Chapter 62
*
Do-heon’s voice could be faintly heard from a distance. At first, Cheong-yeon thought he might be talking to himself, and even in his sleep, he felt something was strange.
As time passed, the dim voice gradually became louder and clearer. By the time he could accurately perceive the words being spoken, Cheong-yeon realized that Do-heon was on a call.
His deeply submerged consciousness slowly rose, and Cheong-yeon opened his eyelids as he awoke.
Unfamiliar interior, unfamiliar feeling of the sheets, unfamiliar air.
“……”
A few seconds later, he realized he was in a hotel. And that he had slept with Do-heon last night.
Cheong-yeon turned his head to the side. Do-heon was by the window, looking down at the city while talking to someone. It seemed to be someone from the company. Given that words like “meeting” and “project” were being mentioned, it seemed he would have to go to work today as well.
Cheong-yeon sat up and checked his condition. Though he distinctly remembered feeling sticky with sweat and unidentifiable bodily fluids when he fell asleep, now his body smelled strongly of body wash. There was no stickiness, and his skin felt fresh all over.
Given that he was wearing a bathrobe, it seemed someone had washed him while he slept.
Though still quite drowsy, Cheong-yeon got out of bed as if by habit to watch Do-heon prepare for work. Perhaps due to seeing him off every morning for the past three years, his body moved automatically.
“You’re awake?”
Do-heon, who had just finished his call, noticed Cheong-yeon shuffling over in his slippers and asked.
“Yes… ah, ahem. Yes.”
His voice was hoarse, making his answer come out as a funny “yesh” sound. Quickly correcting his pronunciation, Cheong-yeon cleared his throat with a fake cough.
Do-heon didn’t seem to care how Cheong-yeon’s voice sounded. Having apparently showered not long ago, his hair was still slightly damp, and he was dressed in a shirt and pants. It was a somewhat minimal outfit, as he hadn’t yet put on his tie.
“How do you feel?”
He approached Cheong-yeon. Cheong-yeon naturally checked his condition again.
While there were definitely some sore spots, overall it was manageable. Having experienced it once before, he didn’t feel the same severe pain as last time, as if he’d been beaten.
Although his abdomen felt slightly sore, their encounter had been far from a normal relationship where they considered each other’s needs, so Cheong-yeon didn’t feel like blaming Do-heon.
“I’m fine.”
Do-heon pulled down the soft, thick robe from Cheong-yeon’s shoulders. Traces from the previous night were scattered across his upper body in various reddish marks.
“Are there too many marks? You’ll need to film.”
Do-heon muttered as if talking to himself. Only then did Cheong-yeon realize he wasn’t wearing any underwear beneath the robe and quickly adjusted it.
“This much can be covered with makeup.”
Cheong-yeon spoke as if it were no big deal. But inside, he felt the opposite. For a moment, he almost stepped back, thinking Do-heon was trying to undress him. Even though he knew there was no way Do-heon would try something indecent on a Friday morning while preparing for work.
“Your skin is sensitive, so I’ll have to be more careful next time.”
Do-heon clicked his tongue as he spoke. Finding Do-heon’s gaze on the kiss marks uncomfortable, Cheong-yeon wrapped the robe more tightly and turned his head. Somehow, the memories of yesterday made it difficult to face him directly.
“When did you wake up, Director?”
“At six.”
Cheong-yeon checked the clock in surprise. It was already well past eight.
What did he do for more than two hours after waking up at dawn? Did he wait for me? Or was it work?
“You could have just woken me up…”
“You looked uncomfortable, so I washed you while you slept. Is anything bothering you?”
“Nothing’s bothering me, but did someone else come here?”
He was confused whether Do-heon had washed him personally or had someone else do it.
“As if I’d entrust you to someone else.”
Do-heon retorted as if the idea were absurd. This meant he had personally cleaned Cheong-yeon’s body. Cheong-yeon’s expression, momentarily tense, quickly relaxed.
“Ah, that’s a relief. I thought someone other than you might have seen me…”
Cheong-yeon murmured, unconsciously expressing deep relief. Then, surprised by his own words, he quickly added an explanation.
“It would be uncomfortable to show my naked body to a stranger.”
Just as heat was about to rush to his face under Do-heon’s piercing gaze, the doorbell rang from outside the room.
Both of them naturally turned their heads toward the sound.
“Who is it?”
“Room service.”
Do-heon walked to the door and only turned the handle after confirming that Cheong-yeon had adjusted the front of his robe once more.
Cheong-yeon had expected him to leave the hotel immediately after sex. Given that he’d ordered room service, it seemed he intended to have breakfast together. Finding this unexpected, Cheong-yeon leaned against the wall.
