What If I Asked for a Divorce

"So what were you all talking about before I came in?"

Chaeyoon found herself lost in thought all through dinner that evening.

It wasn't the first time she'd been dismissed and ignored. But tonight, she hadn't been the only target. Taejun had been subjected to exactly the same treatment.

She had always known that about him, too. That he was Chairman Moon Daeshik's illegitimate child.

Jang Hyun-ah had let it slip in veiled remarks, while Jiyoung and Minjung flaunted it openly. And Taesoo and Taemin never missed a chance to sneer at it outright.

And yet, strangely, none of it had ever struck her this directly before.

No—perhaps she had simply forced herself not to see it.

Taejun had always worn the same unbothered expression. No matter what anyone said to him, no matter what looks they shot his way, he never wavered so much as an inch. He would tell himself it was fine. That if he just endured and did well enough, someday they would accept him as family. And she had believed Taejun wanted that too.

But… it seemed she had been wrong all along.

No matter what he did, this family showed no intention whatsoever of accepting Taejun—or her—as one of their own.

Only realizing it now weighed on her heart like a stone.

And all this time, she had resented him for it. For never joining in with the family. For leaving her alone at that heavy, suffocating dinner table every single time.

Then a strange thought occurred to her—maybe it was for the best, in a way. She didn't want to watch Taejun being humiliated. She knew she would hate it, truly hate it.

She couldn't bear to watch the man she'd fallen for at first sight be despised by his own family right in front of her.

"It was nothing important."

She had no desire to repeat to him the ugly things that had been hurled at her that evening.

Nothing worth mentioning, really.

"But why are you home so early today?"

Chaeyoon deflected with a side step of her own. Taejun, however, clearly didn't buy it.

He had never once come home at this hour. He rarely attended the dinners Chairman Moon Daeshik summoned, either.

"If it's because of me, you really don't have to."

"I've been thinking of cutting back on work for a while. I'm worn out, one way or another."

"Oh… I see…."

"And I heard you've been a good husband. Attentive, and all that."

"……"

So he actually believes that.

Somehow it felt like a careless thing to have said. They would be divorcing anyway; there was no point in leaving either of them with lingering regrets.

'What does it matter to her what woman you bring in to bear your heirs? You'll be doing it after I'm gone anyway.'

'Who said anything about bringing one in? After you leave?'

What Jang Hyun-ah had said over dinner tonight probably wasn't empty talk. When that woman set her mind on something, she saw it through to the end, no matter what.

That steamroller stubbornness of hers was likely built on Chairman Moon Daeshik's unwavering backing.

Jang Hyun-ah was the only person in the world the Chairman obeyed without protest.

"Um… but."

Taejun, who had been about to lie down on the bed, turned his head.

"Just hypothetically."

She was curious what expression he would make if she asked him for a divorce. She knew she wasn't supposed to shock him—but it was just a question, after all….

"……"

Taejun held her gaze steadily.

It struck her anew how long it had been since they'd faced each other like this, close enough to study each other's faces. It almost made her wonder whether they had ever really been married at all.

"If I asked you for a divorce, what would you do?"

Chaeyoon's voice was careful, tentative.

"Why would you say that? Do we have any reason to get divorced?"

"No… it's not that. I'm just saying. Hypothetically."

He was silent for a moment. Chaeyoon waited for his answer.

"I'd rather not think about it. Was our marriage really that unbearable?"

"……"

Heat flooded Chaeyoon's face. She had no idea how the conversation had taken such a turn.

"You were a sweet, devoted husband, sure—but maybe things between us in the bedroom weren't so great."

"……"

That couldn't have been further from the truth. If anything, he hadn't been sweet or gentle at all—but their marriage bed had been very good indeed.

Granted, it had been quite a while since they'd last slept together, but Chaeyoon knew exactly how formidable a man Taejun was.

"Answer me. If that's what it was…."

"It wasn't."

Chaeyoon denied it loudly before she could stop herself. Their intimate life had never ended after just once.

His stamina went beyond vigorous—it bordered on relentless.

