Divorce Contract C56

Chapter 56

When he went up to the hospital room, Seo Dohyeon was met by Yoon Jaeseon, who greeted him with a hurried expression, and by Go Igyeol, who was crying with vacant eyes.

“You’ve arrived.”

“The meeting ran a little late.”

“Well… Madam came by.”

Seo Dohyeon held Yoon Jaeseon’s gaze before subtly glancing toward the door. It meant for him to step outside for a while. Reading the hint, Yoon Jaeseon opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of mineral water, placed it in front of Go Igyeol, and left the ward. Go Igyeol stared at the bottle sitting there on the table, then exhaled a sob-choked breath.

Watching that figure who looked sorrowful just sitting still, Seo Dohyeon approached slowly and opened the cap of the bottle for him. Go Igyeol, whose eyes had been staring blankly into space, turned his gaze toward him. His dark brown eyes, glistening with tears, grew wet again.

“…Now divorce, we’re really divorcing, right? H-heh, divorce. Divorce quickly… I want it quickly. We’re separating, right? Right…? How long… do I have to… stay here? Hhk, I can’t… stay here anymore… ohhh…”

What in the world had been said or done to him, for him to cry this wretchedly? Seo Dohyeon reached out to wipe the small face soaked with tears, but froze when Go Igyeol’s rejection stiffened him in place.

“D-don’t… touch my body. Unless… urgh, unless even that’s going to be mandatory duties until we divorce? Ah, in the end, that’s all you want from me anyway… Once I’m discharged, urghhh…”

His small hands rubbed harshly at his tear-stained eyes. Staring straight at Seo Dohyeon with eyes that weren’t fierce in the least, Go Igyeol eventually curled his body into a ball.

“Whenever… huhh, whenever I have to face you, Seo Dohyeon, I can’t bear it. Am I too filthy? Vulgar? Ahhhk, do you hate me that much… But I hate myself so much, too. I’d rather die.”

“Go Igyeol.”

“I just… want to disappear. Hhk, hhh… So please, divorce… divorce… I beg you.”

All Seo Dohyeon could do was watch him suffer, unable to offer comfort. When Go Igyeol staggered as soon as he stood up, Seo Dohyeon carefully supported him without touching too much, guiding him back onto the bed. Igyeol shut his eyes tight as though refusing to look at the world any longer.

Frozen by the bedside, Seo Dohyeon adjusted the hospital room’s lighting to dim and turned his body away. His chest felt suffocated. Yet he couldn’t even exhale a sigh.

Stepping out the door, Yoon Jaeseon immediately rose from where he had been crouched. Rubbing his gaunt cheek that looked even more drawn than in the morning, he urged,

“Tell me what happened.”

“Madam came with a friend of yours. That lawyer.”

“Ah, Na Seunghi?”

“Yes, she came with him and pushed divorce papers in front of him, forcing him to sign.”

It was too much for them to have taken the signatures quietly. Go Igyeol had been crying far too hard for that. Rubbing his throbbing temples, Seo Dohyeon motioned for a fuller explanation.

“Madam called him shameless. And that lawyer said he seemed like a completely different person. Asked how he could possibly act that way.”

“Ha.”

“Of course it’s only natural for you to be angry, Executive Director… but considering that Go Igyeol had a premature birth and hasn’t even had proper recovery time… Of course, I always keep your interests first. I know how troubled you are, but… still, though Igyeol was wrong, the situation is…”

Stammering, Yoon Jaeseon sneaked uncertain glances at his superior. He himself had never faced anything like this before, and he was in no position to take sides. At last his lips snapped shut, and he let out a faint sigh.

“I thought I was someone who didn’t make mistakes. I was wrong.”

“…Sir?”

“I’ve made a mistake.”

“…What do you mean?”

At the cryptic words, Yoon Jaeseon tilted his head with a blank face. Could he be talking about work matters? But his expression was far too grave for that.

“The baby is a boy. A dominant alpha, I was told.”

“He’s… genetically strong, then.”

“I also received the genetic test results. Probability of paternity is 99%.”

“Ninety-nine percent? Then it makes sense for the baby to be dominant… No, wait—excuse me? What did you say? Paternity…?”

Yoon Jaeseon’s eyes widened as if they would pop out. He clasped both hands over his gaping mouth. It was certain that Seo Dohyeon had taken the greater shock, but even so, Jaeseon couldn’t close his mouth.

