Divorce in Bed Chapter 22

The smile that had been hanging on Yeohwi’s lips stiffened slightly. As expected, it wasn’t easy. Dowon was still strictly drawing a line. However, instead of being disappointed, Yeohwi nodded. Being allowed to freely come and go from the study was a huge step forward.

“…Understood.”

Yeohwi replied energetically, his light brown eyes sparkling.

“I’ll keep public and private matters strictly separate, Director Do.”

“Then that’s enough.”

Dowon pointed toward the second floor with a chin gesture.

“Go up and sleep.”

“Yes sir.”

And then, leaving Yeohwi behind, Dowon climbed the stairs leading to the second floor first. Of course, he wasn’t heading for the bedroom.

From a distance, his back could be seen entering the bathroom.

Yeohwi followed Dowon up to the second floor, though the man didn’t look back at him even once, and then hesitated in front of the bedroom hallway. He came to a stop right there.

‘Hmm…’

It felt a bit like a waste to just go in and sleep like this. Come to think of it, he hadn’t even been able to give a proper greeting. For that to be the end, today’s long wait felt too drawn out.

‘Am I being a nuisance?’

Yeohwi stealthily glanced at the bathroom door across the hallway. Without realizing it, his legs moved first.

He hadn’t intended to do this. By the time he came to his senses, he had already arrived in front of the closed bathroom door.

The sound of water could be heard from inside. Every time the sound of the stream pouring from the showerhead hit his ears, his heart thumping loudly.

‘I can’t do this. Should I just go? I can do the greeting tomorrow… Ah, damn, but I’m so restless. I want to see his face… I waited all day and finally met him. Yeah, earlier it was too dark. I couldn’t see anything.’

Yeohwi paced in front of the door, agonizing for a long time.

‘Let’s just look at his face. Just, truly, the face of my handsome husband!’

A little while later, the sound of water stopped.

Yeohwi instantly swallowed hard and stared at the door. His body gradually leaned forward. It felt like he was being sucked inside. In his heart, he wanted to press his ear to the door and eavesdrop on the sounds.

Instead, Yeohwi squeezed his eyes shut with superhuman patience. But that only made him imagine it more. The sound of water droplets falling, the sound of wiping a wet body with a towel, the sound of shaking out his hair, and the sound of applying skin lotion and putting on a robe…

‘Uh, this, this is a bit dangerous.’

Click.

While he was lost in his imagination, the sound of the door opening came along with a sudden waft of hot steam.

Yeohwi sucked in a breath.

Only then did he realize something had gone wrong, but it was already too late.

Dowon was coming out of the bathroom.

In stark contrast to his usual flawless suit, he was defenselessly dressed in nothing but a black silk robe, loosely thrown on.

His wet black hair was scattered haphazardly over his forehead, and the remaining water droplets flowed down his sharp jawline. A transparent trail passed his long neck, pooled in the deep hollow of his collarbone, and soon disappeared into the firm chest visible through the gap in his robe.

As if possessed, Yeohwi lowered his gaze, following that sight.

The solid wrists revealed beneath the robe sleeves, the knot of the waist tie, and even the silhouette of his straight legs continuing below it.

From Dowon’s head to his toes, his gaze was persistent, as if he couldn’t afford to miss a single spot. It was difficult to control the blatant staring and raw desire. It was impossible to hide anyway.

His heart beat so fiercely it felt like it would break through his ribs. His throat burned dry.

Is this what first love is like?

He wanted to touch him. He wanted to hold him. He wanted to smell the scent of the body coming from that wet skin.

‘This is crazy…’

Dowon paused when he saw Yeohwi standing in front of the door.

And soon, he felt Yeohwi’s hot gaze scanning him as if to devour him. His brow furrowed deeply.

“You, what are you doing instead of sleeping?”

At the cold voice that felt like a slap to the cheek, Yeohwi finally snapped out of it.

“Ah, uh.”

Realizing what he had just been thinking and how rude and blatant the eyes he had used to lick him over were, Yeohwi’s face flushed as red as a sunset. Flustered, he belatedly averted his gaze randomly and scrambled. Not knowing where to put his eyes, he looked at the wet hair, then at the hem of the robe, and eventually stuck his head down to stare at the pattern of the marble floor tiles.

