The Wife Who Ran Away (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 8

After washing up, Yeon Joo headed to the kitchen.

She had no appetite, but she still needed to eat dinner—after all, she had to take her herbal medicine after a meal.

Yeon Joo took out a few vegetables from the fridge. She put the chopped vegetables and soaked rice into a pot and made congee.

She poured the hot congee into a bowl and carried it to the dining table. Yeon Joo sat down and scooped up a spoonful.

Perhaps because she was eating reluctantly, it didn’t taste good.

Yeon Joo’s gaze briefly landed on the empty living room.

The house, with only her in it, was dark and quiet. It was a silence she was familiar with—one that had stretched from the beginning of her marriage until now.

But she didn’t want to grow accustomed to it.

A life where eating alone felt normal. A life where she didn’t wait for her husband, no matter how late the night grew. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her days growing used to this kind of time.

“If I have a child, will it get noisy?”

It would probably be better than now.

They said that with a child, there’d be no quiet days… That definitely seemed true.

After forcing herself to finish the congee, Yeon Joo picked up the herbal medicine the housekeeper had left in a visible spot so she wouldn’t forget. She poured the double-boiled medicine into a small bowl. The bitter scent filled the house.

Yeon Joo lifted the bowl to her lips. Maybe because she took it so often now, she barely noticed the bitterness anymore.

Just as she set down the empty bowl cleanly,

“Rrrrr, Rrrrr.”

At the ringing sound, Yeon Joo turned her head toward her phone on the dining table.

“Who could it be at this hour?”

Maybe it was Jin Wook calling. Hoping inwardly, Yeon Joo walked over to the table, picked up her phone, and checked the screen—her expression hardened instantly.

[Grandmother]

The caller was Kyeong Ok.

“Rrrrr, Rrrrr.”

Yeon Joo let out a sharp sigh and pressed the answer button.

“…Hello.”

[It’s me. Why did you answer so late?]

Just hearing her voice made Yeon Joo feel heavy inside.

[Are you alone? Where’s Cha Seobang?]

“He’s on a business trip. What’s the call about?”

Since her marriage, Kyeong Ok only ever called for two reasons:

either it involved money, or it involved her son.

[Did you hear your dad’s planning to expand his business?]

Today’s reason seemed to be a combination of both.

[He’s hiring a lot of new staff and expanding the office—they say the construction scale is big and will cost a lot of money in many ways.]

“So what?”

[What do you mean, “so what”? Your husband is a director at LM Group! We’re asking your wealthy in-laws to invest a bit into their daughter-in-law’s family.]

“…”

[You should talk nicely to Cha Seobang about it. If we get this investment and the business goes well, it’ll benefit your in-laws too—it’s a win-win.]

In the end, she was asking Jin Wook’s side to fund Dae Han’s business expansion. It sounded like an “investment,” but given that Dae Han had failed every recent venture, asking for investment was no different than asking for a handout.

Yeon Joo replied coldly.

“No. We already helped out during the last business. We never even got that investment back—how can you ask for help again?”

[Don’t be like that—just talk to Cha Seobang about it at least.]

“No. I don’t want to get involved in Father’s business anymore.”

[You ungrateful brat—listen to how you talk!]

Kyeong Ok lashed out harshly.

[Now that you’re a rich man’s wife, my words don’t even sound like words to you anymore? Do you forget who you owe your position to? Have you forgotten who’s kept your mother alive all this time?]

“…”

[Why do you think your father has no money now? It’s because he spent it all paying for your mother’s hospital bills!]

“…”

[You begged us to pay for your mother’s treatment back then! And now you look down on me and your father? This is exactly why you shouldn’t carelessly take in a black-haired beast!]

Every time Yeon Joo didn’t behave as Kyeong Ok wanted, those were her exact words.

And whenever her mother was mentioned, Yeon Joo always lost her strength too.

“Father. Grandmother. Please save my mom.”

“My mom is still alive. I’ll do anything you say—please, just save her.”

The image of her eighteen-year-old self, kneeling and begging, flashed through her mind.

Yeon Joo squeezed her eyes shut. She bit down hard on her dry lips before barely managing to speak.

“…Fine. I’ll talk to him once. But this is the last time. Please don’t call me about Father’s business anymore.”

[Good. I get it. If you’d just agreed like this from the start, things would’ve been so much easier.]

After clicking her tongue, Kyeong Ok spoke again.

[By the way, still no news, I suppose?]

Yeon Joo had been wondering when this topic would come up.

She pressed a tired hand to her forehead. Seeing Yeon Joo remain silent, Kyeong Ok began scolding her.

[Seriously, you’re still so young—why can’t you get pregnant? Other women are popping out babies even past forty!]

Her voice buzzed loudly in Yeon Joo’s ears.

[I can’t even face your in-laws because of you.]

Her stomach churned, her head spun, her breath caught in her throat, and cold sweat broke out.

[If only you’d had a child earlier, we could’ve walked proudly…]

“…Please stop…”

[What?]

“Just stop it already!”

Yeon Joo cried out, her expression pained.

“Why does everyone go crazy over my pregnancy?!”

Her pent-up emotions burst like a broken dam.

“Just leave me alone, please! Please!”

[Oh—oh my! Are you out of your mind? You right now…]

“Ugh!”

Yeon Joo threw her phone aside and ran to the bathroom.

