Chapter Forty Four –  Don’t Go

“Yoona?”

Word was burst out, jaw dropping vividly and eyes popping out of its sockets as he looked at the oblivious latter. His lips quiver in massive astonishment. Everything just happened as if a fateful dream.

“W-what are you doing in here?”

Of course, the latter was caught off guard. She was not expecting the elder’s hindrance until she listened to his startled voice. Nervous, she unplugged the earphones and tossed the novel aside.

“Cat got your tongue, dear?” Luhan moved to sit next to her. Still, the younger didn’t let out even a word. She remained silent as though she was tremendously flabbergasted upon seeing him.

When she didn’t seem to utter words in reply, he initiated to speak. Expressing what he felt right now would be a perfect way.  “Yoona, where have you been all the time? You left me all of a sudden. If you left me just for a day, two days or a week… I could still wait for you…. You went off for a freaking month!” he spoke in much discontent. He wanted her to know what he felt throughout her sudden loss. Only God knew how much he had been suffering through days and nights. He longed for his wife but unfortunately, she never came back. And impetuously, she came home today! What a big surprise was up for him tonight.

“Where were you all the time, Yoona?” he asked with pleading eyes, expecting an answer. “Did you go to New York, huh?”

“Who said so?” Finally, she spoke but it was provocative.

“Jessica-ssi said so,” he answered, “she said you had some project to do there but she thought you’ve already declined to do the project as far as she knew.”

“I didn’t go there.” Yes, it was the truth. Though Yoona did eventually agree to sign the contract, she ended calling it off  later. Despite the company had claimed for compensation for dropping out at the very last minute, she cared less. The only thing she knew was; she did that impulsively. She didn’t mean to go on with the project. She was too depressed seeing her husband with his past flame. It mentally and physically abused her to the extent she intended to commit a suicide but she knew it was such an abrupt, worthless act. It wouldn’t give back her happiness.

Spreading the news about being lost to anyone who paid her phone calls, Yoona didn’t actually lose, though. She remained in Seoul but no one knew her whereabouts. She didn’t inform neither to her family nor to her best friend, Jessica. She wanted to conceal herself for a while, probably trying to digest the harsh, abysmal reality.

It was too laughable when she chose the hiding place none other than their house without even Luhan’s knowledge. She had been staying in the store room for almost one month. She went to the apartment late at night and when she reached, Luhan was sleeping on the couch. He may be probably waiting for her arrival but she cared less. The most important thing she had to do was to hide in hush. She shouldn’t make Luhan wake up and render him aware of her presence.

Then, she went on a hiding scheme and was utterly relieved when she wasn’t found inside there until today.

If she hadn’t thought to read that freaking novel at this very midnight after thinking that Luhan may have slept, she wouldn’t have been busted. Silly, reckless Im Yoona.

“Then where did you go for this whole month?”

She was quite reluctant to spill out the truth, only to think the elder would somehow laugh or mock her.

“Don’t tell me…. you’ve been hiding in this shabby room….?”

Bingo! Luhan was indeed smart to read her mind.

“I don’t want to answer,” she remarked, cheeks getting blushed in mortification.

“Am I right? You were here all this done, weren’t you” He kept on pushing her that it made her feel awfully suffocated.

“Luhan,” she enunciated. “I don’t want to answer your question and could you please get out of the room? I want to sleep right now.”

“But we haven’t finished-”

“I said just get out!” she screeched, almost calling for the thunder.

Luhan was surprised. He was too speechless to utter in reply.

“Just… get out,” her voice went lowered this time. She probably had jolted to her sense back. “I don’t want to see your face. Please… just get out of the room.”

“But I miss you,” he retorted sullenly, stil had the urge to fight with her fuming wife. “I want to sleep with you though this room’s such a mess. I don’t know what made you think to stay in here, for God’s sake.”

“None of your business,” she snorted, letting out an aggravated sigh. “I beg you to get out right now, Luhan.”

“But-” Luhan would have loved to refute her command but after looking at her disgruntled face, he ended up giving in.

“Okay, I’ll get out now.” Sighing, he made his way to the door.

“Good grief. I’ve had enough of you!”

Listening to her last words, it gave him such a pain but none of them could upset him at this time. He knew she did all this because of him. He may have done something that made her dejected but he begged to differ. He knew nothing.

Before he pulled the door, Luhan poured his last words. “Listen here, Yoona…”

The latter nonchalantly averted her gaze at him. “What do you want more?”

“I… I... I don’t have any intention to ever let you go from my sight. Even though you’ve gotten sick of me who acts like a brat sometimes, you hate me for being oblivious and you even hate me when I always do things that upsets you... but still...”

His sudden pause drowned the younger into a state of confusio and anxiety. Her heart stopped beating at his heartfelt remark.

“I won’t never let you go.”

***

After she had done taking a morning bath, she went out to the living room and found the caretaker there. She was currently on a cleaning spree.

She sat on the couch and eyed the hectic caretaker who had been taking care of the house since she left. Since Luhan was utterly busy at office and barely had time to clean up everything, he hired a caretaker to manage the house during his absence. At first, Yoona was shocked to find her at the house three days ago and so did the old woman.

The middle-aged caretaker was extremely freaking out to have stumbled upon the wife of his employer when she went inside Yoona’s hiding spot clean up the store room. She did not have any idea there was a woman in the room. Yoona, despite being startled, managed to explain everything to her that she was Luhan’s wife and he didn’t know she was here.

She also had screwed the caretaker’s lips shut to not tell anything about her to her employer. Yoona would be dead if he found out her whereabouts in which they lived in the same roof.

“Good morning, ahjumma.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Yoona,” replied the old woman with a smile. “You woke up early today. Don’t you feel scared if Mr. Luhan were to pop out from nowhere?”

“I wouldn’t have gone out so freely if I had known he was still at home.” She let out a small chuckle. “Anyways, he’s just gone to office, hasn’t he?”

She nodded lightly. “In fact, Mr. Luhan left so early today.”

“Oh, really?” Yoona gave the elder a nonchalant look. “I guess he’s got loads of works at office…”

All of a sudden, felt so dry since she hadn’t drunk water since last night. Despite she had run out of plain water in her room, she didn’t bother going to the kitchen. She didn’t want to encounter her husband after what had happened between them beforehand.

When she was about to make her way to the kitchen, the caretaker paused her footsteps with an announcement.

“Mrs. Yoona, I forgot something to tell you,” she said hurriedly.

Her forehead creased bewilderedly. “What is it?”

“Before Mr. Luhan left earlier… he left you a letter.”

“What letter?” Her frown deepened as she cannot digest her words. Letter? Luhan leave her one? For what? Those thoughts tousled in her mind and she had no answers for them.

The caretaker left her job for a minute as she moved towards her with a letter on her hand. “He asked me to hand you this letter once you’ve woken up.”

With a dumbfounded expression adorned her face, she hesitantly accepted it. For a second, she looked thoroughly at the simply plain letter with no words at the façade except ‘to my dear, Yoona.”

“Did he say anything else besides that, ahjumma?”

“Nope. He said nothing after that,” answered the clueless elder and took a glance at the y