Once Love Begins - Chapter 9. Part 2

Chapter 9. Part 2

She hesitated before pressing the end button. Then, unexpectedly, a familiar voice came through the receiver. It was Hee-young, a woman she knew well, and her hand tightened on the phone. Maybe it wasn’t the best decision to call him after all. Maybe if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t feel so hurt right now. She blamed herself for having overreacted to Kang-jae’s call.

“Yeon-woo? I’m here; go ahead.” Hee-young’s voice sounded casual, as if she had called him many times before.

“I missed a call from Kang-Jae earlier. Do you know where he is?” she asked, trying to sound casual.

Hee-young paused for a moment, then replied, “He’s in the shower. I’ll tell him to call you back.”

“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to bother.”

Despite knowing Hee-young was Kang-jae’s ex-girlfriend, she couldn’t help feeling embarrassed by the situation. She had no expectations of Kang-Jae returning her feelings, so why did she feel heartache? With a quick “bye,” she ended the call.

Hee-young’s mocking tone lingered in her mind, causing her anguish.

‘No school, no home, no friends, no husband. I despise them all. No, I despise myself for allowing myself to be hurt again and again.’  

She curled up and buried her face in her knees.

“…….”    

Her chest clenched, and she pounded on it desperately, hoping to relieve the choking sensation, but it continued.

Without thinking, she rushed outside, feeling like she might collapse at any moment. The rain had been pouring down for a while, yet she hadn’t even noticed the cold.

She walked aimlessly without an umbrella, the rain feeling like tiny needles pricking her skin. Despite the discomfort, she continued walking, solely focused on the need to breathe.

Tears flowed uncontrollably down her face as she walked, feeling like a woman on the verge of madness. Suddenly, a hand rested on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” a voice asked gently.

She blinked through her tears, trying to focus on the person speaking to her.

“Yeon-woo, are you okay?” the voice persisted.

“Joo Chan,” she managed to say.

The man holding a yellow umbrella over her was Senior Joo Chan. His clothes also shielded her from the rain.

“Get in the car,” he said, offering her shelter from the rain.

He grabbed her wrist and pushed her into the car. She was forced into the car, but she couldn’t resist. Her upper and lower teeth clicked together.

Joo Chan turned on the heater as much as possible. He looked at her and handed her a jacket.

She stared at it, noticing his large hand. He sighed and stretched his hand out a little further.

Her jaw was clenched, making it difficult for her to speak, but she wanted to ask him something.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his concern warming her heart.

She took his jacket with trembling hands.

“I’m sorry.”

Joo Chan shook his head firmly. Her clothes were soaked from the rain.

“Your clothes need to dry. Are you sure that nothing has happened?”

“Yes, I’m okay. Nothing happened.”  

“Really?”

She cannot tell him that she ran out of her house because her ex-girlfriend answered her husband’s phone and said her husband was in the shower.

She kept her mouth shut.

“…….”

He gently wiped her face, and she stared at him with wide eyes. She appeared surprised, and her shoulders tensed up.

“Oh, sorry,” he apologized, his hand pausing.

“Your lips are blue. You look like you’re catching a cold,” he said with concern.

She felt her body melt under his constant care. When he noticed her tense expression, he drove off without saying a word, the warmth of the heater enveloping her.

He didn’t ask her why she was walking without an umbrella or proper clothes in this weather and at this time of day. She caught a glimpse of Senior Joo Chan’s reflection in the window as he drove.

She smelled the sweet scent of the clothes he had given her. The scent suited him perfectly, causing her to relax slightly.

“I wish I had met you earlier,” he said suddenly, his tone serious.

She turned to look at him and asked, “What?” His expression was too earnest for it to be a joke.

“The girl I wanted to marry was you,” he confessed, surprising her with his revelation.

She blinked in disbelief, never having heard such a statement before.

“I had planned to be with you on vacation, but I missed my chance. I didn’t realize you were married to that guy,” he continued, surprising her even more with his knowledge of her marital status.

He regretted not setting clear boundaries before joining the military. She was surprised, as he realized he missed his chance to see her with her husband.

