Divorce Contract C13

Chapter 13

“Almost done. If you just sit for a moment while I finish the soup, it’ll be ready soon.”

“Next time you eat at home, you should let Go Igyeol know ahead of time.”

“If you do that… I’d appreciate it.”

Murmuring with his lips against the back of Go Igyeol’s hand, Seo Dohyeon twisted his body, curious at the sound, then stepped forward and took Go Igyeol’s hand.

“It’s nothing serious—just some sauce splattered while I was frying.”

“Go Igyeol, you really can’t do anything properly, can you?”

Rubbing at the already reddened patch, Seo Dohyeon pulled Go Igyeol away from the stove and hugged him from behind, cooling the back of his hand under cold water for a long time. After drying his wet hand completely, he nodded as if to say, sit down, and plated the meat he had taken out. Laying a tray with meat, rice, and a bowl of soup in front of Go Igyeol, Seo Dohyeon sat down.

“I’ll… eat well.”

“Eat a lot.”

They ate quietly. Go Igyeol couldn’t bring himself to eat the heaping rice; he picked at the meat little by little. His settled stomach began to churn again.

“You don’t seem to be eating well these days.”

“I ate a lot at lunch.”

“A lot?”

Seo Dohyeon rarely believed anything related to food that came out of Go Igyeol’s mouth. He’d never seen him eat a lot since they got married—so him saying he’d eaten a lot felt odd.

“I had udon. It’s a place near Seonwoo’s office.”

“Oh, that place.”

“You know it?”

“If it’s the restaurant on the second floor, I’ve been there.”

Go Igyeol’s eyes widened at the answer. His genuinely surprised, open-mouthed look was endearing. Seo Dohyeon, amused at how often Go Igyeol had been revealing new sides to him lately, chuckled softly.

“Yeah, I went there.”

“It’s weird you ate a lot there. I didn’t think much of it.”

He’d probably been there with Na Seunghui. To avoid showing any hint of annoyance, Go Igyeol bowed his head and scooped up some soup. He still didn’t want rice, so he ate mostly side dishes, but to avoid looking odd he stirred the rice a little.

He thought he was being careful. Even so, the image of Na Seunghui and Seo Dohyeon sitting side by side and eating flickered in his mind.

“Did you go there with that person?”

“Seunghui?”

“…Since it seems to be in the opposite direction from Seo Dohyeon’s office, but you said you’d been there.”

“I remember going with Seunghui, but I don’t remember why we went. It was probably nothing.”

Ah. Though he knew he shouldn’t show it, Go Igyeol couldn’t help himself. Lately he found hiding his feelings harder than before.

“I’m finished already. You still have a lot left, Go Igyeol. Eat slowly and go to bed first.”

“…Okay.”

Seo Dohyeon rose from the table. The sound of his slippers scraping the floor receded until there was silence. Lately he sighed more often; Go Igyeol felt lucky that Seo Dohyeon was so indifferent and uninterested in most things.

Go Igyeol spent most of the time Seo Dohyeon was away sleeping. He’d curl up in the bedroom hugging some of the clothes that still smelled faintly of pheromones and fall asleep, and before he knew it it would be Seo Dohyeon’s return time. With so many garments hanging in the dressing room, it was unlikely Seo Dohyeon would notice a missing shirt or two, but the thought still bothered him.

Several shirts that Seo Dohyeon never wore had already ended up in the laundry basket. Maybe he should beg for more pheromone showers. But he didn’t want to invite the inevitable consequences that would follow. He stood in front of the bathroom mirror and examined his shrunken body—he had lost considerable weight from days of barely eating. The belly hadn’t shown yet, but the moment he couldn’t hide it would surely come.

Water droplets slid down the clumped strands of his damp hair. His under-eyes were dark and his cheeks looked hollow. He rubbed his cheek with a dry fingertip. His ability to hide morning sickness had reached its limit. The more mentally exhausted he felt, the more desperately he wanted a pheromone shower. At that moment, there was a sharp knock on the bathroom door.

“Go Igyeol.”

“…I’m here.”

“You finished washing?”

“All done… you can open the door.”