And besides….

"I see. It's just that I don't remember…."

Something in his eyes shifted, dark and suggestive. Chaeyoon swallowed dryly without meaning to.

"I'd like it if you reminded me, then."

His hand brushed gently over her flushed face. At the sudden intimacy, Chaeyoon bit down on her lip. Everywhere his fingertips touched seemed to smolder.

"Did I ask permission, back when we used to sleep together?"

Taejun gave a low laugh and slowly ran his thumb across her lower lip. The tip of it, bitten raw and red, curved into a strange, unbidden smile under his touch.

"I don't remember that, either…."

And yet his hands knew exactly what they were doing. He had always liked to tease her mouth like this.

"You never did. You just…."

Taejun leaned in closer. The mattress dipped slowly beneath him, and the distance between them collapsed in an instant. Their lips were a breath away from touching.

"I have no idea what I was like with you."

At the low voice brushing her ear, Chaeyoon stopped breathing. Her heart was pounding like mad.

This is dangerous. Her body was already beginning to respond, as if it remembered his hands perfectly well.

"If it's hard to put into words, may I check for myself?"

His fingertips drifted slowly down her cheek. When that touch traced along the line of her throat, Chaeyoon's shoulders flinched and trembled.

"Answer me, Yoon Chaeyoon. Hmm?"

The way he said her name was far too tender. She nearly nodded before she caught herself.

But she couldn't sleep with him—not while the question of divorce still hung between them.

"Right now, your body is… you're still recovering…."

"A kiss, though…."

"……"

"A kiss couldn't hurt anything."

Taejun had never once approached her like this.

He had never coaxed her with soft words, never looked at her this persistently, as if begging for permission.

But the Taejun before her now seemed like a man genuinely prepared to leave everything up to her answer alone.

Whatever standard of kind and devoted husband was stored in his head seemed more than a little skewed—but she didn't dislike it. Her heart kept swaying toward that unfamiliar tenderness of his.

His fingertips glided down the line of her throat once more, gentle as a whisper.

Chaeyoon swallowed hard without realizing it. Everywhere he touched burned hot.

This is wrong.

It's absolutely wrong.

Barely minutes ago, she had been the one to bring up divorce.

And yet here she was, her mind gone white and blank just from imagining his lips on hers.

The biggest problem of all was that she didn't want to refuse his kiss. Not even a little.

A kiss seemed like something she could allow. They weren't divorced yet, and he wasn't someone she despised. Of course, her mind was made up about the divorce itself.

And still….

"Chaeyoon."

A voice, low and rough, grazed her ear. He was too close. Close enough that his breath touched her skin.

One small movement and their lips would meet. Chaeyoon's fingers clenched the blanket without her permission.

"If you don't want it, I won't."

Something ached in that low whisper.

Somehow, his eyes already looked like the eyes of a man who knew she wouldn't be able to push him away.

Chaeyoon couldn't bring herself to say a word. Instead, she closed her eyes, slowly, so slowly.

In that instant, Taejun's lips found hers, careful and tentative. The kiss was far softer than she had expected.

Lips that touched lightly, as if to confirm, parted—then met again, slowly intertwining.

Hot breaths tangled together, and every point of contact sent her heart ringing loud. When Chaeyoon's shoulders gave a small tremble, Taejun's hand came up to cradle the back of her neck, gentle and steadying. In the end, her fingers twisted into the fabric of his shirt and held on.

Her mind was still a tangle of confusion, but her body was surrendering to him far too easily.

Their lips pressed together more deeply. A kiss that had begun soft began stealing the very breath from her lungs.

Each time Taejun lingered over her mouth and lightly caught her lower lip between his teeth before letting go, Chaeyoon's shoulders shuddered.

"Mmh…."

Slow—deliberately, almost cruelly slow, the kiss went on.

Only when she could barely breathe did their lips finally part. Chaeyoon dragged in ragged lungfuls of air as she gazed up at him. Taejun looked at her face for a long moment, then gently brushed his fingertip across the flush burning at the corners of her eyes.