The dim light made it hard to see the keyhole in the door. Fidgeting with the jangling metal ring with the keys for a car, spare for the house and for his locker at work he found the right one. Gold in colour with a round loop at the part you hold. With that he unlocked the door.

As he flicked the switches for lighting he couldn’t help but sigh. The laundry had been sorted but not put away, the kitchen had the dishes put away and he could smell something on the stove. He walked over to the gas stove and lifted the lid on the pot. The rice cake dish appeared still not cooked, why was the question. At that moment his phone beeped. The name of the sender was Sang Hee:

Had to take care of emergency at work, let it simmer for another 5 at 150 and it’ll be done.

That was how she was. No love hearts at the end, no mention of his name or even the pet name he once had been given; just straight forward and to the point. At that moment his phone rang, it was the land line of his family’s place.

“Hello.”

“Kyu Jong,” it was his father, “how are you doing son?” Kyu Jong searched for something to trigger an idea for a possible topic. The calendar had fewer markings than the month before. One date was circled, the word ‘settlement’ written on it.

“Fine,” he lied turning the stove on and waiting for it to heat again. “How are mum and Eunah?” Kyu Jong started to adjust the temperature on the stove. “They’re good; they’re looking forward to seeing you and Sang Hee again. It’s been too long since you came home,” Kyu Jong glanced at the small written text in the date for the next day:

Anniversary

“Yeah I agree dad,” he lifted up his shoulder to cradle the phone against his ear while he searched the drawers for a utensil to stir the dish. “I’ve missed seeing you all.”

“And we feel the same. Don’t forget the time of your flight or your boarding passes,” Kyu Jong couldn’t help but smile at his father’s advice. His mother had always been the one to nag him but now his dad followed suit.

“I won’t dad.”

“Ok you two have a good night, see you tomorrow afternoon.” Kyu Jong hung up, debating whether or not to eat or to clean. The rice was warm, ready to be served while the laundry lay there like a sore thumb. He served a bowl of rice for himself, placing it at the head of the table before scooping up the linen and taking it to put it away. In the hall way he almost fell over a suitcase. It pricked at his heart to see it there. White ribbon around the handle, zip half up so that things could be slipped inside from above and a name tag with Kim Sang Hee written messily on the lines.

That suitcase was the only thing of hers that made him sad more than the emptiness of their apartment when she was away at work or out of the house altogether or more than the uncomfortable atmosphere that came when she was home. Marriage should not have come to such an unfortunate result. 

Sitting down at the table with his food at last Kyu Jong began to see how she may have felt when they first got married. He’d been preparing for his album and she had been unemployed at the time. Usually it was him that came home late; this was the first time he was home without her around either getting ready to work or cleaning.

With his schedule cleared for the day he was home, alone in the solitude with nothing to comfort him. He was tempted to call Young Saeng and invite him over but there was no knowing when Sang Hee would return.

~*~

Standing by the sink he carefully washed his dishes in a centimetre of water when he heard the stomping of heels on the floor somewhere and then a jangle as a key was inserted into the front door. Slowly it opened; she came in, her long hair falling down her shoulders tucked under the collar of her jacket. Seeing Kyu Jong back alarmed her.

“Oh, you’re home early.” Kyu Jong nodded.

“The station ending up double booking so I had to postpone.” He referred to the fact he was to appear on a radio station that evening. She took her heeled boots off and her jacket off, fumbling with the buttons due to her short nails.

“Uh huh,” her slippers scuffed the wooden boards as she went to the kitchen and lifted the lid. “Did you forget to stir again?”

Kyu Jong turned his head at the side to her. “No I did.”

“Then why is the bottom more cooked than the rest?” Her fingers curled around the handle, tightly. “You have to stir these things really thoroughly otherwise the broth will only thicken in particular places, like oil and water.” Both of their gazes darkened one because she felt he hadn’t done the right thing and his was because he felt like the victim of a crime he didn’t commit; the crime simply being, not stirring dinner her way.

“Aish,” she went to the cupboards to grab dry seasoning. Kyu Jong watched as she opened the packets into the dish, “what are you doing?”

“It’s to thicken the broth.” He just shook his head at her. “What? It was a simple task yet you didn’t complete it right!”

“Dinner is fine!”

“Then why’s it like this?!” Loss for words for a moment all Kyu Jong could do was stammer in his defence.
“W-why did you leave it unfinished anyway?!”

“I had an emergency at the restaurant; the other chef is average at what he does!”

“The other staffs are always incompetent in your eyes!”

“That’s because they are!” Sang Hee exclaimed, scooping the rice into a bowl with a lot of force. Some of the grains spilt onto the floor. It was getting dangerously out of hand. Kyu Jong had learnt earlier on in the marriage when things could start to get ugly.

“Ok,” he resignedly began. “I made a mistake with the stirring; you were right.” Sang Hee considered what he said, her dark eyes softening for a bit.

“We have to try and get along for the sake of our families,” he added. “They don’t know that we’re separating.” Sang Hee sat herself down at the table, slowly pouring the bowl of the rice cake dish over the mountain of grains.

“Yeah agreed,” Sang Hee said. “Isn’t that why we agreed to do this; to break the news to them as gently as we can?”

“Yes indeed,” with that Kyu Jong went to the other end of the apartment to finish his packing. He didn’t remind her that it was because it was for another reason as well.

Hello if we haven’t met then hi *shakes hand*, this is the 2^nd SS501 fanfic I’m writing. Enjoy this and enjoy reading. I’ve never written anything about married life so this will be a challenge.