Prologue
“What should we do, Seonjae? It looks like he’s already left.”
“……You said you were certain this time.”
“He was definitely staying here until this morning, I swear……”
Damn it, Han Yeoul.
Does this mean he ran away even knowing I was coming……? Leaving me behind?
I looked around the house—no, the ‘room’—where Han Yeoul had been living. A hollow laugh escaped me.
My Yeoul was living in this ridiculous place?
The room, barely six square meters, had outdated floral accent wallpaper plastered on one wall—who knows when it was last done. On top of that, there were traces of mold scattered across the ceiling from water leaks. A simple wardrobe already completely empty, and a small table with half-eaten kimbap left behind as if he’d left in a hurry. Nothing suited Han Yeoul.
The only clean thing in this room was the neatly folded blanket on one side.
Still, what convinced me that Han Yeoul had been here was the faint trace of his pheromones. Though faint, I could definitely sense his pheromones, and it only made me more desperate. This was proof that Han Yeoul hadn’t left this place long ago.
I’d rather it not be true.
I hoped and hoped again that it wasn’t true—that he had come to hate me so much that he’d run away to such an absurd place.
My legs gave out and I sank to the floor.
Watching me press hard against my throbbing head with a deeply furrowed brow, Uncle Irang let out a low sigh. It’s already been five months since Han Yeoul disappeared from my sight. I never imagined that searching for my husband who ran away without reason would become my daily routine.
The last morning I spent with Han Yeoul was no different from usual.
That day too, I was happy as always.
A pretty face, the first thing I see when I open my eyes. The person I love most in the world, fallen into a deep sleep with long eyelashes lowered, breathing evenly with soft breaths.
Seeing that face put my heart at ease.
Not a single day in my life had I not loved Han Yeoul. He was truly a perfect omega, beyond any flowery words I could use to describe him.
Holding him all night long wasn’t enough. Watching Han Yeoul fall asleep in my arms after whispering love in that beautiful voice made me stir below. That day was no different.
I knew it wasn’t proper manners to touch someone before they woke up, but Han Yeoul was too pretty, so I couldn’t help it.
“Yeoul.”
When I whispered softly in his ear and tried to slip my hand inside his motionless pajamas, there was a smack! as Han Yeoul swatted my hand away and rolled over. He had a grinning face, but I should have noticed something was strange then.
“Good morning, honey.”
It was a greeting with the same smile as usual, but that day, Han Yeoul skipped even our morning kiss and took his morning shower alone with the bathroom door locked—something we always did together.
Three years of marriage.
In some ways we were newlyweds, and some might say the honeymoon phase had long ended, but we still had the same feelings as when we were dating. How could it be otherwise? I had endured every difficulty to have Han Yeoul.
Though Han Yeoul was acting strangely today, I forcibly covered over the cracks with the happiness that came alive from memories. Our shared past was far too deep to feel anxious over something like this.
Han Yeoul, who looked even prettier that day, however, didn’t even glance at the juice I’d made for him that he always drank as a breakfast substitute, and sat me down at the dining table saying he had something to tell me.
“Yoo Seonjae.”
Not the usual “honey,” “darling,” “Seonjae”…… but Yoo Seonjae. He rarely called me by my full name, so why did I let that slide?
“I have something to say.”
With what he thought was a resolute face, he said he had something to say, and I just thought it was cute. We’ve never been apart even once in our entire lives. From the moment ‘memory’ existed, we’d always been together, and being together was natural in our lives.
That’s why I never expected the words that would come out of his mouth to be ‘that kind’ of thing.
“I love you, Seonjae.”
He confessed his love for me as always, looking at me with the same face as usual.
“So let’s get divorced.”
After bewildering me with words I never expected, Han Yeoul went to work as if nothing had happened. And then he never came home again.
