Divorce Contract C0

Prologue

After a desperate chase and a clumsy escape, the house he was dragged back into was cloaked in darkness. The living room, into which he stepped as though pushed, was dimly lit only by the moonlight. The house was warm, yet for some reason a chill made Go Igyeol’s body tremble again and again. Because he dragged his feet, unwilling to come inside, the slippers on his feet scraped against the floor, a grating sound breaking the silence of the house. Though Seo Dohyeon was well aware of Go Igyeol’s return, he continued to stand before the window, his back turned, unmoving for a long while.

Today, Seo Dohyeon’s frame appeared more imposing than ever, and Go Igyeol swallowed dryly without realizing it. Yet his taut nerves loosened almost at once, sensitive as they were to the lingering traces of Seo Dohyeon’s pheromones throughout the house. Shamelessly, he inhaled greedily, absorbing the pheromones he’d so desperately longed for. Though fear made him feel faint, the alpha’s scent drawn deep into his lungs was impossibly sweet, too sweet to endure.

Though faint, the pheromones calmed his unsettled stomach and cleared his dizzy vision. His body, on the verge of succumbing to pregnancy toxicosis, shivered as the scent seeped warmly into his veins. The pallid face, once ashen, was tinged with red as heat bloomed across it—just when Seo Dohyeon, who had remained fixed toward the outside, turned to face him.

“They say you’re pregnant.”

“…I, I can explain—.”

“So that was why you ran away?”

In the bluish moonlight, Seo Dohyeon’s expression was icily unreadable.

“Because you were afraid I’d find out?”

At his flat, emotionless voice, Igyeol’s body stiffened in tension. Never before in their married life had he seen such cold detachment. Raising the glass he held to his lips, Seo Dohyeon suddenly flung it in Igyeol’s direction, as though unable to hold back his surging anger. Though he had never been a tender husband, he had never acted out in such violence toward Igyeol.

Clash! Crash—. The crystal glass shattered into countless fragments against the marble floor. The sound rang out like a whip in the lonely silence, and Igyeol curled into himself instinctively, shielding his stomach with both arms. Striding forward, no longer in control of his fury, Seo Dohyeon raised his hand, only to falter when confronted with his partner’s emaciated frame. He let out a bitter, mocking laugh, then seized the trembling omega by the arm and dragged him close.

“Answer me. The child in your womb—is it mine?”

“……”

“So that’s why you asked for a divorce, wasn’t it? You told me yourself you wanted one. Once your belly began to show, I’d know you were pregnant, and then I’d find out the child wasn’t mine. So you struck first, didn’t you?”

His words flowed on, as though he had found clarity. Igyeol, unable to meet his gaze, suddenly lifted his head. His expression was as if he’d been slapped without being touched. His lips quivered, struggling to form a defense, while his eyes grew moist, quickly filling with tears.

“What… what are you saying…?”

Not once, not in all the time apart or on the way back here, had he imagined such a situation. Not once had he expected to hear those words. While hiding from Dohyeon, he had pictured countless encounters, but never one like this. Never had he imagined Seo Dohyeon demanding to know if the child was his.

“I don’t make mistakes.”

“…Then are you saying—.”

“If you were going to sleep around, at the very least you shouldn’t have pretended your body belonged only to me.”

“The baby is….”

The tears, brimming in his pale brown eyes, streamed down his face. Seo Dohyeon was utterly convinced that Igyeol had been unfaithful. He did not seem to consider the possibility that this could be his child. How could he think that? Igyeol was bewildered, devastated. He couldn’t bear that Seo Dohyeon doubted him, that this moment was real.

“I….”

He had thought Dohyeon’s anger was only natural, considering he had left the house without a word. He had thought it was his fault, for not confessing immediately when he learned of his pregnancy. He had intended to apologize the whole way back. To tell the truth. To admit that he was afraid Dohyeon might prevent the birth, that it had been a matter of fear. To confess that the contraception must have failed, that this was their child. He had resolved to say he wanted to keep the baby, to plead for Dohyeon to let him raise it.