“Timing is funny, isn’t it?” he remarked bitterly. His words prompted a negative response from her.

He held her eyes steady as he spoke, his expression sincere.

“Even if I had met you before and recognized your good qualities, it wouldn’t have changed your decision,” he said.

Although she had made her choice, she couldn’t shake the feeling of regret.

“Seriously. That’s what I’m saying,” she said with a sneer.

“Okay,” he replied.

“But if you ever need anything, you can always call me,” he added, to which she nodded in acknowledgment. These days, she couldn’t even reach Hana.

Senior Joo Chan was often relied upon.

“I have a feeling that you’re not happy at home. Let’s take another stroll,” he suggested.  

“Okay, thank you,” she responded.

“If you’re thanking me, promise not to go out alone in the rain again. It’s not safe,” he advised earnestly.

“Okay, I promise.”

Joo Chan warned her three times and parked the car in front of her house. She promised not to walk in the rain again, and she exited the car. He rushed over to shield her with an umbrella.   

“Here are your clothes….” she said.

“No, Put them on,” he responded.

She nodded. He gestured for her to go inside. She was grateful for his kindness. She stomped into the house, which she didn’t want to enter. She planned to buy him something to eat later as a token of her appreciation.

* * *

It had been a week since he returned from his business trip. Sitting at her vanity, she let out a sigh.

Sharing the same room with him made it hard to avoid him.

As she brushed her hair, her clothes slipped off her shoulders. She revealed marks on herself that she couldn’t see.

Despite her telling him not to, he insisted on biting her until dawn, leaving her sleep-deprived and confused about his motives. She couldn’t understand why he treated her this way.

She quickly looked away, pretending not to notice. Her collarbone and shoulder blades felt bumpy, and she was aware of the marks he had made on her.

She was also dealing with menstrual cramps, but the pain persisted despite the medication she had taken. Luckily, it was the weekend, so she didn’t have to worry about going to school.

Upon entering the living room, she found him talking with an older woman.

“These clothes aren’t mine,” he remarked.  

“They were delivered from the dry cleaners, so I hung them in the closet. I thought they were yours,” the lady explained.

The lady gave the clothes to him and explained that they had been delivered to the wrong place. She promised to call the dry cleaners and left. She felt uncomfortable and approached him and the lady.

“Ma’am, those clothes are mine,” she asserted.  

“This is yours?”  

“Yes, please hand it to me,” she said, taking the garment from her hand. The lady sensed something unusual and disappeared into the kitchen.

She felt him beside her and turned to meet his gaze. Her expression was emotionless.

“Is that a man’s clothes?” he inquired, his eyebrows furrowed.  

“Yes, it is,” she confirmed.  

He looked back and forth between her hand holding the clothes and her face. His expression demanded an explanation.

“Why are there men’s clothes in my house?” he asked insistently.

She refused to answer.

The memory of that day made her feel sick.

The next day, after getting caught in the rain, she had a fever. She turned away abruptly, not wanting to dwell on it again. She knew he was staring at her, but she had nothing to say to him.

He greeted people from a distance, and she looked at him, then turned away, feeling uncomfortable.

Despite being inside, she felt overheated, with sweat forming on her forehead. The vibrant dresses worn by others at the party were visually jarring to her.

She stood against the wall in a conservative black dress, her posture upright, and her expression bored.

The black dress felt more like a uniform than formal attire.

She looked at the group with a blank expression, then made eye contact with him.  She had been noticing his eyes on her a lot lately, and whenever she turned her head, she would find him looking at her with the same expression and intensity in his eyes.

She ignored it, but encountering it again was irritating. He signaled for her to join him, but she turned away without acknowledging him.

“Yeon-woo,” he called out.

“Joo Chan?”

She glanced at Joo Chan’s suit, which was black from head to toe. He usually dressed casually, so seeing him in a suit was unusual.

“Your dress is beautiful. It suits you,” he complimented.

“You could say that to anyone,” she retorted.

She brushed her hand over the back of her neck, which felt exposed due to her ponytail.

“Seriously, it suits you,” he insisted.