From Divorce to Dusk Chapter 7.1

「I spoke with the doctor, and it seems you’ve gotten much better.」

「Yes. It’s thanks to you.」

「However, he said that for the time being, you must continue to be exposed to pheromones, so let’s keep doing this for at least 10 minutes a day.」

Usually, it was 30 minutes, but now it was 10. It was funny how the time dropped by a third the moment he said he was okay. He wondered how he had lived until now, wanting to reduce it this much. Another hellishly heavy silence began. He leaned back against the sofa, and Jaekyung sat upright, blankly staring at a painting hanging on the wall. The painting of the night sky was somehow frightening and also sorrowful. Then, he suddenly remembered meeting Director Ji today. He probably already knew, but… he had to bring it up. There was something he wanted to ask.

「Today, I saw Director Ji.」

The movement of the hand that had been looking at the news on the tablet stopped upon hearing Jaekyung’s words. Why is he pretending to care? He already knew everything.

「Of course, Professor Kim came along too. Just…」

He had to speak calmly as if it were nothing, but his throat kept going dry. The face of Professor Kim, who had apologized with such an inadequate expression, kept coming to mind, making him feel like gagging.

「She told me to let it pass as if it never happened.」

Han Taesuk put down the tablet PC, sat up straight, and looked at Jaekyung. It was a gaze asking what it was he wanted to say. But Jaekyung feigned ignorance. This time, he wanted to hear it from that man’s mouth. However, Han Taesuk had more patience. He was relaxed, and Jaekyung was anxious.

「…She said the Executive Director was the one who suggested letting it go like that.」

Upon hearing Jaekyung’s words, Han Taesuk crossed his legs, leaned back leisurely against the sofa, and nodded.

「Yes. That’s right.」

As expected, even though he had experienced pain several times and suffered shocks that felt like being hit in the head with a hammer over and over, he couldn’t get used to it. He had hoped Director Ji was lying instead. Why on earth did he trust this man to this extent? Even while being treated like this.

「I see.」

「If I consider you, Mr. Jaekyung, I should fire Professor Kim. But firing him won’t do you any good either, Mr. Jaekyung.」

「…Why is that?」

「The medicine being administered to your younger sister probably isn’t perfect yet. Of course, the clinical trials are over, but the fact that it hasn’t been commercialized yet means there are points that need improvement. Oh, that doesn’t mean it’s dangerous or has side effects like V-2. They are researching to increase the drug’s persistence a bit more, and Professor Kim is cooperating a lot on that part. His head went the wrong way this time, but—there is no one like him in this country. However, if you want, I can fire him. …Shall I take care of it for you?」

It was appalling. Jaekyung almost let out a hollow laugh. Everything had already been decided and he had been notified, so what was the point of saying this now… At the very least, if Han Taesuk had spoken to him first, Jaekyung would have naturally accepted Professor Kim. Yes, even if it was the same story, the order should have been changed; if it had been, he would have thought at least his existence was being acknowledged.

「No.」

Jaekyung smiled. He smiled as brightly as he wanted to cry. Rather, Han Taesuk seemed startled by that smile and faltered.

「It’s fine. If it helps the family… and you’ve been looking out for my sister. I’m actually grateful. Don’t worry about me. Since they say I’m okay now. Well, I’ll be going in first.」

Jaekyung stood up, went into the room, and closed and locked the door. No one would try to open the door anyway, so they wouldn’t care, but he wanted to be alone right now. After sitting on the bed for a few minutes, he leaned his body back. Looking at the ceiling, Jaekyung laughed, “Haha.” Now, even tears wouldn’t flow.