At first, she thought she had to clean up what her elder brother had done to her husband. When she found out about his infidelity, she persisted out of spite, not wanting to see that woman and her husband happy while she and her child were unhappy.

But then.

Her mother-in-law’s persuasion snapped her to her senses.

“Why don’t you let go of Chairman Tae at this point?”

“…”

“It’s regrettable that the child turned out that way. But you said your body deteriorated a lot after the miscarriage? If that’s true, it’s a terribly sad and unfortunate thing, but the heir to the Han Kyung Group can’t adopt a child just because his wife’s health has declined. What you’ve been enduring until now is lingering attachment and obsession.”

“…”

Was that so? Had she been clinging to lingering attachment and obsession? Is that how it looked to others? At first, she felt sad and resentful, but thinking about it, those words were right. There had been plenty of opportunities to back down, but she had foolishly been ignoring reality.

Making one excuse after another, she had actually been postponing the decision. She didn’t want to part with her husband.

Once she realized this, she felt that any feelings of guilt or resentment towards him were now pointless.

Yes. Let’s withdraw cleanly. While there’s still a chance, let’s do one good thing for that person.

First, let’s give him a justification. Then, being a rational person, he’ll make the right decision.

Having made up her mind, Seo Yeon arranged a meeting for the first time and there she told Seong Jun that she wanted a divorce.

“Divorce?”

Seong Jun’s eyes wavered. Seo Yeon felt perplexed at her husband’s reaction, as if he had never even considered divorce.

“Why?”

After a while, Seong Jun asked.

“What’s the reason?”

Seo Yeon, who hadn’t expected him to ask for a reason, felt momentarily flustered. What should she say? After pondering, Seo Yeon spoke with a trembling voice.

“I’ve come to dislike you, Seong Jun.”

Fortunately, unlike her trembling heart, her voice came out calmly.

“When have you ever not disliked me? Give me a reason other than that.”

However, Seo Yeon’s eyes widened at Seong Jun’s unexpected response. I’ve never not disliked you? While it was true that she had resented him for a long time, if asked whether she had hated him throughout their married life, she couldn’t answer that with certainty.

Why did her husband think that way?

While she was pondering, Seong Jun, who had been waiting for Seo Yeon’s answer, opened his mouth again.

“If you can’t give me a single reason that would make me understand, I can’t give you a divorce. It’s not happening.”

Then Seo Yeon became purely curious.

“Why on earth can’t you give me one?”

At Seo Yeon’s question, Seong Jun’s eyes wavered again. He was the most rational and reasonable man she knew. She thought that if she brought up withdrawing first, Seong Jun would easily accept the situation.

Their marriage had fallen apart long ago anyway.

Their relationship was one that could only break at any time once there was a justification. Because it was a difficult decision to make, she couldn’t easily back down like this. Seo Yeon spoke as if trying to persuade him.

“You said you chose me because you needed my conditions. But since marrying me, you’ve only suffered losses, right? Now everyone knows that our divorce would actually be more helpful to your reputation and position. I want you to be comfortable after having been through difficulties because of my family until now. For your sake too, it’s right for us to divorce.”

And those words were also to persuade herself. Seong Jun was silent. Seo Yeon looked at her husband’s face, unable to tell what he was thinking, and spoke again as if trying to persuade him.

“Think about it carefully. For your own sake too. I’m saying this for your benefit.”

That was the moment. Anger clouded Seong Jun’s eyes.

“For my sake?”

Seong Jun spoke in a low voice tinged with slight anger. The next moment, a cold smile spread across Seong Jun’s face as he stiffened menacingly. Slowly opening his mouth, he spoke as if warning her.

“Right. Because of you, Han Seo Yeon, and your family, all my efforts until now have gone up in smoke in an instant. If you know that well, you shouldn’t be the first to mention divorce.”

“…”

“There will be no divorce until I get an answer I can accept.”

Bitterness filled Seo Yeon’s face as she finished reminiscing. She thought with a long sigh. In her past life, it took over a year to persuade her husband. But would divorce really be easy even now?

Give birth to a healthy child, save her husband, and then?

And then… She still didn’t know.

Lost in thought, Seo Yeon turned her steps towards the bookstore.

She purchased several books on pregnancy and childbirth processes, and also bought a few books that could help with managing health.

Then, remembering Seong Jun’s words about coming home late due to overtime work, Seo Yeon headed to a sheet music store this time.

It was a place she used to frequent like her own home during her school days.

