The Day I Quit Being a Wife (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
Eun Soo fidgeted with the edge of the bedsheet as she spoke.
“I told Aunt that we came back separately because of work, with Hyuk Joo.”
“Yes. She mentioned that.”
After straightening the sheet, Eun Soo walked into the dressing room.
She had to prepare the clothes Hyuk Joo would wear to the office tomorrow.
Considering Hyuk Joo’s preference for not liking flashy colors, Eun Soo picked a dark navy suit.
Even after placing a matching tie on top, she stood blankly in the dressing room.
Just a few days ago, every time she prepared his work clothes in advance, her heart would flutter.
Unrequited love was that intoxicatingly sweet.
Whenever she imagined him wearing the shirt and suit she had chosen, tying the tie, an indescribable thrill would make the corners of her mouth rise on their own.
But now…
The unrequited love that had been unilaterally sentenced to death without even a chance to confess was crumpled and carelessly tossed aside.
Eun Soo cupped both cheeks with her palms.
“What are you doing there?”
At Hyuk Joo’s voice, Eun Soo removed her hands from her face.
Her tear-streaked cheeks were damp and stinging.
She finished wiping her wet face with her fingertips.
Without answering, Eun Soo brushed past Hyuk Joo, who was standing at the entrance of the dressing room.
“Eun Soo.”
Hyuk Joo grabbed her arm.
Eun Soo looked up at him. Hyuk Joo was much taller than her. So whenever she looked up at him like this, it felt like staring at the sky.
A distant sky she could never reach no matter how far she stretched.
“Hyuk Joo.”
Pretending to be fine, wearing the expression that she could endure anything, Eun Soo looked at him.
“If you want to go to that woman, you can go anytime.”
“Oh Eun Soo?”
“I know it’s shameless and I have no pride for saying this, but I still think it’s the right thing to say.”
She felt the strength slowly leave the hand that had been gripping her tightly.
Eun Soo looked up, smiled brightly, and said.
“Just let my mom continue her treatment. Then I won’t care what you do.”
Hyuk Joo’s hand dropped with a thud.
“As you know, Hyuk Joo, the chance of my mom waking up is almost impossible.”
The first year after Mom collapsed, she lived every day filled with hope.
That once tonight passed and tomorrow morning came, Mom would get up as if nothing had happened.
She believed without doubt that a miracle would come to her who wished for it so desperately.
By the time the next year passed, occasional worries crept in—what if Mom suddenly passed away.
Every time the hospital called, fear stopped her from answering immediately.
And then another year after year after year.
As time went by like that, Eun Soo grew more accustomed to resignation than hope. And she desperately prayed.
Just please don’t let Mom’s condition get any worse.
It wasn’t a prayer expecting an answer.
It was almost a prayer of self-consolation, trying somehow to gather the hope that kept breaking apart.
“I don’t know how many years it will be, maybe even more than ten. Until then I’ll really do my best as Hyuk Joo’s wife…”
Eun Soo bit her lip slightly and looked at him.
Staring into his hard, frozen eyes, Eun Soo said.
“…Please.”
“You’ll do your best as my wife?”
Hyuk Joo’s furrowed brow deepened. Eun Soo slowly nodded at his words.
A woman begging her husband—who openly meets the woman he loves—not to throw her away because she will fulfill her duties as a wife.
She knew very well how pathetic Moon Hyuk Joo thought Oh Eun Soo was. Yet Eun Soo wanted to cling to Hyuk Joo and live like this.
Even if it was only an empty shell.
‘I should have just told him not to oppose it and to date her. Because I stubbornly opposed it, maybe that’s why Hyuk Joo ended up like that.’
She suddenly recalled something her aunt-in-law had once lamented in front of her.
Aunt said the reason Hyuk Joo’s resentment toward her deepened was because of that woman.
If she hadn’t opposed Hyuk Joo and that woman, their affection would have faded with time like any ordinary couple.
Eun Soo agreed with her aunt as well.
Love is a feeling that gradually loses strength over time. So someday cracks would appear even in the solid love between Moon Hyuk Joo and that woman.
All she had to do was endure as Moon Hyuk Joo’s wife until then.
Just until then.
