From Divorce to Dusk Chapter 7.7

It is not an interrogation. He only said it because it seemed as if the man wanted something right now, yet Jaekyung’s body flinches once as if he is being scolded. To think that a grown man, and one who is even older than himself, could look so small and precarious.

「Mr. Park Jaekyung. If you grabbed me, there must be a reason, right? Speak up.」

「…I’m sorry.」

A tiny voice, the size of an ant, drops weakly. As his hand starts to slip as if about to fall away, Han Taesuk grabs it again.

「Please… let go.」

「Do you really have nothing to say to me?」

Silence. If he acted like this, Han Taesuk had no reason to keep holding this hand anymore. Just as the strength was gradually leaving Han Taesuk’s fingers and the sensation of Park Jaekyung’s fingers was about to vanish, Jaekyung muttered very softly.

「Please… help me.」

It was a voice so small that it wouldn’t be heard unless one really focused. Fortunately, because Han Taesuk was focusing on Jaekyung at that very moment, those words were heard clearly.

「There is no one else… I can ask for help… except for Executive Director Han… Since I am… the Executive Director’s partner, after all.」

「…How should I help you?」

He wondered what kind of grand request was coming to elicit such a reaction. He was almost expectant.

「Hold… me. Just once. Could you please hold me?」

「Excuse me?」

「Because I’m scared. I’m just so scared. When I close my eyes and open them… everything is a mess. Besides, the heat cycle… didn’t I have a miscarriage? I don’t know why a heat cycle is already coming when it hasn’t even been a few days since the miscarriage. What’s even scarier is that you said we were marked, but right now I can feel other people’s pheromones. I can’t control my own pheromones either. It feels like my body is breaking somewhere, but I’m alone… because I’m alone. It’s too much….」

Like a broken faucet, he began to pour out everything that had been blocked up until now. Han Taesuk looked at Park Jaekyung, who was crouched on the floor in despair. His state right now was the same as the day after the miscarriage. Does that mean his memory of the last few days has vanished again? Does he not know what he said or how he acted?

「So you wanted someone to hold you?」

Remaining hunched over, Park Jaekyung nodded. Han Taesuk probably wouldn’t know. That single nod was an act of immense courage for Jaekyung.

Han Taesuk let out a deep sigh. Then, kneeling on one knee, he grabbed Jaekyung’s shoulders and pulled him up. He couldn’t tell what kind of face Park Jaekyung was making. He just pulled him up and held him tightly in his arms. The thin, exhausted body smelled of tears. Jaekyung, who had been held blankly and helplessly, leaned very slightly against Han Taesuk’s shoulder. It provided no real comfort. Even so, had he been longing for body heat? He felt a little, just a little, less afraid.

「The doctor is here.」

The housekeeper spoke cautiously. The one who pulled away from Han Taesuk’s embrace first was Park Jaekyung.

「Th-thank you.」

Jaekyung, who had pushed him away slightly and stood up while staggering, sat straight down on the bed. His disheveled appearance from a moment ago was gone without a trace, and he greeted the doctor with a calm demeanor. That look was exactly the kind of daughter-in-law Director Ji wanted.

「You say a heat cycle has come?」

「Yes.」

The doctor tilted his head. Even though a heat cycle shouldn’t occur for at least three months, or six months at the longest, after a miscarriage, Jaekyung’s body levels clearly showed the readings of a heat cycle. Fortunately, perhaps thanks to Han Taesuk administering the suppressant, his pheromones and physical state were following a normal rhythm.

「Please check the status of the marking as well.」 Jaekyung said calmly to the doctor.

「Excuse me?」

Why…? The doctor asked Jaekyung, looking bewildered.

「I can feel pheromones other than those of the Alpha I’m marked to.」

「What, that is impossible.」

「Because it’s impossible. That’s why I’m asking you to check if the marking has perhaps been broken.」

The doctor looked at Han Taesuk in a panic. Han Taesuk nodded. The doctor performed a simple test for the marking and soon muttered with a darkened face, as if he couldn’t believe it.