There was a time when the modifier “promising pianist” followed her.

But after getting married, Seo Yeon gave up the path of a pianist. It was due to her family’s persuasion. They said that as long as she was a daughter-in-law of Han Kyung, just being active under the name Han Seo Yeon would bring shame to them.

After marriage, she mostly satisfied her thirst for music by listening to classical music or occasionally playing the piano in the empty living room.

She thought she should take responsibility since it was her decision to get married. That’s how it was then.

But thinking about it now, she wondered why she had lived so foolishly back then.

Seo Yeon’s steps stopped as she wandered around the store with a trembling face.

“It’s Chopin.”

He was Seo Yeon’s favorite musician. Coincidentally, Chopin’s music was playing inside the sheet music store. Just seeing the sheet music of her favorite musician and hearing the music made her heart tremble with excitement. And she felt a desire.

‘Could I start music again?’

She might not be able to have the glamorous title of a promising pianist like before, but just living a life where she could play her music for someone seemed enough to make her happy.

As Seo Yeon’s mind was filling with forgotten passion for music, it happened.

“Seo Yeon?”

Seo Yeon’s gaze turned to where the voice came from. There stood a tall man with a surprised look on his face.

Who was it? After furrowing her brow for a moment and searching her memory, Seo Yeon remembered that he was one of the men she had met for a blind date before meeting Seong Jun. His name was… Right. It was probably Choi Min Hyuk.

“Hello, Seo Yeon. It’s been a while.”

The man approached Seo Yeon with a delighted face, greeting her. Seo Yeon was flustered. She wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to acknowledge him like this.

“Hello.”

Unable to ignore the greeting that had been offered first, Seo Yeon also bowed in greeting.

She felt somehow uncomfortable with this encounter. Unlike other men who usually didn’t have an after-meeting following the blind date, she had gone on a few separate dates with him.

Seo Yeon had a fairly good impression of him, finding him kind and mannerly, but that was about all that remained in her memory.

It was Seo Yeon’s mother who had rejected him. The reason was that his conditions fell short of her standards. It was an uncomfortable encounter.

“Looks like you came to buy sheet music.”

Why are you talking to me with such a happy face? It’s uncomfortable.

“I came to buy sheet music too. Oh, are you uncomfortable because I suddenly spoke to you?”

Seo Yeon barely managed to hold back from saying yes and forced a smile.

“No, it’s not like that. But you said you came to buy sheet music?”

“Ah, yes. As a gift for my youngest sister. My parents had a late child, so I have a sister who’s 15 years younger than me.”

Surprise spread across Seo Yeon’s face.

“You have a sister 15 years younger than you? My goodness. She must be so cute.”

Min Hyuk nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Yes. She’s so cute that I’m happy every day when I come home. Sometimes she feels like my own child.”

Min Hyuk seemed to be a caring elder brother. The expression on his face as he talked about his sister, looking truly happy, proved that fact.

Seo Yeon remembered bitterly that before she entered middle school, her own elder brother had adored her terribly just like Min Hyuk.

While Seo Yeon was lost in thought, Min Hyuk added,

“My sister said she wanted to learn piano, so I came to see if there was any good sheet music.”

Then Min Hyuk looked at Seo Yeon with a hesitant expression.

“If it’s alright with you, could you recommend a few pieces of sheet music that would be good for a beginner?”

“Ah! I’d be very grateful if you could.”

Seo Yeon recalled her memories of when she first learned piano and recommended a few pieces of sheet music to Min Hyuk. Min Hyuk listened carefully to Seo Yeon’s explanation and expressed his gratitude several times.

“Thank you for today. I think my sister will be happy to hear that the sheet music was recommended by you, Seo Yeon.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

“Here’s my business card.”

Min Hyuk quickly took out a business card from his wallet and handed it to Seo Yeon. After exchanging a few more words, Seo Yeon parted ways with Min Hyuk and put the business card into the shopping bag containing the sheet music.

It was already night.

Although it was late, her husband had said he had overtime work today, so it was still too early for him to return home. That was fortunate. She had been worried about how to face him after parting like that in the morning.

Seo Yeon’s expression was bright as she got into the elevator.

When she got home, she wanted to read the books on pregnancy and childcare she had bought at the bookstore and take a closer look at the sheet music she hadn’t been able to examine in detail earlier.

Click.

As the sound of the front door closing was heard, Seo Yeon’s eyes widened as she looked straight ahead.

“Seong Jun?”