Divorce in Bed Chapter 39

‘Has such a critical problem occurred that call records mustn’t be left behind?’

While Yeohwi was pondering this.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz.

The phone inside the box vibrated as if having a seizure.

A caller name appeared on the LCD screen.

Father

Seeing that, Yeohwi flinched, nearly dropping the box. His gaze trembled as if he were looking at a time bomb, and his heart, which had plummeted, shattered into pieces at his feet.

‘Father?’

That word was by no means an object of longing for Yeohwi. His parents had passed away in an accident when he was an infant, and the man who had craftily crept into that void and told Yeohwi to call him father had long since disappeared into the past.

A terrible man who had deluded, confused, and brainwashed a young Yeohwi—who was only ten years old—and finally betrayed him, pushing him into hell.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz.

The sound of the vibration ringing from the box pierced Yeohwi’s ears violently. A high-pitched tinnitus rang out with a beep, and the surroundings became muffled. Yeohwi’s fingertips trembled like aspen leaves.

He knew instinctively that he shouldn’t pick up—that the moment he answered this call, his current daily life would break.

Yet, at the same time, an uncontrollable, intense lump surged up from beneath his feet. It was resistance against Manager Gye, who had dominated and coerced Yeohwi’s life for half of it—from the time he was a ten-year-old child until now at twenty. A resentment that still could not be forgiven remained as a trauma in Yeohwi’s gut, and now that he was an adult, it led to an impulse to face him.

Yeohwi was no longer a helpless and ignorant child.

He was not so weak that he would forever run away from the person who had cruelly deceived him and stabbed him in the back—the man he had followed and trusted as a father—without even being able to spit out a single word of resentment. Now, it felt like he could drag out every bit of that dark inner heart and fire back.

A spine-chilling resolve moved him.

Yeohwi’s finger pressed the call button as if drawn by a magnet.

“…Hello.”

—You picked up. It has been a long time, Young Master. No… my son.

The voice heard over the receiver was not as base as it had remained in his disastrous memories. It was a voice that was surprisingly gentle, dripping with deep longing. It was enough to make a corner of his chest throb.

Perhaps it was because it vaguely resembled the voice of a family member, piercing through Yeohwi’s weakness.

“Manager Gye?”

—Yes. It is your father, Yeohwi.

It was indeed Manager Gye, Gye Sanghun.

It wasn’t as if he had never thought about the moment he would reunite with him. In fact, if he had wanted to meet, he could have met him at any time. He could have gone for a visitation whenever he wanted while the man was serving his sentence, and after his release, it would have been possible to use people to find out what had happened if he just set his mind to it.

What would it be like to meet? Would they scream and fight? Would he criticize him, asking why he did it? He had intended to demand whether money was so desirable that he had ruined everything for it. But hearing that voice in reality, his breath caught. It felt as if his esophagus were tightening.

“Father? Don’t make me laugh.”

Yeohwi grit his teeth. Something hot surged up from inside.

“Why… how do you even think to contact me? With what nerve?”

—Yeohwi, it’s a misunderstanding. It was all a misunderstanding. I’ve been waiting all this time to tell you that…

It was truly a joke. Gye Sanghun’s voice was muffled and choked up like a father meeting a child he had been separated from for many years.

—Our Yeohwi, you’re twenty now, aren’t you? You’ve become an adult. I don’t know how many days I’ve counted while waiting for this day. Before then, you were too young for me to tell you anything. I couldn’t bring myself to reveal the truth to your young self with my own mouth.

“That’s a lie, you son of a bitch. You betrayed me. And my grandfather. When you were caught trying to steal grandfather’s inheritance, you even started a knife fight. Because of you, I…!”

—Yes, it’s only natural for you to be angry. I understand. But please, listen to me for just a moment. I will tell you the whole truth now.

Regret and sorrow were mixed in Gye Sanghun’s voice.

“The truth?”

—Back then, I was the one who was betrayed.

“…What?”

—What was the grandfather you remember like? He must have been a kind, gentle, and frail old man. But Chairman Seong Jehwi’s active years were different. The Chairman did not hesitate to do illegal things and amassed dirty money. As the Chairman’s closest aide, I took the lead and handled all those foul and messy tasks…

“Lies…”

Yeohwi muttered.

