the Executive Director should come and hold a discussion together. In silence, Go Igyeol picked up the documents and sat down on the sofa. When he opened the envelope and took out the papers, Im Yeonhui clicked her tongue in irritation.

“Leave the documents behind and I’ll review them with the Executive Director. If you do this, it’s me who ends up being scolded, madam.”

“Secretary Yoon, stay out of this and keep quiet. The sooner he signs, the sooner Seunghui can file it at the court.”

“Even so, the Executive Director should at least review it once.”

“That’s enough, that’s enough. If you’re only going to spout such useless talk, then go outside and buy yourself a drink or something.”

Im Yeonhui sat opposite Go Igyeol and fixed her fiery gaze on him as he held the pen. Without so much as reading a word of the contents, he obediently wrote his name neatly in the places requiring his signature, just as she had said.

“I really didn’t think you were like this, Go Igyeol-ssi. Honestly… you look like such a different person now.”

“……”

“How could you do such a thing?”

Having finished signing and stamping each section until the last page, Go Igyeol placed the divorce papers and the agreement back into the envelope, then raised his head. For the brief moment when his eyes met Na Seunghui’s, the man thought to himself with admiration that his youthful look had now shed its boyish trace, shaded instead with a melancholy that created an air of maturity. Truly, if that could be called a kind of talent, then it was a startling one. That such an omega, with looks charming enough to entice even him, had managed to lure in another alpha to the point of pregnancy and childbirth—it was remarkable in every way.

“Sun-woo is doing well, isn’t he? Back then… please tell him I’m sorry.”

“No, there will be nothing to tell. Please make sure there won’t be any chance of running into our Sun-woo ever again either.”

Accepting the envelope from Go Igyeol’s weary hands without looking him further in the eye, Na Seunghui turned his head away.

“It’s done, Mother.”

“Yes, thanks to you, Seunghui, things went so smoothly. I don’t know how to thank you. Come, let’s go—let me treat you to a nice dinner.”

“It was nothing. Of course I should help. Besides, Dohyeon is special to me too.”

Na Seunghui smiled and linked arms with Im Yeonhui. Watching this scene, Yoon Jaeseon thought to himself that this lawyer truly wasn’t ordinary. Just how close was he to the madam that he could speak so casually in front of Seo Dohyeon’s own spouse, Go Igyeol?

“Oh my, how kind-hearted you are. Then, could I ask one more favor? Could you go directly to the company to get Dohyeon’s signature?”

“Yes, I can do that. Don’t worry so much. I’ll offer comfort and support for Dohyeon as well.”

Im Yeonhui clasped Na Seunghui’s hand with a gentle smile. Across from them, Go Igyeol sat listening carefully to their every word. Keeping his face expressionless, he forced a smile nonetheless, fearing that otherwise he would hear their rebuke again. Even to himself, his own figure appeared pitiful. In the midst of this, an echo of Seo Dohyeon’s mocking voice resounded in his head. Every time Na Seunghui called out “Mother” to Im Yeonhui, he heard that contemptuous voice sneering at him: vulgar, degrading him once again.

“Let’s get up, Mother.”

“Yes, let’s. Ah, dear, I barely slept a wink last night, worried you might cause an uproar again, refusing the divorce.”

“Since the decisive fault lies with Go Igyeol-ssi, it wouldn’t be a problem even if it were to progress to a lawsuit.”

“Would it? Then that’s such a relief. Come, I’m finally feeling hungry.”

Hand in hand with Na Seunghui, Im Yeonhui rose with a picturesque smile spreading across her face. Without sparing Go Igyeol so much as a glance, she turned her body away.

“…Please get home safely.”

Standing as well, Go Igyeol bowed his head toward the two, though they had already turned their backs. His wan farewell went unheeded. With only a parting order for Yoon Jaeseon to stay a while before leaving, Im Yeonhui stepped out of the hospital room.

Clatter—the door closed. Left alone together, the tension drained from Yoon Jaeseon, and he let out a deep sigh. He felt helpless about how to even make a report of this, and when he turned his attention to Go Igyeol, the man was silently shedding thick tears, unaware even of his own weeping.

“…Are you all right, sir?”

