Chapter 16
Hyun-oh desperately dialed Sua’s phone but couldn’t get through. Of course, there were no notes or traces.
“Where did she go?”
An anxious remark unexpectedly escaped Hyun-oh’s lips.
“Han Sua, you said you wouldn’t run away. Ugh…”
A long sigh escaped him. Hyun-oh raised his hand and tousled his bangs.
Divorce. He couldn’t gather his thoughts properly in this situation that came too fast.
At first, it was sympathy. A girl who grew up in a cold and grand mansion. She had caught his eye since she was young, and that’s why he married her.
But she was different from what he had thought, passive and quiet. Her daring to pull him closer and the boldness in her conversations, her sparkling black eyes, were different from what he had expected.
Of course, it was all a play orchestrated by her late father-in-law.
But he couldn’t stop his heart from wavering.
Now that her father-in-law was gone, there was no one to force her into this marriage anymore. So, did she bring up the divorce herself?
It would be right to let her go. It must have been a marriage she didn’t even want.
Despite thinking like that, his heart burned pitch black. Hyun-oh couldn’t just leave Sua alone.
He had to find her. Right now, immediately.
—
In front of an apartment building, a 30-minute drive from home.
Sua stood quietly in front of the building, looking up. She had visited her mother’s apartment several times, but it still felt unfamiliar every time.
She had spent her entire life in a mansion in Seongbuk-dong. Upon opening the gate, a beautiful maple tree with long branches greeted her, and after passing through a well-maintained garden, she could see the two-story house at the end of the path. A giant mansion made of white and gold marble.
Sua was born in that house her grandfather built, and after her grandfather passed away, she lived there with her father, mother, older brother, and younger sister.
But contrary to what was visible, her childhood was far from happy.
Her parents favored her brother, Ji-heon, because he was the son who would inherit the family business, and they adored her sister, Ji-soo, for being pretty and cute.
In the midst of it all, not the eldest nor the youngest… Sua, who was not particularly pretty or special, always felt like an outcast among her family.
There weren’t many good memories from that house.
So, she didn’t expect to miss the days she spent in Seongbuk-dong.
She didn’t expect a day like today to come.
Her fortune took a turn, and everything changed. Thanks to that, her marriage was also coming to an end.
“Don’t dwell on useless thoughts.”
Don’t indulge in emotions.
She shook her head and entered her mother’s apartment. Taking the elevator, she stood in front of the door of Unit 504 and entered the passcode she had written in her notebook.
After the beeping sound, the door clicked open. She entered the entrance, but there was no sign of anyone. All the lights inside the house were off.
…She asked me to come right away, so what happened?
Shortly after Hyun-oh left for work, she received a call from her mother, asking her to come immediately because something had happened.
“I’m here.”
She shouted loudly, hoping her mother lying inside would hear her.
But there was still no response. Sua took off her shoes and entered the empty house.
Just a year after her father passed away, Han Dong Group, which had barely managed to survive, became nothing more than a name, a company in ruins.
The company collapsed, and the shares she held shattered. What remained was her Seongbuk-dong house, the cash she had accumulated inside it, and the paintings.
Before the company collapsed, her brother, Ji-heon, was the head of the Strategic Planning Division of Han Dong Group. If the company hadn’t collapsed, he would have succeeded his father’s position.
But now that Han Dong Group had collapsed, Ji-heon had become nothing more than a figurehead in the company.
Unable to bear the disgrace, her brother eventually left the company. Growing up as the prince of Han Dong Group from a young age, his pride was immeasurable. He sold the Seongbuk-dong house, saying he would start a business, and eventually, Sua’s mother moved into this 40-square-meter apartment.
“This is my fate. I have to live in this matchbox-like apartment… Even the chairman is indifferent. The world is indifferent too.”
Her mother always viewed her current situation with pessimism.
Sua looked around the apartment.
“The house… is fine.”
It wasn’t a new building, but it was a clean and tidy house, indicating good management without much need for interior decoration. The location wasn’t bad either. It was a decent space for her mother and Sua’s younger sister, Ji-soo, to live in. But..
“This isn’t living. I should have died like Chairman Han. Unable to die… How can I live in embarrassment like this.”
Her mother had lived her whole life being called a “madam” wherever she went. People whispering around her daily life. It must have been tough for her mother, who had lived her whole life being called a “madam” to live an ordinary life.
Perhaps that’s why she became bedridden. Sua spoke again.
“Mom!”
Even when she called out loudly, there was no response from her. Wondering what had happened, she opened each door. A bad feeling enveloped her whole body. Finally, she opened the door to the innermost room.
