The Day I Quit Being a Wife (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
Eun Soo’s heart was conflicted as she headed toward her father’s company.
It was because she kept thinking that, long ago, she had held her mother back.
If only I hadn’t been sick.
Then Mother wouldn’t have had to endure that hell against her will.
Exhausted by her mother’s unrelenting illness, she’d once harbored resentment.
She’d even silently fumed, blaming her mother’s sickness for her own suffering.
All the while unaware—she never even dreamed—that because of her, her mother had endured even deeper pain.
When the car arrived in front of Myungjin Apparel’s office building, Eun Soo opened the door herself. She had no patience to wait for the driver to open it for her.
“It won’t take long.”
“Yes, Mrs. Moon.”
After telling the driver she’d be right out, Eun Soo walked straight into the building.
The front desk staff, recognizing who she was, rushed over all at once to greet her.
“Good afternoon.”
Eun Soo gave them only a slight nod before turning immediately toward the elevator.
Getting off at the sixth floor, she walked directly to the President’s office. Her steps were unwavering—she knew the front desk had already informed her father of her arrival.
True to her expectation, a secretary, clearly having been notified of her visit, came out to meet her halfway down the hallway.
“You’ve arrived?”
“He’s inside, right?”
“Yes, I’ll take you in right away.”
The secretary led Eun Soo into the President’s office. After a brief knock, the secretary opened the door, and Eun Soo stepped in without hesitation.
Her father, Oh Joo Hwan, unaware of why she’d come, rose from his seat but then sauntered over to sit on the sofa.
“What’s going on? You came all the way here yourself?”
Eun Soo sat down without a word and told the secretary, who offered her tea, that she didn’t need any.
Hearing his daughter speak with unusual firmness, Joo Hwan subtly pulled back his chin and glanced at her warily.
“Did something bad happen?”
“I met one of Mother’s friends.”
“A friend?”
“Yes.”
“Your mother had more than just one or two friends.”
He tilted the corner of his lips downward and idly stroked his chin. Whenever his daughter brought up her mother, Joo Hwan never knew what to say.
He understood she cherished her mother dearly, but honestly, to him, it made no sense to pour so much devotion into someone who was practically already gone.
Of course, he did take advantage of that to manipulate his daughter.
Watching Eun Soo start to bring up her mother again, Joo Hwan already felt his breath tightening in his chest.
“You’ve been involved with that woman since way back, haven’t you?”
“That woman? Hey, watch how you address her!”
“Watch my address? Should I call her your concubine? Or what else would you prefer?”
“You little—ahem, ahem!”
Joo Hwan jumped to his feet, raising a finger in anger, but quickly sat back down with a cough under Eun Soo’s sharp glare.
She was his daughter, yes—but she was also the daughter-in-law of the owning family, before whom he now had to bow his head.
If Eun Soo happened to find fault and mention anything to Moon Hyuk Joo, he could be thrown out of this office as soon as tomorrow.
Moreover, having recently heard from a few friendly executives that his position in the upcoming personnel reshuffle was uncertain, he had no choice but to tread carefully around Eun Soo.
“Why dig up the past?”
“To you, it’s just the past. But not to Mother or me.”
“Then what do you expect me to do about it now? Are you telling me to break up with her?”
“Yes.”
Eun Soo answered firmly.
Stunned by his daughter’s unexpected bluntness, Joo Hwan swallowed hard and scratched his forehead.
After a long pause, he finally spoke, almost pleading.
“Both of us are at an age where, if we split up now, we’ll have no one to lean on in our old age… You know, after your mother ended up like that, she really went through a lot for us.”
“Went through a lot?”
“She feels guilty, thinking it’s her fault—she can’t even sleep properly.”
“If she truly feels that guilty, she shouldn’t be living with you.”
“…”
“Break up with her.”
“Eun Soo!”
Joo Hwan called out as she stood to leave, but Eun Soo stared back at him—the father looking up at her with unchanged expression—and said,
“That’s the only way the two of you can atone to Mother.”
“Why is this so damn important all of a sudden? If we break up, will your mother magically wake up and get better?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Joo Hwan frowned at Eun Soo’s bizarre reply.
Had she gone to some fortune-teller and heard nonsense?
His usually docile daughter suddenly dragging up the past and demanding he break up with Go Joo Kyung left him utterly bewildered.
“We have to try everything to wake Mother up. So the two of you—break up.”
Faced with Eun Soo’s utterly transformed demeanor, he could only move his lips soundlessly, unable to utter a word.
Just before leaving the office, Eun Soo turned back once more and said firmly,
“Get things settled quickly.”
After Eun Soo disappeared and the door closed, Joo Hwan bit his lip.
“Where the hell did she get the guts all of a sudden? Talking nonsense she never used to—what’s gotten into her?”
Feeling blindsided, heat rose in his chest. He wiped the sweat beading on his forehead with the back of his hand, stood up, and picked up his phone from the desk.
“It’s me.”
— Oh my, what brings you calling at this hour?
“You know that thing you mentioned last time.”
— How am I supposed to know what you mean if you just say ‘that thing’? Hehehe.
Lowering his voice at Go Joo Kyung’s coquettish laugh, Joo Hwan whispered,
“The thing about having someone follow Moon Seobang.”
