Chapter 1: Her Story

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

Published: January 13, 2017

"Ga Eul, I'm going out. Got some business to attend to. Don't wait up for me." He grabbed his car keys and left, leaving Ga Eul stunned. Did he not just come home?

"I'm sorry Ga Eul. We'll have to cancel dinner. Harabeoji called ten minutes ago. There're some important potential investors coming in twenty minutes. I have to attend the meeting."

"Ga Eul, can I make it up to you next time? Harabeoji wants me to go to Gangnam to check up on a new art gallery there. The owner is Harabeoji's old friend and his daughter is the new uprising artist. We need to see if her paintings are good for the Museum."

"I'll see you tonight at home, Ga Eul. Harabeoji and I have a dinner meeting with that gallery's owner and his daughter. But if you're tired, don't stay up and wait for me."

"I'm sorry again, Ga Eul. Something came up. I can't pick you up from school. I'll send Mr. Kim to fetch you."

"Ga Eul, I'm sorry. I need to finish up this important piece."

"Sorry, Ga Eul. I got another meeting at that new gallery. "

"I'm sorry Ga Eul…"

"Sorry, Ga Eul…"

"Sorry…."

… and much more…

Ga Eul let out a heavy sigh as she looked out the window of the car. It had been eight weeks. She missed her husband badly. He was so busy with work that so many of their dates, dinners, and outings had to be canceled. He would leave their house very early in the morning that they only managed some brief chats and he would come home very late at night. Most of the times, she was already asleep. When she tried to initiate a discussion, or talk about it, he would always ask her to keep it to later after he came back home, but the discussion and talk were never realized.

She tried to be understanding of his work. She did not want to be the clingy demanding inconsiderate selfish wife. He was the Heir of South Korea's largest Museum, so it was expected of him to be buried in lots of work. Because of that, she did not want to bombard him with her calls and messages every day. But still, she was his wife. She needed him too. She needed to feel loved. Could he not spare her even a few seconds of his time? Or even a simple Hello message?

Two years ago, Jan Di had 'warned' her about the life of a chaebol's wife. These late nights and unscheduled meetings should be expected of him. She would need to sacrifice her wants to always have Yi Jeong by her side. She should also need to be prepared to be left at home when he had to travel outside of the country. Most importantly, what she needed to do was to trust him and let him do his work. It was, after all, for their future well beings. Ga Eul promised Jan Di that she would try her best to be that understanding and supportive wife.

However, she was only human. There were times when she felt frustrated with their situation, and when that happened, a scary nerving thought did come and stir her heart and mind. Of late, he always mentioned about this woman, this gallery's owner's daughter. Were they having an affair? Ga Eul's heart raced faster at the thought but she always quickly shook her head. No. She needed to trust him. She needed to. Has he not proven to her that his Casanova days were over ages ago? He would not hurt her. Never. He loved her. Did he not?

Ga Eul mentally scolded herself for the dangerous thoughts and sighed again. She fiddled with her cell phone. Should she give him a call? It was ten minutes past one. He told her this morning that he was having some meetings at the Museum. Still, he should not skip lunch, no matter how busy he was. Maybe she should surprise him and bring him lunch?

The car stopped at a red traffic light. She was about to call his number when a sight caught her attention. Her heart stopped, eyes widened and jaw dropped. Outside, in front of a famous coffee shop, a man was holding the door for a very beautiful woman. He had that familiar happy grin on his face as he said something to the woman. As she entered the shop, she placed her hand on his arm and he had let her. They looked friendly and comfortable with each other. What stunned Ga Eul more was that the woman leaned a little toward the man and uttered some words into his ear, earning some laughs from him.

"Yi Jeong…" Ga Eul's voice cracked up and she felt her heart clenched tight before it went thunderous.

She wanted to scream and call his name but the car had started moving. She mind was going crazy at what she just saw. Should she ask the driver to stop the car? Should she go to him and ask? Should she call him and ask him where he was? Should she just wait for him tonight? What should she do? Her eyes were already brimming with tears. She pressed a palm to her aching heart.

"No. Ga Eul. No. You must not jump to conclusions. You must not think worse of him. You must trust him. It's just a lunch meeting. Maybe the woman is just his old friend. Maybe… maybe… maybe…"

Without realizing it, she had dialed his number. A few rings after, "Yoboseoyo Ga Eul." His voice sounded cheerful as if he was in the middle of a laugh when he answered the phone.

"…"

"Ga Eul? Ga Eul? Are you there?"

"Oh, yoboseoyo Yi Jeong." She tried to steady her voice.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I… I am. Just a little tired. What are you doing? Where are you?"

"I'm in a meeting. Why?" She could hear voices of a bustling café in the background.

Ga Eul swallowed hard. Why did he not tell her where he was?

"Oh, I thought you might need lunch. Would you like me to bring you some food?" Her voice quivered a little.

