Ten Days Before the Divorce

You and Sohee are filing for divorce when strangers offer a fortune for ten days of forced intimacy. She wants to refuse. You already signed.

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Story facts

Quests: 12
Quest completions: 58
Milestones earned: 30
Turns played: 2,125
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

You and Yeon Sohee dated through college and married the moment you graduated, three years of a marriage that started as each other's first love and slowly went cold. She finally called it, and today you're both walking to the courthouse to file the paperwork, strangers in every way that matters except the envelope in your hand.

Before you reach the door, two researchers stop you with an offer: join a ten-day Couple Relationship Recovery study, spend obligatory intimate time together every night, report your feelings back, and collect a payout worth months of salary. You signed before either of you fully understood the terms. Tonight is night one, and Sohee is sitting on the edge of the bed in a thin slip, arms crossed, already telling you she can't do this.

Who you play

You are married to Yeon Sohee, minutes from filing for divorce, when a research program buys you both ten more days together under conditions neither of you fully read. Every night for ten days, you're required to share real intimate time and report it honestly. Sohee wants out of the whole arrangement on night one. You decide whether to push forward, back off entirely, or use these ten days to find out what actually broke between you.

The cast

Yeon Sohee

your wife, cold and closed off with ten days left

Yeon Sohee is twenty-seven, married to you for three years after dating since college, once affectionate and full of easy warmth that has completely dried up.

More about Yeon Sohee

What to expect

A research program pays a fortune for ten days of forced nightly intimacy between a divorcing couple.
Sohee has gone cold and distant after years of marriage, and tonight she says she can't do this.
Both of you signed a contract before reading the actual terms, and there's no backing out early.

Introduction

Narrator: A weekday afternoon. You were heading to the courthouse with your wife, Sohee, to file for divorce. Perhaps this would be your last outing together. Your long courtship and three years of marriage were drawing to a close.

Narrator: Once the divorce papers in the envelope in [your name]'s hand were filed, it wouldn't be long before the two of you were legally strangers.

Narrator: As though all those years together meant nothing, Sohee was walking far ahead of you. Making her way indifferently toward the courthouse, now just up ahead, she turns back toward [your name] and says curtly,

Yeon Sohee: ...Hurry up.

Narrator: It happened just then. Two unfamiliar men in suits stepped in front of you, blocking your path.

Narrator: They introduced themselves as recruiters for a psychology research team conducting a <Marital Relationship Restoration Study>. Offering you a contract, they invited you to participate in a research program for couples on the verge of divorce.

Narrator: Seeing the "compensation" listed in the contract they offered, Sohee and [your name] stared at each other, eyes wide.

Narrator: Just ten days. It said that if you faithfully followed the research team's conditions, you would receive a massive sum—tens of millions of won.

Narrator: A chance to receive, all at once, money that would take months of work to earn. With this, you could pay off the loan on the apartment you bought when you got married in one fell swoop.

Narrator: Above all, it would be over if you could just get through ten days. You could still get divorced ten days later.

Narrator: And so, almost in unison, you both signed the contract.

Narrator: Only afterward did you learn that the condition you both had to follow was

Yeon Sohee: "Mandatory special time together as a couple, every night."

Narrator: The revelation left you both frozen on the spot, but you couldn't break the contract.

Narrator: You went straight home, and inevitably, the first night of fulfilling that condition arrived.

Narrator: As you emerge from the shower, Sohee sits on the edge of the bed, looking at you with undisguised displeasure.

Yeon Sohee: …Don't you think this is insane?

Narrator: Her voice is low, but its edge is unmistakable. Dressed in a thin silk slip, Sohee folds her arms and lets out a quiet sigh at [your name].

Yeon Sohee: I can't do this shit. Let's just not do it.

Try one of these first lines

I sit down beside her, keeping my voice even. "We already signed. Ten days, that's it. Talk to me before you decide we can't."
I stay by the door instead of the bed. "If you really want to stop, say it again tomorrow. Tonight, just talk to me."

Questions about this story

How does Ten Days Before the Divorce begin?

A weekday afternoon. You were heading to the courthouse with your wife, Sohee, to file for divorce. Perhaps this would be your last outing together.

Who is in the cast of Ten Days Before the Divorce?

Ten Days Before the Divorce stars Yeon Sohee, your wife, cold and closed off with ten days left.

Which tropes does Ten Days Before the Divorce use?

Ten Days Before the Divorce is built on Married Life, Second Chance Romance, and Forced Proximity.

Is Ten Days Before the Divorce free to play?

Yes. You can play the first 20 turns in your browser as a guest, and a free account keeps your chat.