chapter 1

“Madam, boss is here.”

Yeonhwa was in her room replied to the voice of Ahnseong over the thick wooden door.

“I am coming.”

At 6:30 in the evening, her husband arrived at the house. Yeon-hwa, sitting in front of the dressing table, brushed her long hair that reached her waist with a comb. Only after putting on her pink dress , she left the room.

Ahn Seong-daek who was preparing dinner at an open Irish table, said in a glance looking at her boss.

“Boss, you are home .”

Yeon-hwa, looking at her husband’s face across the room, approached Ahnseong as dinner preparations were over. Even the simple gestures of taking steps showed the grace.

“I’ll eat dinner in the dining room today.”

“You have to. Today is certainly the day”.

Usually, meals were eaten at the table in the kitchen.But on a day like this day, She wanted to have dinner in the dining room.Opening the sliding door next to the kitchen reveals the dining area.

“I’ll do the cleaning. Please leave early today.”

“Then, will you soak the dirty dishes in the water? I will come and do it tomorrow.”

“I’ll do that.”

When Yeonhwa pressed the switch, a long bar light on the ceiling lit up. AhnSeong, who had put salad in a round bowl, looked at Yeonhwa’s face ,standing in front of the dining table

“you look good with the cropped bangs. It’s a good fit and you look younger.”

“Thank you.”

Yeon-hwa, who smiled lightly, was handed a bowl that Anseong was holding. Ahnseong said she would do it but Yeon-hwa helped Ahnseong prepare dinner. AhnSeong took off her apron and bowed her head to Yeon-hwa who was sitting in front of a dark gray marble table.

“I’ll go home now madam”

“Please go home carefully.”

Now, Ahn Sung lifted her head and left the house.

The sound of the front door closing was heard from a distance and the house was quickly surrounded in silence. The stillness did not last long. She heard the sound of the door opening from the living room. With a long breath, Yeonhwa stared outside when the door opened. Yun Geon-woo was wearing black trousers and a new white shirt, soon entered. Geon-woo did not even look at Yeon-hwa and sat in the opposite seat. He was holding a knife and a fork cut the tender steak into pieces. Yeonhwa, who was staring at Geonwoo, put her fork down and said

“You came early today. Usually you come home after 9 o’clock.”

Geonwoo gave a glance to Yeonhwa for the first time.

“I came home early because I was tired.”

The deep air subsided low, like the atmosphere flowing between the two.

“Do you know what day it is today?”

The orange-colored light hit Geonwoo’s face. His eyes dryly touched Yeon-hwa, which couldn’t feel any emotions.

“I didn’t know it was your birthday.”

Today wasn’t Yeonhwa’s birthday. At the moment, her heart felt sorrow, but she didn’t want to deal with it emotionally, so she felt angry. She married Geonwoo three years ago, but soon after they got married, he went to the US office for two years. And a year ago, he returned to Korea to live with her. They lived together but slept in separate rooms, and she rarely sees his face because he worked late every day. What did she expect from a man like this?

To this man who doesn’t even know when his wife’s birthday is. It was the moment that Geonwoo opened his lips.

“We are getting a divorce “

Today is their third wedding anniversary and her first anniversary with him. In an instant, Yeonhwa’s expression hardened. As if he had already decided, there was no shaking in his eyes. As always, his gaze was cold and straight. The distance they were facing wasn’t that far, but he seemed to be far enough away from her. That gaze was familiar enough to get tired of . The man drew a line each time and did not cross it.

“You are saying that I’m going to be divorced “

Yeonhwa bit the delicate mucous membrane inside her lips, turned her gaze over the plate. The chunk of meat that had already been chilled resembled the heart of a man in front of her. No warmth and the surface was solid.

“I put the divorce paper on the living room table,” said Geonwoo without hesitation, although he was not convinced of the divorce.

“You only need to stamp at the bottom of the document.”

Yeonhwa’s eyebrows raised as she frowned faintly.

“Is divorce easy?”

“It was easy to get married.”

”……”

“Divorce is not difficult.”

