Divorce Contract C100

Chapter 100

Go Igyeol, realizing Im Yeonhui would not let him go so easily, nodded as if resigned. To ask Shin Eunsuk, who held him close and looked so anxious, to go on ahead felt nothing but shameful. He could not understand why he kept finding himself in situations like this. If only there were some kind of academy where one could learn how to firmly refuse, he thought fleetingly—an absurd thought that still crossed his mind.

Eunsuk, her displeasure plain just as it had been last time, firmly declared that she would wait, despite Igyeol trying to send her ahead. She remembered all too clearly what state he had returned in that day.

“Let’s go together, hm?”

“…It’s all right. Truly. It’s different from that time.”

“Still—!”

“It’s cold. Please, go inside quickly. I’ll follow soon.”

At his powerless smile, she could not insist further. Pushed away, Eunsuk reluctantly withdrew. Throughout their exchange, Yeonhui had held herself with impeccable composure. She inclined her head slightly, then turned her back first. Igyeol squeezed Eunsuk’s hand tightly for a brief moment before letting go and following Yeonhui. Eunsuk, once again forced to let him go, sighed with a heavy heart.

“Ha…”

Inside the café, Igyeol’s eyes lingered on Eunsuk, still visible through the glass, her worry keeping her rooted in place. He silently wished she would not remain long in the cold wind that tossed her hair.

“What will you have to drink?”

“…I don’t need anything, thank you.”

“Very well. I’ll have an Americano with an extra shot. Secretary Gil, you should order something as well. You’ll grow bored waiting. And you haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

Igyeol’s eyes widened in surprise. Each time he had met Yeonhui before, she had shown only hysteria or false, mask-like gentleness. To see her speak so tenderly to another was utterly unfamiliar. Startled by the contrast, he found himself staring at the secretary. Then Yeonhui, as if remembering something, chuckled at her own lapse and tugged the secretary’s wrist.

“Ah, is this your first time meeting Secretary Gil? Isn’t she pretty? She’s polite and works so well.”

The satisfaction in her tone sounded strange. That there was someone who pleased her so much was astonishing. Smiling, she rose with her secretary, touching her shoulder lightly, drawing her close, and leaning in to whisper at her ear as if it were the most natural thing. The new secretary was a young, gentle-looking woman, with an air entirely opposite to Yeonhui’s sharp and cynical demeanor.

At Yeonhui’s whisper, the secretary murmured assent and turned her eyes toward Igyeol. Their gazes met, and Igyeol bowed slightly in greeting.

“Pleased to meet you.”

“I’ll be in your care.”

“That’s enough with the greetings. Don’t forget to order something for yourself, Gil.”

Yeonhui’s gaze on her secretary brimmed with affection. Unlike the secretaries she had employed before, these two already seemed close. Today, despite her usual dislike for noisy, crowded places, Yeonhui appeared quite at ease. Feeling Igyeol’s watchful gaze, she smiled faintly and remarked that after a few visits she had discovered such lively places gave her energy. Igyeol kept his head bowed, giving no reply.

“Ahem. Well then, where shall we begin?”

“……”

“I heard our grandson will be discharged this weekend. Is he doing well now?”

By now, Igyeol was not even curious how she knew. He answered in a barely audible murmur.

“Yes.”

“And your postpartum care? Are you taking proper care of yourself? It’s so important, you know. You must recover well if you are to give Ihyeon a sibling. Surely you don’t plan to raise him alone, leaving him lonely? Since the first is an Alpha, it would be perfect if the second were an Omega.”

“……”

“Worried the child might inherit your traits? Don’t fret. If the first is dominant, usually the second will be as well. You’ll save yourself trouble by having another while you’re still young. Before our precious first grandson turns one, you and Dohyeon should try for another.”

On and on she went, as though reciting from a prepared script, urging him in her lively voice to give birth again quickly, insisting it was easier to raise children all at once. She, who had borne only one child herself for fear of ruining her body. She carried on, uncaring of his stiffened expression, declaring how happy she would be when the house rang with children’s laughter. Igyeol’s brow furrowed in pain.

