The swollen face that wished him a safe day looked the same as yesterday. He had rubbed at his eyes, reached out to briefly catch hold of Seo Dohyeon’s arm before letting go again, then said it was nothing. Other than the faint gloom in his expression, it had been ordinary.
Completely ordinary. Nothing different at all.
“He left for the academy a little after nine-thirty… almost ten. And he still wasn’t back by the time my shift ended. So I thought maybe he was just running late. Lately he’d been coming home around three-thirty or four….”
“Did he say anything else? That he’d be late, for example.”
“No, sir. He didn’t say anything like that.”
Go Igyeol was gone when Seo Dohyeon returned home after work.
The truth was, Seo Dohyeon had never once considered the possibility that Go Igyeol had left him. The bedroom was still messily arranged. The pajamas he had worn that morning hung over the vanity chair. Go Igyeol’s clothes and the tumbler he used most often still sat beside the water purifier.
More than anything, his pheromones still lingered faintly in the house.
That was why Seo Dohyeon had dismissed it so casually, assuming he was simply coming home later than usual. Calling only after nine at night had been a mistake. He should have realized something was wrong from the beginning.
“Ah.”
Standing before Seo Dohyeon like a guilty man, Kwon Heegang awkwardly glanced toward the secretary standing behind the sofa. The man silently shook his head.
“Did… something happen?”
“No. Sorry for making you come back so late. You should head home now, and remain on standby at your house for the time being.”
“…Pardon? Suddenly, why…? Did I make some kind of mistake? If you tell me what it is, I’ll correct it, Executive Director Seo.”
Remain at home?
The words struck like a bolt from clear skies. At Kwon Heegang’s trembling voice, Seo Dohyeon shook his head with a faint smile.
“It’s not like that. Think of it as paid leave. Get some rest, and when I contact you again, you can return to work then.”
“But this is so sudden….”
Kwon Heegang’s unsteady eyes turned helplessly toward Secretary Yoon. The secretary answered only with a small nod.
“Then… I’ll be going.”
He did not know exactly what was happening, but he could tell something serious had occurred. It seemed to be some kind of problem between the married couple….
Kwon Heegang carefully glanced at Seo Dohyeon’s face.
“Do you have something you want to say?”
“Pardon? N-No. Nothing.”
“Secretary Yoon, arrange a car to take Mr. Kwon home.”
At Seo Dohyeon’s words, Secretary Yoon immediately stepped forward as though he had been waiting for the order. Kwon Heegang remained silent as they crossed the entrance hall and yard, only finally speaking once he was about to get into the car.
“Today’s matter stays confidential. Remain on standby until we contact you again.”
“Ah… yes, of course. Naturally.”
“Please get home safely.”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work, Secretary Yoon.”
After sending the car off, Secretary Yoon returned inside and cautiously studied Seo Dohyeon’s expression. Still seated exactly as before, holding a glass of liquor, Seo Dohyeon had barely moved at all.
Back in March, when Seo Dohyeon had instructed him to clone Go Igyeol’s phone and secretly install a location-tracking application, Secretary Yoon had never imagined things would come to this. At the time, he had simply assumed the world was dangerous these days and that Seo Dohyeon wanted precautions in case something happened. He had completed the task, delivered the cloned phone, and since Seo Dohyeon never appeared to check it afterward, he had forgotten about it entirely.
Secretary Yoon carefully watched his mood before finally opening the tablet to report what Seo Dohyeon had asked him to investigate.
“I checked the call records like you instructed earlier. There are no recently repeated calls to any particular number.”
He deeply regretted seeing it used this way.
“And his movements?”
“Other than the academy, there was only one place he visited twice. If you look here….”
“You’re saying Go Igyeol went to a jewelry shop twice?”
Why the hell would he go to a jewelry shop? He never even wore the things he’d been given.
At Seo Dohyeon’s question, Secretary Yoon nodded. The moment Seo Dohyeon realized Go Igyeol was missing, a headache had started throbbing at his temples. He pressed hard against them before abruptly rising and heading toward the bedroom.
Secretary Yoon hesitated over whether to follow before remaining outside the door instead.
Seo Dohyeon crossed the dressing room, opened the drawer where Go Igyeol’s accessories were kept, and his expression hardened.
No way.
Even at the exact moment he checked, he still had not truly believed it.
The necklaces, bracelets, and brooches he had habitually sent through Secretary Yoon every anniversary, every year—every single one was gone. Only three watches remained, abandoned like scraps, watches so rare they were now nearly impossible to obtain.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
When he stepped back out into the bedroom, Secretary Yoon looked up at him in confusion.
“They’re gone.”
“…Pardon?”
“Looks like Go Igyeol sold every gift I ever sent him to that jewelry shop. Go there tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry… what? Ah. Understood.”
Seo Dohyeon laughed in disbelief as he passed by him, then suddenly murmured a date under his breath.
“…Pardon?”
“Can you check Go Igyeol’s call history from that day?”
“Yes. One moment.”
