Click—
“Wow… what kind of crazy bastard is… shit.”
Having unilaterally hung up the phone, Seonha was about to hurl his cell phone like he had the air conditioner remote, but instead carelessly set it down in the middle of the mattress.
…It’d be troublesome if it broke.
No, it’d be even more pathetic that he still hasn’t changed his number all this time.
“Fuck.”
Instead, he roughly tousled the bangs that had been tickling his eyes, venting his frustration. Thanks to that, his stuffy forehead felt cooler. His vision cleared up as well.
Seonha crossed his arms and stared at a plastic box shoved in the corner. For something carelessly left in a corner, it was in pretty clean condition without a speck of dust.
Of course. I made him wipe it down every single day, after all.
Inside were things Hongdan hadn’t taken with him—no, things he’d abandoned.
Maybe I’m included among the things he threw away too.
“Haah…”
Having had a phone call with some lunatic first thing in the morning, Seonha’s energy to go wash up completely drained away. With his head tilted all the way back, he let out continuous sighs toward the ceiling. Just moments ago he’d felt like he was dying from the heat, but now it was so chilly that every hair on his body stood on end.
Seonha picked up the remote that had been rolling around on the floor and raised the set temperature to 24 degrees. Then he turned his body completely and lay down on the mattress that didn’t even have sheets on it. He curled up just like that.
Staring at the empty space that only seemed vast whenever he looked at it.
“Should I just change it to a smaller size?”
The owner won’t be coming back anyway.
***
The next day, Seonha, who as expected was trying to slink into the office around eleven in the morning, was moved enough to pay the price for running his mouth thanks to an envelope that had been stuffed right into his front door.
“Wh-what is this…”
[Test Subject Lee ○○ (Maternal Blood) / Test Subject Yeon Seonha (Presumed Father)
Genetic Match Rate 99.997%
Determined to be Father-Child (Biological) Relationship.]
The memories of Choi Hongdan that had always continued tenaciously as if they would never break scattered immediately because of a single thin sheet of A4 paper.
Seonha kicked off the shoes he’d half put on like he was throwing them and went back inside to sit on the sofa. Then he properly examined the document. The document that appeared to be the ‘genetic test results’ he’d demanded yesterday.
There was no way his eyesight of over 1.5 had deteriorated overnight to the point where he couldn’t even make out letters right in front of his nose.
“No, what the fuck is this. No. This doesn’t make sense!”
He’d already read it six times. He really examined it thoroughly, every single detail, enough to memorize even the seal pattern of the diagnostic center stamped at the very bottom.
Unfortunately, there was no plot twist.
He didn’t know where they’d obtained something like a strand of hair, but in the space marked ‘Presumed Father,’ his name was definitely written.
Seonha expressed his sense of injustice by personally disheveling the hair he’d carefully put up.
“No, I had that surgery…!”
At that moment, the omega bastard’s voice from yesterday morning brushed past his ears.
‘You think that surgery is permanent? Cases of natural recanalization happen every year—no, every month. And even if it doesn’t reverse, pregnancy happening is pretty common, you know? To begin with, if you only block one side instead of both…’
Then that really was my…
“…child.”
As he quietly recited the awkward word, it felt like a massive wave was crashing over him. His whole body froze cold and his feet felt dizzy as if standing on the edge of a cliff.
Before he knew it, his head was completely filled with one name.
Choi Hongdan.
Choi Hongdan, Choi Hongdan, Choi Hongdan!
‘Who else would I have slept with besides you!’
‘Even if I did cheat. I overlooked everything, didn’t I? You rolled around three times… no, four, five… there’s no point in even counting how many times you slept around. Even though I said I hated it so many times! But how can you be this strict only with me? Why is it okay for you but not for me?’
‘Who said I won’t get a genetic test? I said I’d get one after giving birth. After giving birth!’
‘Did I really not give you enough trust all this time? Enough for you to brand me as that kind of trash in an instant?’
‘I don’t really understand what meaning the time we spent together had. Why… did you even marry me?’
‘…Oh, right. Congratulations, Seonha.’
‘It’s gone now, here. Everything.’
…You idiot.
Crumple— The paper crumpled in Seonha’s hand all at once. His past year also lost its form along with it, becoming an unsightly lump. Seonha’s knuckles turned stark white from the force.
Hongdan, fuck.
I should have smacked some sense into you even if it meant hitting you when you acted like such a moron.
I should have used that good brain of yours to study and explain the probability of vasectomy reversal or whatever, how complacent I was. I should have made you believe me by any means necessary, just like that bastard is doing now.
As always, I should have held on tenaciously.
Why did you…
Why do you hesitate and endure everything else over and over, but let me go without even a glance? Why?
Thud!
Seonha roughly shoved the paper into the document envelope and threw it to the edge of the sofa table. Then he immediately got up and headed for the entrance. The heel of the shoe he hurriedly shoved his foot into crumpled miserably.
His breathing had started to come in gasps long ago.
Only one thought filled his head.
‘I need to see Choi Hongdan right now.’
***
“Yeonju, Yeonju! Look at this.”
“Hm? What?”
“You know Yeon Seonha from Yeonhwa Group? They’re saying there was a collision accident at Dosan Park intersection right now and the car at the very front was Yeon Seonha’s car!”
