It’s a bright Sunday morning, birds are chirping outside, and butterflies are bouncing on each of the flowers in the garden. Hyunsuk has been sitting on the wheel chair for about an hour and waiting for his wife to comeback, Eunju. His wife and him are married for over 30 years and blessed with 2 beautiful children. Hyunsuk shakes his head slowly as he continues to watch the scenery outside his window, ignoring the dull white room that is boring him.

The door turns open, revealing a beautiful woman that is on her 50’s. Hyunsuk didn’t bother to look back to check who came in, he just stays quiet and continues to stare outside.

“Hyunsuk~ah, Minkki will be the one who’ll pick us up.” Eunju starts as she placed the hospital bills on the table. “I told her to stay with us while you are recovering.” She continues as she look at her husband. “Did you know that she was crying nonstop? She even scolded me when I didn’t call her immediately after you had an attack. I told her to calm down and get use to it, since it’s your third already…” though not a single glance or response was given to her but still she continues to talk.

“Just like I got used to.” She stops and stares at the back of his husband. “And besides, the doctor told me that you’ll be alright. You just had too much fat in your body, I told you already to watch out and you always tell me ‘Let it pass, it’s not too much, and just this time’ but now look what happened. It’s prohibited but you still insist in doing.” She said exasperatedly.

Hyunsuk took a deep breath and asks, “Do you love me?”

“What?” Eunju stands up and walks to his bed, collecting his clothes.

“You heard me.” He said, still not giving her a single glance.

“Drop it Hyunsuk. We’re too old for that. And that shouldn’t be a question anymore.” She said as she folds his undergarments.

“Eunju~yah…” he calls out, just like how an endearment sounds like.

She continued to fold his clothes and places it inside their luggage.

“By the way Jiyong said he’ll just visit you tomorrow since you were not in ICU.” After putting all  the clothes in she straighten her posture and approach her husband and pulls his wheel chare beside the table. “Where’s the prescription anyway?” she asked, walking towards the cabinet and ravage the manila envelope.

Hyunsuk stays silent, just watching his wife entering the bathroom and comes out with a basin of water with a towel. Eunju approaches and bent down in front of him, then she wipes his feet with the wet towel.

“Are you okay?” she asks through her lashes but he just gave her a cold stare, “Minkki texted, she’ll be here in 10 minutes. We should go down to the lobby now so that she won’t be in trouble in parking.”

After washing his feet she stands up with the basin and walks to the bathroom again, she then came out with new water with towel, “I noticed Jiyong is just like you. He can’t be stopped. He can’t be controlled.” She said as she takes his clothes off. “When he comes don’t lure him to drink.” She then starts to wipe him.

“I won’t go home.” He whispers.

“Huh?” she utters.

“I won’t come home.” He repeats.

Eunju drops the towel to the basin, “Where do you want to go? The doctor won’t allow you Hyunsuk. He said that you should go home straight. In your condition right-”

“Eunju.” He cuts her.

“That’s the truth. You are so hard headed. Your children scolds me whenever I let you do what you want. I always tell them, what can I do? Your father is so stubborn, that you knows that it’s bad for you but you still do it.” she said exasperatedly.

“I won’t go home with you. I won’t go home there.” He said, looking down on her feet.

“I heard you! I know! What do you expect me to feel?? Happy?? 34 years, Hyunsuk. 34 years.” She said bitterly, sitting down on the chair next to him.

“Aren’t you tired?” he asks.

Eunju then take a deep sniff, “I got used to it.”

Both of them falls into silence. Eunju feels like crying but she tried to hold it all in. She kept and eyes shut as she stables her breathing. While Hyunsuk just sits on his wheelchair, staring out the window again.

“Do you love me?” He breaks the silence first.

His wife stands up and approaches his bed again, placing all his hospital files on their bag, “I think you’re overdosed from all the medicines that they gave you. By the way we need to stop by the drug store to get your other medicines. Where’s the prescription anyway?” she then looks on the files again.

“Why don’t you answer me?” his eyes are now on hers.

“Wae?? Wae?? You? Do you love me??” her voice slightly raises.

“No… Not anymore.”

“That’s what I thought. Why are you still asking me?” she answer quietly.

“Why are we still together?” he asks, not giving a single emotion.

Silence envelopes the cold room again. Cold as their hearts, cold as their feelings. After fixing their luggage, Eunju approaches his husband again with new clothes for him to change.

“Did you know that Jiyong and… and… what’s the name of her last girlfriend?” she looks at his husband, asking. “Dara? I can’t understand your son why he still can’t find the right girl. I told him that he’s getting old already, that his time is passing by.” She pulls the hem of the shirt down, “But I think the reason is Chaerin. Remember Chae? His first girlfriend… The one that he really cried about. He even tried to hide it from us, right? But it’s really obvious that he’s heartbroken.” Eunju smiles, remembering how silly his boy was over a girl.

“Answer me.” Hyunsuk utters.

Eunju straightens her stand and looks down on him,“Because we’re old. We’ve gone through this, twenty, twenty five years ago.” She said as she waves her hand with the years, “Yes, I won’t ever forget that. That point in our life wherein we really broke up.” She then fell on her knees, clasping on his knees. “And there’s not a day that I regret why did we ever got back.” Tears prickling down her wrinkled skin, “Why didn’t we really part and move on with our lives? We are so dumb. We don’t even know how to separate.” She shakes her head and smiles bitterly.

“It’s not too late.” He holds her shoulders. “We know to ourselves that we’ve been separated a long time ago. We are together but we’re not.”

Eunju stands up and wipes her tears, she then walk to her bag, “I will text Minkki. What’s taking her so long?”

“Wae? Don’t you want to be free?” he asked that made her stop from texting.

“I don’t know. How should we separate? Who will remind you to take your medicine? Who will take you to the hospital when you got a heart attack again? Who will stop you when you’re doing something wrong?” she then laughs and shakes her head, like she remembers something funny, “Well, it’s not like I ever stopped you, right? You never stop, you still do whatever you want. Just because you want it.” her last sentence became a whisper.

“You stopped me once from leaving that’s why we’re still here. Married but not.” He answered.

“I didn’t stop you.”

 “You didn’t?”

“You said you want to do the right thing.” Eunji looks at him, tears starting to fall again, “But I did wish that you did the wrong thing before.”

“I can’t take this anymore.” Hyunsuk slowly pushes himself towards the window.

“We’re just the same.” She utters.

“Should we break up?” he asks, looking out.

“Don’t bother asking when you are already decided about it.”

“I don’t want us to separate like-”

Eunju cuts him off his sentence, “Like what? Like we didn’t have anything? Like we’re not married? We’re old Hyunsuk.”

“Sorry.” he says as he looks back to her.

“I’ll text Minzy and tell her not to go here anymore. I’ll just take the taxi home…” she turns her back and heads to the door, “here we are again, it’s like I just took a nap and here we are again…” she said as she close the door behind.

“Eunju~yah.” He calls out, just like an endearment.

Yey first chappie!! Sorry for taking this long! Thank you to my subscribers for waiting! :D