The unlocked door opened slowly. Go Igyeol appeared wearing only an oversized pajama top. Seo Dohyeon, forgetting to ask what he’d been doing, stared at his fragile, almost powdered-looking omega as if he might crumble.

“Is that pajama mine?”

“…It’s mine.”

“Why does it look bigger than before?”

Seo Dohyeon stepped closer and straightened the slipping hem. During the motion, Go Igyeol found his hand involuntarily landing on the man’s as he fastened an undone button beneath his sternum.

“Seo Dohyeon… I want a pheromone shower.”

It wasn’t seductive—more like a pleading voice that sounded pitiful and forlorn. Hearing an omega beg for pheromones was new to Seo Dohyeon; it stirred something in him. His expression changed in an instant.

“What?”

“…Your pheromones.”

Seeing the person who could immediately satisfy his thirst standing before him made it impossible for Go Igyeol to hold back any longer.

“Are you trying to seduce me?”

“…I didn’t think you’d just give in when I asked.”

The faint amusement in his reply eased the atmosphere. Seo Dohyeon lifted the gaunt cheek and bowed his head.

“You’re thinner than I thought.”

“……”

“Do it often. I’ll give in whenever you want.”

His gaze rose slowly as if drawing a boundary; at last their eyes met. Go Igyeol’s looked unusually luminous though not wet. When he tilted his head slightly, Go Igyeol closed his eyes as if he had been waiting for that moment. His long lashes cast a shadow over his pale face. Lately Go Igyeol’s changed demeanor had frustrated Seo Dohyeon—he hadn’t figured out the cause—but tonight he decided not to pry and simply oblige him.

“Haa…”

Seo Dohyeon opened his pheromones. Unlike an omega’s scent, which is sometimes easily described, the pheromone that washed over Go Igyeol like a downpour was difficult to define—but it soaked into him and caused the breath escaped from between his parted lips. Even that tiny contact of their lips set Go Igyeol’s body trembling with overwhelming pleasure.

“You like it that much?”

Asked with a smile, Go Igyeol, his face flushed bright, couldn’t hide his nod. Even rising onto the tips of his toes as if to reach more made Seo Dohyeon’s heart race.

“Why are you like this tonight?”

“…Don’t you dislike it?”

“I don’t.”

“Then… give me a little more.”

Standing as if alone at the center of a high, rolling sea, Go Igyeol finally realized the ground under his feet wouldn’t collapse. He could actually see Seo Dohyeon’s face, which had been blurred before.

“My body… doesn’t feel good.”

“Is it a heat cycle? Come to think of it, it’s been a while.”

“I don’t really know. Maybe that’s why…”

“Why are your pheromones so faint? They usually get stronger during heat.”

Pressing his nose to the nape of Go Igyeol’s neck and inhaling deeply, Seo Dohyeon pressed his lips to the tender flesh.

“You’re a recessive… I don’t really know my own body either. Huh…”

“You know that I only smell like me to you, right?”

“….”

Seo Dohyeon lifted his head from where he had buried it and asked softly. Go Igyeol, at first about to feign ignorance, decided to be honest.

“I know.”

“If you go out wearing that innocent face but soaked in alpha pheromones, do you have any idea what people will imagine about you?”

“….”

Before he could answer, Seo Dohyeon kissed him deeply, as if he’d been waiting for him to close his mouth. He snapped his tie irritably and lifted Go Igyeol gently in his arms. The hesitant hand found the back of his neck.

As his back hit the soft cushion, the pajama top slipped off silently, so loose a button was unnecessary—the garment fell to the floor. Seo Dohyeon immediately pressed his lips to the exposed chest.

“Ugh…! Ah, ngh…”

He soothed the trembling body and stroked the warm skin. Seo Dohyeon fully opened his pheromones. Tears gathered on the edges of Go Igyeol’s eyelids; his lashes were heavy with moisture. Go Igyeol tried to open his eyes occasionally but would close them again with a helpless sigh.

“Gently…”

“Why?”

“It hurts. If you’re too rough, my belly… it hurts.”

Lately, Go Igyeol’s requests in bed had been consistent: gently, slowly—those fragmentary pleas. Even given such requests, Seo Dohyeon felt as if he would burst. An omega who initiated sex like this was rare and precious; he had little leisure to indulge in foreplay.