Divorce Contract C26

Chapter 26

Go Igyeol had vanished. There was no trace of him anywhere. Sleepless nights piled up endlessly. Even after days of unbroken insomnia, to the point where Seo Dohyeon was swallowing headache pills without water, there was still no word of Igyeol’s whereabouts.

“Vice President.”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to see the medical records?”

“Give them here.”

Leaning back against the sofa instead of the desk, Seo Dohyeon held out his hand. Secretary Yoon, as if waiting for the signal, handed him the tablet. There were ultrasound images, growth records checked by gestational week, heart rate charts, results of congenital anomaly screenings. At the last appointment before Igyeol’s disappearance, the pregnancy had just entered its nineteenth week.

“I’ve never actually seen a pregnant person before, so tell me—what does nineteen weeks mean?”

“That’s considered mid-pregnancy.”

“Considered?”

“At twenty weeks, it’s five months, so yes.”

Seo Dohyeon looked at the pale shape of the fetus in the pitch-black ultrasound image and let out a bitter laugh. He had entertained the one-in-a-million chance that it might be his child, but since Igyeol had left without a word, clearly the father was not him.

“The belly doesn’t show by then?”

“It would have.”

“Then how did I not notice?”

“…Because he’s so thin, it probably didn’t show as much.”

Listening, Seo Dohyeon recalled the day Igyeol had met Na Seunghui. The moment the food arrived, Igyeol had gagged and left the table, lying that he wasn’t feeling well. Shameless. Had he begged for a pheromone shower because of the pregnancy? If he came home smelling of another Alpha, he would have been caught immediately—so perhaps, desperate, he had begged for the pheromones of a superior Alpha like Seo Dohyeon instead.

“You said nineteen weeks?”

“…Yes? Ah, yes.”u

“So that means conception was around January.”

“Judging by the record, yes. The initial visit was at seven weeks.”

Suddenly, a name flashed across Seo Dohyeon’s mind. He snatched up his phone from the table, searched the familiar contact, and pressed call. The ringtone barely lasted.

– “Seo Dohyeon?”

“It’s me.”

– “What’s this? You, actually calling?”

The voice that carried through was bright, buoyant.

“You came to mind.”

– “…What? Have you lost it?”

His voice grew smaller at the end, but excitement was written all over it.

“Your cousin—does he still work there?”

– “Huh? Seonwoo? No, he doesn’t anymore. He only helped out during winter break.”

“When did he start?”

– “January, I think? Why? About Seonwoo? He seemed to see Igyeol pretty often. Are you worked up about that?”

Pretty often. So that story about them meeting by coincidence had been a lie after all.

“I thought it was by chance.”

– “Was it? I don’t remember. They already knew each other from before, didn’t they? But why?”

“I thought we might get lunch—me, Igyeol, and him.”

– “What, and leave me out?”

“You’re not friends with Igyeol. Hanging up.”

Ignoring Na Seunghui’s squawk of protest, Seo Dohyeon ended the call.

“Vice President?”

“Na Seonwoo—he was Igyeol’s university classmate. Apparently, they met fairly often. Look into it.”

“…Understood. Also, the Chairman has invited you to dinner next week.”

“…Fuck.”

The crude word, so unfitting on his neat lips, made Secretary Yoon’s shoulders jolt.

“I thought I’d be fine, but this feels like absolute shit. And the fact I might be the only one like this—it pisses me off.”

“Shall I decline through the secretariat?”

“I’ll do it.”

“What will you… say?”

At the cautious question, Seo Dohyeon rubbed his palm across his eyes.

“I’ll say I caught something contagious. My grandfather’s obsessively sensitive about health.”

“And when he asks again…?”

“I’ll say I caught it again.”

“…Will he believe that?”

Of course no one would, but Yoon’s voice was so polite it came across as absurd. Even Seo Dohyeon let out a deflated laugh.

“Even if he doesn’t, what can he do? He won’t come check for himself.”

