CHAPTER 17

Marriage 9.0: know you better.

“Take taxi and be here soon or just forget it. Don’t come!!” she hung up.

Jiyong rubbed his face in frustration.

He called another company driver and the driver wasn’t at the company and if he should pick Jiyong at the company it would take around one hour to get there. Today’s Friday and during the peak hour like this, the traffic is terrible.

.

Jiyong arrived at the hospital and ran to the intensive care room where Chaerin was.

“Chae?” he called her immediately when he saw her lying on the bed.

Chaerin turned to him.

“How’s the baby?” he asked.

And then Youngbae showed up behind him.

“She’s fine.” She looking at Jiyong and then Youngbae, he knew that Chaerin a bit disappointed that he came with Youngbae.

“Youngbae arrived at the company right when I’m gonna get a taxi.”

“Forget it, Ji.” She said.

“Come on, why me taking a cab is so important to you?”

Chae turned her face off Jiyong.

Youngbae look puzzled. “Is everything okay here?”

“The baby’s fine, Bae. Thanks for taking Jiyong here.” She said.

the atmosphere was awkward enough to make Youngbae decided to wait outside the room.

Jiyong stepped beside her. “Which one is most important? Me being here or me riding a cab?”

Chaerin didn’t answer, she knew that she’s being nonsense but the part of herself can’t help it, she wants to see Jiyong’s effort. She was disappointed that Jiyong refuse to take a taxi, for her, he was selfish.

“You were selfish.” She finally spoke.

“Selfish? For not riding a cab here?” Jiyong couldn’t understand. “I was gonna take one but Youngbae was there right on time.”

“Liar.”

“I told you the truth, for God sake, Chaerin what’s the difference? I’m here with you now. Isn’t that that matters now?”

“Look, you were hesitated and refuse to take cab just because of what? You don’t trust public transport? You rich kid never use one? And yes! Go ahead with your ego and one day if something like this happened again and Youngbae couldn’t magically appear in front of you, what would you do? You will give me up and choose to stay where you are?” Chaerin sat and starts mad at him. “You don’t even considering me, Ji, at all! You don’t even let yourself suffer and never show any effort for me.”

“Babe, do you realize that we’re argue over a cab?”

“Whatever!” she yelled. “You know what, when I was in your not-so-friendly-to-a-pregnant-woman birthday party, I came with Lee So Hyuk and he was protecting my bump from crowd. I knew you would never do that!”

Jiyong jolted with Chaerin’s statement. “I don’t like that you compare me to him, ok?”

“You should learn from him.”

“What? What does he knows that I don’t, huh?? When you had your baby crave, I bet he would back to sleep instead of driving to a 24 hours store and bought dozens of chocolates for you!”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

“How did you know? Are you his wife? Is he your husband??”

“So you mad right now? Really? after what happened to me?”

“See? you flip it again. Now tell me what you want me to do? Huh? Riding a cab? I’ll do it now. Happy??”

"Its not about the cab, its about the sacrification! Do you think cab and public transportation is for the poor only? so you feel your precious self don't deserve to be in it?"

"I never think that way! Cab is agood transport, but i just... can't i just choose not to like it? can't i have a right to feel that??"

Chaerin didn’t say anything for awhile when suddenly she said, “Do you have a phobia with taxi?”

Jiyong scoffed.

“Ji?” she said, “do you?”

He took a deep breath.

“You have to tell me if you do, because I need to know.”

“I never rode one.” He said,

“Why?”

“You were right. I was born rich, I never rode any public transportation and I don’t know how to use it. Since I was little nobody let me take any public transport, and as I grew up it became a fear, moreover when I saw many crimes happened in public transportations, I just—I can’t…” he starts trembling.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m not, and because of that, I’m working harder than anyone else just to make sure that I don’t have to use any public transports.”

“How can’t I didn’t notice about it… everytime you get drunk and somebody call a cab for you, you never use it, yo