As soon as she entered, she gripped the toilet and lowered her head.

“Ughh!!”

She threw up all the congee she’d eaten for dinner.

She kept vomiting—first the congee, then bitter liquid—until the nausea finally subsided. Yeon Joo rinsed her mouth and stepped out of the bathroom.

Pale-faced, she sat down on the living room sofa.

It wasn’t surprising—it happened regularly. For a while now, whenever her stomach churned and her heart raced uncontrollably, the symptoms would worsen until she felt like she couldn’t breathe, sometimes even vomiting.

When she visited the hospital, they found no physical issues and said it was mostly psychological—they advised her to relax and reduce stress.

Of course, she never told anyone about it, fearing her in-laws would disapprove even more.

Yeon Joo blinked her heavy eyelids. Leaning against the sofa, drowsiness washed over her, and her eyes slowly closed.

“I need to take the herbal medicine again…”

Since she’d just thrown it up, she’d have to take another dose. But exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she immediately fell asleep.

How much time had passed since then?

Yeon Joo slowly opened her eyes at a faint noise from outside the house.

The moment she woke, she checked the time: 10 p.m.

She’d only meant to nap briefly on the sofa but ended up sleeping for nearly three hours.

Yeon Joo walked toward the living room balcony. She was certain the sound had come from the garage.

Just as she was about to look out the window,

“Ting-ling.”

She heard the front door opening.

Yeon Joo turned toward the entrance with a startled expression—and her eyes widened even more when she saw who walked in.

“?!”

It was Jin Wook himself, entering through the front door late at night.

Dressed in a black suit, Jin Wook removed his shoes and stepped inside. Seeing Yeon Joo staring at him with wide eyes, he said,

“Your husband, whom you haven’t seen in four days—seems you’re not happy to see me.”

“It’s not that…”

Jin Wook’s business trip wasn’t supposed to end until tomorrow. Still confused by his unexpected return, Yeon Joo asked,

“…You said you couldn’t come back today.”

“That was the original schedule.”

His trip must’ve been exhausting—Jin Wook looked thinner than before. His already sharp jawline appeared even more defined, and his features more striking.

He took off his suit jacket and headed toward the dining room. After drinking a glass of water with ice, he approached Yeon Joo.

“I finished early on purpose.”

He’d deliberately wrapped things up ahead of schedule?

As Jin Wook drew closer, a flicker of hope sparked in Yeon Joo’s eyes.

Could it be… he remembered their wedding anniversary?

A foolish, swelling hope made her heart race—right up until the moment Jin Wook opened his mouth just in front of her.

“You’re ovulating today, aren’t you?”

Yeon Joo’s face instantly froze.

“…”

Ah.

So today was her ovulation day.

Her lips parted involuntarily, releasing a breath that mixed a hollow laugh with a sigh.

Her mind went numb.

What kind of expression should she even have right now?

Faced with a husband who forgot their wedding anniversary but remembered his wife’s ovulation day… what words could she possibly say?

She didn’t know the answer—and even if she did, she couldn’t do anything.

Disappointment and emptiness spread plainly across her face.

“…”

Jin Wook studied her expression and asked,

“Why do you look like that?”

“…”

“Did something happen?”

Even if she spoke, would this man even understand?

To him, their wedding anniversary was clearly less important than his wife’s ovulation date.

Jin Wook stepped even closer to her silent figure. His familiar scent brushed her nose.

His languid gaze lingered on her face before drifting down to her slender neck. His large hand wrapped around her waist.

“It’s been a while. Cheer up a little.”

Soon, his hand slipped under her T-shirt. At the touch of skin against skin, Yeon Joo pushed against his chest.

“…I’m a little tired today.”

Jin Wook immediately replied,

“I barely slept an hour before coming back. I’m just as tired.”

His voice was dry, his eyes rough.

He caught the hand she’d used to push him away. His fingertips resting over her knuckles burned like a furnace. His intense eyes locked onto hers.

“Just bear with it a bit.”

“…”

“I’ll finish quickly.”

Yeon Joo’s eyes trembled violently.

Her already-depleted self-respect plummeted to the ground. She had neither the energy to respond nor anything left to say.

Once, she believed that intimacy—pressing chests together, sharing breaths—was an act filled with love.

She’d thought that when their heated gazes met, he surely felt the same emotions she did.

But to him, sex was merely a means to an end—a necessary step toward a goal.

Any other emotions or reasons were unnecessary.

That was simply who Jin Wook was.

A man thoroughly calculating and coldly rational in everything.

And she was the one who had chosen him.

She couldn’t blame anyone else, nor fault anyone.

She’d assigned meaning to an act he treated no differently from work—and nurtured emotions alone.

She’d deluded herself, exhausted herself, and wounded herself—all by herself.

Even though he was so indifferent toward her.

In that moment, all the words she’d heard from others throughout the day flashed through her mind.

“I’m sorry—the senior madam insisted I check in three times a day without fail…”

“Your mother-in-law actually called a few days ago—she repeatedly asked us to pay special attention to you.”

“I can’t even face your in-laws because of you.”

Emptiness filled her already-dry eyes.

Everything had been something she should’ve prepared herself for the moment she chose to marry him.

Now, it was too late to say she hadn’t known—or to undo it.

“…”

Slowly, Yeon Joo lowered the hand that had rested against his chest.

Then, with a face that seemed to have let go of everything, she closed her eyes.