“I came throwing a bomb. The house will be in chaos now.”
“What bomb?”
“There is. Something like that.”
Yura couldn’t bring herself to say that she had cut ties with her fate. If she did, she felt like she would have to explain why such words came out in the first place. In the end, it was back to square one. So, it was best to keep her mouth shut.
As if waiting for an answer, Ihyeon remained silent for a long time. In silence, Yura also tightly sealed her lips, and a quiet silence settled in the bedroom.
After a while, with a long sigh, Ihyeon finally spoke.
“Are you going to keep your mouth shut until the end? No matter what I say, you won’t speak?”
Yura couldn’t even lift her head, holding onto Ihyeon’s clothes. What could she say? She wished nobody knew about everything that happened today, especially Ihyeon. Until his death, no, even after his death, she hoped he wouldn’t know.
“Can’t you just pretend not to know? I’m begging you.”
Ihyeon seemed about to lose patience with Yura’s moist voice.
“If you do that, I won’t have hired someone for you.”
After receiving a call that Yura was heading to her family’s house from the security guard assigned to Yura, Ihyeon immediately contacted Yugun. Although he wanted to rush there immediately, he had to quickly restore the chaotic atmosphere in the company due to the news article. He was busy preparing countermeasures. Therefore, when Yura came, he asked her to take her to her family’s house.
If he knew Yura’s face would end up like this, he wouldn’t have made such a request; he would have gone himself. He deeply regretted his belated self-blame for his misjudgment.
In Jin Gangsu’s eyes, Jin Yura was just a useless woman. She was a person deeply rooted in male-oriented values, and she was fundamentally a patriarchal man. The treatment Yura received from her father didn’t need to be seen; it was obvious.
Even so, he hadn’t interfered until now, but the thought of finally hitting the ground twisted his stomach. Ihyeon suppressed his emotions, unable to probe Yura any further or express his emotions.
“Okay.”
Yura breathed a sigh of relief at the reluctant-sounding response.
“What happened to the article?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
How could Yura not worry about her own affairs? Following Ihyeon, who was heading to the dressing room, Yura muttered in a voice full of frustration.
“How can I not worry? This happened because of me.”
Ihyeon continued to undress without saying anything.
Yura cautiously brought up what she had been thinking about in Ihyeon’s bedroom.
“Since trouble occurred because of me, I’ll compensate for the damages.”
She stood still, waiting for Ihyeon’s decision. Although the part about Oh Sejin was mentioned during the contract, they agreed separately that if a problem arose with another partner, compensation would be provided accordingly.
She had agreed optimistically because she no longer had thoughts of making a man in her life through marriage, no matter what the contract dictated. She was aware that it was not right to overlook or judge such behavior, whether it was an obligation or a contract, once she was married.
She just hadn’t expected the trouble with Oh Sejin, and this unfortunate incident.
“Sure, fine. Compensation.”
For some reason, Ihyeon’s voice seemed to contain a hint of laughter, but she dismissed it as a misconception. This wasn’t something amusing. Perhaps it was sarcasm. She didn’t have the desire to confirm which one it was.
Remembering that she hadn’t discussed the details of compensation at that time, Yura wanted to confirm the terms.
“What should I do?”
As Yura lifted her head to have this important conversation face-to-face, her eyes lost focus, and she hesitated. Ihyeon’s shoulder blades, exposed after taking off his dress shirt, displayed tense muscles. On top of that, the traces of her recent passionate act, marked by her own fingernail imprints, still remained, which bewildered her.
She wondered why these marks were still noticeable in this atmosphere, and without realizing it, she lowered her head again, trying to hide her flushed face.
“First, let’s settle this matter. And then, you’ll receive it. Properly.”
“Alright.”
As Yura hurriedly left the dressing room as if escaping, Ihyeon asked her in a low voice.
“Dinner?”
“I already ate.”
“I’ll go wash up.”
“Sure.”
As Ihyeon entered the bathroom connected to the dressing room, Yura took a seat on the sofa near the window.
Solar garden lights scattered throughout the garden pushed away the darkness, illuminating the surroundings. Yura stared at the dimly lit areas, feeling as if the darkness itself was embracing her place.
Her self-esteem was hitting rock bottom to the point that the dark corners felt like her own refuge. Ihyeon’s cold and aloof face seemed to represent all emotions. Truly, whether he believed in that article or not, the truth she couldn’t ask out of fear overwhelmed Yura’s thoughts.
The firm declaration of compensation made in addition to everything else made Yura even more bitter.
“Divorce… I guess.”
She considered it a natural order. However, divorcing in this situation would mean admitting the article, damaging the group’s image. So, Ihyeon would likely suggest doing it after resolving this issue.
Yura’s mind was already contemplating life after divorce. She had severed ties with her father, so going back to her family’s house was not an option. Well, she hadn’t thought of returning home in the first place.
While considering looking for a way to go abroad during the divorce proceedings, she remembered a neglected detail.
“Oh, alimony.”
Ihyeon had promised to provide substantial alimony when they divorced two years later. However, Yura disliked the idea of marrying for money. If that was the case, she would have rather assisted Yugun, avoiding such a label.
Yet, in the situation where divorce was her responsibility, alimony was now something she had to give, not receive.
“I have to give it.”
Yura recalled the funds currently available to her.
“Savings, rental deposit, and what else?”
Her diligently contributed savings were reaching maturity soon. Also, she had taken back the rental deposit from the officetel where she lived when setting up her new life at Ihyeon’s place.
Other than that, she had retirement pay she had accumulated over five years of hard work. It seemed to be a considerable sum, but the future felt daunting once again.
“As for the company… Can I continue working there?”
With this thought in mind, she wondered what would happen to the company. Although she could confidently continue working, if rumors spread about a scandal involving the artist she managed, it might become challenging for Yura to receive performance proposals.
“Then, is finding employment overseas possible? It felt like the triumphant five years I had run through were collapsing in an instant. Everything seemed desperate, trapped in a dark maze with no way out.”
Sigh…
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