“There are many personal issues entangled, so I can’t elaborate. The fact remains, the child is mine.”

“Good heavens. If it’s truly your child…”

“I kept claiming I never make mistakes. Looks like you were wrong, Secretary Yoon. I was wrong too.”

“How could this happen—no, what are you planning to do now…?”

At Jaeseon’s gaze, Seo Dohyeon gave a hollow, bitter laugh. He felt damned by that look, as if being cursed. Well, after all the vile things he had done, to confess now that he was the father—who wouldn’t condemn him?

“I don’t know. Time can’t be turned back.”

“…You must have misunderstood something.”

“……”

“Go Igyeol-ssi doesn’t know, does he?”

Seo Dohyeon shook his head. He didn’t know. Even a week after giving birth, he hadn’t been allowed to confirm whether the baby was alive. The moment he woke from anesthesia, he had pleaded just to tell him if his baby was alive, and instead had only been told to focus on recovery.

“Do you understand?”

“…Yes. He wouldn’t know.”

“Go back inside. And don’t let Go Igyeol know, not yet.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll regard it as though I never heard a thing.”

Looking up at him with twisted brows, Yoon Jaeseon’s expression couldn’t hide his bewilderment. As he bowed and started to turn away, he paused as though recalling something forgotten.

Seo Dohyeon looked at him, silently asking if there was more. He looked utterly worn out, exhaustion layered on exhaustion. Yoon Jaeseon sighed again at the sight of his superior who had made such a fatal, irretrievable mistake, and then opened his mouth.

“Go Igyeol-ssi spoke with his father today. I thought you should know.”

“What was it about?”

“It seemed to be about money.”

“Money?”

Yoon Jaeseon nodded. He hadn’t caught every detail, but he clearly remembered what Go Igyeol had said. Mimicking his exact words with a grave face, he related:

“It seemed his father told him to ask you for financial help. Go Igyeol-ssi was appalled, though. He said, ‘What money do I have, and what kind of investment is this supposed to be? Get ahold of yourself.’”

“Ah.”

“He was angry, but also clearly distressed.”

Even though he was only repeating what he had heard, Yoon Jaeseon felt ashamed. Anyone might have thought it was he, not Go Igyeol’s father, who asked for money. Seo Dohyeon gave a slight nod. He didn’t need to hear more; the conversation was vivid enough.

“He’s rarely one to get angry. If Go Igyeol got that upset, then the demand must have been excessive.”

“I think so too. It may have been a large sum. He did mention investment.”

“I see. I understand. I’ll be at the hospital tomorrow too.”

“I’ll make the arrangements problem-free. By the way, shall I put the adoption agency matter on hold?”

At that, Seo Dohyeon hesitated. From the moment he knew of Igyeol’s pregnancy, even when he was born, he had decided unflinchingly that the baby must be adopted out. And yet now, learning he was truly the father, he found himself wavering.

The baby was not part of the contract, and indeed had been the very cause of their relationship’s collapse. Even so, he could not give a definite answer. Yet neither did he feel any desire in that moment to raise the baby himself. Regretfully, a father’s love would not bloom from a mere document and thirty minutes by an incubator.

He had thought constantly of showing the baby to Go Igyeol, but he wondered if Igyeol would even want that.

“For now… let’s put it off. I’ll decide later when I bring it up again.”

“…All right. Understood.”

“I heard there’s a postnatal care center linked to this hospital. Look into it as well.”

“Yes, sir. Um… this might be presumptuous of me, but—may I say something?”

Seo Dohyeon shot a knowing glance at Yoon Jaeseon, who was biting his lip nervously as he spoke. If you know it’s presumptuous, why push to say it? The cold gaze made the timid man swallow hard.

“Presumptuous—if it won’t even help me, how will you handle the aftermath?”

“…Then I’ll hold my tongue.”

“I’ll hear you. Go on.”

“……”

Seeing him so evidently exhausted, Yoon Jaeseon judged that even if he became angry, he wouldn’t explode violently. He stopped a half-step away and spoke.

“Shouldn’t you… let him see the baby? Go Igyeol-ssi isn’t doing well.”

“……”

“There’s been so much misunderstanding. His heart must have been hurt deeply. I may be just an outsider, but you’re his family. Rather than keeping secrets, show him the baby—”

“I haven’t ruled that out… but even if I do, now is not the time.”