All of a sudden, it became almost impossible to grab hold of Young. Her famous evasion skills had been brushed up since high school and I felt as if everything I did was pointless. I couldn’t understand the sudden change in her attitude towards me. The last thing she said, three days ago, was that she didn’t want to have dinner with me anymore, because she found out what I intended to tell her. This puzzled me. Who had she spoken to and what did she find out? What was it that made her not want to hear my side of the story anymore?

I knew things were unresolved, which was why I was struggling to find the right moment for talking it out. However, whenever I tried to, she just smiled and excused herself. It was driving me crazy. With every passing day, I felt like I needed her more.  I wasn’t in the right situation to focus all of my energy on chasing her though, considering the divorce, my overloaded work schedule and the pressure from my family. Frankly, for once, I was tired and I felt like all of my efforts were unwanted or, worse, did nothing but to alter things.

I got home at a late hour again, the lights in the hallway and found it surprisingly empty. All of the boxes were gone. She had finally moved out. I felt both relieved and void as the information sunk in. Upstairs, the bedroom was hollower than ever and while I was heading for the bathroom, I felt as if I were inside a stranger’s home. I took a long, cold shower and when I finished it and changed, it still felt as if I were intruding. There was no sense of familiarity coming from the vast, blank rooms and hallways.

I took a beer from the fridge and the TV for some background noise, because the soundlessness was distressing. I felt so weary that I knew I wasn’t going to fall asleep easily. I switched the channels for a while and ended up watching reruns of some old comedy show. The humor was so bland it was almost unpleasant to follow. I finally decided to give up and call it a day, but as I was heading for the stairs, my attention was caught by the black frame with the picture from the wedding. I took it off the wall and went upstairs, on the balcony.

I still found it comforting to look up at the night sky and to this day I could remember Young as she pointed the important constellations out for me. As she used to say, when you realize how small you truly are, it’s as if nothing difficult in your life, no matter how grim, matters anymore. How ironic, the first thing I spotted was Aquarius, her astrological sign. In the Northern Hemisphere, it was most visible during the fall. I lit a cigarette and kept identifying stars and patterns by myself.

When I looked back at the frame I carried with me, I felt the need to make it disappear, so I took the picture out and set it on fire with my lighter. A weird satisfaction took hold of me as I watched it burn and for the first time in a long while, I felt like I could finally start over. It was as if the burnt picture erased all the traces of a loveless marriage, leaving room for new things to come.

*

When I walked into my office the next day, I found divorce papers on my desk. That was probably the reason my father decided to organize a family dinner that exact night, considering the last time he did, it was just days before the wedding.

As I got there, the atmosphere immediately reminded me of my childhood and I found it unpleasant. Both of my parents were sitting across the table and beside me were my (soon-to-be ex-)wife’s parents. Luckily, she wasn’t there herself. Staring insistently at the wine glass in front of me, I knew it wasn’t going to be nearly enough to help me withstand the upcoming conversation.

“You ludicrous kids,” my father had begun the act, with his naive audience listening carefully. “When are you going to kiss and make up? This time it’s going a bit too far, don’t you think?” He continued with a theatrical sigh. Maybe he could’ve made even more money by becoming an actor than by building a monopoly. “Don’t you know by now how women think, Jongin? Show them some affection and they’ll come around! Buy her a gift, tell her you love her.” Both my mom and Mrs. Jung giggled, making me disregard them even more.

Restraining myself, I realized I wasn’t getting out of this easily. I had to get into the game, so I smiled cordially. After taking a decent gulp of wine, I replied, “I doubt it will be sufficient this time. She made her intentions of divorce clear.”

“Nonsense! It’s just a mood swing for sure. Your mother was the same when she was pregnant with you,” he burst out laughing. “I was so certain we were over. But you can see how that worked out,” he grinned charmingly towards her. It sickened me.

“You have to fix things somehow, Jongin,” my mother decided to join in.

“It’s not my decision, it’s hers.”

Daring to state the obvious was a deadly mistake. After this, they had both begun to rain down on me with absurd arguments and threats. They became so ridiculous that Mr. Jung himself felt the need to intervene.

“Leave the young man alone,” he imposed on them. “I talked to my daughter this morning as well and she doesn’t seem to have any intention to give this marriage another chance. The only real issue is who takes custody of your unborn child. That’s what you two need to talk out.”

I haven’t felt this grateful to someone in a long time. After that, things calmed down and I was able return to the empty house I thought I could never call home.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this! ^^ Stay tuned, cause things will begin to go down starting with the next chapter!