Chapter 16

 

It has been raining for days.    

Yunseul, who had been lying helpless in bed, slowly rose and sat on the edge of the bed. He could see her white and fair feet as she leaned down.

She flexed her toes and snatched at her sagging t-shirt. She can’t believe she hasn’t scratched her chest in ten days.

She ruffled her hair, pretending not to notice the bite scars. Her eye turned to her bag, which had been placed on the couch.

“Oh, yeah. That bag…….”    

When she ran away she only took one bag with her. She’d dropped it while being pulled into the car, and he had picked it up.

If you’re going to bring it back, bring it back as soon as possible. It’s been more than ten days. She doesn’t like it in any case.    Yunseul gets up and walks out the door, but Mrs. Seo is not there, and the house is silent.

She approaches the front window step by step, and the thickening leaves tells her that summer has suddenly arrived. As she stands still, sweat beads up on her back.

She thought about opening the window, but instead lowered her hand. She should take a walk. She was sick of being locked up inside.    

She’s tired of being slow, and strange thoughts keep entering her mind. Furthermore, she hadn’t slept in three days due to insomnia.

She was sleeping like a baby just three days ago, but suddenly she can’t sleep no matter how hard she tries. Maybe it’s because she slept too much.   

She tied her hair in a tight ponytail and slipped on her shoes. A blast of heated air rises over her body as she opens the main door.

Yunseul stepped outside after a little pause. She was frustrated but she also thought that if she moved her body, she might be able to sleep.    

Sleeping all day was hard enough, however, not being able to sleep appeared to be the worst. She felt parched with her desire to see the moon every time she stayed awake at night.

There are still no tears. She was a jerk for not crying a single tear when the baby died. A man in black approached her as she walked across the garden, pressing her palms into the hard snow.

She wasn’t frightened because she knew who he was. He was her bodyguard, assigned to keep an eye on her and protect her.    

The bodyguard stands in front of her, against the sun, under a tree. In welcome, he bowed his head slightly.    

“…I’ve been feeling indigestible and thought about going for a walk.”  

“Yes, please.”

Yunseul glided a hand across the nape of her neck as the polite bodyguard’s behavior appeared awkward.    

He pointed to a bench with an umbrella and said, “Have a seat.”    

“I am just walking around the garden anyway, there’s nowhere to run.”    

Her mother and sister-in-law had not visited the house since that day because of the bodyguards.

She knew they were watching her to make sure she didn’t run away but she couldn’t stop herself from saying she had nowhere to go.    

“…It’s not dangerous.”    

The bodyguard was just doing his job, but what was the point of standing up this time?  Yunseul’s cheeks reddened as she realized she’d been unnecessarily reacting against someone else.    

“It’s my job. “There’s nothing to worry about it; I just do what needs to be done.”    

“…I see.”    

The bodyguard had a valid point. It was the bodyguard’s responsibility to keep an eye on her. Yunseul smiled and nodded awkwardly. She took a left turn and started walking through the garden.    

She walked and walked and walked some more. She walked and walked and walked until her body was covered in sweat and her legs were so heavy that she couldn’t move, but she still didn’t feel like going to sleep.    

The garden is big, so she took her time walking around it. By the way, she seemed to be going somewhere every day.

He said he had to stop somewhere and was going to be a little late even today. She hoped she had a place to go or something to do.

She felt confused as to what she had been doing all these years. She wouldn’t be so sluggish if she had something to do.

“…….”

Will this empty feeling fade with time? Will it fade away if she keeps herself busy?    

The most frustrating aspect is that the only proof she had for her baby moon’s existence is a black and white ultrasound photo.    

It was only a picture. It was so unfair. The beat of her heart might have been heard echoing in her ears. Yunseul wiped her sweating brow with the back of her hand.    

It doesn’t look like it’s going to rain.. The thought of rain gave her forearms chills. She shook her head, wondering why she was doing so. It was back then.

Her arm was quickly pulled by the bodyguard behind her. Yunseul, who had moved behind the bodyguard, wanted to ask questions about him, but she didn’t.    

She didn’t have to ask why the bodyguard did what he did because she clearly understood. It was due to Seo Jun-hyuk.

Because Seo Jun-hyuk rushed in like a charging bull, the bodyguard had blocked her path. Seo Jun-hyuk ran across the big yard, staring at the bodyguard.