"Thank you Ga Eul, but that's not necessary. Hey, talk to you later? I'm in the middle of a meeting now. Bye."

"But…" She wanted to say more.

"That's her." She could hear him spoke and a woman laughed before the line ended.

Ga Eul lost to her tears.

Once the car stopped at the house's porch, she quickly headed to her bedroom. She did not want the house staff to see her cry. In the bedroom, she threw her handbag on the vanity table and sat on the bed. She let her tears fell as she gave up on wiping them off as they were quickly replaced by new ones.

"How could he do this to me? Why did he lie? Does he not love me anymore? Is he tired of me? Am I not a good wife? Am I too clingy? Am I too boring? Who is that woman? Is she that new artist he mentioned so many times before? Does he love her? Is she the reason why he can't wait to leave the house and come home late?"

The voices in her head were torturing her. Her temple throbbed at the thought, her stomach churned uneasily and her heart thumped louder. She did not know what to do. When sitting down failed to ease her heart, she stood up, only to sit down again. But not a minute later, she stood up again and paced back and forth, right to left. What should she do?

"Harabeoji! Does Harabeoji know this woman? Does Harabeoji know about him and her? Does Harabeoji approve them together?"

Ga Eul pressed her palms on her temple so hard that her head hurt. She then sat on the sofa, body bent down as her elbows rested on her knees, her breathing short and erratic. She needed to calm herself and think of what her next actions would be. She must be strong. She must confront him and hear his side of the story.

"But what if it's true? What if he is having an affair with that woman? What if all this while he's been lying to me and used Harabeoji and the Museum as his excuse? Am I prepared to hear the truth?"

She then leaned back and closed her eyes.

"No. Ga Eul. Are you crazy? Why are you feeling insecure? Why do you doubt him? Why are you questioning his loyalty and love? He loves you very much. If he doesn't, would he still talk to you and come back home? He's just busy with work. You can't think of him this way. Don't do anything stupid or irrational before you get an answer from him. Don't you over think Ga Eul."

Her mind and heart were fighting with each other. It was not the first time that she saw him with other women, beautiful and gorgeous, but they were either his clients or subordinates. She understood that his work also meant meeting with so many people, men, and women. But why did seeing him with this particular woman troubled her heart so much?

When she could no longer handle the pounding in her head, she looked for a pain killer and downed it with a glass of water. She then laid on the sofa to rest.

"Ga Eul. Wake up. I'm going to work."

Ga Eul slowly opened her eyes.

"Wha..? Where am I? What time is it?" her voice was coarse and she felt her eyes swollen.

"You're in our bedroom. It's nearly 7 in the morning. Why were you sleeping on the sofa?"

Ga Eul abruptly sat up and a blanket fell off from her lower body.

"Why didn't you wake me up last night? What time did you come back?" She suddenly felt irritation crept into her heart as she watched him fixed his tie. There was not a sign of worry for her on his face.

"At ten. I wanted to wake you up but you looked very tired. So I got you the blanket." He nonchalantly replied.

Ga Eul felt her face warmed up from anger.

"And you didn't even think of carrying me to the bed?" She had to control her voice.

"I didn't want to wake you up."

Her mouth agape and her heart stung with agony.

"I have a breakfast meeting in forty minutes. I'll see you tonight then." He then gave her a brief peck on her cheek and left, leaving her dumbfounded on the sofa.

"Yobeseoyo Harabeoji. How are you? Am I disturbing you?"

"Yobeseoyo Ga Eul. I'm good. Thank you. I am in a discussion right now. How are you? Is there something wrong?" Grandfather So replied in a gentle voice. He loved Ga Eul like his own granddaughter. She never called him during office hours, so her call surprised him.

"Oh, I'm sorry to disturb you Harabeoji. I… I'll call you some other time." There were guilt and sadness in her voice.

"Wait. Are you sure you don't want to talk? Or do you want to talk to Yi Jeong? But he's not here with me at the moment."

"Ummm… no. That's OK Harabeoji. I'm sorry again. Where… where is Yi Jeong, Harabeoji?"

"I'm with Mr. Baek now and Yi Jeong went to show Miss Baek, his studio downstairs. Oh, silly me. Miss Baek is Mr. Baek's daughter. OK, Ga Eul. You take care of yourself, alright? We'll talk more when I'm free. I do miss my granddaughter. Goodbye, Ga Eul."

"Goodbye Harabeoji."

Mr. Baek was the art gallery's owner.

Ga Eul's head swirled at the information. She felt relieved that Yi Jeong was at work but at the same time, waves of boisterous jealousy filled her heart. She needed to know the truth.

Ga Eul woke up at the sound of the door. She glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. The short hand pointed to 11 and the long one, to 12. She then sat up and looked at her husband.

"Yi Jeong, you're home."

"Oh! Ga Eul. You scared me." He had a palm over his heart.

