17

“Mommy?”

A gentle knock.

“Mommy?”

Another one.

“Mom?”

And then a series of more knocks.

But the door remains closed, unwelcoming of the lone and petite figure standing before it.

Silence blankets the other side of the door making the little visitor concerned of the room’s sole occupant. Soojung tries a few more knocks before her hand reaches for the doorknob. She twists it only to find the door locked. Worry etches across her face as she makes another attempt.

“Mommy?”

Still, no answer.

Tears threaten to fall from the little one’s eyes as her voice cracks from calling an unanswered door, “M-Mom, p-please open u-up…”

Inside her room, Sooyeon lays on her side, motionless with a pillow clutched tight in her arms. It had been Taeyeon’s pillow, the one he used to sleep on. The young widow remains in their room, the one at Taeyeon’s manor.

Sooyeon has been locked up in the master bedroom for days since the funeral and neither servants nor family, even little Soojung could get through to her. Taeyeon’s death has turned Sooyeon into a shell of her former self. The master bedroom looks pristine and almost untouched save for the king size bed where Sooyeon has sought refuge for days.

Nobody in the house has access to the room, which the couple has customized to maintain their privacy. Only Sooyeon can access the room now and she refuses to face the world and the harsh reality that her loved one has left her alone. Sooyeon’s sobs remain muffled by the sound-proof walls