Seo felt his heart pounding in his chest. She didn’t want to speak with him. Nothing could be said. Yunseul turned and attempted to enter the home.    

The sound of something falling behind him startled her, and when she looked around, Seo Junhyuk was lying on the floor.    

Yunseul was immobilized. She should ask him if he’s okay, shake him, no, ask the bodyguard why he fell, but she can’t find her words.

“He suddenly collapsed.”    

Yunseul’s face turned a deep shade of blue when her furiously shaking eyes looked at Seo Junhyuk’s head, specifically the bleeding head.    

“That……. He…. to the hospital…….”    

The bodyguard applied pressure to the bleeding Seo Junhyuk.    

“We’d better take him to the hospital, he ripped his head open when he collapsed.”  

“Ah…….”    

Her entire body trembles. Her stomach churned as she smelled the blood. Yunseul clenched her teeth.

She felt as if she would be consumed by the fear that Seo Jun-hyuk would be like her baby moon, her child…… that something was certain to go wrong.    

She couldn’t be late, she reasoned. They need to get to the hospital as soon as possible.    

“Drive! Hurry!”

Yunseul instructed his bodyguard.    

“Go to the hospital now! I need your help.”  

“Okay.”    

Seo Junhyuk was lifted up by the bodyguard and taken down the stone steps at a quick pace. Once outside the gate, the bodyguard pointed a nearby parked car.    

“Get in.”    

The bodyguard stepped into the car and opened the back door for her. He didn’t question if she understood what was going on in that short length of time, but he acted quickly and shut the back door as soon as she was in the car.

He rushed into the driver’s seat and took the wheel immediately. She felt perplexed as she stared at Seo Jun-hyuk, who was being held by his bodyguard. As she watched him shiver, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.    

“Please go to the nearest hospital.”

Yunseul urged him to go to a nearby hospital instead of Seoju Hospital, as it seemed to be a Seoju Group affiliate.

It wasn’t the time to think about it, she thought, because it was more necessary to get to a hospital to get medical assistance.    

Yunseul and her bodyguard arrived at a local emergency hospital and proceeded to the emergency room.

“I’ll check in,” she said.    

As he brought Seo Jun Hyuk on the emergency room bed, the bodyguard’s palms were covered with blood. Yunseul scratched her neck as her throat tightened.    

“…Don’t you need to know his social security number?”

Yunseul got away the scent of the hospital that was so disgusting that she desperately wanted to leave, but she couldn’t when she saw Seo Jun hyuk with his eyes closed.    

“I’ll talk to the boss.”  

“Then…. Tell him to call her mom and tell him that Junhyuk is in the hospital.”    

She had forgotten her cell phone and had forgotten her sister-in-law’s phone number. Yunseul drew a deep breath in and out as the bodyguard said okay and moved.

He need to wake up. Of course she hates Seo Jun hyuk, she hates him……    She hates him so much, but……    

“Ugh…. Mom…….”    

Seo Junhyuk opened his eyes. Yunseul’s eyes had darkened. When he opened his eyes, she was taken aback to see himself.

“…Are you okay?” she asked, her voice as cold as ever. Seo Jun-hyuk lowered his eyes, unable to say anything and wanted to ask her why, why, why.    

‘Why did you push me away and not tell them the truth:’

“Mom…. Call my mom.”  

“She should have known by now. Did she leave for a meeting today?”

Mrs. Seo was telling her about the situation. She stated that she was leaving for to a meeting that was somewhat far away today.    

“Mom…….”    

She had little sympathy for the terrified Jun Hyuk Seo. She wanted to grab his shoulders in order to shake him, and say,

“Do you know what you’ve lost because of you?”

“Madam, please answer the phone.”

A bodyguard behind her interrupted her. He handed out his cell phone as she turned.    

“Hello?”  

-Who the hell are you, and why are you taking my son to the hospital?

Her sister-in-law was yelling at her.    

A medical team arrived after the bodyguard had done. Yunseul stepped back and picked up the phone.    

“The child suddenly collapsed. Do you want me to leave a collapsed son alone?”  

-How come you went there without my permission, especially when it’s not even Seoju Hospital?

actually……….

“Is it the most important thing to ask is the child was OK?”  

-Don’t be an idiot and take him to Seoju Hospital right away!

The on-duty medic mentioned CT scans and blood testing. Yunseul fell a little further away from them.    

“You shouldn’t need medical attention, you got tears in your eyes because you collapsed and your head is bleeding.”  