“……”

“The rest—make sure my mother doesn’t suspect.”

“Understood.”

Though the conversation had ended, Yoon didn’t move. Seo Dohyeon tilted his head back, turning slightly to see if there was more to say.

“Aren’t you going?”

“Well… there’s a 10 a.m. departmental performance meeting. You were scheduled to attend.”

The schedule flowing out of Yoon’s mouth was one Seo Dohyeon himself had set. With the first half of the year ending next month, he had wanted to check personally how well each department was performing. Now he had been so consumed by Igyeol’s absence he’d forgotten his own orders.

“I forgot.”

“I suspected as much.”

“Let’s go.”

“…Are you eating properly?”

With Igyeol gone, no one was at the house to prepare meals. Yoon cautiously asked—this was a man who looked like he had never cooked a single meal in his life.

“I’m eating fine.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You don’t believe me.”

“Shall I arrange something simple before the meeting?”

Handing over the meeting materials, Yoon asked again. Seo Dohyeon gave a weary smile.

“You’re worrying over me more than Go Igyeol ever did.”

“……”

“It’s a joke. Forget it.”

As they left the office together, Yoon thought to himself that he had never heard anyone make a joke with such a deadly serious face.

Just as Shin Eunsuk had said, spring seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. The wind grew warmer each day. Though the mountain made the nights chilly, the daytimes were already like early summer.

“How many guests today?”

“Let’s see… just one family. Looks like a couple with a child.”

“I’ll vacuum.”

“No need, I’ll do it. Just sort the towels when the laundry comes back.”

She didn’t wash the towels herself, instead sending them to the village laundry. Every other day, the laundress came to collect them in a big sack and return them the following day, no matter how many. When Igyeol once asked why she didn’t wash them herself, she replied:

“The laundry does it cleaner. They boil everything. Since many people use them, it’s better that way.”

“I see.”

“And honestly… doing the washing on top of everything else is too much.”

Her voice had softened and her cheeks had flushed at that last part. Running the pension alone clearly kept her busy.

“I enjoy having visitors now and then, but I don’t know how long I can keep it up. Once I get too tired, I’ll stop.”

Yet there had been a trace of regret in her expression. Igyeol had squeezed her hand gently, then let go, and changed the subject. It was only much later that he’d dared to admit he wanted ice cream.

“Shall we go to the market?”

“Is it market day?”

“Yes, luckily. We can buy the ice cream you wanted, some shorts for the hot weather, and other things we need.”

“That sounds fun. I’ll come with you.”

With time before the guests arrived, they decided to finish up quickly and head out. Eunsuk glanced at the rounded swell beneath Igyeol’s thin shirt and spoke in wonder.

“Your belly’s so small.”

“Is it?”

“I wouldn’t have guessed you were pregnant if you hadn’t told me.”

“The doctor said it’s on the smaller side, but the baby’s growing fine. I’m twenty-three weeks now. Six months next week.”

Only after saying it aloud did Igyeol realize it had already been four weeks since he came here. Time had flown by in the small routines of everyday life.

“The morning sickness is gone, right? Your cheeks are fuller, pink and bright. You were so pale when you first arrived.”

“I barely feel sick anymore. I eat almost everything you give me. Maybe that’s why I’ve gained weight.”

“Then I should thank the baby for enjoying my cooking. If it takes after you, it’ll be beautiful.”

Her tender words loosened his heart completely. When he had first arrived, everything felt foreign and uncomfortable. Now, nowhere in the world felt safer. Except—except for the lack of pheromones.

The clothes and pillowcases imbued with Seo Dohyeon’s pheromones, which he had hoarded, had finally lost their scent. No matter how hard he pressed his face to them and inhaled, there was nothing left. He was surviving on pheromone supplements from the hospital, but would that last until childbirth?

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Really.”

“You’re so vague. Stay here, I’ll grab my wallet and the shopping bag.”