Chapter 84

 

When the car rolled past the estate gate, the barrier lifted automatically at the license scan, and soft guide lights lit up the driveway like a private runway. Following the glowing path, Seo Dohyeon parked, then lifted Igyeol into his arms.

Inside, the new house wasn’t nearly as chaotic as Jaeseon had feared. Some rooms were still half-organized, but overall it was livable—quiet, warm, private.
And most importantly, the bedroom and the nursery were completely finished.

He laid Igyeol on the fresh sheets.
A bit of color had returned to those pale cheeks.
Cold sweat still clung to his hairline, so Dohyeon brushed the damp strands back, pulled the blanket up, and adjusted the room’s temperature.

The doorbell chimed.
He froze—then relaxed when Igyeol didn’t stir.

“Good evening.”

“Yes. This way.”

The visitor changed into slippers and followed him down the hall. Inside the bedroom, Doctor Kwon took out an IV kit and inserted the line with clean, practiced motions.

“I heard the news. Congratulations.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve grown thinner than when I last saw you.”

“Noted.”

Doctor Kwon sighed at the cold response and kept examining Igyeol.

“Go-ssi seems even thinner. The Director must be deeply worried. Blood pressure is low, but not dangerously so. They discharged him today—you must take care. Temperature…”

He checked, then gave a faint smile that barely warmed his face.

“Normal. He’ll wake soon. Should I leave sedatives? Something to calm him, if needed?”

“He has trauma with pills. Even if you leave them, he won’t take them.”

“Ah… unfortunate. Even the smallest tablet can bring such comfort.”

His sympathy was clinical, but not unkind.
He packed up, leaving swabs and extra bandages behind.

“Remove the IV once it finishes.”

“Understood.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

“If anything happens, I’ll call. Thank you.”

Doctor Kwon bowed lightly—but his eyes lingered long on Igyeol before he finally stepped away.
And the moment he reached the hall, he pulled out his phone.

“It’s me, Chairman.”

—“How is he? How is Igyeol?”

“Did you see him yourself?”

—“I did. He was miserable then—does he remain so now?”

Doctor Kwon exhaled sharply. Even though no one was nearby, he checked around before speaking lower.

“Chief Yoon reported he collapsed at the gate. They called me immediately.”

—“Collapsed? Why? What triggered it? Did he enter the house? Not the hospital—you saw him elsewhere?”

“No, sir. This is a different location. Something about that house pushed him into collapse. They brought him away. I don’t think they intended to move him here yet. The place is new—still somewhat disordered.”

—“…What is happening in that house…”

The old man’s sigh crackled through the line.

—“And the child? My great-grandson—have you seen him?”

His biggest concerns: Igyeol’s health, and the child he carried.
But he couldn’t access the NICU, and Dohyeon’s security was impenetrable.

“No, sir. Only the two adults are here.”

—“Well… the babe was born too early. He won’t be discharged for some time. Very small, sadly. You’ve done well. If Dohyeon calls again, report everything you see. Leave nothing out.”

“Yes, Chairman. Rest easy.”

Doctor Kwon bowed even to the empty air.
Before getting into his car, he glanced back over the private villas—just five homes, hidden from the world, far more secure than the old estate.

Then he drove off.

---

While Igyeol slept, Dohyeon quietly straightened the half-finished rooms.
Eventually, he drifted into the nursery.

Green walls, pale jade accents, a ceiling painted like a soft sky—
it felt foreign.
Too gentle for the life he had built so far.

Leaning against the doorframe, he stared at the room and slipped backward into memory.

Back then, Igyeol had been so young.
Sitting at the far end of a long table, clueless about why he had been summoned.
His head bowed, showing that neat crown of hair that had made Dohyeon smile.

When he lifted his face—startled—Dohyeon had thought simply: A rare beauty. Nothing more.

Even when he learned the gathering was essentially a spouse-selection, he barely reacted.

Dohyeon had been pleased.
A spouse who didn’t care.
Perfect.
No emotions.
No expectations.
A marriage purely to satisfy his grandfather and secure the company’s inheritance.

He’d assumed Igyeol shared that indifference.

But looking back now…
maybe marriage was the only exit Igyeol had.
The only way out of an uncle-father, a suffocating house, a life without room to breathe.

And so he signed the contract silently—
though every clause favored Dohyeon, every term weighed like a stone.

Even the conjugal clause.
Cruel.
Written only to ensure Dohyeon never sought other omegas during rut.
A clause that forbade refusal.

So each rut, every time desire struck, he took him.
Forced him.
Even when the boy trembled and begged.
He had silenced him with pheromones, with strength, with indifference.

After that first resistance, Igyeol never said no again.
Even trembling, he endured.

Eventually, he learned to endure everything—
a mother-in-law’s contempt,
a father-in-law’s greed,
a husband who tossed him aside like trash.

Dohyeon never cared what he felt.
Not once.

Then came pregnancy—
the one thing his precautions were meant to prevent.

“God… what a fool I am.”

He closed his eyes, opened them again.
Laughed—soft, empty.

Maybe Igyeol had wanted to tell him all along.
He’d hidden his missing heats, slept more, ate less, acted strange.
He’d even asked questions about children.
Asked why they weren’t in the contract.
And Dohyeon—
he’d shamed him.
Talked about genetics.
About not wanting a child.
About responsibility.

He could still see that expression—
the way Igyeol’s face twisted as though it might break.

And he had mocked him.
Are you disappointed?

He wanted to tear that version of himself apart.

“What were you thinking then?” he whispered.

Did you wish I’d die?
Did you curse me?
I don’t know how to face myself.
If only I had been the one broken.
Not you.