-Do you understand ? “…… Yunseul?.”  

-Do not seek medical assistance; I’m on my way right now; do not do anything. Do you understand what I am saying? I’m wondering why you’re so excited. Shouldn’t I be grateful?    

– “I talked to the doctor, and he wants to take a CT scan and do some blood tests…….”  

-Yes!

Her eardrums are almost on the verge of bursting.

-I’m almost there, I’m almost there, I’m almost there!  I am already on my way! I am already on my way!

Yunseul presses the end button since she will merely shout trash if she continue the call. Even if she came now, it would be far more than two hours before she got there, so why should she wait?

When she approached Seo Jun-hyuk again, the doctor asked her.    

“Has this ever happened to him before?”

“No.”    

This was the first time Seo Jun Hyuk had collapsed, as far as she knew.    

“I’m going to take a CT scan and test your blood.”  

“Yes, please.”    

The doctor returned to his seat after giving the nurse a few instructions, and the nurse took blood from Seo Jun Hyuk’s arm and hooked up an IV.

She nicely explains that they’re merely testing his blood vessels because he’s passed out. After some time had passed, a nurse approached me and said,

“Mr. Seo, you wrote that you have type A, but the test showed that you have type “Type B.”  

“…What?”

“You wrote Type A on your intake form, but the blood test showed Type B. I was thinking you might be mistaken.”    

This happens from time to time. Yunseul cast a look at the bodyguard behind her.    

“She said it was type A.”

What? Was she wrong? Should she contact her sister-in-law and ask?

“Junhyuk, do you know your blood type?”

Seo Junhyuk, who was lying on the bed, was asked by the nurse.    

“Me……?”

“Yeah, tell me if you know.”    

Seo Junhyuk’s eyes flicker uncomfortably, and he rolls his eyes, as if he’s bothered by all the attention.    

“I….”  Yunseul looks at Seo’s lips.    

“…Type B.”    

Seo Junhyuk clenched his teeth.    

…What exactly is this? She remembered her sister-in-law and mother’s talk. Her sister-in-law, without a doubt is type A, and her late uncle was…… type O?

“Sometimes people get confused.”    

Yunseul couldn’t help but laugh when the nurse smiled and turned away.   

Type B could not develop from Type A and Type O.

Yunseul’s eyes welled up and she stopped breathing.    

* “Are you crazy?”

Her sister-in-law  who came out of nowhere, asked. Although she was still stunned, Yunseul chose to act as if she didn’t know by wiping away her shocked expression and looking at her sister-in-law with steady eyes.    

“Who are you to bring my son to the hospital? Are you crazy?”    

Yunseul looked silently at her rage-filled sister-in-law. She knows it now. She notices her making loud noises to hide something, this explains why she’s been harassing and bullying her all this time.    

Jun-hyuk was not the child of her uncle. It means he was not the Seoju Group’s heirs. Every time she saw him, she remembered her sister-in-law’s crude comments about Jun-hyuk being the Seoju Group’s heir.

Yunseul placed her tongue on the right corner of her mouth to stop the corners from turning up.  Hyungsoo worried eyes were looking at her face.

It was hard to read her expression because Yunseul had been living a lie since she was a toddler, wearing a mask and pretending that everything was OK.    

In exasperation, she ran her hand through her hair, as if she couldn’t figure out what she was thinking. Yunseul stood still, staring at her without saying or expressing anything.    

Her brow furrows. It’s about to fall apart.    

“Yunseul, what’s wrong with you? Are you ignoring me? What is it? Tell me!”

She pushes Yunseul’s shoulder, oblivious to the fact that they are at a hospital. The bodyguard who had been standing behind her moves and blocks her path.    

“It’s okay, please move out of my way.”

The bodyguard was just moving on his command and showed no indication of backing down. Her sister-in-law became angry as she stayed there, twisting her red lipsticked lips.    

“What are these people covering up? She have a miscarriage alone?”

“…….”

“She miscarriage because she was careless, and  nobody sees……

“Hyungsoo.” Yunseul felt unmoved by the insult.    

“What? What? What would happen if I continue insulting you?”

She looked at her as if she wanted to take the pod from her.    

“I’m sorry if you interpreted it that way, but I said I was worried about him, and even if I don’t I still have bodyguards to do it.”    

She smiled quietly, seeing her mouth open as if she couldn’t say anything.