A hotel employee entered pulling a tray and began setting up food in the room. Perhaps because it was morning, the menu was relatively light, consisting of soup, oatmeal, fruit, an omelet, and bread.
Cheong-yeon stared blankly at the steaming soup, recalling his schedule for the day.
He had a filming schedule in the afternoon. It was a poster shoot for the drama he had recently been cast in. He’d heard that since it was a significant supporting role, they would take separate profile photos for the drama and then composite them with the lead actors’ photos.
The employee, having finished setting up, left the room. Although Cheong-yeon had no appetite after just waking up, he reluctantly took a seat when he saw Do-heon sitting down.
“You’re going to work late today.”
“It’s the weekend.”
The two naturally sat across from each other and began their meal. Cheong-yeon took a few sips of fruit juice before picking up his spoon and stirring the soup.
“Do you still go to the company on weekends these days?”
“I rarely go now. Today, I’m going in early for a meeting after a long time.”
“Ahh…”
Cheong-yeon nodded glumly at what seemed like an emphasis on reduced weekend work.
Wait, if he could adjust his schedule like this, why did he insist on going to work every weekend when we were married? It was still puzzling.
Knowing that he was a busy person who was working harder than anyone to establish his position within the JT Group, including the company, Cheong-yeon had tried to understand at the time that it was unavoidable… But did Do-heon simply dislike him? Though he no longer harbored lingering feelings for him, it didn’t feel good.
According to Secretary Shim, he had even taken vacation days. Why had Do-heon never properly made time for him? Was he that untrustworthy? Or perhaps time spent with him wasn’t particularly enjoyable.
Though he didn’t want to keep digging up depressing memories from the past, Cheong-yeon couldn’t control the sporadic thoughts that surfaced.
Honestly, it was true that he was lacking compared to Do-heon, and no matter how much he tried in his own way, he must have seemed woefully inadequate to him. Even if an Omega born into a wealthy family had been his spouse, it would have been questionable whether they could compensate for Do-heon’s flaw of being an illegitimate child. There was no way he could have been helpful to Do-heon.
In the end, he had even been diagnosed with infertility due to overusing suppressants without consultation, so he could roughly guess the disappointment Do-heon must have felt.
That’s probably why he agreed to the divorce without protest.
“……”
But how did the situation end up like this?
Cheong-yeon glanced at Do-heon, who was eating silently, and then gazed out the window where bright sunlight was pouring in. Having a meal with him, where casual conversation hardly continued, was as uncomfortable and difficult to endure now as it had been before.
Given their vastly different positions, Cheong-yeon still couldn’t understand exactly what Do-heon was thinking when he created this situation, but at least he could derive the petty consolation that he wasn’t a completely useless existence to Do-heon.
‘Why would you ask that? I’ve never not cared for you.’
His feelings toward me are probably convenience, pity, and habit. Now, perhaps desire is included as well…
“Yoo Cheong-yeon.”
What awakened Cheong-yeon from his tumultuous thoughts was Do-heon’s soft voice. Only then did Cheong-yeon push away his distracting thoughts and focus on Do-heon.
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you eating?”
“…I should.”
Cheong-yeon reluctantly answered and began forcing himself to eat the soup. Meanwhile, having finished his meal quickly, Do-heon retrieved a thin file of documents from the office table and held it out.
Chewing on bread with a completely unappetizing expression, Cheong-yeon looked up questioningly.
“The contract. We each keep a copy.”
Cheong-yeon read through the contract inside the transparent file. It contained content he already knew.
“By the way, what did you use to make that thumbprint on the contract? It was quite blurry.”
Do-heon sat down with his arms crossed, curious about the thumbprint of an unfamiliar color and density that he had never seen before.
Thumbprint? Did I make such a thing?
Cheong-yeon nibbled on his lower lip, trying to recall yesterday’s memories. Then, as something flashed in his mind, he opened his mouth with an “Ah.”
“Ah, that! While drinking yesterday, I suddenly thought of it and used wine for the thumbprint.”
“……”
“Like this, I dipped my finger in the wine glass and pressed it on the paper.”
“……”
Do-heon stared at Cheong-yeon with a rare loss for words. His gaze strongly implied that he found it pathetic. Feeling embarrassed, Cheong-yeon suddenly pretended to be earnestly eating his soup.
“You look like you want to order me to abstain from alcohol.”
“Good that you understand.”
Do-heon readily agreed.
“But we’ve already signed, you know. By the way, there’s nothing in the contract that says I have to abstain from alcohol, Director.”
Cheong-yeon said playfully, smiling so brightly that the corners of his eyes curved. Somehow, he felt like he had gained the upper hand over Do-heon.
In fact, when Do-heon sighed and shook his head, Cheong-yeon felt a satisfaction close to elation.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