“That, well… I was going to greet you before sleeping.”

“A greeting?”

“Yes. Because I wanted to see your face and say goodnight.”

Yeohwi’s fingers fidgeted. His lips trembled slightly.

Meeting Dowon’s wet face up close was stimulating enough to stop his breath. His heart raced like crazy again, but Yeohwi suppressed it and spoke.

“Goodnight, Mister Dowon.”

Then, gathering courage, he peeked his head up.

Dowon gave no reply. He just looked down intently at Yeohwi, who was looking up at him with bright red ears while shaking out his wet hair with a towel.

He waited in front of the door at this hour just to say goodnight? Or was this brat still failing to understand and expecting something else?

Just as he was about to interrogate him lightly, Yeohwi spun around as if he had reached his limit. He could see his back scurrying toward the bedroom in an awkward posture. The hallway echoed with a loud thud-thud-thud before the open door slammed shut.

Dowon stared at the far-off closed door with narrowed eyes, then let out a hollow laugh.

‧₊˚🍊༉‧₊˚.

6:50 AM. Even before the alarm went off, Seong Yeohwi’s eyes snapped open.

Yeohwi rushed to the bathroom to wash his face and chose the neatest-looking black T-shirt to wear. He looked in the mirror while shaking his wet bangs. The traces of having been sick for a few days were nowhere to be found. Standing there was a twenty-year-old youth with cheeks flushed with anticipation.

6:58 AM. Yeohwi ran down the stairs and headed for the dining room.

Dowon was already sitting at the massive dining table. Dressed in a crisply ironed three-piece suit, he was checking the news with a coffee cup in one hand and a tablet in the other. The morning sunlight touched the bridge of his sharp nose and shattered.

Yeohwi approached the table, catching his breath.

“G-Good morning!”

Dowon’s gaze moved from the tablet to his wristwatch. He spoke dryly.

“You aren’t late. Sit.”

Yeohwi sat in the seat opposite Dowon with a sense of relief.

As if she had been waiting, Mrs. Park brought out a warm breakfast. A soft omelet, fresh salad, and freshly baked bread. Normally, it would have been a meal he ate alone, but today was different.

Dowon did not leave his seat.

Until now, he was the type to leave for work immediately after finishing a cup of coffee, but today he remained seated even after emptying the cup.

Realizing that fact made his heart pound. He couldn’t tell if the omelet was going into his nose or his mouth. He felt like he might get indigestion, but at the same time, his heart overflowed.

He was so confused, not knowing how this had suddenly happened. However, even that confusion—even being monitored—felt sweet.

Yeohwi finished every bit of the prepared breakfast, leaving not even a single piece of salad. Only then did Dowon stand up. He moved his steps toward the stairs to the second floor instead of the front door.

“Follow me.”

Is he going to the study now? Because he said he would teach me.

Yeohwi blinked his eyes as if puzzled.

“Mister Dowon, then are you not going to the office today…?”

“I’m working from home.”

He replied calmly while climbing the stairs.

“Whoa, Mister Dowon works from home too?”

“It’s tiring for the subordinates if an executive sticks to the office too much.”

Dowon unfastened his shirt sleeve buttons. He added as he rolled up his sleeves, revealing his solid wrists.

“More than anything, I’ve gained some leeway thanks to you.”

“Thanks to me?”

“Since I’ve acquired a definite weapon to strike Do Jingyu with, I have a justification to pause existing projects for a moment and pour time into this side. I have to completely revise the optimization strategy.”

Yeohwi’s face brightened up brilliantly. The fact that he was truly helpful to Dowon. And he was overjoyed that thanks to that, Dowon had gained a moment to rest, or rather, time to spend with him.

“Th-Then I did a good job.”

“Don’t be conceited. We’ll have to see how it turns out.”

“Still. Hehe.”

The two headed to the second-floor study.

Dowon’s personal sanctuary that had been firmly closed all this time. He had been allowed into this space once before, but only that one time. Yeohwi entered as he opened the door with a fluttering heart.

Surprisingly, the scenery of the study was a bit different from last time.

A small temporary table and chair had been newly placed by the window opposite Dowon’s massive desk, though he wasn’t sure when it had been prepared.

“That is your spot.”

Dowon pointed with his chin.