“I apologize for bringing Jun hyuk here without your permission. I was so surprised when he collapsed in front of me…. thinking I’d bring him to the hospital first. From now on, I’ll call you first.”

Hyungwoo’s eyes tightened. She seemed to be confused as to what was wrong with her.    

“Jun-hyuk must have scared, so you should go see him.”

She hadn’t even seen Seo Junhyuk since she had been so angry when she got at the hospital. She turned around to go to Seo Jun-hyuk’s bed, but her sister-in-law turned around and returned to her.    

Yunseul put on a mask and pretended to be frightened, as if she had to hurt her.    

“That’s why blood is important.”

“…….”

“That’s what mothers are like, and that’s what daughters are like.”    

Yunseul’s jet-black eyes met her sister-in-law’s.    

“Beans grow where beans are planted, red beans grow where red beans are planted. What do you think grows under a killer mom?”

As she went on approaching Seo Junhyuk, she turned her head and looked at the back of her sisters-in-law’s head.    

“Jun-hyuk, wake up. Wake up so we can go home.”

“…Mom, I’m sleepy.”

“Wake up quickly. We’re going home.”    

She laughs softly instead of becoming irritated. This is all I’ve been waiting. Her mind ran with ideas for getting a divorce. At the very least, she’s a decent woman.

She wouldn’t have planned something like this out of guilt. She’s just thankful she’s that type of person. As she watched Hyungsoo take Jun-hyuk’s sleepily blinking eyes out of the hospital, a shiver ran down her spine.   

What kind of mother would come to the hospital because her child had collapsed and then leave in a rage without even taking in the test results?

She was smiling and shaking her shoulders, but her eyes were as cold as they had always been. She realized this was her last chance.    

“Let’s go home.”    

She says this so that her bodyguard can hear her, then walks around out of the hospital, the humidity enveloping her.    

“Turn on the air conditioning, please.”    

As soon as she gets in the car, she asks that the air conditioning be set to high. Sweat is flowing down her back knowing that she is in the car.

She didn’t usually sweat like that, but she was out of shape. She closed her eyes and lay back against the headrest.    

The seats had already been cleaned out of Seo Jun-hyuk’s blood, but the smell of blood vibrated in Yunseul’s nostrils, causing her perfect white forehead to furrow.

In frustration, she scratched her chest. She blinked her eyes open and threw open the window.

She would rather be hot than cold. She buried her backside into the leather seats, holding to the heat. They arrived home at 12 midnight.    

“You’re home.”  

“Thank you. You’re off from here.”    

She tells the bodyguard getting out the car to hurry up, but he hears me and opens the car door and steps out.

Yunseul gets out of the car with a little sigh.  She’s the only one that follows their instructions, so it’s understandable that she doesn’t want to be left alone for even a second.    

As she steps out of the car and begins to walk away, the bodyguard extends his arm and stops her from going any further.    

“Wait.”    

She followed the piercing look of the bodyguard, and there was someone standing at the doorway.    

“It’s me.”

The bodyguard bows to him as she comes from the shadows.”    

“You’re off duty.”  

“Yes, sir.”    

The bodyguard bows to both him and herself before returning to his car. The car quickly disappeared, leaving just a deafening quiet.    

“You’re back?”

She fixed her eyes on the casually dressed man who was late. Yunseul passed him by with a tired expression.    

She stepped through the gate and walked up the stone stairs. She hears heavy footsteps following her as she walks through the garden. She feels like he’s been waiting for her, so she speeds up her steps and the heavy footsteps do as well.    

This time, Yunsel slowed her steps.

She thought that it would be best if she entered first, but her steps slowed to a crawl. Yunseul bit her lower lip.    

She had nothing to say to him and didn’t even want to talk to him face to face.    

“You go in first,” she said, turning to face him.    

“…Come in with me, it’s late.”

This is why she hated facing him. She hated the way he looked at her with those sad eyes, and she avoided him like the plague……    

Yunseul’s eyes turned to the night sky. The moon was so bright that it blinded her.    

Yunseul lowered her eyes swiftly. She hated the moonlight that surrounding her, so she lowered her head, turned around, and moved hurriedly.

She almost ran into the house, as if she were avoiding the fading moonlight.    

“What’s wrong?”

As she kicks off her shoes on the porch, he grabs her shoulder and turns her around, thinking something is wrong. Her breath catches as the moonlight fades.   

She moved her head to avoid his eyes on her pale face.    

