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CHAPTER 05
“Ah… Daehyun canceled the appointment? Because something urgent came up?”
What is he talking about?
Juhye slowly pieced together the situation.
It seemed Daehyun had a prior appointment with Kangil today, but had unilaterally canceled it and gone back instead.
There was no need to think further about the reason—it was clearly because she hadn’t answered his calls.
“Okay, you go home first. I’ll talk to Juhye.”
After ending the call, Juyoung put her phone aside and looked at Juhye.
“Juhye, Yoonhee’s dad is coming home now. It looks like his dinner with Daehyun got canceled.”
“Oh, then I should head out too. We’ve finished eating anyway.”
Juhye hurriedly grabbed her bag and stood up. Her wide, startled eyes darting around made her look like a frightened rabbit.
“Do you want to wait a little? You can say hello to your brother-in-law.”
Juyoung asked reluctantly, clearly not wanting to let her go just yet.
“No, it’s fine. He must be tired, and there’s the baby… I also have dinner plans with Daehyun.”
While Juhye searched for a suitable excuse, Juyoung followed her all the way to the front door. Her worried gaze was filled with affection.
“Juhye, are you really okay?”
“Of course I’m okay, unni. The food was great too.”
A gentle smile appeared on Juhye’s pale face. Even a slight smile made her look like a painting—graceful and elegant.
“No, I mean your feelings.”
Juyoung carefully placed a hand on Juhye’s shoulder. At the warm touch, Juhye’s eyes wavered slightly as she put on her shoes.
It was the same expression she had shown earlier when Daehyun’s name kept coming up during the phone call.
Juyoung could see it clearly in her eyes—an affection too deep to hide.
So deep it made it hard to believe the reason they had fought at all…
“Not sure if it’ll help, but Juhye. When you’ve sorted your thoughts out, tell me properly why you and Daehyun fought.”
Even if they had argued, it probably wasn’t anything too serious.
Seeing Juyoung’s trusting expression made it even harder for Juhye to speak the truth.
“I just want you to feel better about it,” Juyoung added softly.
“…Thank you. I’ll go now, unni.”
“Be careful going home. Call me if anything happens, okay?”
With a faint, bitter smile, Juhye stepped out the door completely.
In the elevator, she rummaged through her handbag in search of her car keys, her movements hurried.
Juyoung’s comfort had eased her a little, but it was impossible to completely clear her tangled thoughts. Ever since she saw the missed calls, Daehyun’s whereabouts had been bothering her.
Was Seo Daehyun waiting for her right now? Or…
‘Maybe he went to see that woman again.’
The moment that memory resurfaced, a sharp headache struck her again.
Juhye quietly furrowed her brows.
Why is it that unexpected things always happen on Mondays?
The day she first met Daehyun in university. The day she coincidentally ran into him again at Inwangsan. Even the day they met again at a party—it was always a Monday.
And…
The day she saw her husband’s mistress was also, once again, a Monday.
‘Ah, it’s broken… what should I do?’
On a day when her morning schedule had been canceled, she had gone to her husband’s company—only to find that the elevator was out of order.
She considered taking the stairs, but then realized she had also left her phone in the car. She hurried back down to the parking lot.
‘Oppa, I just arrived.’
On the way down the stairwell leading to the parking lot, Juhye suddenly stopped when she heard a voice.
A woman was standing in a corner near the bottom of the stairs, talking on the phone.
‘Yes… I’m at the parking lot stairs. I’ll wait here.’
She wore a baseball cap pulled low and a mask covering her face—clearly trying to hide herself.
Even though her voice was soft and whispery, there was something strangely mature about her atmosphere.
‘No, you don’t need to come get me. You’re busy, right… what? The parking lot?’
The woman smiled brightly and ended the call.
Was she about to meet someone she liked? Curious, Juhye leaned forward slightly—
‘Eunjae.’
A chillingly familiar voice pierced her ears.
Juhye froze and carefully looked down past the railing, holding her breath.
There, she saw a man she knew all too well.
‘Oppa!’
The woman shouted happily and ran toward him.
The person she immediately wrapped her arms around was…
‘You came all the way here like this?’
Her husband, Seo Daehyun, in a neat suit, frowned slightly.
‘Why are you all wet? Where’s your umbrella?’
He immediately frowned again as he looked over her thin, soaked clothing.
‘It suddenly started pouring. I thought it was just a shower, so I ran through it…’
The woman waved her hands nervously but excitedly. Her eyes looking at Daehyun were filled with admiration and affection.
The raw emotion in her gaze made Juhye’s fingertips grow cold.
‘You can take the bus, so it’s okay.’
‘Wait. I’ll get an umbrella.’
Why was he so concerned about a woman she didn’t even know?
Was she someone important? But she had never seen her before…
In that brief moment, countless thoughts flashed through Juhye’s mind.
Daehyun had even gone to the car trunk to fetch an umbrella before.
‘I… I’m really fine.’
The woman followed him anxiously, almost clinging to him. Daehyun spoke softly as if reassuring her.
‘I’m not fine. Use it quickly.’
Those casual yet gentle words made Juhye’s heart drop.
She knew better than anyone that he wasn’t someone who acted that kindly toward just anyone.
‘I have an umbrella at home. I just forgot it today.’
‘Doesn’t matter. Flu season is going around—you could get sick. You’re not very strong.’
The sight of her husband placing an umbrella directly into the woman’s hands felt unfamiliar.
Juhye’s lips trembled as she watched.
‘Why… is he standing there with a woman I don’t know?’
No matter how hard she tried to recall, she was sure she had never seen that face before.
It felt like a wind passing through her life—nothing more.
‘Here, this is what you asked for.’
When Daehyun handed her a shopping bag, the woman smiled brightly and bowed her head.
‘I’m sorry I keep relying on you.’
‘No, it’s me who’s sorry… for always making you come secretly.’
‘I’m in the same situation, so it’s okay.’
The woman smiled shyly, and Daehyun smiled back, lightly patting her shoulder.
Only Juhye, watching from above, could not smile.
She waited until they left, then finally forced her weak legs back to her car.
“Ha…”
She didn’t even remember how she got home that day.
All that remained in her mind was the image of her husband’s face during that secret meeting.
She couldn’t just step in then. Strangely enough, she was afraid that if she did, Daehyun might immediately ask for a divorce.
Even after witnessing it… pathetically, she still loved him.
But as the evening passed and she kept thinking, her mind slowly became clearer.
The thought of living with this misery forever became unbearable.
That was why she chose divorce.
It wasn’t sudden. It was the loneliness built over two years of marriage collapsing like a domino when that other woman appeared.
‘I’m having lunch with Juyoung unni tomorrow. Don’t wait for me.’
‘I already booked dinner, so it doesn’t matter. I’ll wait.’
Daehyun’s words came back to her.
She had refused him, so why had he canceled his own plans just to look for her?
Was he waiting for her at home now? Or had he gone somewhere else?
‘Maybe he canceled Kangil’s appointment… just to meet that woman instead.’
With a heavy heart, Juhye stood in front of her home and steadied herself.
She entered the passcode. The door opened, revealing a dark living room.
In the square darkness, a man turned his head.
“Daehyun?”
Startled, Juhye called his name without thinking.
Only then did Daehyun, who had been pacing silently in the middle of the room, stop.
“…Juhye.”
His face was ghostly pale as he stared at her. When she hesitated, he quickly stepped toward her.
His emotionless gaze flickered with faint anxiety as it searched her face.
As if he had been waiting desperately for her return, afraid she might not come back.
