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Chapter 19
But Yuna decided against mentioning that she had blocked him; it would only lead to endless talking. After meticulously drawing the last blind, she returned to the table where her bag lay and pretended to rummage through her phone.
Meanwhile, Seonghee slid the chair opposite her and sat down. He looked at Yuna with a sharp edge in his voice.
“Where were you all day that you didn’t even answer your phone? Not at the café, and your place—your tenant’s already moved in! Do you know how long I waited in that crappy public parking lot?”
“…”
“So you went back and came again? What kind of manners is that?”
Yuna, without answering a single question, gently caressed her Ma-eum heart charm under the table. There was no reason to share details about her ex-husband or recent life, so Seonghee didn’t even know that she had enrolled in college.
She switched the topic. Right now, all she wanted was to get this uninvited guest out of her café.
“Today isn’t even the scheduled day. Why are you here?”
“I have work next week, so I can’t come. That’s why I suggested changing it to today, called you since morning.”
Seonghee frowned as if astonished. With a shallow sigh, Yuna finally spoke the words she had been holding back.
“I didn’t know because I blocked you. I told you before—don’t contact me for unnecessary matters.”
“Hah, you blocked me? You don’t want the money or what?”
“The alimony payment date is already agreed upon. If you don’t follow it, only you lose. It’s better for me if you even pay interest.”
“It just means you’ll pay it faster.”
“Then just pay and go, okay?”
Seonghee smirked, and Yuna stared at him, her expression tightening.
“What are you looking at? And why is the person coming to give alimony alone? You always bring a lawyer!”
“The lawyer left already. You didn’t show up.”
“Then come next week, like originally planned.”
Yuna, clearly tired of arguing, stood up, but Seonghee casually extended a leg to block her path.
“I told you, I can’t come next week. The lawyer asked me to get a confirmation that you received the alimony. And you still have your part to give, don’t you? I hope we can finish this quickly.”
“…”
Yuna wrinkled her nose and sat back down. As she reached into her bag on the adjacent table, Seonghee pulled a laptop from his briefcase and opened it.
“Let’s deposit the money first.”
Seonghee silently took out his phone. Moments later, Yuna’s phone vibrated repeatedly, confirming multiple deposits. Seonghee glanced back at her and extended his hand.
“Lost a bit getting cash. You’re relentless.”
Yuna muttered a silent curse but placed the USB on the table rather than his hand. He plugged it into the laptop.
Inside were black box videos, messenger screenshots, photos—evidence of his infidelity. The other party was a well-known anchor from the same reality show, and both were public figures, making these files critical to Seonghee.
It was clear he wanted to silence her completely. The settlement he offered exceeded the maximum Yuna could have won, and his condition was the complete destruction of all evidence. He even split the payment across several installments.
But Yuna, having no trust left in her ex-husband, decided to hold the evidence as leverage. After all, it was better to secure the money, even if she had to endure seeing his smug face a few more times. The deposits were completed without incident—a method that proved effective.
Seonghee clicked through the evidence, clucking in annoyance.
“You even hired a private detective after selling your jewelry.”
“I already let it slide twice, but the mistake was underestimating people—”
“The first time was unavoidable because of social life. No man working with high-profile people hasn’t been to a room salon at least once. And working late? That was an affair, right?”
Yuna’s jaw tightened, speechless at his audacious nerve.
Memories of that night still made her heart pound: picking up her mother-in-law in Yeoksam-dong while her husband, who claimed to be working late, emerged from a classy bar with a glamorous woman. He called a driver and drove off somewhere.
Even her mother-in-law saw it, yet she explained it like Seonghee: “It’s normal for a man’s social life. You have to understand.”
Yuna, having left her hometown behind with only her husband and in-laws, felt her world crumble from that moment. She realized she had no one in her own life.
Yet she endured—for the “real family” she had always longed for. But suspicion, once planted, never fully disappeared.
Pretending ignorance became futile. Whenever her husband touched his phone, she wondered who he was texting. If he went to his parents’ home alone, she feared secret plots. When he left for work, she doubted if he truly went to the hospital.
She hated that she, while wanting to protect her family, was constantly consumed by suspicion. Clinging to anything, she even followed her husband to her mother-in-law’s church for social activities.
The result was absurd. Just as she began feeling grateful for a compliant husband, he cheated with a woman he met at church. Even the sanctuary of religion disappeared from Yuna’s life.
She wanted to confront him, but back then, she only had circumstantial evidence. Though her heart was shattered, she kept herself composed for the family.
Soon after, Seonghee began seeing the anchor. Yuna snapped back to reality, realizing this was no family. She stopped acting naïve and came to this moment prepared.
Seonghee, done reviewing the evidence, finally asked:
“Are you seeing anyone these days?”
“Not worth answering.”
“Your face has color again.”
Yuna had dark circles under her eyes, yet he claimed she looked healthy. Rage boiled up.
“It’s because I escaped that horrible person, I guess.”
“Then where were you all day?”
“Hand over the papers. I want to sign.”
“Can’t speak? So you do have a man. See, in the end, you can’t be without one…”
Yuna, desperate to draw a full line under the Seonghee chapter, snapped with genuine anger.
“I go to college!”
“…What?”
“I got into Yeonhee University, which I gave up for marrying someone like you! Got it?”
“…So that’s why you opened the café here? To go to college?”
“Yes! Now give me the papers!”
Frustrated by his endless questions, Yuna snatched the documents from Seonghee the moment he drew them from his briefcase.
She had expressed wanting to go to college during the marriage, but he treated it as mere whimsy. With furrowed brows, Yuna signed the papers and pushed them toward him.
This truly ended everything. The tiresome ties with Seonghee were severed. Relief washed over her.
She rose, walked over, drew the blinds, and opened the café door.
“It’s all over. Leave. And don’t ever come back.”
Seonghee, with a grim expression, stood and approached Yuna one last time.
“…See you again, Yuna.”
“….”
Yuna, feeling as if struck in the head, didn’t respond. She closed the door the moment he left, returned to her table, and gently stroked Ma-eum again. That night, she felt a quiet longing for the steadfast presence of Yeongwon’s back.