“I’m tired, I want to sleep.”    

She shakes the hand off onto her shoulder and goes the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She turned on the water, sat down on the toilet, and vomited everything she’d eaten.    

She hadn’t eaten much, so she had an upset stomach, but she got it out. It felt good to stand in the shower with cold water falling down on her.

Then she remembered her sister-in-law’s secret and laughed maniacally.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed when she walked out, had dried her hair and changed into her comfy pajamas.    

She has no idea what’s wrong with him; all she wants is for him to do his usual thing. She takes a seat at the vanity and applies lotion.

Her steps are heavy, as she had to go to bed. She wants to sleep in the other room, but he refuses. Yunseul felt bad for slipping out to sleep in the other room all night.

The other room’s bed was narrower, but she couldn’t turn over because he was sleeping next to her.

By the way, she wishes she could sleep tonight. She’s tired from wandering in the garden and going to the hospital, but even when she closes her eyes, she can’t sleep.    

Yunseul sat as far to the right end of the bed as he could. Even if she rolls over, she won’t be able to reach him because the bed in the master bedroom is so big.   

She could feel him lying next to her after turning off the light as she lay with her back to him. He and her breathing were the only sounds in the room.

She takes a breath in and a breath out. She inhale, and she exhales. …She thinks she did well walking.  Yunseul smiled, delighted with the thickness of her eyes.

She felt worried about not being able to sleep, but she drifted into a trance.    

* * *

She opened her eyes the next day and ceased breathing. He was sleeping just in front of her. She almost shouted but she didn’t.

She tried to get away from his embrace and stared at him as he slept with his eyes tightly closed.    

In his sleep, he seemed to be hugging herself. He put his arm under her neck to give a pillow, and she realized she was uncomfortably close to him.

Yunseul’s eyes moved slightly, her eyelashes fluttering upward, and she closed them before her pupils could widen.

She’s not sure why she felt the need to pretend to be asleep, but it came out of nowhere. She chose to pretend to be sleeping and calmed her body.  

“…….”    

She expected to pull his arm out, but he didn’t move. She felt a penetrating stare on her face.

She wanted to swallow dryly but was afraid to breathe for the fear of waking up.

She drew her arm out from behind his neck with more caution than she should have. All she had to do now was wake up…..    

She almost rolled her eyes when he didn’t move, as if he had no intention of getting up. Then she felt his fingers on her face.

He moves away a stray strand of hair from her face.

She wasn’t sure why his touch seemed so familiar. She’d felt the same feeling when she’d untucked her arm pillow.

She wants him to get out of bed so he can get ready for work, but his hand grips her shoulder and pulls her upright in bed.

She tries to open her eyes, pretending to wake up, but then chooses to stay still, wondering what on earth he’s doing in her sleep.    

She pulls her pajama t-shirt down, revealing her br*asts. Something touched her br*asts just as she felt she couldn’t stand it any longer.

Because he was applying medication, she didn’t push his hand away. She remembered grabbing her br*asts frantically in the car on the way home yesterday because she was uncomfortable.

His raspy moan filled her lungs. He re-drapes her clothes and pulls the blanket up to her neck. After that, he strokes her cheek.

“…….”

She didn’t open her eyes till she heard him get out of bed and go into the bathroom.    

“What’s wrong with him, really?”

He wiped the medicine away with her cloths, thinking the wound she’d given it to was tickling too much. She pulled the blanket up over her neck.  

It was hilarious.    

What’s amusing is that his hand, which was moving through her hair and giving the medicine, was shaking.    

She pretending to sleep till he got at work. She could smell food in the kitchen as Mrs. Seo prepared breakfast as she opened the door gently.    

Yunseul stretched in bed and was about to go to the the bathroom when her phone rang. At this point in time?

Yunseul checked her phone’s screen, wondering if something had happened to her mother. It was her mother.    

“Hello?” She asked.  

“Yes, mom…….”

She was curious as to what was going on at this hour. Ji-hyuk, did he go to work?

“Yes,” she said, but she didn’t ask because……    

-Come on over.  

“Yes.”

She knew exactly what her mother would say.    

She also expected that her sister-in-law was going to act soon. She was, after all, never wrong.

Yunseul made light steps to the bathroom after receiving a phone call. When she came in front of her in-laws’ house, she carefully pulled her hair up and opened the door.

She removed her shoes and put on inside slippers. The living area was accessed via a long hallway.    

