From Divorce to Dusk Chapter 2.2

Was this his first job as a member of NI? Although they weren’t married yet, for Jaekyung, it was his first official appearance as Han Taesuk’s partner.

“…Yes.”

As soon as he heard Jaekyung’s answer, Han Taesuk left the room with his people, and Jaekyung stood up and checked his hair and clothes once more in front of the vanity.

“Jaekyung-nim.”

With a knock, two women who appeared to be hotel staff entered with a suit.

“He asked you to change into this.”

It would be foolish to ask, who? What’s more, it wasn’t Jaekyung who was to dress himself. Two coordinators, a man and a woman, came in, changed Jaekyung’s clothes, adjusted the fit with pins, and brought a perfectly matched set of cuffs and a watch. After re-styling his hair and touching up his makeup, he finally put on the shoes they had chosen for him. The reflection in the mirror was so unfamiliar. Unlike the self he knew, who always had some flaw or a sloppy corner, the current figure showed not even the slightest gap.

Is this the look that NI wants? It’s too stiff and cold. A person who walks a perfectly straight path, who seems to care for no one but themselves in their life. Jaekyung felt he might even grow to dislike himself, but he pulled himself together and followed the hotel manager who guided him to the banquet hall.

In the large banquet hall were the reporters from various media outlets who had conducted the mechanical interview earlier, as well as directors and other key figures. The moment Jaekyung entered, everyone stopped their cheerful conversations and looked at him with the same cold, observant eyes as Director Ji. At least a hundred pairs of eyes were on him. Jaekyung clenched and unclenched his fist once, then squared his shoulders and showed them a relaxed smile.

“Are you all having a good time?”

He cut through their gazes and stepped into their midst.

◆

“I’m tired.”

That was the first thing Jaekyung said as soon as he got in the car. As always, Driver Seo, assigned by Han Taesuk, said nothing and simply drove the car in silence.

He checked his phone; not a single call, not a single text. On KakaoTalk, however, his former team members had sent him pictures from the press conference and messages of encouragement. Jaekyung sent them a short thank you and was about to put his phone in his pocket when a text message arrived.

I heard it ended well. You did a good job.

A text came from a man he hadn’t expected. Feeling his body, which had been about to slump over from exhaustion just moments before, regenerate, Jaekyung just blinked his eyes and stared at the message. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Should… should I reply? I should, right? I can’t just ignore it. Jaekyung held his phone and mulled it over for a long time before carefully typing out a sentence.

Thank you. You also worked hard today, Director Han. Please rest.

He regretted it after hitting the send button. I should have written something longer, there were better words to use! It was a shame. He wasn’t getting closer to him or opening his heart to him over something so trivial, but he thought it was only proper to respond to the kindness he had first shown with kindness of his own. 

He waited for 5 minutes, wondering if a reply would come, but it didn’t. His energy was rapidly depleted again, and his body slumped, gradually collapsing into the seat, yet he kept looking at the message he had sent. 

Still, Jaekyung hoped that perhaps next time, he could offer a different kind of greeting. But as always, any expectation related to Han Taesuk was bound to be shattered.

The next time he saw him was on their wedding day.

◆

“It’s body aches from a cold.”

At the professor’s words, Jaekyung felt a deep sense of relief. He had been worried there was something seriously wrong with his body, so this was a relief.

“I’ll give you a shot, and I’ll prescribe three days’ worth of medicine. Just take it after meals.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you hurting anywhere else?”

“No.”

The professor asked various questions while typing on the monitor. Jaekyung glanced at the monitor. He couldn’t understand the other things, as they were medical terms, but he knew what the omega symbol and the ‘-‘ sign in front of it meant. It meant recessive omega… even after 5 years of hormone injections, he was still a recessive omega.

“Thank you.”

“Take good care of yourself, and if anything happens, be sure to contact me. Understood?”

“Yes. Ah, professor, please keep my visit here today a secret from my father.”

At Jaekyung’s request, the professor let out a deep sigh. Being someone who roughly knew the family’s atmosphere, he understood what the request meant and nodded, saying he would. Jaekyung thanked him once more and left the hospital, getting his prescription filled at a nearby pharmacy.

“Please wait just a moment.”

Listening to the kind pharmacist’s words, he waited for the medicine to be prepared while looking around the pharmacy. Perhaps thanks to the shot, he was feeling much better, and as if to make up for the lack of activity over the past few days, he couldn’t stand still and was looking around when he heard the jingle of a customer entering. Jaekyung instinctively looked that way and was startled.

“Ah…”

The person who entered also had a surprised look on their face.

“Jaekyung-nim.”

Although the man was in his early 40s and much older than Jaekyung, he always greeted Jaekyung politely and used formal language, just like now.

“There’s… no need for that anymore. Secretary Oh.”

