From Divorce to Dusk Chapter 6.3

「Then, could we speak for a moment?」

「Ah, sure.」

Taesuk sat on the living room sofa, and Secretary Oh held out a document.

「These are the analysis results for hormone drug V-2. They were sent from Canada early this morning.」

The test results he had been waiting for were inside this document. Until he received it, it was just a few sheets of paper, but now that he knew its true nature, it felt heavier than any piece of iron. They had intended to request the analysis from a research center in Korea but sent it to Canada to be more certain. They said it could take over a month, but it took only fifteen days. In a way, the timing was perfect.

Han Taesuk seriously flipped through the heavy documents page by page. Difficult terms were well-explained on the side, so he had no trouble reading them. Yes, the problem was that there was too much clarity. After reading thoroughly down to the last paragraph of the final page, Han Taesuk exhaled a deep breath, and Secretary Oh, who had read the test results beforehand, also wore a troubled expression.

「Are you going to tell Mr. Jaekyung?」

「I’m not sure.」

It was an unexpected answer. Or perhaps, it was an obvious one. However, Secretary Oh had hoped for a different response. He looked at Han Taesuk with a complicated face.

「With all due respect, I think it would be best to tell him.」

「And if I do?」

「Pardon?」

「I need to think carefully about this matter.」

「Do you not trust Mr. Jaekyung?」

「…What kind of answer are you hoping for?」

A heavy atmosphere settled in the living room. It was cold enough that Secretary Oh could no longer ask anything more of Han Taesuk. Secretary Oh felt pity for the Omega in that room. When Han Taesuk said he would proceed with the imprinting, Secretary Oh thought there might be at least a tiny bit of heart involved. Unlike his expectation that feelings might develop through imprinting even if they weren’t there, Taesuk had simply imprinted with his Omega partner out of necessity. Perhaps this news would be harder on Park Jaekyung than the ingredients of the injection. Just then, the doorbell rang. Since there was no one expected at this hour, Han Taesuk and Secretary Oh looked at each other, and the lady went out, checked the intercom, and quickly pressed the door-open button.

「The madam is here.」

There was only one person the lady would refer to as “the madam.” It was Director Ji. Han Taesuk rose from his chair at Director Ji’s sudden appearance. Today was Saturday, so the gallery was closed, but she was someone whose weekend schedule was even busier than her weekday one. The fact that she came here without a word could only mean that “something” had happened.

「Executive Director.」

Secretary Oh called Han Taesuk worriedly. He put the documents back into the envelope and thought.

「First, I’ll have to wait and see what Mother has to say.」

「Yes, understood.」

The lady waited and opened the front door, and she appeared, adorned from head to toe in a flamboyant yet elegant manner. She walked in gracefully with the click-clack sound of her heels and looked at Han Taesuk, who was waiting in the hallway.

「You’ve come.」

「Yes, so you were home. No schedule today?」

「None. I plan to rest at home today.」

「Yes, a person needs to rest. I thought you were overdoing it lately anyway.」

「Yes, please come in.」

She took off her shoes and put on slippers. Handing her jacket to the lady, she quietly looked around the living room. Her eyes were certainly searching for someone.

「Mother, weren’t you going to the Bank President’s gathering with Father today?」

「It’s an evening appointment anyway, so I stopped by before going. By the way, where is Jaekyung?」

「He is resting.」

「What time do you think it is for him to still be doing that?」

She asked sharply. She looked displeased, as if she were about to demand he be brought out right this instant.

「You’ve come at the right time. I had something to tell you, Mother.」

Her eyes, which had turned fierce, curved softly. Then she looked at her son.

「What is it?」

「I can’t talk about it here. Let’s go to my study on the second floor.」

「…Alright.」

Han Taesuk moved to the second floor first. He was worried that their conversation might reach Jaekyung. This is because it would be troublesome to see how he might react if he heard this story without any preparation. Han Taesuk, Secretary Oh, and Director Ji entered the second-floor study, and the lady left after placing tea and refreshments on the table. Han Taesuk handed the documents he had received from Secretary Oh minutes ago to his mother sitting opposite him.

「What is this?」

「…It’s the analysis data on V-2. I thought you should see it, Mother.」

「V-2? Isn’t that still in clinical trials? And why would you commission an analysis of that drug?」

「You’ll know once you see it.」

With a suspicious expression, Director Ji opened the documents. Having studied to run a pharmaceutical company, Director Ji read through the original language and difficult terms more fluently than Han Taesuk. As she read, her hands began to tremble more and more, and after reading through to the last page, she threw them down on the table.