「For you two, the marking has been dissolved.」

There was no tremor in Jaekyung’s expression, but the hand clutching the duvet tightened. Since this was something Han Taesuk had roughly expected, he let out a short sigh.

「Let’s talk outside.」

At Han Taesuk’s words, the doctor rose from his seat. Han Taesuk left the room first, and until the doctor followed and the door closed, Jaekyung didn’t say a word; he just sat with his back straight and stared straight ahead.

「First of all, I would like you to keep this a secret from my mother.」 Han Taesuk said first.

「That won’t be a problem, but still, Mr. Jaekyung needs a detailed examination. A marking cannot just suddenly dissolve. As you know, for a marking to be dissolved—」

As the doctor tried to continue, Han Taesuk raised his hand to stop him.

「That’s enough. You don’t have to say it. It’s not like I’m going to start studying markings now. I also know that this phenomenon is strange. So I hope this doesn’t become known to anyone. I need to investigate the reason. As for that person, I’ll take him to the hospital as soon as it’s light out.」

「I understand.」

「The issue is the heat cycle…. Do you think you know the reason?」

「I am not exactly sure myself. There is nothing that can easily explain or allow for a medical judgment regarding everything happening to Mr. Jaekyung’s body right now.」

Han Taesuk clicked his tongue; thinking the doctor wouldn’t be of any more help even if he stayed, he cautioned him once more to keep his mouth shut and sent him out.

「How is he?」

「He seems stabilized. I also administered the suppressants the doctor gave.」

「I see.」

Does that mean there’s nothing more to worry about? When morning comes, I’ll have to take him to the hospital as soon as it’s light.

「How troublesome.」

There wasn’t just one or two things to worry about. He was barely managing to handle his affairs, but if days like this continued, he felt he would hit a breaking point eventually, so he was quite concerned. It seemed like sleeping today would be difficult, and thinking he should at least get some work done, Han Taesuk told Secretary Oh and the housekeeper to sleep and went up to the study. He sat alone and turned on his laptop, but in less than 10 minutes, his concentration shattered. The documents in the desk drawer kept weighing on his mind. The reason the heat cycle returned, the reason the marking broke. While thinking he should go to the hospital tomorrow morning to find out properly, the thought occurred to him that perhaps the answer lay in those documents. Muttering once more about how troublesome it was, he reached out his hand but then withdrew it. He then simply closed the laptop, stood up, and lay on the sofa. He didn’t want to think about anything.

◆

「So, have you recovered your health well?」

Director Ji asked Jaekyung as she elegantly set down her teacup.

「It is thanks to your concern.」

「I see. Then that is a relief.」

It was ten minutes after facing Director Ji that she offered her first greeting, and after that first remark, silence continued for a while. She did not look into Jaekyung’s eyes. Every time their eyes met for a fleeting second, her gaze, filled with disdain, pierced Jaekyung’s heart; now, there was nothing he could do except keep his head bowed.

「How are you feeling?」

「I am healthy.」

Whether she was speaking to Han Taesuk, who was sitting next to Jaekyung, the Director nodded at her son’s answer.

「Yes. It is a pity, but since you have proven that your body is capable of conceiving, you will be able to have another. So always be careful with your body, and make sure to go to the hospital once a week.」

「Yes. I understand.」

「Take another month off from the gallery.」

「But….」

「You being there is of no help anyway.」

「…Yes, I understand.」

That was the end of the conversation with Director Ji. Of course, she talked with Han Taesuk, but nothing more came toward Jaekyung. While he was listening blankly to their conversation and starting to feel pathetic, Han Taesuk stood up first, saying he had an appointment, and Jaekyung followed after him.

「Do you have an appointment? Then I will go separately.」

「How exactly?」

「Ah, I can just take a taxi.」

「I don’t know whether to call it humble or miserable.」

Han Taesuk muttered it quietly, but there was no way it wouldn’t be heard by the person following closely behind him.

「Sometimes Mr. Park Jaekyung seems to forget his position. There are times when you act accordingly, and then there are times when you become endlessly humble.」

「I’m sorry.」