From Divorce to Dusk Chapter 9.4

「…Yes. But since I’ve already been pregnant twice, can’t we use that as proof?」

He hated this. To think he had to sleep with this man again.

「Because the result was a miscarriage.」

To live anxious and fearful once more, terrified that he might get pregnant and lose the child again.

「I… can understand overturning the divorce. No, actually, I’m not really sure. Still, given the situation… I can accept all of that. But… pregnancy… I don’t think I can do that. I’ve already miscarried twice, so I don’t even know if there will be a third time, and it’s true that there are side effects. If I miscarry again….」

「NI will assist you through to childbirth. So that a miscarriage will absolutely not happen.」

「That is not something that happens just because you want it to.」

「No. It will be fine.」

「How can you be so confident? I have no confidence in this.」

Jaekyung hung his head low. Was it thanks to suppressing it so hard because he didn’t want to cry? His voice trembled, and his nose tingled. His chest felt suffocated.

「Understood. Mr. Park Jaekyung’s will is important, so I will abide by it. However, all of Chairman Park’s demands will proceed only after you promise to get pregnant within a year.」

「Are you threatening me?」

「It is not a threat. I am simply informing you of reality.」

「It sounds like a threat to me.」

「…Please think it over and tell me. However, I would like you to give me an answer by tomorrow morning. That way, we can make our moves.」

Han Taesuk rose from his seat and went up to the second floor.

Jaekyung buried himself in the sofa and let out a long sigh.

Looking at the clock, until the morning he mentioned—he surely meant by the time he left for work.

About 5 hours remained.

How generous of him to give a whole 5 hours.

The answer was already set anyway, and Jaekyung had to accept his conditions.

If so, shouldn’t he at least gain one thing for himself?

He had to ponder that within five hours.

A headache began to gnaw at Jaekyung little by little.

◆

Jaekyung, who stayed up all night with his eyes wide open, went to the second-floor study as soon as it turned 7 o’clock and knocked on the door.

Han Taesuk happened to be tying his tie.

「I want to talk.」

His hands paused briefly, and soon, after tying his tie perfectly, he sat on the sofa, and Jaekyung sat across from him as well.

「I will do as you said. Even if I fail within a year, I will try my best to get pregnant.」

「You must carry it through to childbirth.」

「…Yes. I will try my best. But you must also help me a lot, Executive Director Han. I hope you will work hard together with me.」

「Yes. Understood. I can promise you that. Even if it is not me, NI will make sure to help Mr. Park Jaekyung give birth safely, no matter what.」

I was talking to Han Taesuk, not NI, though.

「And also… after I give birth, I want a divorce.」

At Jaekyung’s final sentence, Han Taesuk’s brow furrowed.

「I also hope the bond is broken after I give birth. As you said, once I give birth, the talk regarding the side effects of V-2 will subside, so after I give birth to the child and my body stabilizes, I want a divorce. This much… even I cannot yield.」

「If that happens, I cannot give you custody of the child.」

「…Yes, I know. I will give it up.」

「…Understood. Then speak with the lawyer regarding that and draft a document. You may write down everything Mr. Park Jaekyung just mentioned.」

「Yes. Thank you.」

「When is your next heat cycle?」

「When I went to the hospital last week, they said my hormone levels were unstable, so it was still impossible to tell.」

「My rut is a month from now, so ask the doctor if we can match it to that time.」

「Yes, understood.」

Jaekyung bowed his head first and rose from his seat.

Han Taesuk stood up right after him and put on his jacket.

As Jaekyung was about to open the door and leave, he noticed his tie was slightly crooked.

It bothered him, but offering to straighten his tie felt somewhat laughable, so he deliberately ignored it and left the room.

What was he supposed to do now? Ah, he had to take out the packed bags and put things back.

No. He would only be here for a year, so was there a need to do that?

First, let’s call Father, and then speak with Mother.

She would definitely cry, but she would still pat him on the back and say he made a good choice.

Surely she would.

◆

After the divorce was called off, chaotic days followed.

He had to move intentionally for the media to see.

He went shopping, which he hadn’t done for 4 years, had to show his face at cultural centers, and had to attend conferences and gatherings for Omega rights.

His schedule was packed day after day, so eventually, a Beta secretary was assigned to attend to Jaekyung.

Her name was Kang Hyeyoung, a woman whose abilities were so exceptional that Secretary Oh praised her endlessly.

Listening to the schedule she read out to him, he got his hair done, received makeup, and lived a rigid, disciplined daily life decked out from head to toe.

He wondered if these were perhaps things he should have done much earlier as Han Taesuk’s mate.

Meeting people, promoting NI, and assisting Han Taesuk’s position had been Jaekyung’s job, but perhaps he had been ignoring it all this time.

No, it might have been that he couldn’t do it… because NI didn’t accept him as part of the family.

