Chapter 03
On Someone Else’s Side.
“What did you say?”
– On the day of your accident, they said you’d even stamped the documents……
Oh my god.
– To tell you that you got married, I’d have to tell you this too, and I didn’t think you could handle it. So I was going to tell you at the right time, but I’m sorry you found out this way.
“No, Dam…… I think it was better not knowing…….”
What kind of person am I, that the more you peel back, the more there is to uncover……
– But why is brother-in-law there? Brother-in-law left the house……
“Left the house?”
– No, you left…….
So the situation is—a wife who’s talking about divorce or whatever came barging in during their separation, and on top of that, was lying smack in the middle of the living room sleeping like a baby. And then didn’t even recognize her own husband. Right? This isn’t a dream, is it?
– I’m really sorry, noona. We were mistaken. What do we do? What should we do? Should I come pick you up now? I’ll be right there, I can come.
“No, for now, yeah. You don’t have to. By the way, do you know where I stayed during the separation?”
– Probably at a residence. Why, the one in Gangnam—ah, you wouldn’t remember. I don’t know exactly either, what do we do……
The world went dark before my eyes, but I calmed Dam, who was in more of a panic than I was, and hung up first.
It’s not the twins’ fault. It’s my fault for causing all sorts of trouble and then neatly erasing my own memories.
“……Let me just leave quietly.”
Even so, we were once married—I can’t report him for breaking and entering, can I? If I just disappear as if I was never here, we can part ways without hurting each other’s feelings. For sure.
I took off the clothes I was wearing, folded them neatly, and changed back into my own.
Surely these clothes aren’t some other woman’s……?
Shaking off the ominous thought, when I opened the door, fortunately no one was in the living room.
Right, if I just leave like this—.
“…….”
My life, where did it all go wrong?
I came face to face with a man who suddenly popped out of the room closest to the entrance. And because I’d been tiptoeing around trying to leave quietly, I looked exactly like a petty thief.
Suppressing the surging embarrassment, I immediately bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
“I’ve been a great inconvenience. I won’t cause you any more trouble like this.”
“…….”
“Then I’ll be going…….”
Holding my breath, I passed by the man and headed for the front door. I tried to look as inconspicuous as possible while quickly jamming my feet into my shoes and reaching for the doorknob—that’s when it happened.
A low, toneless voice came from behind me.
“Do you have somewhere to go?”
Still hunched over, I stayed frozen and came up with dozens of answers in a short span, then turned around with the most natural expression I could manage.
“Of course. I was thinking of visiting my family home for the first time in a while.”
I forced the corners of my lips up into a smile, and the man just stared at me without expression.
If someone’s going to have a face like that, wouldn’t it make sense for them to at least talk a lot? Someone living in the same house as him might die young from suffocation. Maybe the old me left the house because she wanted to breathe.
While I was subtly shifting the responsibility for the separation onto him, a frigid reply came back.
“Home. If you mean the place you set on fire with those hands, that’s surprising.”
“……Excuse me?”
“You came drunk saying you wanted a divorce, then went straight to your family home and committed arson, and even got into a car accident—that was only two months ago, wasn’t it.”
What kind of nonsense is this now.
“You’re joking, right?”
To my question, desperately hoping it was a joke, the man added with an excessively calm face.
“If there had been any casualties, it would have been hard for both families to prevent it.”
Thinking I couldn’t be surprised anymore after hearing about the marriage and separation was my arrogance.
Haha, drunk driving and arson. I was an even more impressive woman than I thought. It’s a wonder I’m not in Cheongju Women’s Prison right now.
“I see I apparently did such things, yes. I don’t remember, but under the circumstances it’s entirely possible…… Anyway, I’m truly sorry for the damage I caused.”
Tired of denying it, I gave a resigned answer, and he just kept staring coldly.
Being an arsonist, I wasn’t in any position to argue, so I kept quiet and watched him carefully—and then the man, who’d been standing motionless until then, spat out a short word and turned around.
“Stay here tonight. I’ll leave.”
“No, you don’t have to—!”