Though he wanted to ask why on earth he had done such a thing, when he saw that wordless, tear-streaked face, all that came out was another sigh.

“You should… have something to eat.”

He was not in any position to console Go Igyeol for crying, so he thought it better simply to urge him toward food. Upon hearing it, Go Igyeol collapsed down as though the tension had left him completely. With bony hands covering his face, his shoulders trembled with sobs. Rubbing his wet cheeks dry, he bit down on his lip while gazing up at the ceiling, his expression so pitiful that it was unbearable to see.

“…Ha.”

Wiping away tears that trailed down his eyes in long streaks, Go Igyeol exhaled a long sigh. At that moment, the very person Yoon Jaeseon had been waiting so desperately for, Seo Dohyeon, finally opened the hospital door and stepped inside.

Arriving at the hospital just before 6 o’clock, in the nick of time, Seo Dohyeon went straight to see Go Igyeol’s attending doctor. From him, he received confirmation that it was impossible for the test results to have been mistaken. At that, he felt as though the ground beneath his feet had collapsed as he walked out of the consultation room. Whether it was possible or not, he no longer intended to bother questioning it. Spending time on such meaningless reasoning suddenly felt like a waste.

For the first time in his life, Seo Dohyeon experienced a crushing sense of helplessness as he made his way toward the NICU to face the baby he had never once seen before.

“This way, please. From next time, visits are allowed about thirty minutes at the designated times, so please refer to the guidelines and come during those hours. Today you’re allowed because the attending doctor reached out to grant permission.”

Wearing the gown handed to him by the nurse, and rubbing sanitizer onto his hands, Seo Dohyeon followed behind her into the neonatal intensive care unit.

“Ms. Go Igyeol’s baby is admitted to the main incubator at the center. Because the baby is very small and requires intensive care, we placed him in a spot where the nurses can check frequently.”

“…The baby seems… far too small.”

“Ah, yes. Mr. Goh’s baby was born at 29 weeks, weighing 1 kilogram, but he’s lost some weight since then due to meconium passing and fluid loss. If you just give it two to three weeks, even if slowly, he should steadily return to his birth weight. Please keep cheering him on so he won’t grow weary and can keep fighting to grow strong.”

The nurse smiled softly as she gazed at the baby. She shared every detail of what she knew about his condition with Seo Dohyeon, leaving nothing out.

“Right now, the baby cannot breathe on his own, so an endotracheal tube has been inserted. The eye covering is because he’s undergoing phototherapy for jaundice, so it’s there for protection. He’s currently being kept under sedation for stability.”

The baby was barely more than two handspans in length, his arm thinner than Seo Dohyeon’s finger, with an IV needle inserted. Born eleven weeks too early, he had been unable to grow sufficiently; no wonder he looked so fragile.

“Is his life not in danger?”

“Well… Because his brain, eyes, heart, and intestines were all born underdeveloped, we can’t promise that there will be no issues. For now, we’ll be carefully monitoring him here, and if more tests become necessary, we’ll let you know. The fortunate thing is that his condition isn’t markedly different from other babies born at the same gestational age. So you don’t need to worry just yet.”

Informing him that visiting time was over, the nurse guided a still-lingering Seo Dohyeon away from the NICU.

“There are even babies here who were born earlier than Mr. Goh’s, and they’re all growing healthily and have been discharged.”

“I thought being just eleven weeks premature wasn’t so serious, but seeing how unbelievably small he is, it’s overwhelming.”

As he removed the gown, Seo Dohyeon spoke, and the nurse replied that everyone reacted that way, smiling gently.

“You see, they say that a single day in the womb is equal to about a whole week outside. So, when you hear eleven weeks, you think two and a half months early—but really, in the incubator a baby must fight for a whole week to grow just as much as a single day in the mother’s womb. That’s how different it is.”

“I see.”

“So please come visit often. Babies know. They can tell that their father has come to see them. Well then, I’ll see you next visiting hour.”

With a polite bow, the nurse slipped back into the intensive care unit. Left outside for a brief daze, Seo Dohyeon eventually made his way forward. Ever since seeing the DNA test results, the emotions he had been feeling—he wondered if it was accurate to call them guilt. He could no longer be sure. What he did know was that he had begun to feel a creeping disgust toward himself.