"Sorry. Have you had dinner?" She tried to control herself. Somehow his words angered her. She felt as if he did not want her to know that he was back.

"Yes," as he walked to the walk-in closet.

"With who?"

No answer.

"Yi Jeong, with who?" she asked again.

"With Harabeoji, Mr. Baek, and Lily."

"Lily? Who's Lily?" her heart started to drum faster.

"Oh, Mr. Baek's daughter," he had a smile on his face when he came out of the closet in his towel and straight away went into the bathroom. He did not even look at her.

Ga Eul frowned as she watched him enter the bathroom. Lily? Was he that close to the woman that he called her by her first name? And what was that smile about? He was not smiling at her. Ga Eul felt her blood boiled. She took a deep breath, slowly counted to ten and exhaled. She would just have to wait for him to finish his bath.

Half an hour later, he was ready for bed. He checked his cell phone and replied a few messages and emails. He then put his phone on the bedside table, kissed Ga Eul on her cheek and said good night. He then laid down and closed his eyes, his back facing her.

Ga Eul could not believe it. What was happening to him? What was happening to them? Was this how their relationship was going to be from here on? She massaged her chest, over her heart, as she controlled her temper, frustration, and sadness. How was it possible to have three different feelings at the same time? She held her tears.

"Yi Jeong." She called his name. She knew that he had not gone to sleep.

"Hmmm? What is it, Ga Eul? I'm sleepy."

"Are you free tomorrow?" She was trying her luck.

"No. I have a lot of meetings tomorrow. Why?"

"We haven't gone out for lunch for so long now. Can we have lunch together tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry Ga Eul. I have a lunch meeting."

"Oh," Ga Eul forced her tears not to betray.

"What about the day after tomorrow?" The day after tomorrow was their first anniversary.

"I'm busy too. Ga Eul, I'm tired and sleepy. Can we have this discussion tomorrow night?"

"But..."

"Please Ga Eul." He then reached for the remote control and switched off the table lamp.

Ga Eul cried in silent until sleep finally took over.

When Ga Eul woke up the next morning, the other side of the bed was already cold. The clock showed 8 a.m. Ga Eul abruptly sat up. She had overslept.

"Why didn't Yi Jeong wake me up? Is he that eager to leave the house?"

Ga Eul brought her knees up, crossed her arms, placed them on her knees and buried her face in her folded arms as she cried her heart out.

"Yi Jeong doesn't love me anymore... Omma... Appa..."

Yoboseoyo Ga Eul." It was Jan Di. She sounded cheerful.

"Yoboseoyo Jan Di. Hey, are you off duty today?" Ga Eul asked, trying to inject a cheery tone as well.

"Yes. Ooo such a bliss to have a day off. Ga Eul, do you have any plans for today? If not, let's go to the Mall. I miss you. We haven't gone shopping for a long, long time now. What do you say?"

"Umm... I'm sorry Jan Di. But I already have plans today."

"With Yi Jeong? Aish, you two are still like newlyweds. Still going on a date? Awww... I'm so jealous of you. I wish my husband can be like him."

Ga Eul cringed at her best friend's words. If ever that was true... If ever Yi Jeong was still in love with her...

"Hey, why not ditch him and go out with me? Please, Ga Eul, pleassseeeee? I miss you very much."

"I'm sorry Jan Di. I miss you too, but I can't. I'm sorry. Oh, I got to go. I'll talk to you later OK?" and she hurriedly ended the call.

Ga Eul looked down to her feet. She missed Jan Di a lot. She wanted so badly to meet Jan Di and tell her everything about her situation with Yi Jeong. However, she was too ashamed to do so. Everybody knew how so much in love they were. What would Jan Di do if she told her that Yi Jeong was not that person anymore? Would her news jeopardize Jan Di and her husband's relationship? Whose side would her husband be on? Hers or Yi Jeong's? Ga Eul did not want to risk it.

"I'm sorry Jan Di. I have to lie to you. But I... I have to do this."

Ga Eul watched the scenery outside the train. Busan was another two hours. Her heart told her to go to Busan, but once she arrived at the station, she did not know where to go. What she knew was that she needed to be far away from Seoul, from him. She needed to be alone. She needed to re-evaluate and re-assess her life with him.

It was a blissful first ten months of marriage. She would not deny that he had loved her to his fullest. He would do anything for her. Almost every weekend, he did not fail to take her to the beautiful scenic places in South Korea. He treated her like she was the Queen. He also took her to all his exhibitions and events. He was proud to show her off to the people there. He was proud to be her husband.

But what happened during these past two months? Why the sudden change in him? She could not understand. Did she do something wrong that angered him? Did she misbehave during the many events and exhibitions? Why did he ignore her? Did he fall for the woman? Did he find the woman better than her? Did he think that he made a mistake by marrying her?

Ga Eul let her tears fell as she continued to watch the scenery outside. Busan, she hoped that she would find the remedy to her heartaches there in Busan.