“So then—when Ihyeon is discharged, why don’t you come to the main house and live with us? I’ll help with your recovery and care for the baby, while you focus on regaining your strength. It will be convenient for Dohyeon, too, commuting from there. At times like these, one must accept help from elders. The more hands, the easier the child is to raise. Who else will tell you such things, hm?”

“……”

“There is no need to feel burdened with gratitude. Just come to the house.”

She spoke with self-importance, as though the decision were already made. Even without his consent, she behaved as though he had already entered her home.

“I’ve prepared so much to help with your recovery. You’ll be astonished when you see. Naturally, I must do at least this much to welcome a new member of the family. Still… how cold Dohyeon can be. That boy is the eldest grandson of our family, and yet he hasn’t shown him to us once. So heartless.”

She laughed lightly, disparaging Dohyeon. At that, Igyeol blinked in surprise. He had believed the baby would remain unseen by anyone but himself, yet this was unexpected.

“Whom does he resemble more? Since he’s an Alpha, surely Dohyeon?”

Her impatience to see Seo Ihyeon, her softened attitude—it all made sense now. Once the child was under her roof, she could do as she pleased.

“He must be so beautiful. I’m so eager for the day I meet him, I can hardly sleep.”

Her cheeks flushed with excitement. Igyeol, after a pause, finally spoke.

“…We are divorcing, Mother.”

“What?”

Just then, the secretary returned with their drinks, setting the tray on the table. Yeonhui’s expression twisted in irritation, but she told Gil to wait elsewhere in a softened tone. With a worried glance at her mistress, Gil bowed politely and withdrew.

“Say that again. What did you just say?”

“Seo Dohyeon and I—we are divorcing.”

“You mean because of that incident? You would divorce over a little misunderstanding between husband and wife?”

Her smiling lips fell back into place. Running a hand over her perfectly set hair, she continued.

“Had you not reconciled? You’re living together, aren’t you? Though of course, the hurt may not yet have eased, in time it would fade. Why must you be so dramatic?”

The affectionate mask of a gentle mother-in-law cracked in an instant. No longer needing to conceal her true nature, she let her expression harden.

“Divorce is for those who can afford it, child.”

“……”

“All right, suppose you and Dohyeon do divorce. What about the child?”

“Seo Dohyeon said he would give me custody. I will raise him.”

For the first time, facing Yeonhui without having done any wrong, Igyeol spoke his will plainly. She snorted.

“You think that’s possible?”

“He is my child. The one I bore, my child.”

“He is our family’s bloodline. Do you think without Dohyeon you could have birthed an Alpha—let alone a dominant Alpha? You dare lay claim to our blood? It’s laughable. You have no means, no fortune. What right have you to covet him? Where will you raise him? You have no home, no family. Where?”

“……”

“Come quietly to the main house. Then I’ll pretend this insolence never happened. Our relations will mend, as they should. Don’t you agree?”

The tenderness was gone. Now, each word struck him with practiced cruelty, as natural as breathing.

“This is why those without proper upbringing are unfit. The moment you bear a child, you grow grasping and vulgar, just like this.”

“Mother. We are divorcing. Seo Dohyeon and I have both agreed.”

“Ah, so you mean to profit from that child? Your father, what, told you to squeeze us by holding our bloodline hostage, to secure yourself a fine payout?”

“That’s not it. I want nothing. Only… to raise the child.”

But even as he insisted he desired nothing, Yeonhui refused to believe him. With a sneer, she said she knew his sort well. His ears burned. He bowed his head, covering them with his hands, as her words pierced him like thorns. He thought himself long inured, but each time they gouged at his heart anew.

“No, child. A parent must not turn a child into profit. You’re far too young for such sordidness… tch.”

With her scolding, the old hallucinations roared back, bringing with them an itch beneath his skin and that foul, suffocating stench. He could not think straight. Almost unconsciously, he dug his nails into his flesh, scoring his wrists and hands until blood welled.

“What are you doing here.”

Then—a presence at his side. The sound of harsh breathing above his head. Eyes wet with tears lifted, and Seo Dohyeon’s voice reverberated through him like a wave.