“Youngest wife, how are you?”

Mrs. Park, who had been working the hardest in the home, greeted her.

“Yes, how are you?”

“Yes, I’ve been doing well. Eldest wife is in the study.”  

“I see.”   

Yunseul entered the study, past the stairs, where her mother-in-law was supposed to be. She hadn’t seen her in-laws since she had fallen down the stairs.

She wished she didn’t have to come, but she knew why her mother was calling, so she didn’t want to avoid her, and she didn’t care if she saw those stairs without thinking.

Everything, they say, gets better with time, but is this true? She felt sad since she was the only person in the world who knew the exact day of her baby moon..

Yunseul controlled herself as she stood in front of the study with a bitter smile on her lips. She didn’t want to express her feelings of grief or resentment.    

She didn’t want anyone to know she was in distress. Besides, her sister-in-law was already planning to use her mother to get her out.

Whatever happened in the study room, whatever she said, she wasn’t going to be surprised, and she wouldn’t respond.

She should not have been caught if she was so eager to hide it. She could have gotten her mother moving in the morning if she had been in such a hurry.    

She knocked on the door, pushing down the corner of her mouth that was ready to raise. Her mother’s voice called for her to come inside.

Yunseul entered the study room by opening the door.

She couldn’t see her sister-in-law, who was frequently seated next to her mother and smiling at her. She was frightened of being poked.    

“Mom, did you call me?”

Yunseul pretended she didn’t know why her mother had called. Her tea-drinking mother gestured across the sofa. It meant to sit.    

Yunseul sat across from her mother as instructed. She folded her hands in her front and looked at her mother with wide eyes, as if she didn’t know what she was talking about.    

“What did you call me for?”

Her mother slapped her teacup down on the table after a brief moment of silence. The teacup fell to the floor, spilling the tea over the table.    

“I knew you’d always be a thorn in my son’s side,” she said, looking in the mirror.

Ah…. Yunseul understood right away that this was the part of her mother-in-law she had never seen before. She’d never seen her face before, yet it didn’t look strange.    

Yunseul felt a strange, unexplainable emotion every time she saw her mother that she couldn’t put into words.

She’s always acting nice in front of her, but she’s always doing bad things behind her back. She should have known when the rumors were bad!”

Then she remembered something her father had said casually.    

“Mother…….”

“I think of you having murderer’s blood in your veins, how dare you lie on my son and marry him off?”

She’d been right in telling her about her, though she’d already expected it.  

“…….”

She pressed the corners of her mouth together, remembering her promise not to be hurt before coming here.

“Murderer? Ha! Murderer?”

“To protect herself, she became a murderer.”  Yunseul’s eyes drooped.    

“How dare you” 

She was a murderer’s daughter, as the daughter-in-law of the Seoju Group.  Somehow, every time she look at her, she can’t help but see her depressed face.

Yunseul bowed her head. She couldn’t hide her pain in her eyes even if she pretended not to, so she had to hide her face like this.    

“It’s a good thing I had a miscarriage.”

Her hands were locked together. Isn’t it fortunate that she lost her baby moon? Yunseul raised her head from the ground to face her mother.   

“It could have been so bad, but the heavens saved us. I can only imagine the agony of having a grandson or grand daughter by a murderer’s daughter.”

Yunseul worried that her baby moon in heaven might have heard her mother’s spitting and been harmed as a result.    

“Leave now.”

Yunseul just stared at her mother, not saying anything. She was angry at her mother for describing the her baby moon as horrible. That was the reason she was about to say,

“It’s okay to be told to get out.”

“I’ll only leave if Mr. Ji-hyuk allows me to go.”    

She couldn’t keep her cold voice inside any longer.    

“What?”

Her tummy twisted.

“How could you, say that……”

“She ran away, but Mr. Ji-hyuk came to catch her, didn’t you know?”

The bodyguard went on to say that he had stopped her because he was scared she would leave. The mother’s mask had been completely broken.   

“I’ll take care of the plans, so get ready to leave. Don’t even think about shaking Ji-hyuk or grabbing his ankles,”

she says. Making her want to shake him or grab his ankles.    

“Or I’ll get rid of your mom.”

Yunseul laughed out loud. Her father had ridiculed her mother, but she considered her as the same as his father and mother.    

A monster who threatened her if she didn’t do exactly what she wanted, nothing more, nothing less.    

Her mother spoke out when she didn’t respond, knowing that the intimidation had worked.    