“Judging by the fact that you’re alone, I assume whoever got you pregnant has no intention of taking responsibility.”

Seo Dohyeon’s cold voice cut through him, and Igyeol could only weep silently. Dohyeon stared at his battered yet still beautiful face and laughed bitterly.

“But I have no intention of taking in that child either.”

His clenched fist loosened and he released Igyeol slowly. Drawing him in with his languid, detached gaze, he spoke again.

“Have the baby.”

“H–hh, huuk….”

His large hand covered Igyeol’s just-beginning swell, his voice deceptively tender.

“So that we can lose it without ever holding it. That’s why—you must give birth safely. Only after that will we divorce.”

“Seo Dohyeon, the baby—.”

“Surely you’re not about to claim it’s mine.”

As Seo Dohyeon began to turn away, Igyeol clutched at him desperately. His thin fingers, feeble, seized the sleeve of his shirt. Dohyeon glanced down at the hand, veins like cobwebs visible under the translucent skin, and then shook him off as though brushing away filth. His cold face contorted in disgust.

“You’re too filthy, Go Igyeol. But I’m in need right now. So, wash up first. Thoroughly.”

“…No. It isn’t like that, it’s not… I—.”

The tears pooled along his jaw fell drop by drop onto the floor. Shaking his head, Igyeol held on to his arm, begging, insisting: it isn’t like that, it isn’t someone else’s child, it truly isn’t. At his pitiful plea, Dohyeon sneered and reached out. His hand wiped away the tear-soaked cheeks, his tone indifferent.

“Words like that should have been said before you ran away, Go Igyeol. Not after being dragged back.”

“…No, no—it’s not. Huuk, it’s really not—.”

“Go Igyeol.”

His name was breathed out like a sigh.

“I’ve been enduring a lot. So know your limits.”

He brushed the moisture from Igyeol’s lashes and turned fully away. Watching Dohyeon recede, Igyeol collapsed, his body breaking down at last, sobs wracking him.

He had thought Dohyeon’s fury was natural—that in his place, anger would be inevitable. He had resolved not to resent that anger, to accept it humbly. After all, wasn’t it his own fault for running away? For leaving recklessly?

But all those fragile resolutions shattered, rendered meaningless.

“I hid it because I was scared… because you wouldn’t want a child… I was terrified. But I—huuk—I want to give birth. And… and raise it together. If only… if only you’d allow it, Dohyeon….”

The truth, hastily gathered, never reached him. To a man who did not trust him, no words could hold truth. The voice of Seo Dohyeon, asking whether the child was his, echoed mercilessly, engraved deep into Igyeol’s chest.

 

 

Character Intro –

 

*Gong (Top): Seo Dohyeon – Successor of SJ Group and Senior Managing Director. An upper-class alpha, as beautiful and unreal as a flower blooming inside ice. Cold in temperament, indifferent in demeanor, yet he harbors an inexplicable fixation on Go Igyeol. That excessive attention leads to a terrible misunderstanding, ultimately bringing disaster to the two of them.

He was once a tender bastard, then simply a bastard, and eventually reduced to nothing more than a dog.

 

*Shou (Bottom): Go Igyeol – A recessive omega from an unimpressive family. His only redeeming quality is an appearance that draws eyes no matter the moment. Gentle-hearted, he struggles every single day pretending to be unaffected, all to hide his unrequited love for Seo Dohyeon. With no one else in his life, Seo Dohyeon’s absurd misunderstanding makes his every moment filled with pain, tears becoming his daily companion.

Pitiful, then pitiable again, once more pitiful, but in the end destined for happiness.

 

When to Read: On a chilly autumn day, when you crave an agonizing novel. When you want to share in the shou’s pain by reading the gong’s brutal lines. When you need a story that makes you exclaim aloud, “What will you do later after building all this karma?”