“I want a divorce.”
It was the end of February, when the last cold snap before spring was at its sharpest. It was the first meal they had shared in a long while, and as always, Go Igyeol waited until Seo Dohyeon’s utensils were set on the table.
The man emptied the glass of water that had been poured for him. Only when his gaze finally lifted to the person seated across from him did the words Go Igyeol should have held back a little longer part his pretty lips and slip out.
“Let’s get divorced.”
“Say that again.”
“…The marriage period in the contract isn’t over yet, but—”
“I don’t think I understand. Were you ever in a position to demand that of me, Go Igyeol?”
Seo Dohyeon cut off his calm explanation with the expression of a man forced to deal with something deeply tiresome. His gaze, devoid of affection, pierced straight through Go Igyeol. There was something searching in it, as if he were looking for what Go Igyeol had hidden.
Go Igyeol’s lovely face wavered faintly. With the small movement of his head, his fine brown hair stirred in soft strands.
“As you just said, there’s still a long time left.”
“…My feelings have changed.”
“Explain that in a way I can understand. What feelings, exactly, have changed?”
“I don’t want to… live with you anymore.”
The man seated across from him was as arrogant as ever, his voice carrying that familiar languid edge. His long fingers pressed firmly against his temple. His cool eyes closed, then opened again slowly.
“If you divorce me now, what are you planning to do about your father?”
“…I’ll make sure it doesn’t become something you need to worry about. I’ll explain it to him properly, so it won’t cause you any trouble—”
“You must have no idea how much attention I’ve been giving that ridiculous business your father wants to start if you can say that. Without thinking. With that stupid look on your face.”
Seo Dohyeon had deliberately chosen the word stupid, but Go Igyeol remained as he always was. Expressionless, indifferent to everything, with a face beautiful enough by any measure. Instead of meeting Seo Dohyeon’s eyes, he stared at the edge of the table or the pattern on an empty dish.
As always, not a single thing about him was out of place.
That detached composure, oddly mature for his age, had been one of the things Seo Dohyeon liked when they first met. But the longer they lived together, the more it began to grate on him. It would have been easier if Go Igyeol got angry, or if he honestly demanded what he wanted. Yet the more time he spent with Seo Dohyeon, the more naturally Go Igyeol hid his emotions. He had never once voiced even the smallest complaint.
Because he hid so much, he became honest instead in bed.
And because of that, Seo Dohyeon had grown far too attached to sleeping with him. How could he not become obsessed, when that was the only time Go Igyeol showed what was inside him? So Seo Dohyeon held him compulsively, again and again. Even if it was only attachment to his body, some measure of feeling should have formed by now. From Seo Dohyeon’s point of view, it was absurd that Go Igyeol would demand an early divorce for no better reason than that his feelings had changed.
“That’s why you should have thought carefully before signing the contract. Maybe it’s because you’re young. You don’t seem to understand how frightening the words ‘in the event of nonperformance’ can be.”
“……”
“At the very least, don’t make your father hear that he took in an ungrateful animal.”
“My father isn’t like that…!”
“I don’t know. The father I know seems exactly like that sort of man.”
Before he realized it, Go Igyeol had wrapped an arm around his lower abdomen and bitten his lip. Just hearing the word father was enough to turn his mind blank, white as a sheet of paper. He needed to lift his lowered gaze and say something, anything, but once Seo Dohyeon brought up his father, Go Igyeol had nothing he could say.
Screech—
Seo Dohyeon, finished with his meal, rose from his seat. The chair scraped back.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said.”
It meant he would not have this conversation twice.
Go Igyeol could not raise his head.
Seo Dohyeon looked at his omega, whose face had gone white, and slowly told him to eat plenty before leaving the table.
*****
“You’re seven weeks pregnant. The uterus is positioned well, and the gestational sac has a very nice shape. On the ultrasound, the fetus is just under one centimeter right now, but that’s still within the normal range. Have you had any morning sickness?”
“I haven’t had an appetite, and I’ve been sleeping… far too much. It felt strange.”
“I see. Are you able to eat at all? Morning sickness usually starts around now.”
The doctor, who had a kind air about her, spoke with gentle concern.
“Then… I really am pregnant…”
“Yes, you are. Did you take a test first? Around this stage, home pregnancy tests usually show a very clear result, so most people already know by the time they come in. You seem very surprised.”
The doctor’s eyes curved slightly before she smiled brightly and continued in a cheerful voice. Go Igyeol pressed his parting lips shut and nodded. Just as she had said, the moment he saw those two unmistakable lines, it had felt as though his heart had dropped.
He had prayed it would not be true.
After Seo Dohyeon’s rut cycle, his body had kept sagging with exhaustion, and he had suddenly begun sleeping much more than usual. Seo Dohyeon had always been meticulous about contraception, and he was not a man who made mistakes, but the symptoms were not ordinary. Even as Go Igyeol told himself it could not be true, he had taken the test just in case. Then, clinging to the hope that the result might be wrong, he had come to the hospital.