“Oh my! Was he badly hurt? What should we do…”
“Wait, Sujin. Yeon Seonha—isn’t that him? The one on the People Team…”
“Ah— Team Leader, shh, shh! There are quite a few people who don’t know about that. Let’s not make Reporter Choi uncomfortable for no reason.”
“…Still, he’s an ex-husband, so wouldn’t he be concerned?”
“Who knows. But knowing Reporter Choi’s personality…”
“Yeah. If it’s Reporter Choi, still…”
What are they saying, concerned?
I don’t give a single fuck.
There’s no way that bastard would die from something like this.
With all the curses I’ve hurled at him, he damn well better live long enough to see his great-great-grandchildren.
If there was such a thing as a god, they would surely make it so—Hongdan was certain of it with a scoff.
If there wasn’t, well… that would be unavoidable in its own way.
In any case, even though seven out of ten people at the company were whispering while looking at him, Hongdan’s gaze didn’t waver once. Rather, he straightened his back even more. Shoulders pulled back, head held high.
Right now, even his mere height of 179.3cm could probably measure around 180.1cm.
People originally go wild for dramatic things, and cool off just as quickly.
After marrying that precious young master, Hongdan didn’t engage in any particular outside activities besides graduating from the university he’d been attending. Yet, as expected of the leading number one company, even just going out to the nearby supermarket would regularly decorate the main news of the social affairs and economic sections that day.
In short, it was like a 21st century Cinderella story incarnate.
At the moment when he was truly crawling on the ground, Seonha appeared like a prince and whispered love to him.
Just by extending a hand, he changed his entire life.
It was such a clichéd story that even if you tried to make it into a drama, you’d only get reviews full of questions like ‘So why would such a good-looking guy like such an ordinary guy?’
Well. He himself liked that clichéd nature enough to make the insane choice of taking that piece of trash’s hand to become the protagonist of the story. Even if it meant starving to death, he shouldn’t have taken that large hand…
“No. I should have taken it.”
“Huh? Hongdan, what are you taking?”
A superior who had just come out of the bathroom tilted their head. It was understandable since a perfectly fine walking person suddenly shook their head vigorously while talking to themselves.
Hongdan quickly put on a normal person’s smile to reassure them.
“Ah, no. I was just talking to myself.”
But it seemed his image at the company today had already solidified.
As the Cinderella who secretly wiped away tears after hearing news of the accident of the prince he once loved passionately.
Ah, not just Cinderella but an abandoned one.
An ‘abandoned’ Cinderella.
Especially looking at those subtly pitying, downturned eyes, he could be certain. His superior in particular had a lot of wrinkles, making them look even more benevolent.
“Ah— right. You must be overwhelmed, huh.”
“Haha…”
Shiiiit.
Even after divorcing, that bastard Yeon Seonha is tormenting me.
When will this guy’s shadow finally be erased? At this rate, even after death, instead of his name, they’d have to write ‘Yeon Seonha’s Husband (2021.3.17.~2024.11.8.)’ on his mortuary tablet.
Hongdan stretched his lips even wider before the corners he’d worked hard to raise could fall. However, due to his particularly small and thin lips, it only added to the mournful atmosphere. His superior’s eyes narrowed even more sadly.
Should I just take a half-day off…
Hongdan, who hadn’t used even a half-day off, let alone stepping out once during the well over six months he’d been working there, seriously calculated the possibility of his team leader allowing a same-day half-day off. He’d been getting quite a bit of praise lately, so it seemed like a challenge worth attempting.
Might as well use the image the company people created.
Hongdan erased the awkward smile and drooped his shoulders and entire body just like the image his superior was probably picturing in their head. He looked like a sponge completely soaked with water. He also lowered his voice.
“It is a bit hard.”
As if waiting for it, the superior patted Hongdan’s shoulder.
“Right, it’s hard. Even if it’s someone you resent, when you hear bad news, your heart still goes out to them, you know.”
This person who normally never offered even a cup of coffee was being so warm that Hongdan almost expected them to shed tears on his behalf too. Hongdan decided to just lower his head in case he burst out laughing.
“Yes… really.”
“Hongdan, how about leaving work early? Team Leader Shim from the People Team was actually worried about you earlier. Take at least a half-day off.”
Indeed, there seemed to be merit in acting out a mournful appearance that didn’t suit him. His superior showed consideration he hadn’t even expected. If he provoked a bit more sympathy here, it seemed he could go home faster than the eight-year-old kids attending the nearby elementary school.
“I think I will…”
Hongdan hid the joy that was slowly seeping out by bowing his head practically into the ground.
Ex-husband of Yeon Seonha.
There are days when this title is helpful too.
Stimulating the masses’ compassion like this to let him leave work while seeing the brilliant midday sun.
Honestly, at this level, living through it one more time might be possible…
No, it wasn’t.
Absolutely. No matter what happens.
Even if the sky collapses and the earth splits, even if the sea becomes mountains and mountains become the sea!
Absolutely!
Such a thing couldn’t happen. Shouldn’t happen.
If there was such a thing as a god or whatever bastard, they really couldn’t do this to him.
“Hongdan…”
To make him see that bastard’s face right in front of his eyes again,
“I’m hurt…”
It really, really couldn’t happen.
“Shiiiit…”
Looking at some beggar bastard in miserable shape sitting in front of his door, Hongdan decided to become an atheist starting today.