Eun Soo tried to take a step again. But before she could even move one foot, Hyuk Joo grabbed her arm.
“Eun Soo.”
“Speak.”
“Every time you act like this, I feel like I’m going crazy.”
“…”
Eun Soo lifted her head and met Hyuk Joo’s eyes.
His eyes were trembling faintly, as if holding back anger.
Was he angry because she said she would never leave his side?
That must be it.
But Eun Soo had to pretend she didn’t know. She had vowed to live as an oblivious woman.
“I really don’t know if you’re truly my wife.”
Hyuk Joo spoke in a terrifyingly low voice. Eun Soo couldn’t reply and only swallowed dryly.
“Whenever you’re like this, you feel so unfamiliar.”
Speaking in a low voice, Hyuk Joo left the bedroom.
The moment the bedroom door closed, strength drained from her legs as if collapsing.
She wanted to burst into sobs but couldn’t make a sound. She just pressed both palms to the floor while her shoulders shook.
Drip, drip, drip.
Large teardrops suddenly poured like a shower, splattering onto the floor.
Afraid Hyuk Joo might come back into the bedroom and see her like this, Eun Soo choked back her cries.
She washed her tear-stained, ruined face, lay on the bed, and spent the night with eyes wide open.
When the faint blue dawn light began seeping through the window, the bedroom door opened again.
Hearing Hyuk Joo’s footsteps approaching the bed, Eun Soo squeezed her eyes shut.
Long streams of tears flowed down beneath her closed eyelids.
“…”
Eun Soo shut her eyes even tighter against the weight of Hyuk Joo embracing her from behind.
Hyuk Joo buried his lips in the nape of her neck.
I’m sorry. The quiet voice slowly scattered into the air along with his deep breath.
Sorry for what?
Eun Soo wanted to turn around right that moment and ask Hyuk Joo that.
But she knew all too well what words would come out of Hyuk Joo’s mouth if she asked, so she couldn’t.
All she could do was pretend not to know and burrow into his arms that wrapped around her waist and kissed her.
⋆⋆⋆
On the way to Mom’s hospital, Father contacted her saying he wanted to meet.
Ever since Mom collapsed, she and Father had lived worse than strangers.
However, after she married Hyuk Joo, Father started contacting Eun Soo first more often.
Eun Soo’s father, Oh Joo Hwan, was the president of Myungjin Apparel.
Myungjin Apparel was an affiliate of the Myungjin Group, her in-laws’ company. Though it was the smallest affiliate, Oh Joo Hwan had become president thanks to Eun Soo’s marriage.
But Oh Joo Hwan was not satisfied with that position.
He did not hide his ambition to move to a larger affiliate in front of his daughter.
Every time she heard him say nonsense like “If I do well, won’t you be able to hold your head higher at your in-laws?” Eun Soo was dumbfounded.
“If you have business, say it. I was on my way to Mom’s hospital.”
Eun Soo said coldly as she sat down.
“There’s a caregiver, why do you go so often every day?”
“Because she’s my mom.”
“The hospital will take good care of her, tsk tsk.”
Eun Soo didn’t even glance at Oh Joo Hwan who clicked his tongue.
He must have already eaten half his meal and drunk some before she arrived; a faint smell of alcohol wafted each time Oh Joo Hwan opened his mouth.
Eun Soo only drank water while looking down at her untouched food.
“I heard you chased that person away in front of the hospital room last time?”
“Who is ‘that person’?”
“…”
At Eun Soo’s sharp question, Oh Joo Hwan could only open and close his mouth, unable to speak. But he was a man without conscience.
He had an affair with his wife’s best friend, so expecting conscience from him from the start was futile.
Though he flinched briefly at his daughter’s cold response, his brazen attitude did not die down.
If he showed a weak appearance, the other person would look down on him—that was his belief.
“How can you treat someone who came because they feel sorry for your mom so rudely?”
“Sorry for Mom?”
“Yes!”
“If he really felt sorry, he wouldn’t walk around so shamelessly.”
“What?”
“If he was truly sorry, he wouldn’t show his face so brazenly. He just sheds a few tears in front of the bedridden Mom, says sorry, thinks he’s apologized enough, and that his sin is erased. He only came to get absolution.”
“Why are your thoughts so twisted?”
