From Divorce to Dusk Chapter 2.1

After not feeling well for a few days, he finally came down with a cold and body aches. No wonder his body had been feeling so shivery. If he had gotten sick the night before, he could have at least told the store manager in advance, but he started feeling seriously ill right around the time he had to go to work, so he couldn’t even give a heads-up. Jaekyung sat hunched over in the convenience store, shivering. He had a blanket from the stockroom wrapped around him, but maybe it was because he was too close to the door. Feeling a chill that seemed to seep into his bones, he tried his best to warm his body. But no amount of physical warmth can help an internal chill. Jaekyung knew that all too well from his five years of work.

At the jingle of the door opening, Jaekyung shot up from his seat. A heavily drunk customer staggered in and pulled a card from his wallet.

“Welcome.”

With a face that betrayed no sign of his illness, Jaekyung smiled and greeted the customer kindly.

“Two packs of Hilton!”

As soon as he heard the cigarette brand, he quickly took out two packs, scanned the barcodes, and completed the transaction.

“Hm?”

The customer sniffed the air and leaned his body abruptly toward Jaekyung, startling him. The man’s action, as if trying to catch a pheromone, was extremely rude and could get him reported for omega harassment under different circumstances. However, he seemed to be drunk and likely unaware of his impolite behavior. More importantly, Jaekyung was currently imprinted, so no one except that person could smell his pheromones.

“Maybe not…?”

The man scratched his head, took the card and cigarettes Jaekyung held out, and staggered back out.

“Thank you. Please come again.”

He called out brightly and energetically. As soon as the door closed, Jaekyung quickly wrapped the blanket around himself again and sniffed his own body. There was no smell at all. His heat cycle was approaching, and he had taken suppressants not too long ago. The imprint couldn’t have been broken without the alpha’s consent, so the man’s behavior was truly strange.

Then again, he didn’t even know if that man was an alpha, beta, or omega. The only pheromone Jaekyung could smell was that man’s… Han Taesuk’s pheromone.

“Hmm… did he smell my sweat?”

Right, he had a cold… and he had been breaking out in a cold sweat. He decided to think positively, figuring that must be it. Still, he should go to the hospital tomorrow. Before he gets any sicker.

◆

Somehow, he managed to endure until dawn, returned home, and soothed his body on a warm electric blanket. He woke up around 2 PM and headed to the hospital. At first, he intended to go to a local clinic, but there wasn’t one in his neighborhood, and the one at the intersection was closed for relocation, which left Jaekyung in a dilemma. His body was reaching its limit, and he didn’t have the strength to search for another hospital and endure the waiting time. He had slept well, but his body still felt heavy, and he was burning up with a fever. Left with no other choice, Jaekyung headed to the hospital where his primary doctor was.

After about a 50-minute drive, he arrived at the university hospital. As soon as he gave his name, he was connected with the professor who had been his doctor since childhood. However, the nurse informed him that the professor was currently on his rounds and he would have to wait about 10 minutes. He agreed and sat in the waiting room.

His fever was so high that his eyeballs ached as if they would pop out. 

My body really doesn’t feel like my own… this is worse than a heat cycle, isn’t it? 

Jaekyung laughed as he compared his cold and body aches to a heat cycle he couldn’t even remember when he last had. When you’re sick, even the smallest things seem funny.

“…Park… Jaekyung?”

A familiar but unwelcome voice, one he never expected to hear in this place… the sharp voice of the very source of his suffering called his name. He instinctively shot up from his huddled position and stood rigidly. His vision was blurry from the fever, but the woman in the red suit before him was crystal clear.

“Mo… Mother…”

The woman was exactly the same as when he had first met her. She was still a proud queen, youthful and beautiful for her age. As soon as she confirmed it was Jaekyung, she dismissed the people around her. Now that he thought about it, how could he have forgotten that this hospital had formed a strategic alliance with them a year ago? He should have anticipated a situation like this….

“I’m not your mother now, am I? You’re not part of NI anymore.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m tired of hearing you say you’re sorry. But what brings you here? Are you sick?”

“Ah… I came because I have some body aches.”

“Body aches…?”

The woman’s expressionless eyes glinted suspiciously. Jaekyung immediately understood what that look meant and shook his head.

“I’m not pregnant.”

“…Are you sure?”

Yes, there is absolutely no way I could be pregnant.

“Yes. I took suppressants just the day before yesterday.”

“That’s a relief. It’s only been a little over a month since you separated, so the possibility wasn’t entirely zero. I was just getting worried. It would be troublesome for Director Han if you were to get pregnant now, wouldn’t it?”

“I know. So you don’t have to worry.”

“I’ll trust you. And… you won’t be meeting or contacting Director Han separately, will you?”

“Yes. Of course.”

It was the second condition of their divorce. Do not contact or meet him first. If they were to meet or contact each other, it could only be initiated by him.

Director Ji looked Jaekyung up and down with distrustful eyes and clicked her tongue. It was understandable; Jaekyung was currently dressed in scuffed sneakers, a black t-shirt, jeans, and a single windbreaker. It was a shabby appearance that would have been unimaginable when he was with NI. Furthermore, this was the kind of look Director Ji despised the most. Since he no longer had to be mindful of her gaze, Jaekyung stood even taller, with his shoulders squared.

She walked toward the elevator with a click-clack of her heels without a separate goodbye. At that, the people who had been waiting in the back rushed out to escort her. As soon as she was gone, Jaekyung felt like he was going to be sick and ran to the restroom, throwing up stomach acid. It was the worst. Even though a month had passed, he felt as if he was still bound by the atmosphere of that house. That suffocating, lonely time he had wanted to escape from.

“Park Jaekyung-nim!”

The nurse’s voice calling for him from outside brought him to his senses. Jaekyung quickly rinsed his mouth and went out.

“Yes! Yes!”

“The professor is here.”

“Ah, yes!”

As he entered the doctor’s office, the witch was now gone. Right, it’s over now. I’ve escaped. It’s okay because I escaped by sacrificing and abandoning so much. All that’s left now is to be happy, Jaekyung.

◆

“We’re curious about how you two met.”

At the press conference held at the hotel, only questions that had been pre-arranged with the media outlets were asked. Jaekyung and Han Taesuk answered the questions by reciting lines from a script. Their movements and answers were mechanical and passive, yet no one in the room noticed anything strange. It was only natural. They were all accomplices.

“We met at a family gathering in high school.”

No, we had never once met back then. They had to create a plausible episode for how they met, and since they couldn’t create any point of contact during college, they decided to mention an unofficial gathering during their high school days. Because ordinary people wouldn’t know that such gatherings really exist. Of course, no such gathering existed.

The reporters wrote their articles without suspicion, though the manuscript was likely already complete, and the two of them diligently finished their 30-minute speech and entered the waiting room.

They sat on the provided sofa and waited for Han Taesuk’s lawyer and chief of staff to arrive. About 10 minutes later, they were told that all the journalists had moved to the banquet hall, and Han Taesuk stood up.

“Mr. Park Jaekyung, please go to the banquet hall and mingle. These are people you will have to rely on in the future.”