Secretary Oh Seunghwan. He was Director Han’s secretary and had been assisting him since he was young. Han Taesuk relied on and trusted Secretary Oh more than his own family members.

But what was Secretary Oh doing here? As far as Jaekyung knew, his home wasn’t near here. Moreover, the company headquarters wasn’t close to this place either. This location should be outside his usual range of activity, so to see him here meant… above all, he was someone who never left the director’s side except when he was sleeping. In that case.

“…Is the director outside?”

“Ah… yes, he’s waiting in the car.”

Peeking out the pharmacy window, he saw a familiar black sedan with its hazard lights blinking, parked across the crosswalk.

“I came to pick up Director Ji.”

Was she still at the hospital? If so, it made some sense. He used to pick her up occasionally after she badly injured her leg from a fall on the stairs while attending a national event two years ago.

In that case, I’m really unlucky to have run into him like this.

“Are you… sick?”

When Secretary Oh asked, Jaekyung quickly waved his arm.

“No. I’m not sick.”

“You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t sick.”

“Well… that’s true. Haha. I just have a bit of a cold and body aches. Ah, but Secretary Oh, what about you? Are you sick, coming here and leaving the director behind?”

“Ah, I came to buy some fatigue recovery drinks. I can’t ignore my age anymore.”

“Please take care of your health. Take a lot of nutritional supplements too.”

“Yes, you too, Jaekyung-nim, please take care of your health.”

He remembered the times when Han Taesuk would go into his study, and Jaekyung would be sitting alone on the sofa, hugging a pillow and staring blankly. Secretary Oh would come and talk to him. He thought his vocal cords would dry up from not speaking to anyone all day, and he was grateful that Secretary Oh, like an oasis, would occasionally acknowledge him. Time really is a great healer. To think he could recall memories from that time so casually. If it’s like this now, will all the events of those five years become mere memories as more time passes?

Then again, there wasn’t much that could become a fond memory.
“Park Jaekyung-nim, your medicine is ready.”

At the pharmacist’s voice, Jaekyung took the medicine as if he had been waiting for it and put it in his bag.

“Then I’ll be on my way. Ah, and… please keep it a secret from Director Han. That you saw me.”

“Understood.”

Jaekyung thanked him and quickly left the pharmacy. The moment he opened the door, he flinched at the sight of the sedan, which now appeared closer. He had to cross the street to take the bus, but he didn’t have the courage to cross that crosswalk, so he hailed a random taxi that was approaching. After giving his destination, he leaned back comfortably in the seat and glanced behind him. It was gone. The car he had seen so clearly just a few minutes ago was nowhere in sight. Had he been dreaming? No. There was nothing between him and that person that would cause him to have such a dream. Feeling unsettled for no reason, Jaekyung tried to think of other things as he watched the people passing by outside the window.

◆

As two of Korea’s leading conglomerates celebrated a joyous occasion, the for-show wedding was naturally large and extravagant. An outdoor wedding was held at a hanok hotel in Incheon operated by NI Company. The path for the guests to enter the venue was literally a flower road, lined with congratulatory wreaths from the president, business partners from various countries, and prominent domestic companies and various other businesses.

The families of NI Company and Jaewang Group were busy greeting guests, and their subordinates were also busy guiding the attendees. In addition, media access was permitted this time, so a huge number of reporters and broadcast camera crews were gathered in one place, noisily clicking their camera shutters. Everyone was excited and in a festive mood. The main character, Jaekyung, however, was sitting in the provided waiting room, staring blankly at the mirror.

He had woken up at 4 AM to wash up, get a massage, and then have his makeup and hair done. Then he put on the white ceremonial attire chosen by NI and pinned a pink flower to his chest. The day had finally come. His wedding day… but funnily enough, even on the day of the wedding, the groom had not yet arrived at the venue. This waiting room where he was alone was a place where both the omega and alpha were supposed to wait for the ceremony together.

“Could I end up getting married alone?”

Wouldn’t that be hilarious? Jaekyung muttered to himself, then chuckled at the thought that it wasn’t an impossible scenario. He hadn’t heard from him even once since the press conference. He had waited for about a week, and after ten days, he started to give up. After a month, he thought the wedding had been called off, but it hadn’t.

“Jaekyung.”

Jaekyung spoke to his reflection in the mirror.

“What are you doing?”

If you’re going to run, now is the time. It’s not too late now. 

He felt like crying. 

The future he could see without even experiencing it began to tear at his heart. Just then, the door opened and Han Taesuk walked in. 

Surprised, Jaekyung shot up from his seat, but he didn’t look at Jaekyung. He immediately took off his clothes as the people who followed him in instructed, changed into the ceremonial attire, had his hair styled, and his makeup done. 

After finishing his wedding preparations in 10 minutes, he glanced at Jaekyung in the mirror while adjusting his clothes, gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, asked the person who appeared to be his secretary about his subsequent schedule, and then walked out.