Secretary Yoon tapped the tablet screen, pulling up the records from that date. Adjusting his glasses with an uneasy expression, he handed the tablet over.
“If you look here, there’s a call with Na Seonwoo.”
“Can you trace the route?”
“It appears they stayed at a coffee shop together for about an hour.”
“What else.”
At the weary question accompanied by a deep sigh, Secretary Yoon hesitated before speaking carefully.
“Mr. Go has been regularly visiting an obstetrics clinic specializing in omegas. Were you aware of that?”
“Obstetrics?”
“Yes. Once every two weeks. Shall I investigate further?”
Seo Dohyeon slowly nodded.
The instant he realized Go Igyeol was gone, he had felt himself become dangerously sharp-edged.
Then he remembered how Go Igyeol had begun avoiding their bed at some point. The way he stayed up later than Seo Dohyeon, making excuses about studying for that ridiculous exam. At the time, Seo Dohyeon had found his diligence cute enough to tolerate it.
But what if that had not been the real reason?
Only then did all the insignificant things suddenly begin to feel strange.
He had thought Go Igyeol was wearing oversized clothes because he wanted to look younger, to blend in with the people his age at the academy. Go Igyeol had always preferred fitted clothing before. Yet at some point he had started wearing only loose clothes that concealed his entire figure, as though he were dressed in someone else’s things.
Cunning to the very end.
“Ha… he got pregnant.”
“…Excuse me?”
“It’s definitely not my child. Then find out whose bastard it is. Or do you only learn that after it’s born?”
“We can perform genetic testing using fetal blood samples.”
Seo Dohyeon silently nodded at Yoon Jaeseon’s reply.
“Then we’ll need to catch him first, whether we’re drawing blood or waiting for the child to be born. Bring him back. In one piece.”
***
That same morning, Go Igyeol headed directly for the place he had quietly been keeping in mind.
The phone he had turned off the moment he left the house remained buried deep inside his bag. The cash he withdrew from the ATM had been divided among several envelopes, each holding a separate amount. Checking every remaining balance took longer than expected, because he kept thinking there would be no chance to withdraw more later.
Resting a hand over his swollen stomach, Go Igyeol leaned against the shaking bus window and let out a long sigh.
He still did not know whether he had done the right thing.
Even now, he replayed the hesitation he had felt right before boarding the bus.
“Ha….”
Had it been sheer luck that he remembered one of the people his mother had once been especially close to?
Contacting her had been the most impulsive thing Go Igyeol had done in his entire life. But he could not think of any way to hide from Seo Dohyeon for long. No matter where he went, he felt certain he would be caught almost immediately.
That was why he had suddenly called her—the woman he had lost contact with after his parents’ funeral—and asked if he could come there.
Even knowing how shameless it was.
Even knowing he was acting as though it were the last rope left for him to grab onto.
She must have been startled, yet there had not been even the slightest hesitation in the voice that came through the receiver. Just remembering it made his eyes burn again.
—Of course. Why would you even ask something like that? Hurry and come.
She had adored the child of her dearest friend more than anyone in the world. Even after years without contact, she had not sounded surprised at all when he suddenly reached out again. If anything, she had cheerfully said she needed someone to help with the pension anyway, easing his burden before he could even explain himself.
—I’m excited, Igyeol. It’s been so long. I keep wondering how much you’ve grown. Come carefully, all right?
The gentle, coaxing voice had broken the restraint he had barely maintained. Only after hanging up in tears and buying the bus ticket did he realize he had no idea how to explain the noticeably swollen stomach beneath his clothes.
And yet—
Even so—
He believed she would still help him.
Go Igyeol leaned his head fully against the bus seat and watched the scenery change rapidly outside the window. By the time the streaks of red in the sky faded into darkness, he found himself thinking about Seo Dohyeon.
Would he be angry?
Or simply stunned?
Would he resent the fact that Go Igyeol had asked for a divorce, failed to get it, and then run away instead?
Maybe he would not think much of it at all. Maybe he would only come looking much later than expected, arriving with divorce papers in hand after all the worry had already become meaningless.
As for the baby…
He would probably be surprised that Go Igyeol had given birth without permission, but he did not seem like the type who would become angry over it. Anger required affection for the other person, after all.
More than anything, Seo Dohyeon was a man who cared about whether the parent carrying the child possessed superior traits. The Seo Dohyeon Go Igyeol knew would send the child overseas exactly as the contract dictated.
So, if possible—
Go Igyeol hoped Seo Dohyeon would feel a little regret, then forget him quickly.
Yet at the same time, he hoped he would not forget.
He wanted Seo Dohyeon to feel the absence of the person who had always been beside him, even if only as a vague sense of emptiness.
His conflicting emotions reached their limit.
He wished Seo Dohyeon would ignore everything and move on as though none of it mattered.
But he also desperately wished he would not.
“…If I’d told him… would things have changed?”
He asked the question to the baby that still had no name.
No answer came back.
Only a faint little flutter stirred beneath his hand.