「I am well aware of the many side effects and the problems listed here. That’s why it’s still in clinical trials and undergoing gradual modifications. What kind of problem is this? Why do you have this data? Could it be that some place is using this to black-mail you?」

「No.」

「Then?」

「The professor who participated in the research experimented with this on my wife, Park Jaekyung.」

「What? What are you talking about?」

Was it because Han Taesuk spoke so calmly? Or was it because it was unbelievable? She couldn’t easily grasp what she had just heard and asked her son to explain once more.

「The professor used V-2 on my partner, Park Jaekyung.」

Her eyes widened, and her whole body trembled. She clenched her fists, and the documents in her hands became a crumpled mess.

「…You, haven’t you misunderstood something?」

「I haven’t. Call Professor Kim right now or call the development lab and ask. Of course, I have already finished all the fact-checking and gathered all the evidence.」

「Just… just since when?!」

「It seems he has been injected with V-2 once every two months from the beginning until now. It must have been three years.」

「My… goodness….」

Her face turned pale, and she gulped down water. Not stopping there, she drank all of Han Taesuk’s water as well and thumping her chest. Frowning as if she had a headache, she leaned back on the sofa and thought deeply.

「Did you not know, Mother?」

「…I didn’t know. Unless I were crazy, there’s no way I would give a drug under clinical trials to your partner. So, how did you find out?」

「Recently, on his heat cycle day… he had a seizure and collapsed. I found out while investigating the cause. On paper, it said that V-1, which currently has usage approval, was used, but it wasn’t.」

「…I also received reports saying it was V-1. No, that’s not the issue. So? How is Jaekyung now?」

「All the side effects written there apply to him. He was injected regularly for nearly three years… and in the early stages, it would have been even more unstable than the recent drugs. Alpha pheromones would have been the thing to alleviate the symptoms at least… That professor probably didn’t know. That I have never exposed him to Alpha pheromones even once.」

「…What on earth are you two….」

She thumped her chest a couple more times and gasped for air. Secretary Oh, who had been listening quietly to the story, took water out of the refrigerator in the study and refilled her cup.

「The reason… I came today was because I heard a strange rumor recently. A story about Jaekyung being hospitalized. At first, I heard he spent the heat cycle with you, so I scoffed, thinking it was a misunderstanding… but a reporter who came to the gallery must have sniffed something out, as they subtly let it slip to me. Saying that Jaekyung was in an unconscious state. You didn’t say anything, but since I couldn’t get in touch with either you or Jaekyung for a few days, I came here before going to the hospital to check. But hearing your words, it seems true that Jaekyung was hospitalized and was unconscious for a few days.」

「He crossed the threshold of death. I kept people’s mouths shut until I could know his exact physical condition.」

「So now…? How is Jaekyung’s condition?」

「We’ll have to wait and see. Since he needs a lot of Alpha pheromones and they said imprinting might be good for him, I imprinted as well.」

It was written that way in the documents too. It stated that currently, there is no way to treat the symptoms resulting from those side effects, a lot of Alpha pheromones are required, and the Omega needs extraordinary physical care. Otherwise, it could lead to infertility, losing everything as an Omega and becoming a Beta.

「Right, imprinting….」

「But unfortunately, he doesn’t remember the fact that we imprinted. As written there, his memory has deteriorated significantly, so they say we don’t know when, where, how, or what memories he might lose. It might even be difficult for him to remember things at all.」

Director Ji rested her head in her hand again, closed her eyes, and thought.

「Mother, is this really something unrelated to you?」

「I’m not saying this to evade responsibility, but I truly did not know. However, I do think I am also responsible. How dare… a mere professor touch someone of our family?」

「I think you trusted that professor more than Park Jaekyung, Mother. That’s why he looked down on him. Even though, as you said, he is a person of our family.」

And that was the same for himself, not just his mother. Just like his mother, he had abandoned him. And this is the result he got. It was a mistake. A disaster that occurred because the NI head family, who are supposed to be the best of the best in Korea, could not protect a single member of that family. If someone found out, it would be headline news and the world would mock them. It’s like falling into a trap one dug oneself. As if she couldn’t refute Taesuk’s words, she only bit her lip and let out a sigh.