「You have a lunch appointment with Executive Director Han today at 1 PM at the W Hotel.」

Yes, they say you get used to everything once it becomes familiar, but this alone was something he could never get used to.

The time he spent meeting Han Taesuk.

Once a week, they went around loudly as if explicitly telling the media to look.

They ate lunch, went shopping at department stores, or walked around parks to expose their faces to many people.

That was the only way to prove that the two were not on bad terms and were doing well.

However, every time they met, Jaekyung was truly suffocated.

The awkward atmosphere, the formulaic conversations exchanged awkwardly, and the awkward smiles.

Covered in awkwardness through and through, he later felt so worried that he wondered if he was doing a good job or if the reporters would notice.

Yet Han Taesuk himself appeared completely unfazed.

It must mean he was used to business.

After briefly stopping by an Omega seminar in the morning, he headed to the agreed-upon W Hotel.

Having arrived first, he stood up from his seat and approached as soon as Jaekyung arrived.

「You’ve arrived?」

「Yes….」

「Please sit down.」

Today’s venue was H.Q Steak, a steakhouse famous in New York.

Two months ago, NI negotiated with H.Q to exclusively bring in a Korean branch.

Since the price was expensive, at around 300,000 won per person, everyone mocked it when it was first announced that this steakhouse was coming in, but now it was boasting a reputation as a place where you couldn’t get a table unless you booked two months in advance.

「Where have you been?」

「I went to a seminar on Omega rights today.」

「I see.」

「How is work for you?」

「It’s the same. But I think there will be good news soon.」

「Yes.」

While conversing, Han Taesuk signaled with his eyes.

It seemed there was a reporter behind Jaekyung. Or perhaps a tipster hopeful.

Jaekyung smiled even more brightly.

The more he smiled, the more it felt like the pieces of steak going down his throat were choking his airway tightly.

I’m going to throw up again when I get home today.

Jaekyung tried to let out a sigh, but held it in tightly.

Now was a time when he had to be careful with every single action.

「Mr. Park Jaekyung. Would you like to watch a movie today?」

「A movie?」

「Yes, a movie we invested in for production was released, and the response seems to be good.」

「Ah. That movie was finally released. Understood. It was a movie I wanted to see.」

In truth, he didn’t even know what kind of movie it was.

A movie… it feels like it’s been several years since he last watched one.

Ah, he watched one before marriage, so it’s a story from over 4 years ago.

If it’s a movie they invested in, it must be a Korean movie….

Jaekyung stopped thinking up to that point.

Because he knew that thinking about it any further was of no use.

Having finished lunch, he headed to the movie theater in Jamsil together with him.

They sat down in front of a screen of tremendous size.

As if to prove the good response was no lie, the seats were packed full despite it being a weekday afternoon.

The movie was a story about the Civil War, and it was heavy enough that it was understandable why Han Taesuk had invested in it.

However, comedy bits and touching moments were properly mixed in between, making it quite enjoyable to watch.

「How was it?」

「Ah, it was enjoyable.」

「That is a relief.」

Han Taesuk glanced somewhere again.

As expected, there must be a reporter.

Just how long were they going to stick around like this?

Jaekyung took one step closer to him.

If he stuck a little closer, they might look like a couple so attached that they couldn’t be pulled apart, but thinking that would be going overboard, he maintained a reasonable line and tried hard to look more intimate.

Just then, Han Taesuk suddenly brushed Jaekyung’s hair.

At the sudden feeling of his touch, Jaekyung flinched in shock.

As Jaekyung tried to step back, he caught his waist with one hand.

That was a close call.

All the work done over the past few days could have gone up in smoke in an instant.

Jaekyung forced a smile and accepted his touch naturally.

His subtle pheromones wrapped around Jaekyung.

This is the first time. For this man to touch me like this.

「I think it’s better to keep your hair neatly arranged. Today’s hairstyle is just right.」

「Yes. Thank you.」

His hand pulled away.

Jaekyung smiled awkwardly.

Since he had to return to the company shortly, they stepped out of the movie theater and got into separate cars heading toward their destinations.

Beside him, Secretary Kang was speaking about the next schedule, but nothing entered his ears.

His mind was bothered only because the weight of the hair Han Taesuk had touched felt a little heavy.

「When do they say your heat cycle is?」

Having returned home after work, Han Taesuk asked Jaekyung with a cold demeanor completely different from his appearance during the day.

「Not yet….」

「Hmm….」

Han Taesuk tapped his fingers on the armrest of the chair.

「Did they say it’s fine for you to get a booster shot?」

In fact, the doctor had advised that it was better not to get it if possible.

Because he repeatedly emphasized that Jaekyung’s physical condition was not good, perhaps as an aftermath of the miscarriage, and that his uterus was unstable.

After the first miscarriage, he had recovered abnormally fast, but now his recovery was strangely slow.

He was even bleeding heavily quite often.