Oh Joo Hwan clenched his fist and slammed the table.
Eun Soo stared straight at Oh Joo Hwan’s face and shot back without flinching.
“If that woman shows up in front of Mom’s room one more time, I’ll tell Hyuk Joo.”
“W-What?”
The moment his son-in-law’s name left her mouth, Oh Joo Hwan panicked.
Though his son-in-law, the man practically held his life-and-death power over him.
“That Father wants to step down from the Apparel president position.”
“…”
“So keep your woman in check properly.”
Eun Soo spoke clearly, shoulders heaving.
Whether her threat worked, Oh Joo Hwan closed his mouth tightly. After a moment he let out a deep sigh and poured himself a drink.
After emptying several glasses in a row, Oh Joo Hwan said with a flushed face.
“Why is there still no news about a child?”
“If you’re going to say useless things, I’ll get up.”
“Useless! Right now the thing you need most is a child!”
Eun Soo closed her eyes tightly.
Oh Joo Hwan took out a fairly heavy envelope from under the table and pushed it toward Eun Soo.
“It’s your medical records.”
Eun Soo quietly looked down at the yellow envelope.
“I put a business card inside the envelope. Get a proper checkup in case the illness from when you were young might affect pregnancy.”
“…There’s no problem.”
“It wasn’t an ordinary illness. If your in-laws find out, they might kick you out empty-handed.”
“You’re not worried I’ll be kicked out—you’re scared you will be.”
Eun Soo let out a hollow laugh.
When talks of her marriage with Hyuk Joo were happening, Oh Joo Hwan had hidden Eun Soo’s childhood cancer history for fear the marriage would fall through.
She hadn’t shown she was sick at the company, and since she had been treated at a hospital near her maternal family, it wasn’t hard to conceal the truth.
“You wanted to marry Mr. Moon too, so you kept it hidden.”
“Ha…”
Eun Soo sighed.
When she said they couldn’t hide it and it felt wrong, Oh Joo Hwan had practically threatened her.
That if anything happened to your mom, it would all be your fault.
“What’s the point of arguing who was right or wrong now?”
“…”
“Do you think I’m doing this just for myself? You know how much your mom worried because of you.”
Oh Joo Hwan knew his daughter’s weak spot well.
His daughter who had suffered acute leukemia as a child felt deep affection for the mother who had nursed her. So he kept bringing up that story so she couldn’t think otherwise.
“Living well is exactly how you repay your mom’s grace.”
Afraid his daughter might leave the envelope behind, Oh Joo Hwan pushed it toward her again.
Eun Soo stared down at the envelope.
For a moment she wanted to give up everything.
If she stepped aside so that Moon Hyuk Joo could live happily with the woman he loved, that would solve it.
What if she honestly told Aunt that she had been sick when she was young?
They might think it would be better to bring Hyuk Joo’s woman in as a niece-in-law instead of Oh Eun Soo who had a medical history.
“Think of your mom.”
“…”
“And the only way to hold onto Mr. Moon’s heart is a child.”
Eun Soo gave a dry smile, stood up. In her powerless hand was the envelope Oh Joo Hwan had given her.
“Do well. Try hard.”
At her father’s words from behind, Eun Soo let out a quiet sigh.
She left the restaurant and headed back to Mom’s hospital.
Getting into the back seat of the waiting car, Eun Soo toyed with the corner of the envelope in her hand.
When she opened it, there was a business card with the name of an obstetrician-gynecologist and medical records from twenty years ago.
Eun Soo took only the business card and put it separately in her bag.
At that moment her phone inside the bag rang.
“Who is it?”
It was an unknown number.
Thinking it might be an ad call and about to ignore it, Eun Soo tilted her head.
Checking the last four digits, she was so shocked she covered her mouth with her hand.
They were the same as the last digits of her husband’s number.
Instinctively Eun Soo knew who was calling her.
It was that woman.
Staring blankly at the ringing phone, Eun Soo closed her eyes tightly then opened them. She pressed the call button hard.
― Is this Oh Eun Soo’s phone?
“…Yes, it is.”
― …
The woman was silent for a moment.
In the short silence, Eun Soo held her breath for fear her trembling breathing would be heard.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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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!