I hurriedly grabbed the arm of the man heading back to the room as if to pack his things.
It’s not like this is a studio apartment—in a house this big where a shout would echo, there’s really no need for that, is there?
“You don’t have to do that. Just give me one room and I’ll quietly, really quietly, just sleep and go.”
It’s pathetic, but I have nowhere to sleep tonight. I’m not ready to face my parents yet.
“Early tomorrow morning…… please.”
The look in the man’s eyes as he looked down at me clinging to his arm was frighteningly cold. That piercing gaze cut through me without mercy, seeing right through me.
“Didn’t you say you break out in hives just from being in the same house as me?”
“H-hives…….”
“That I’m creepy and a jinx.”
“Creepy and a jinx too…….”
Hey, Baek Ijun. You really only lived for today, didn’t you.
Truly, if only I could, I wanted to find my past self and grab her by the collar and shake her silly.
“If I said that, I apologize, um…….”
“…….”
“Sir.”
The present me isn’t much help either.
Calling my husband by such a title. But what am I supposed to do when I don’t know his name? I can’t even remember my own name—no, I just found out I was married, so there’s no way I’d have my husband’s name memorized.
“I’m sorry, but might I ask your honorable name……?”
The man’s eyes grew even colder as he looked down at me.
I know. You’ve never seen a crazy woman like this before, right?
“Do I have to answer?”
“No, well, I can’t remember anything because of the accident aftereffects. It must seem absurd to you, but I thought I should at least know my husband’s name.”
To hell with it. No matter how far I go, it can’t be worse than the old Baek Ijun.
And even though we’re separated, right now you’re my only guardian, aren’t you? If something happens……
“Han Jeha. And—.”
If something happens, you’re the one who should come running first, aren’t you?
“This is as far as I go playing along with your ridiculous little act. You haven’t forgotten the terms we already finished discussing, so keep your promise until the papers are settled.”
The door closed before my eyes. I was left alone again in the vast silence of the enormous house.
Thinking that perhaps, just perhaps, it might have been better if I hadn’t opened my eyes.
– * *
“What, huff, is so, high.”
Ugh, I’m dying. Maybe because this is a neighborhood where people who never walk on their own two feet live, the slope was ridiculously steep.
Even on a hill where towering walls stretched endlessly, the main house at the very top was so far up that I could barely see the edge of the roof after huffing and puffing my way up.
“Almost there, huff, almost there.”
I plopped down in front of the gleaming iron gate and gulped down the breath that had risen to my chin. While I caught my breath, I woke my phone and sent a message.
“Noona!”
It was San who came out to meet me not even a few minutes after I let them know I’d arrived.
“Did you walk all the way here? If you’d called, I would’ve come to get you.”
“No, I got some exercise in, killing two birds with one stone.”
San wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead and fanned me with his hand as he asked.
“What brings you to Pyeongchang-dong all of a sudden?”
“I haven’t seen Mother and Father once since I was discharged. I thought I should at least pay my respects.”
An odd silence fell after my words. It was because San didn’t answer.
I pushed back my disheveled hair and subtly checked his expression.
“……Why? Are they not home?”
“Uh, no, let’s go in. Mom and Dad will be happy too.”
What a relief. I’d given San a vague excuse, but the truth is I came here to settle in at this house.
My husband from yesterday is truly on someone else’s side—so indifferent—and my parents don’t seem to love me that much either, but still, the bond between parent and child is a natural law, right?
The cause of our deteriorated relationship must surely be my rotten personality, and no parent can beat their child—so if I show them I’ve reformed after the accident, they’ll pretend they can’t resist and accept me. That was my plan.
If I want to survive, there’s no other way. Baek Ijun, you’re going to become a little puppy today. I’ll use every bit of cuteness and charm to restore my relationship with my parents, no matter what.
“Has anything come back to you since you were discharged?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, if noona had her memories back, she wouldn’t have come here first…….”
Isn’t that muttering a little too loud, little brother?
I bit my lip nervously as I climbed the solid gray stone steps, and then a sight suddenly appeared before my eyes that made my jaw drop.