But—
“Congratulations on your pregnancy.”
The test had not been wrong.
Go Igyeol’s pregnancy was confirmed.
It felt as though he had been driven to the edge of a cliff.
What do I do?
The hands resting on his thighs went cold.
“Now, today we’ll listen to the heartbeat before you leave. From seven weeks onward, you can hear the fetal heartbeat. Just a moment.”
The doctor murmured that everything looked good as she operated the machine. After a few clicks, a strong, rapid heartbeat filled the room.
Thump, thump, thump, thump—
“It’s faster than an adult’s, isn’t it? The heart rate is 139 bpm, which is normal.”
“…The baby…”
“It’s a little small, but growing very well. There, that tiny bean-shaped thing is the baby.”
Go Igyeol’s gaze fixed on the dark dot her finger indicated.
“Since it’s still early in the pregnancy, you’ll come in once every two weeks until twelve weeks so we can check the fetus by ultrasound. After twelve weeks, we’ll do a detailed ultrasound, and then you’ll come in once every four weeks. Ah, and your spouse’s pheromones have a significant effect on fetal growth, your condition, and morning sickness, so pheromone showers are essential from now on. If your trait is recessive, the risk of pregnancy toxemia rises considerably without your spouse’s pheromones.”
“Is it possible…”
He started to ask about terminating the pregnancy, then swallowed the words.
Abortion procedures for omegas were illegal. Go Igyeol thought he would have to find a hospital that performed terminations for omegas who did not want to be pregnant, but even that thought left him endlessly lost.
The gel remaining on his abdomen was wiped away with a warm towel, and he returned to the consultation room to hear the rest of the explanation. The doctor warned him once more that without the alpha’s pheromones, the chance of miscarriage would also increase.
Go Igyeol answered that he understood, his expression stiff, and rose from his seat. He bowed deeply to the doctor and was straightening again when the world suddenly spun before his eyes. A wave of dizziness struck him, and he staggered.
“Are you all right?”
The nurse who had been in the consultation room with them supported him. She tightened her hold on Go Igyeol’s slender body, which looked dangerously unsteady.
“If you’re dizzy enough for it to be uncomfortable, please tell us while you’re still at the hospital.”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
“I’ll help you walk.”
The nurse looked at his deathly pale face and thought he looked almost impossibly innocent. Even among the omegas who came to the hospital, beauty of this degree was rare. The mere act of him blinking felt strangely fascinating. Every time their eyes met, his picture-perfect appearance drew silent admiration from her.
But she found it strange that he did not look happy after having his pregnancy confirmed.
“If the dizziness continues badly enough that you stagger, make sure you come in, even if it’s between appointments. All right? You have to take care of yourself. There are so many things to be careful about in the early stages. The hospital will give you a maternity handbook, so please read what’s written inside. It also lists the supplements you should take by stage, so use it as a reference.”
The nurse emphasized it again and again. Before handing Go Igyeol the maternity handbook, she even explained what sort of information was inside.
“Thank you. I’ll read it.”
“Then we’ll see you in two weeks. Please schedule your next appointment when you pay.”
Go Igyeol answered the nurse, who confirmed everything several times, that he understood. Then he paid in cash and scheduled his next appointment. Afterward, the strength went out of his legs, and he sat for a while in the waiting area.
The straight line of his back collapsed, and his small hands covered his face completely. In no time, his eyes grew wet.
“…What am I going to do?”
Seo Dohyeon did not want a pregnancy.
That was why he had always been so meticulous about contraception… so how had a baby happened?
His thoughts would not connect properly. Immediately after confirming the test result, Go Igyeol had taken out the prenuptial agreement they had written before the marriage and read it over and over again. Among the clauses, detailed from beginning to end, there was not a single provision allowing him to give birth to and raise a child.
If he left Seo Dohyeon’s side even one day sooner…
Then perhaps Seo Dohyeon might never find out he was carrying a child.
Clinging to that futile hope, he had asked for a divorce before the contract period ended far too soon last night, only to be met with contempt. Even as he listened to words sharper than an awl, the clause he had read and reread until he could recite it line by line rose in his mind.
[Article 7] No children shall be born during the contract period.
Clause 1. Seo Dohyeon and Go Igyeol shall use strict contraception during marital relations. In the event of contraceptive failure, Go Igyeol shall not maintain the pregnancy without Seo Dohyeon’s consent.
Clause 2. If Go Igyeol maintains the pregnancy and gives birth without Seo Dohyeon’s consent, Go Igyeol shall forfeit all parental and custody rights over the child.
Clause 3. Parental and custody rights over the child shall belong to Seo Dohyeon.
Clause 4. Immediately after childbirth, Go Igyeol shall not be permitted to see the child.
Clause 5. Seo Dohyeon shall not disclose the child’s sex, genetic test results, or trait test results to Go Igyeol.
Clause 6. If Seo Dohyeon relinquishes parental and custody rights over the child, the child shall be placed for international adoption, and no information regarding either party shall be registered with the adoption agency.