Divorce Contract C58

Chapter 58

Struck speechless, Seo Dohyeon looked at the two people kneeling side by side. He pulled Go Igyeol to his feet and led him into the bathroom, where he turned on the water and wiped the blood-smeared face. Each time he thought it clean, fresh streams of nosebleed soon cascaded down again.

He wiped with a dry towel and pinched the nostrils tightly closed, yet Go Igyeol did not flinch an inch. He looked utterly vacant.

“Wait here.”

“……”

“Wait. I’ll go send him away.”

“…My father asked for money. That’s probably why he came.”

The voice that followed was flat, emptied of emotion. With eyes unfocused, Go Igyeol continued.

“If I ever wondered who I got my shamelessness from, it must have been from my father. I’m sorry. I know you’ve been enduring a great deal of patience for my sake… So please, grant me a quick divorce before I disgrace myself any further. As for Father—I’ll tell him myself. I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you.”

As if hearing enough, Seo Dohyeon rose abruptly. Go Igyeol shut his lips tight. Without another word, Seo Dohyeon stepped out of the bathroom.

Immediately outside, Go Daesik, who had been pacing about, quickly scurried before him. Grinning in a way that bore not a shred of resemblance to Igyeol, he clasped Seo Dohyeon’s hands.

“I swear, I swear on my life this will never happen again. Can’t you overlook it just this once, just a single time?”

“I heard you were in need of money.”

“…Oh? Did my boy mention that? I thought he hadn’t said a word. That kid listens well to me. But really, it won’t happen again, I promise. Naturally, from your point of view, it’s hard to forgive a spouse bearing another man’s child, but still—can’t you be a bit lenient? Shameless as it is, I beg this of you.”

“In future, if you need money, don’t go through Igyeol. Tell me directly.”

It did not sound like forgiveness for Igyeol, but it did sound like agreement to provide money. Go Daesik nodded enthusiastically, grinning wide. He patted Seo Dohyeon’s hand as though thanking him for funds already received, bowing repeatedly in gratitude.

“You should leave now.”

“Yes, yes, of course. I was on my way already. As for Igyeol—”

“I’ll tell him you left in good spirits.”

“Yes, yes. He’s not that kind of kid… Must not have been in his right mind. Please, be generous with him. Yes, thank you, thank you.”

Still laughing boisterously, Go Daesik exited the ward, waving at Seo Dohyeon until the very moment the door shut. Shameless to the very end. Feeling an oppressive fatigue weigh on his whole body, Seo Dohyeon forced his legs to move. Pausing before the bathroom, he steadied his breath before knocking, then entered without waiting for an answer.

Inside the shower stall’s corner, Go Igyeol crouched himself into the smallest ball possible, gnawing painfully at his fingernails. His thumb was jagged and torn, blood oozing from the raw flesh—yet he bit it again without flinching.

Seo Dohyeon crouched and grasped his wrist. He knew the contact was unwelcome, but he had no other way to stop him. Only when he felt that enveloping warmth did Igyeol’s clouded gaze sharpen faintly. Recognizing who it was, he twisted his wrist away.

“What are you doing here.”

“……”

“Let’s go out.”

“…My father…”

Unable to endure his shame, Igyeol forced out the question. Since his father had not walked in together with him, perhaps he had been waiting politely outside—or perhaps Seo Dohyeon, the man with means, had simply handed him money and sent him away.

“He’s gone.”

“……”

So money had indeed been given. Igyeol loosened, if only for a moment, the tense stiffness wracking his frame. Still slumped in the corner where two walls met, he lifted himself weakly, a fragile smile breaking across his face.

“…Being hit… cleared my head a little.”

“……”

“Don’t give him money. We’re going to separate soon anyway. Once we divorce, then… then what will you do?”

His fragile, unsteady voice dissolved into silence. Running a faint sigh through wet hair, he raked it back, baring the redness in his cheeks that caught Seo Dohyeon’s eye. He silently cursed himself for failing to grasp the situation sooner. Everything that befell Igyeol was his fault.

But unaware of his thoughts, Igyeol could only obsess that if Seo Dohyeon gave them money, then after the divorce, he himself would end up helpless against whatever demands his father might bring. Since all fault lay wholly with him, he must leave with nothing. He knew all too well what Go Daesik could do—using that fact as leverage to extort Seo Dohyeon again. The thought alone was horrifying.

“All the fault lies with me… But you know my father is just as shameless as I am. He might well use that to blackmail you.”

“We’ll prepare for that.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Moving slowly, Igyeol brushed past him. He opened the bathroom door, slipped back into bed, and curled himself up. Tugging up the blanket to cover over his head, he managed to dim Seo Dohyeon’s voice just a little. He closed his eyes to the phantom voices at his ear, voices that berated and condemned him. He could not guess when they would ever recede, and the thought left him anxious.

The stitches at Go Igyeol’s surgical site were removed. As his body healed, Seo Dohyeon occasionally went to see the baby. Still small, seemingly no bigger than before. Staring at the sleeping infant in the incubator, he realized again that he must confess to Igyeol that he had misunderstood him. Yet each time he stood before him, the words stuck fast in his throat.

On this day again, nothing had changed. Watching until visiting time ended, he finally left the intensive care unit. Though he’d only be away for thirty minutes and had left Yoon Jaeseon behind in the ward, leaving Igyeol alone always troubled him.

Waiting for the elevator, he grew impatient watching it stop on every floor, so he turned toward the emergency stairs instead. Striding briskly upward, his thoughts circled how he might someday show Igyeol the baby. Nurses said the child had grown much, but to his eyes, the baby looked no different. To show him might be too great a shock. Born so early, it was natural that he seemed so small and weak—but only natural for an unexpected premature birth, not when it was brought about by a clear reason. For Igyeol, the baby’s appearance could never be “natural.”

Exiting the emergency stairwell, Seo Dohyeon headed back toward the ward. There he saw Yoon Jaeseon, pacing nervously in the hall. Weren’t he supposed to be guarding inside?

“What are you doing out here.”

“Executive Director, why didn’t you answer your phone!”

Ah. Remembering he had set it to silent for the NICU, Seo Dohyeon sighed faintly, bringing out his phone to see multiple missed calls flashing on the screen. Standing before the ward’s door was Manager Im, bowing hurriedly.

“The Chairman is here. He arrived not long ago! He told me to leave and that he wanted to be alone with Mr. Go.”

“You should have said no.”

“To… the Chairman? Me?”

“That was why I made you chief secretary.”

Though he wanted to retort, Yoon Jaeseon knew it was true that Seo Dohyeon’s influence had factored into his promotion, so he closed his mouth. He added, almost apologetically, that no shouting had been heard inside yet.

“Fine. I’ll go in.”

“Please hurry.”

His hand opening the door was impatient. Why couldn’t they ever leave Go Igyeol alone? Seo Dohyeon clenched down his irritation and stepped inside.

“Well, you’ve come.”

In the place of honor upon the sofa sat Seo Jeongjae. And at his feet—Go Igyeol knelt, on the floor. The sight before him was absurd, unbelievable—and yet somehow, painfully real. A nonsensical truth indeed: given enough time, perhaps one even adjusts to the intolerable.