By the time Ji-Yong reached their apartment, the door was already wide open and Amelle was inside. Crossing the threshold, Ji-Yong spotted SooHyun sitting on their couch. Ji-Yong glared at him before crossing the room and heading into their bedroom, having no doubt Amelle was in there. He found her. She had changed from her black dress into a pair of black jeans and a singlet and had a grey hoodie drapsed over a chair.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She didn’t bother to look at him as he entered, just continued cramming stuff into the suitcase before her. She zipped it up and stood up. Finding Ji-Yong behind her, she gave him the dirtiest look she could muster and attempted to walk past him.

“I asked you a question” He grabbed her arm.

“Don’t touch me” She snatched her arm back and half tossed her suitcase past him. He slammed the door shut behind him.

“The hell do you think you’re playing at”

Amelle sat on the edge of their bed, a thin line.

“I’m staying at SooHyun’s for a while” Ji-Yong nodded, before throwing a fist into her dressing table mirror, cracking the glass. She looked at her reflection. Distorted.

“How long have you been ing him?!” Ji-Yong demanded. Amelle’s head snapped to face him.

“How dare you! He came to apologise to me and to fix things with you! How long have you been ing that little slice you had with you hm? How long? HOW LONG?” Amelle screamed the final part, jumping up and shoving him.

“LONG ENOUGH!” Ji-Yong screamed. It was out of his lips before he could take it back. Amelle’s shoulders fell as she swallowed the words he had just thrown at her. Ji-Yong had purposefully gone out and cheated on her with some random fan girl that was ten a penny. Dropping to her knees, Amelle began to pick up fragments of mirror glass. Clutching some in her closed fist, she got up.

“You’re bleeding…”

Looking down, she found he was right. A long dark sliver had cut her hand and she was bleeding profusely. Ji-Yong stepped forward, towel in hand to help stop the bleeding, but Amelle pulled back, dropping the glass which shattered some more, little flecks of blood going in directions. She almost didn’t feel it, the cut. Ji-Yong’s word had hurt her more.

“This is us now”, she gestured to the broken pieces, “Somehow we fell apart and neither of us tried to stop it. I think that says enough” Taking the towel from him, she avoided touching his hand; she pressed it against her hand. Ji-Yong could see the small tears falling from her eyes,

“Amelle, that girl…she didn’t mean anything…the kiss…”

She looked at him. One word. Hurt.

“You asked me to marry you and I did. You wanted a family, so I gave you a daughter. And now you expect me to let you break my heart” A short, sharp laugh burst out, but it didn’t last.

“The things you say, they’re who you are. I learnt that a long time ago from you”

“So you’re allowed to around for a living like a complete , no matter whose lives you destroy, but I can’t do it because my wife is being a total ” Ji-Yong snapped back. He was not going to let her stand there and degrade him in his own house.

“I knew it” Realisation “We met because someone paid me for , many, MANY years ago. I told you…everything about me. I gave you every chance to leave because I loved you. Because I knew that even if you didn’t mind then, you’d mind later on and then it would be too late because we’d be so much more involved. But you insisted, you said you loved me. But it was all a big joke to you. I can finally see you properly now…” Pulling the silver band off her finger, she dropped her wedding ring on the floor, not bothering to look where it landed.

“I don’t know who you are, but the Ji-Yong I married isn’t you”

Brushing past him, Amelle yanked open the door, choking back tears. He followed suit. SooHyun stood in the living room with Jae-sun and Zulay, who was tucked up comfortably in his arms. He placed Zulay down on the floor as soon as he laid eyes on the cut. He rushed over, and placed a cloth over the wound, maintaining pressure. Ji-Yong’s eyes wandered to the bags that were next to Amelle’s.

“You’re taking them with you too?”

“I think it’d be better if we all had some time apart”

“You can’t take my daughter!”

Amelle glared at him,

“So she’s your daughter now, huh? Cos you’ve spent so much time acting like a father right?”

“Well, you’ve spent so much time playing happy family with this prick I haven’t had time to, have I?”

SooHyun stepped forward, anger flashing across his face.

“Excuse me?”

“Leave it SooHyun” She shook her head and grabbed her luggage, dragging her suitcase to the door. SooHyun moved the other two cases. Ji-Yong crouched down until he was at eye level with Zulay, who chewing on Theo’s ear.

“Come to daddy, Zoo. Come to daddy!” She looked at him with big, brown blinking eyes, slowly grinding against the cushy fabric of the zebras ear. SooHyun returned and picked up Zulay’s coat.

“Time to go Zoo”

Come to daddy, Zoo!”

Her little head turned left and right, her attention torn between the two. She started to wobble towards Ji-Yong, her shoes squeaking on the wooden floor.

”Put your coat on baby. It’s time to go” At the voice of her mother, the constant, she stopped in her tracks.

“Come here Zoo!” Ji-Yong cried. Zulay jumped, dropping Theo to the ground. Her little face crumpled and she burst into tears. Immediately Ji-Yong felt terrible. He just wanted to show he was a good father to his child, but he had made her cry. She turned away from him and wobbled into SooHyun’s arms.

“Appa Hoon” she wailed into his collar. Ji-Yong’s eyes snapped to SooHyun, who at least had the grace to avoid his contact. In the eyes of a three year old, Ji-Yong had been officially replaced as father.