Chapter 46. You’re About To Lose Your Husband, You Know?

“Math Pervert.”

Seeing the caller ID displaying Hyuk, Taeseong dropped his phone onto his face from above.

The phone hit his tall nose bridge.

“Ah!”

He picked up the phone that had slid down his face.
The vibration had already stopped, but something he didn’t want to see appeared on the screen.

A text message was sent reading only:

“Hey…?”

“…Was this sent?”

He muttered in disbelief.

No matter how he looked at it – front, back, sideways, or even riding the KTX – it had been sent.

It must have touched the screen when it fell on his face.

“…Argh!”

Realising what happened, he jumped up from bed with a scream.

“No way. This can’t be happening.”

Why did the worst possible message have to be sent!

“Ha, I’m doomed.”

He didn’t want to sound clingy, but the text made him look like a pathetic ex-husband.

His pride was crushed.

She was the one who left without a word, who hadn’t texted once – Cha Haeyoung.

Why, why, why!

Why do I have to contact her first!

Suppressing his scream, he pounded his fists on the bed.

But what angered him more:

Haeyoung didn’t reply that night, nor the next day, nor the day after.

A week passed, nearly two weeks, until December 31, and still no reply.

The day of excitement for new meetings and sadness for farewells.

Chairman Ju went to meet old friends, and Jincheon left to visit her daughter.

Everything felt like it had gone back to the old days before Haeyoung came.

Lying bored on the second floor sofa, Taeseong watched a movie, checking his phone every hour to see if Haeyoung had replied.

By December 31 morning, with only one day left of 2015, he still hadn’t heard from her.

Without seeing her face or getting a reply, it felt like Haeyoung had vanished from the world.

“Cha Haeyoung, seriously. I didn’t think you were this cold.”

Standing up, he grumbled.

“Don’t you care if I’m dead or alive.”

His shoulders drooped heavily.

Then suddenly, as if realising something, he straightened and headed towards the stairs.

“Fine. I’ll go to you.”

His steps bounced lightly down the stairs.

In the kitchen, he rummaged through stacks of papers Jincheon had organised.

Flipping through them, he smirked.

“Found it.”

He pulled out an invoice with Haeyoung’s address, placing the stack back neatly.

Searching train times to Pohang, he headed to the bathroom.

“Ah, shit. I’m screwed.”

Even after showering and packing, one problem arose.

Because it was New Year’s Eve, all train tickets were sold out.

Last year, he had booked tickets a month in advance for sunrise viewing with Hyuk and others.

Sitting back on the sofa, bag at his side, he thought hard.

His brain for studying worked well, but so did his scheming brain.

Dialling someone, he said:

“Hey, Dongseok.”

Dongseok was the friend who organised last year’s sunrise trip.

Not as close as Hyuk, but still a friend he played basketball with.

“Hey, are you going to Pohang this year too?”

He remembered Dongseok went every December 31 to see the first sunrise.

Unless something changed, he would go this year too, and might have a ticket.

“Yeah, leaving in two hours.”

Replying calmly, Dongseok had no idea that Taeseong’s knuckles were turning white from his clenched fist.

A thread of hope appeared.

“Dongseok, sell me that ticket.”

Dongseok hesitated over the phone, but Taeseong didn’t flinch before offering:

“I’ll pay you ten times the price.”

That was how he got the ticket.

He was ready to go see Haeyoung.

“What? I finish at two today?”

Haeyoung’s eyes widened as she removed her mask.

She had been working at a dried fish (gwamegi) factory for about three weeks.

Not because she needed money, but because the owner, a friend of her uncle Cheolsu, needed help as his daughter-in-law was on maternity leave.

She accepted for one reason:

Working her body hard would help her forget Taeseong.

She spent all day gutting fish, cutting vegetables, peeling dried fish skins, and packing orders when they were urgent.

Being busy all day was the best part of the job.

But today, she was told to leave early – at noon.

“Yeah, Haeyoung. Everyone needs a little rest today.”

The owner handed her an envelope with cash.

“You’re just a part-timer, go enjoy yourself. Exams are over, after all.”

“Oh, I’m fine. There are only two hours left anyway.”

“Aigoo, I’m not fine. Cheolsu told me not to work you too hard!”

“…Then I’ll go.”

She accepted the envelope and bowed politely.

“Tell your grandma I said hello!”

“Yes.”

She headed to the locker room, removing her work clothes.

“…What should I do now?”

She hadn’t made any plans, expecting to work until six.

Her grandma was staying near Homigot with her friend to watch the sunrise.

Haeyoung recalled the address her grandma sent, thinking maybe she would visit later.

December 31 – a day people spent with family, lovers, or friends.

Being alone felt unnecessarily sentimental and lonely.

Especially crossing from nineteen into twenty was always special.

She didn’t want to be alone today.

She pulled out her phone.

But then –

Bzzzz. Bzzzz.

〈Ju Taeseong〉

Why… am I seeing things?

Not only seeing – she felt like it was real.

Goosebumps covered her body.

“Am I possessed by a ghost or something?”

Shaking her head, the hallucination disappeared.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz.

The second call came, and she realised:

This was reality.

“…It’s really Ju Taeseong.”

With trembling hands, she pressed the green button.

“H-Hello…?”

She couldn’t even steady her voice.

With just one call, all the feelings she had locked away burst out.

[Hey, Cha Haeyoung.]

His voice.

[I’m in Pohang right now. Where are you?]

The fact that he had come all the way to where she was.

[Your husband is about to become a lost child, you know?]

His unchanged cheeky shamelessness.

[Come get me.]

So predictably.

[Hm?]

Her heart pounded like crazy.