“Sob… Sob… Sob…”
A low and weak sobbing sound, as if it would break, reached Sua’s ears. Her neck prickled with the sound.
What happened?
Her mother was lying on the bed in the master bedroom, crying. Her face was a mess, stained with tears without even a trace of makeup.
“Mom!”
Sua rushed over, and her blurred mother’s eyes turned towards her.
“Sua…”
“Mom, what happened?”
Recently, Sua’s life had been full of ups and downs. Even Sua, who had a relatively calm and indifferent personality, had been frustrated and tearful.
But her mother crying so severely was the first time since her father’s sudden stroke.
Hurriedly approaching and grabbing her mother’s bony shoulders, she stumbled through her words.
“Sua. What should I do?”
“Why? What happened?”
Her mother nodded with her tear-stained face.
“Jung-hoon said he wants to break up.”
“Jung-hoon?”
Sua’s eyes widened at the unexpected news. Jung-hoon was her younger sister Ji-soo’s long-time boyfriend, a relationship that had lasted since middle school.
“They’ve been dating for 8 years, how could this happen all of a sudden?”
Ji-soo is only twenty-four years old now.
But they had been dating for so long that marriage was naturally on the table.
Jung-hoon’s father ran a mid-sized company. It was slightly less prestigious than Sua’s family, but since they had been in a long relationship, they had naturally been considering marriage.
“He suddenly said he wants to break up. They didn’t even fight?”
At Sua’s words, her mother shook her head.
“No. It’s not that. He just said he wants to break up. Ji-soo came home with her eyes swollen yesterday and said that’s all he said before going into his room.”
“….”
“Although he didn’t give a reason, it’s probably because our family is ruined. No, considering how much we cherished Jung-hoon….”
Her mother burst into tears again after spitting out her words. Sad tears streamed down her tear-stained face, wetting the entire pillow.
We didn’t cherish Jung-hoon that much.
Sua forced a bitter smile.
Her parents didn’t welcome him warmly, saying he came to their house too often. Sometimes her mother even subtly hinted to him when he came to visit.
But they both really liked each other.
How could it end so easily?
She suggested her mother, who had no strength to even lift a spoonful of rice, to eat some rice porridge. After reluctantly forcing a spoon into her mother’s weak hand and seeing her take a few bites, Sua left the house weakly. Before leaving the house, her mother grabbed Sua’s wrist.
“Sua. Don’t just think of yourself as newlyweds and have a baby soon.”
“….”
“Marriage isn’t safe either. Huh? Sua. Don’t tell me you haven’t even thought about having a baby yet?”
Perhaps feeling uneasy with the news of her younger sister’s breakup, her mother pressed Sua.
Seeing her mother like that, Sua couldn’t say anything and just said, “Mom, don’t worry and rest.” And left the house. Her mouth felt dry.
—
The alleyway leading from her mother’s house. Sua saw a couple of Ji-soo’s age walking together happily in the distance.
Ji-soo had also been scolded by her father for hanging out like that in front of the house.
A bitter smile spread across Sua’s face.
They broke up so easily just because they lost their money.
“I thought love could overcome anything. If it were an arranged marriage like mine or my brother’s, it might be different, but Ji-soo…”
Pulling out one wrong block from a precarious Jenga tower would make it collapse.
“Our family is like Jenga.”
After removing the block named “father” from the precarious Han Dong Group, the time she had endured became meaningless.
Feeling dizzy as if the world she knew was shaking, Sua stood on the road.
I have to go home. First, let’s not think too deeply.
Just as she weakly raised her hand to call a taxi.
A black car emerged from the alleyway and slid in front of Sua. Seeing the familiar license plate, Sua furrowed her eyebrows.
That’s…
The car window rolled down, revealing a familiar face. The sharp-faced man stared piercingly at Sua.
“Mr. Hyun-oh…”
How did he come here? There was no time to tell him she was going to her mother’s house today due to his sudden visit.
Or is it a coincidence?
It was unlikely to be a coincidence, as his company and her mother’s house were in opposite directions. Sitting in the car, Hyun-oh twisted his lips.
“You said you wouldn’t run away.”
“….”
“Han Sua. You promised you wouldn’t run away.”
Did he come looking for me? It sounded like that’s all it could be.
“Sigh.”
Hyun-oh let out a deep sigh. His neat face was now furrowed.
“I thought you were going crazy looking for you.”
“….Mr. Hyun-oh.”
“Han Sua. Why are you doing this to me? What are you going to do by driving me crazy like this?”