— Ah, that?
“How’s it going?”
— Nothing’s come up yet. Aside from home, the office, and the hospital, nothing else.
“Haa…”
Joo Hwan let out a long, disappointed sigh.
When he’d mentioned that Eun Soo had become slightly more sensitive lately, Go Joo Kyung suggested maybe his son-in-law had met another woman.
She’d said that since he’d had someone he’d loved desperately even before marriage, perhaps that woman had returned—or he’d met someone similar—and Joo Hwan had come up with his own clever plan.
He couldn’t rely on his daughter forever to secure his position.
Besides, his son-in-law was the kind of man who, regardless of family ties, would cut off anyone—including his own father-in-law—if he believed they were harming the company.
Thus, Joo Hwan desperately needed solid insurance.
His insurance was Moon Hyuk Joo’s private life.
He was certain his son-in-law had somehow reconnected with the woman he’d been forced to leave due to family opposition—Hyuk Joo was, after all, extremely persistent.
Joo Hwan planned to gather evidence of their meetings and keep it as his secret weapon for any future crisis.
— Be patient. These things take time to observe properly.
“Got it. Call me the moment you hear anything.”
— Will do. By the way, when are you coming over today?
“I’ll leave work right away.”
— Okay. See you soon.
Joo Hwan ended the call and placed the phone back on his desk. He placed his hands on his hips and took a slow, deep breath.
Break up? With whom?
Where else could he find a woman who’d do absolutely anything for him like this?
Just as stubborn as her own mother.
“Dammit all!”
He clicked his tongue, his neck flushed red.
Hyuk Joo pressed his fingertips firmly between his eyes and rubbed.
His eyes felt heavy—he hadn’t slept well last night.
Eun Soo’s sudden request to review her mother-in-law’s medical expense records struck him as unusual. He’d already been arranging every possible treatment for his mother-in-law.
Yet the records Eun Soo had compiled seemed strange.
Not only did they include the usual monthly expenses, but also detailed costs for treatments that had been excluded.
Her explanation—that she was just curious—kept circling in Hyuk Joo’s mind.
Knock knock knock.
“Come in.”
At his reply, the door opened, and Director Song entered, holding his ever-present thick planner and an envelope.
“Deputy President.”
Hearing his title, Hyuk Joo looked up at Director Song, who placed the envelope on his desk.
“What’s this about?”
“The personal details you asked for regarding Mr. Hwang In Woo.”
“Ah…”
Right—he had made that request.
Hyuk Joo finally remembered his own order.
From their very first meeting, Hwang In Woo had vaguely irritated him. So the next day at work, he’d instructed Director Song to look into the background of Hwang In Woo, who’d temporarily taken over as his mother-in-law’s attending physician.
Since Hyuk Joo rarely asked for personal investigations, Director Song had taken extra time cross-checking through multiple channels before reporting back.
Watching Hyuk Joo open the envelope, Director Song spoke in his usual even tone.
“No unusual findings.”
“…I figured as much.”
It was the first time Hyuk Joo had seen Eun Soo so genuinely happy to meet someone.
Childhood friends.
Despite the long separation, Eun Soo had quickly opened up to him—clearly, he was a good person.
Oh Eun Soo was a good person, so anyone close to her would surely be good too.
Still, Hyuk Joo wanted to know exactly who this Hwang In Woo was.
“His parents divorced when he was young. His father passed away last year during a medical mission.”
“I see.”
“It seems they remained on good terms even after the divorce. When his father was recruited by a medical foundation, they moved together to the U.S., where he attended middle school.”
Hyuk Joo slowly flipped through the documents Director Song handed him. No major incidents, and his relationships during medical school had all been smooth.
His personal life was almost suspiciously clean.
That, in fact, bothered Hyuk Joo even more. Hwang In Woo had never even had an ordinary romance—like someone who’d carried a lifelong, singular affection in his heart.
“His father worked at Sungshim Hospital?”
“Yes. It’s a hospital in a provincial city. He worked there for about five years before moving to the U.S. At the time, Sungshim Hospital had been selected for a pediatric cancer treatment center support program, and the hospital director—a former university mentor—personally recruited his father as the center’s head, making it hard for him to refuse.”
“Got it. You can go now.”
“Yes.”
After Director Song left, Hyuk Joo leaned his head fully back against the chair’s headrest.
“Sungshim Hospital…”
He murmured softly to himself, alone.
He ran his dry hands over his face.
The image of Sungshim Hospital from his childhood returned vividly.
It stood overlooking a river that cut through the middle of a small town—the very place he’d gone to see his mother, who’d been convalescing from pneumonia, after a year-long separation.
He’d sensed something was off the moment he entered the hospice ward.
Standing before her room, he’d heard Liszt’s piano piece—her favorite—drifting out.
“Ha…”
As the melody from that day echoed like tinnitus in his ears, Hyuk Joo sat up abruptly and opened his eyes.
Closing his eyes briefly had brought back that long-buried memory—perhaps because it was so deeply etched into his heart.
Uncharacteristically, his eyes had grown damp.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
The extreme miscommunication is getting on my nerves now.
I wish he could actually say what he fully means for once
Hyuk Joo does not mess around. When dealing with someone like this you have to be direct!