“It’s your choice, I can either send your murderous mother out of the country or you can go away ang leave my son.”    

Her mother made the same warning as her father, and she almost broke out laughing.    

“My son will remarry.”

It made no difference whether she did or not. She’d considered doing it herself in order to avoid him.

“And I’ll make him have the children you didn’t have so he can live happily.”

Yunseul bit her lower lip at the idea of a child coming from her mother’s mouth.  

“So all you need is to get me leave.”    

She stared her mother in the eyes, waiting for an answer. It’s surprising how long she’s been hiding herself as decent and compassionate.    

“Okay, I’ll leave.”    

the mother’s face brightens at the long-awaited response, but she can’t hide the disgust in her eyes.

“But you know what, Mother?”    

Yunseul’s steely eyes matched those of her mother. Her mother’s eager expression had started revealing.    

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“If he knows that you asked me to go away, he won’t stay, and he might even say he wants to separate.”    

Her mother’s brow furrowed.

“He’s been good to me since I lost my child…….”  

“So?”

“Leave it to me. I really want to get this divorce, too.”

Her eyes looked at her face before speaking, her suspicions steadfast.    

“Do you have an idea?”

“Yes, I do. So if I need your help, please, please help me.”

She seemed to like the idea of divorce.    

“Okay, I will.”

Yunseul smiled at the idea of her mother helping her.    

“Then I’ll go. I’m sure the bodyguards are telling him that I am here now.”

“Okay, go ahead.”    

She bowed to her mother, who urged her to leave in a gentler voice, and left the study room.

She must keep her sister-in-law’s secrets to herself. If even one person knows, the secret is no longer a secret.    

Yunseul’s bodyguard was waiting for her outside. Yunseul entered the house while passing by the bodyguard.

She then ate the breakfast Mrs. Seo had made for her. Eating gives her energy. She went for a walk in the garden in the afternoon.

It had been raining for days, but today was particularly heavy. The dampness surrounds her, as if something is about to pour.

According to the fishy odor arising from the ground, it’s going to rain today. Yes, she wants it to rain heavily.    

She’s been walking for quite some time, and her body is drenched in sweat. She ignored his message indicating he’d be late again today because of something.

She ran to the kitchen and immediately emptied an ice water pitcher.

The house is deafeningly quiet without him. She sat down on the couch and turned on the television. She doesn’t typically watch TV, but she turned up the sound on purpose since she didn’t enjoy the silence.    

It was comforting to know that mother was going to help her Even if she was captured once, she could just leave.

She’d get tired eventually. Yunseul had fallen asleep.    

* * *

“…….”    

It was irritating.

Someone was surrounding her with his arms. Yunseul opened her eyes with a frown. Her eyes was fixed on him.    

She must have slept off on the couch, but when she woke up, she was on the bed. She was sleeping with his arms about her once more.    

He had certainly changed a lot. He didn’t stare as coldly at her as he used to, and he didn’t speak as if he was holding a knife.

Instead of pushing him away in his sleep, she remained still in his arms.

She wants to be friendly to him if he marries another woman. The child’s name is……    A bolt of lightning hit outside the window.    

Thunder filled her ears, and she moved her head slowly. She slipped out of his arms after looking out the window.    

She came out from beneath the bed and went into the living room. She walked straight to the front door, not because she wanted to.

Her feet began to move on their own. She had no idea why they continued moving. She stared blankly when she opened the door.

“…….”

She couldn’t see since it was raining so hard. Yunseul stepped outside without shoes and looked up at the thundering sky.    

She got wet to her body in an instant. But she didn’t care; all she did was stare at the sky, sky, sky.    

“…moon…….” She can’t see it out.    

“Moon……. Hm… town.”

She thought everything was fine. She assumed that as time passed, she would forget. She believed she could breathe. But…. But…….    

“I can’t see…………. Where are you?”

She doesn’t see the moon. She is unable to see anything. There was no sign of the moon.

The rain turns into a blade, piercing her flesh. Her heart has been torn to pieces.  

Was it because of the rain? The day she rolled down the stairs, the day she lost the moon, played out in front of her eyes.

She wished it to pour, but when it did, she hated it. She had the impression that the rain had taken her away, and that the only reason she couldn’t see her now was because of the rain.    

“Hmph…ugh…ugh!”

For the first time since losing her baby moon, Yunseul’s eyes welled up with tears.