Divorce Contract C88

Chapter 88

 

Following Go Daesik and Kang Mijin into the café, Go Igyeol stepped into a wall of noise and warmth—every table full, every seat taken. Without hesitation, Kang Mijin tossed out orders like he were hired help:

“Get me a warm latte, won’t you?”

Daesik scratched his neck as if thinking required physical labor.

“I never know what to drink at these fancy places… just grab me anything.”

And just like that, the two of them settled into their seats as if it were only natural that Igyeol obey.

Moving quietly, mechanically, Igyeol turned toward the kiosk. The exhaustion on his face was unmistakable. He placed their order without even thinking to get a drink for himself. In front of those two, the idea of consuming even water made his stomach twist.

He couldn’t remember tapping his card. Couldn’t remember if he’d put it away.
The hum of voices, the suffocating coffee smell—it all blurred together. His head felt stuffed with cotton. He clutched the pager tightly, but even tightening his grip couldn’t stop the tremor running through his hand.

He didn’t dare return to the table.
Didn’t want to hear their plans.
Didn’t want not to hear them either.

He should’ve texted Seo Dohyeon which café he’d entered, but his mind had abandoned him—adrift, numb, buzzing. The pager felt like a rope tied to the surface of a dark sea. His vision dimmed. His knees wobbled. It felt like the ground was widening beneath him, waiting to swallow him whole.

“Go Igyeol.”

That voice—familiar, steady—cut through the fog.

In the corner of the café, pale and swaying, Igyeol lifted his head.

“…Seo Dohyeon.”

“Why are you standing here like this?”

“I… I don’t know.”

His fine hair trembled with the slightest breath. His voice was barely a thread. Seeing the tremors beginning in his shoulders, Seo Dohyeon quietly released his pheromones. The Alpha scent settled around him in a soft, invisible canopy, and Igyeol’s shaking eased.

He should hate this scent.
Should recoil from it.
But instead, his body leaned toward it like a drowning man toward air.

His hand reached out by instinct, gripping Dohyeon’s sleeve as he closed his eyes. The fear that had been consuming him melted with frightening ease.

“You’re alright now.”

When the trembling finally stopped, Igyeol forced himself to withdraw from the pheromones. He shook them off reluctantly. Dohyeon, however, gave one final, calming touch before peeling the pager out of his frozen fingers.

Noticing Eunsuk’s absence, Dohyeon understood immediately—she’d stepped aside on purpose. And he knew exactly why.

The pager buzzed. Dohyeon moved to pick up the drinks without looking at the tray. Two cups, not three—he didn’t even need to ask to understand.

“Let’s go.”

“…Seo Dohyeon… the reason they came today… I’m sure it’s…”

“It doesn’t matter. Whatever they’re after means nothing to me.”

He carried the tray in one hand and settled the other carefully around Igyeol’s shoulder. But even the gentle touch felt like a weight—a debt, a brand, something he had to repay.

Still, he followed.

“Oh my! There he is, there he is—our handsome son-in-law! My goodness, look how fine he’s gotten! So good to see you! Sit, sit! You’re quick, aren’t you? Have you been well? The weather’s freezing and you came dressed like that?”

She welcomed him as if she’d met him every week for years, not merely four or five times in total. Only Igyeol looked completely stunned.

“It’s been a while.”

“Oh, that voice! Still so charming. I worried I’d forgotten what it sounded like!”

All sugar, all fake—just like Lim Yeonhui, but cheaper.

“And look at our Igyeol. Suffered so much carrying that baby alone. His face—so pale, so thin, such hardship!”

She dragged her tone between sympathy and mockery with the precision of a seasoned tormentor.

“The confinement period is important, you know. A mother must nurse her child properly after birth. Isn’t that right, Igyeol? A few weeks of good soup and rest and you’d recover completely. Should Mother move in to take care of you?”

The pressure behind her words was suffocating.
His lips wouldn’t part. His eyes shook.

“Someone else is looking after him.”

“Who—oh, that woman from before?”

“My apologies for not informing you,” Dohyeon replied coolly. “I was disoriented. I intended to contact you once he’d overcome some of the strain… yet here you are, at the hospital of all places. May I ask how you learned of his discharge?”

Though polite, the sentence was sharpened with steel.

Kang Mijin flushed. Daesik couldn’t stand the silence and slammed a palm on the table.

“No—you tell us, son-in-law! Why does he look like death warmed over? What did you do to him? You took our child and this is how you return him?”

To Daesik, volume was logic. Rage was reason.

“You suspected our child carried another man’s seed, didn’t you? You insulted us! And now look at him—weak, broken! Do you think stuffing bills into my hand fixes it?”

Only money, Igyeol thought bitterly.

They had never cared for him. Not once. But hearing it spoken aloud still cut deep.

“His mother is here to look after him,” Daesik continued. “Why not let us move into your house? To nurse him properly? Or take him home with us—”

“No. There is already someone attending to him. And as you said, his health is frail. Once he’s recovered, we’ll come visit.”

Before Daesik could erupt again, Dohyeon stood and helped Igyeol to his feet.

“No! You suspected him, didn’t you? You wronged him! You’d better apologize! Do you think your slander is solved with a handful of cash? Do you think we’re beggars?!”

Daesik slammed the table again. The café fell silent. A distant melody played while dozens of eyes locked onto them.

Then, slowly, conversation resumed.

“Answer me!”

“…Father.”

“Speak! Do you have no tongue? Do you think silence makes you virtuous? Foolish boy! You went through all that, and you still sit there quiet? Stupid, useless thing!”

Finally he exploded upward, stabbing a finger toward his son. He grabbed Igyeol’s limp arm and yanked.

“You bore him a child and he treats you like this—worthless brat!”

“What do you think you’re doing!”

Dohyeon was on him instantly, prying Daesik’s grip off with a force Daesik couldn’t match. Igyeol was pulled protectively into his arms.

Mijin rushed forward with fake worry but only poured oil on the fire.

“Yes, you pitiful boy! Why stay in that house after all this? Pack your bags! Demand compensation! Or do you lack even that courage? Why cling to him? For what?!”

The murmurs around them grew jagged.
Pregnant… suspicion… another man… money… compensation…

Each word dug into Igyeol like a blade.

“Lower your voice. This is a public place,” Dohyeon said tightly.

“You too, son-in-law! How can you push away his parents when he’s in such a state? His own mother offers to care for him and you refuse? This is your fault, all of it—your fault, and our child is the one suffering!”