Divorce in Bed Chapter 21

(Advertisement) Special Event for Valued Customers

#In+ter+net or TV=B used at home

♥ Year-end Jackpot Event: Support up to ₩900,000!!

★ Plus affiliate card + mobile phone bundle reward benefits!!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠Of course.

What was I expecting? Seriously, what!

Yeohwi threw his phone back into the corner of the sofa. Perhaps because there was a bit of a tantrum contained in the toss, the phone buried itself deep into the cushion. But then, immediately, once more.

Buzz.

I won’t fall for it. Once or twice is enough; I really won’t fall for it this time.

Yeohwi ignored the vibrating phone while keeping his legs crossed. Instead, he picked up the TV remote and turned the power on. He flipped through the channels rapidly before glancing toward the phone screen, just in case.

‘This is the last time, seriously.’

Yeohwi let out a sigh and opened the screen.

And there, the two characters of the name appeared.

Dowon

“…!”

His breath caught. This—there was no way this was happening.

He had certainly saved his phone number under the name ‘Dowon.’ Still, something had to be wrong.

Was he seeing things? Or was he still in a dream? Yeohwi checked the message very carefully, as if his finger might slip.

It was short.

A blunt reply without a single drop of emotion mixed in, very much like Dowon.

But Yeohwi covered his mouth the moment he saw those two indifferent characters.

He got a reply. From that iron fortress-like Dowon. He actually answered Seong Yeohwi’s question!

At that moment, another speech bubble popped up on the screen.

“…Huh?”

Yeohwi’s eyes grew so wide they looked like they might burst.

‘He says he just stepped out to eat. Does that mean he’s going to eat because he saw my text? Or did he reply because he happened to see it on his way to eat?’

Either way, it didn’t matter.

The important thing was the fact that Dowon, who had done nothing but draw lines and push him away, had finally accepted Yeohwi. He had spared some of his own time to look at the message and even replied by sharing his situation.

Could… could this be the interest he spoke of?

His heart throbbed uncontrollably. It felt as if the inside of his chest was melting into something soft and fluffy. Just from two texts and one simple sentence, he felt as if he owned the world.

Yeohwi sprang up from the sofa. Then, he paced around the living room in large circles. He repeated the process of writing and deleting a reply on his phone dozens of times.

‘Is it okay if I reply too? I said I’d only send one text a day. But still, I want to reply. Is it okay? Is it not? Will it be burdensome? No, wait. If I don’t reply now, I’m ghosting Mister Dowon’s message. Is that allowed? Wouldn’t it be bad to ghost him after he finally replied? Right? That’s correct. He probably knows I read it already. Because the 1 disappeared. Ha, damn it. What do I do? Send it? Don’t? If I send it, what do I say? Aaaagh!’

After agonizing for a long while, he finally sent a message containing his most honest feelings.

He carefully chose an emoticon of a white puppy wagging its tail and holding out a food bowl to add to the end.

The number 1 disappeared the moment it was sent.

He’s looking. He was looking at the text.

Yeohwi hugged his phone tightly to his chest and flopped onto the sofa.

The crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling looked exceptionally sparkly today. No, it felt like the whole world was shining brilliantly in rainbow colors.

‘He’s really mean.’

To toy with someone’s heart like this just by replying once.

However, the smile plastered on his face refused to fade. Laughter kept leaking out to the point where his cheekbones ached.

It seemed that this evening, he wouldn’t be able to stand it without lingering in front of the entrance until Dowon finished work.

‧₊˚🍊༉‧₊˚.

The excitement that had kept Yeohwi high all day long turned into anxiety as the night deepened.

“Why isn’t he coming?”

Yeohwi sat on the living room sofa with his knees pulled up, staring blankly at the front door. The hands of the wall clock had already swept past midnight and were heading toward 2:00 AM.

Normally, he would have been asleep in bed wearing comfortable pajamas, but today was different. Wanting to look good for Dowon, he had chosen his neatest loungewear and even combed back his hair.

‘And he even replied to me.’