“It’s a lie. You’re trying to deceive me right now.”

—No. You must know the scale of the Chairman’s inheritance. Does it seem like a scale that could be accumulated legally…? The Chairman used and discarded people’s lives as if they were nothing. Like scraps of paper. Working under such a Chairman, my humanity was gradually eroded.

“I don’t believe you. Don’t play any more tricks.”

—Then how about this. Do you think your parents really died in an accident? They were sacrificed. To someone who held a grudge against the Chairman’s dirty deeds. And I, too…

“No!”

Yeohwi’s hand trembled.

Could Manager Gye’s words be true? Was there a truth hidden that Yeohwi hadn’t known? Just what was Yeohwi’s grandfather…

—In his final years, after retiring, the Chairman grew to distrust even me, who had been his loyal sword. Alzheimer’s is such a terrifying disease. He simply couldn’t keep me by his side. Me, who held every single one of his lifelong shames in my head… So, he wanted to remove me. That is how I ended up going to prison, framed with the charge of trying to forge a will.

‘There’s no way.’

He was confused. The fragmented memories of the past and the gentle voice now reaching his ears clashed, making his head spin. What Yeohwi, who was ten years old at the time, remembered was a chaotic scene with raised voices, his grandfather collapsed and covered in blood, and a fruit knife stuck in Gye Sanghun’s shoulder.

A startled Yeohwi had run crying into his room to call the police, and Gye Sanghun, caught at the scene, was immediately sentenced to guilt as a flagrant offender.

‘What if the grandfather’s influence was involved in the judgment? Settling it with money…’

No, that’s not it. There’s no way.

It makes no sense.

Yeohwi grit his teeth and denied the nightmare-like thought. He took a deep breath to try and regain his composure somehow.

“What a ridiculous story. You should have argued that in court. Telling me ten years later is useless. You don’t have a single shred of evidence.”

—It would have been useless to fight in court. Since the Chairman had made up his mind to settle everything. I had no choice but to be victimized without being able to do anything.

“I don’t even believe that, but even if I were to believe your words, it’s strange that you’re revealing the truth only now when it’s all in the past. Why would a man who feels so wronged stay quiet all this time and act now?”

—I understand it’s hard to believe. But I wasn’t staying quiet; I was waiting. I found out late about the news that you, Yeohwi, had gotten married. You’re all grown up now. I thought that since you’re an adult, you’d be okay even if you heard the truth…

“Then, you’ve been hiding it for my sake all this time?”

—Yes… Why else would I have contacted you only now? If it were because of money, I would have sought you out much sooner. I would have looked for you as soon as I was released. But I truly thought of you, Yeohwi, as my son. So, I went to prison bearing all the guilt, while I silently endured so that you, Yeohwi, could have all of the Chairman’s inheritance.

“Even if you say that… I clearly saw it. That day, the one who harmed grandfather was…”

—It was self-defense. I was stabbed as well. The one who swung the weapon was actually the Chairman.

Family. It was a deficiency that had tormented Yeohwi his entire life—a massive hole that could not be filled. Gye Sanghun pierced exactly into that hole. With his specialty of crafty tongue-play and a well-coordinated, fabricated story.

—But that’s enough now. This father of yours will be leaving Korea very soon. I simply wanted to tell my son the truth for the last time.

“…”

—And as for having no evidence. There is evidence. I am keeping Chairman Seong’s real will. And… the records containing the Jinsang—the true facts—of the crime on that day regarding your parents’ accident.

Gye Sanghun drove in the final wedge.

—I am taking a boat from Incheon Port tonight. I will never return. There will be no reason to contact you again. I will throw this phone away, too.

“…”

—Before I leave, I contacted you because I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding one last time.

“…”

—If you want to see the Chairman’s will and the records of your parents’ accident, I will send you the address of the storage locker. That, too, will be discarded after today, so you must go within today if you want to check it. My son, please realize this father’s innocence.

Click.

The call was cut off.