| Death By A Thousand Cuts |
A Familiar StrangerTo Ji Hyo, it felt like it was just yesterday when her husband had held another woman in his arms. It felt like it was just yesterday when she had found out that he can lie to her without so much as a second thought. And most of all, it felt like it was just yesterday when she had placed the brown envelope inside the drawer by her bed; the envelope which will ultimately ruin their marriage… Actually, no. For her, the marriage had long been ruined. It wasn’t just the one thing; it was the accumulation of lies, false promises and broken vows.
It has been exactly eleven days since she had landed in Seoul. How she wishes she could go back to the time of innocence… When her husband remained as a truthful man in her eyes. How she wishes. Song Ji Hyo would have never thought it would come to this. There had been nothing but long, cold days in their home that was previously warm and kind. They could barely recognise each other. It was inevitable.
On sunny days, Ji Hyo would stay out as Kwang Soo waited for her to come home. It has been six days since he stopped asking where she was. And during nights when they shared a bed together, her back turned away from him, her body already accustomed to the impending collapse of their marriage. As she lies back on the bed they had purchased before moving in together, she looks over to his side, recalling how seven days ago, she almost forgave him.
Ji Hyo felt as Kwang Soo’s shoulders shook behind her as fat drops of tears fell from his eyes. He cried until his body shook with much effort as incoherent words spilled from his lips. She had never seen him like this. So what else can a wife do but to reach for his trembling hands, enveloping his larger ones in hers. He looks up at her when her warm hands landed upon his, her touch almost felt foreign to him. He wanted to ask “What happened to us?”, but he didn’t. Instead, he wrapped her in his arms as Ji Hyo laid by his side, her heart aching once again. Slowly, she braces herself and parts her lips to tell him something, not until when his phone beeped. On the bedside table, it lights up: 1 message from Sominie.
And just like that, she can picture them ten years from now, living their lives like parallel lines.
Kwang Soo enters their bedroom. He had been filming for almost 42 hours. All he wanted was to leap into their bed and into a peaceful slumber. He knew Ji Hyo would not be home, anyway. Dropping his duffle bag onto the entrance of their bedroom, he rids himself of his shoes and prepares to slide into the covers when he sees his wife. She was lying on her back, a pillow resting on her stomach. She picked its fabric, but she did not acknowledge his presence. Maybe she did not hear him enter, or she did not choose to look.
“Yeobo?” He says, eyeing the luggage at the foot of the bed. “W-Where are you going?”
Kwang Soo waited for her to speak, he thought she was going to say something, but silence is all there was. It enveloped the room in such way that frightened him. Their home that once felt warm and happy seemed to be crumbling down right in front of him. His wife didn't look like herself... but not in the way that one would think. Ji Hyo is still beautiful, she always is, but she didn't seem to look at him the way she used to. Her gaze full of disdain and surrender, her lips curved in a way he knew he couldn't kiss, and her face contorted in a way that made his chest ache.
Without moving from her spot, Ji Hyo pulls out a brown envelope under her pillow, the surface wrinkled and stale. There was hesitation in her movements. Ji Hyo was in no hurry. She was taking all the time she needed for there was another voice inside her, arguing back. You're crazy if you leave him, said the voice. This is the one person you have always trusted. Kwang Soo isn't Chang Joo. And though she had thought it in her head with so much more conviction, it just wasn't the same. She didn't believe the voice anymore.
Kwang Soo wanted to ask what it was, but Ji Hyo gets up right before dropping the envelope at his feet. "Read it carefully. I'll be right outside."
Ji Hyo exits the room in a few strong strides, and right before she closes the door behind her, she meets his eyes. The thick stack of white paper now sitting on his lap, his eyes twitching in an attempt to comprehend the words 'Divorce Agreement' in big bol
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