The hope given by that tiny bit of interest was so great that he couldn’t sleep. No, he couldn’t allow himself to sleep.

‘When he comes, I’ll tell him he worked hard. I’ll greet him with a smile. Then won’t Mister Dowon look at me with eyes that have softened just a little?’

But time flowed heartlessly.

Blink, blink. His heavy eyelids kept drooping. He tried to hold on by patting his cheeks, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the encroaching drowsiness.

Eventually, his head dropped. Yeohwi fell into a light sleep, leaning uncomfortably against the armrest of the sofa.

Beep, beep-beep.

The sound of the door lock cut through the silent living room. It was nearly 3:00 AM when Dowon finally returned home. Today, too, he was soaked in extreme fatigue.

As soon as he entered the foyer, he roughly loosened his suffocating tie, and his gaze stopped near the sofa. Under the dim light of a floor lamp, a familiar large figure was curled up.

“…”

Dowon’s brow narrowed sharply.

Without deadening his footsteps, he strode into the living room. As he got closer, he could see Seong Yeohwi crumpled and asleep on the sofa in an uncomfortable position.

He had a long, sturdy body—so long that his legs stuck out even though he took up the entire three-person sofa. Muscular limbs were revealed beneath his loose loungewear. Broad shoulders. Even the sound of his breathing while asleep wasn’t a soft wheeze, but more like the vigorous breathing of a young beast.

A beast has moved into the house.

After confirming the face of the sleeping Yeohwi, Dowon tapped the side table near Yeohwi’s head twice with his index finger, his expression cold.

Tap, tap. A sharp noise. Following that, a dry voice hit Yeohwi’s ears, which were steeped in sleep.

“Wake up.”

There was no such kindness as covering him with a jacket or carrying him to bed.

“Mmm.”

Yeohwi made a pained sound and opened his eyes. Through his blurry vision, Dowon’s silhouette appeared, backlit.

“…Uh?”

Yeohwi rubbed his eyes, wondering if it was a dream. But the cool scent of cedarwood and the smell of night air hitting the tip of his nose were definitely reality.

“Do—Mister Dowon…? You’re home?”

Yeohwi stood up abruptly with a bright smile of welcome. The boredom of waiting vanished instantly, and like a puppy wagging its tail, he tried to approach him. However, Dowon took a step back, coldly ignoring the approach.

“Why aren’t you sleeping? What are you doing here?”

“Ah…”

Yeohwi scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“I was waiting. I wanted to see your face before going to sleep. You’re tired, right? Should I get you some water? Or, um, maybe a shoulder massage…? I can knead them for you.”

“Ha, it hasn’t been long since you collapsed. You seem to have plenty of energy already.”

Dowon muttered as he tossed his tie onto the table.

“Since you seem fine, come to my study starting tomorrow.”

Yeohwi’s eyes went round.

“…The study?”

“You suggested it. That you’d entrust the management of the inheritance to me.”

Dowon looked down at Yeohwi at an angle. His gaze was thoroughly calculating and cold.

“I’m going to make that plan a reality. Because it was useful.”

“…!”

“So, starting tomorrow morning, commute to my study and learn. There’s a lot to teach. To refine those crude plans in your head, there isn’t a moment to lose. I don’t have the luxury to waste time messing around inefficiently like this.”

It was a reprimand, but to Yeohwi’s ears, it sounded sweeter than any praise. A look of joy that couldn’t be hidden spread across Yeohwi’s face.

“Re—really? You’re really going to teach me?”

“Yes.”

“Wow…!”

After hearing the confirmation, Yeohwi couldn’t contain his happiness.

“Thank you! I’ll work really hard! Whatever you tell me to do, just like last time…!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Dowon cut him off coldly, like pouring cold water on cotton candy.

“You said it yourself. This is a deal. It’s not because I recognize you as a partner. I’m only using you because the hand you played was too good to waste.”

Dowon’s pitch-black eyes were terribly dry today as well.

“So don’t think about pulling any stunts and just focus on the work you’re given. I won’t tolerate any commotion in my study.”