Beneath the table, Yeon-hwa gripped the hem of her pink dress. Geonwoo, who was finished with his business, pushed the chair, got up and left the dining room . A fever rose in Yeonhwa’s eyes, only looked at the back of Geonwoo who had turned away. It was a marriage without love. There was nothing unusual about the divorce. Maybe it was expected. For a year, Yeonhwa and Geonwoo were just living together in one house.

“There is nothing difficult in divorce.” Yeon-hwa closed her eyelids as she remembered Geon-woo’s words clearly piercing her ears.

“It’s probably like you and me.”

How much hurt his words had left her. Three years ago, at a lounge cafe on the upper floor of the Central Hotel.Yeonhwa and Geonwoo sat facing each other at the window seat with the best view of Seoul’s night view. She was young at the age of twenty-four. She met Geonwoo for the first time. While standing , he held on the back of his hands.

“Song Yeon-hwa”

“Yes?”

At their first meeting, Yeonhwa felt a huge crush on Geonwoo. His skin was slightly tanned in the sun and a posture that has never been distracted throughout the conversation, long and sharp eyes with double eyelids.

She fell in love at first sight. She had to fall in love. How can She not fall in love with her ideal type in front of her eyes?

“Have you heard what I said?”

She was so distracted by looking at his face that She couldn’t hear what the man said. In order not to show her embarrassment, Yeonhwa naturally held the teacup in front of her.

“I’m sorry. Could you tell me one more time?”

“I asked for a marriage.”

“Yes?”

This time She heard it well, but a question popped up again. It was less than an hour after meeting, so She had to. With a blank expression, Yeonhwa put the cup she was holding on the table.

“ Marriage ?”

“How many times does Song Yeon-hwa sit here?

In response to a sudden question, Yeon-hwa looked through her memories of the past.

“… it’s the third time “.

“I’m on the twenty second blind date”.

What does this man want to say? Yeonhwa calmly waited for the next word that Geonwoo would say.

“My grandmother likes Song Yeon-hwa. To be precise, she wants me to marry you.”

Geonwoo’s grandmother, Bae Young-sook, was the president who is leading the Daejin Group. She had heard rumors that Young-sook was blind to the master. For the first time since entering the café, the side of his lips lifted.

“When I marry Song Yeon-hwa, peace will come to my family, and I will soon make my fame and shine even more.”

His words shook her heart. Unlike Young-sook, Geon-woo had a lighter smile as to whether he didn’t believe in Sajoo, but the smile quickly disappeared from his lips.

“I hope this twenty-second suitor will be the last. I don’t want waste any more time.”

At that time, it was obvious that he was crazy. She wanted to take the marriage proposal by this man and throw it on the ground.

“I’m sorry. Yoon Geonwoo will have to see 23rd suitor.”

No matter how much the man was her ideal type, even if it was a marriage that would benefit each other, she could not decide in an instant. A month passed after She refused to marry like that. Yeonhwa met Geonwoo again at the same place and time. The woman who was an arranged suitor stood up from her seat and made eye contact with Geon-woo, who was sitting at the table across the street. Geonwoo was also looking at Yeonhwa and the suitor. Although she tried to deny it, Yeonhwa remembered the man every day for a month.

She couldn’t forget the voice calling out her name, and his black eyes were like the night sky. The moment Geon-woo and her eyes met, Yeon-hwa made a decision. She decided to marry him. Even a man as cold as winter would be different if he married. Even in the coldest winters, when spring comes, the snow melts. It didn’t take long for her to realize that She was nerdy and proud. The man did not give Yeonhwa a part of his heart, a warm glance or even a sweet word once.

After three years of having never had a proper marriage, the man reported a one-sided divorce.

******

With a brown briefcase in one hand, Yeon-hwa got out of the elevator with a determined expression. Secretary Kim, who was sitting at the desk in front of the representative office, saw Yeonhwa and stood up.

“Are you here with my husband?”

“Yes, I am here with the president “

Secretary Kim stood in front of the office and knocked on the door with the back of his hand.

“Mr president, your wife is here.”

When she heard the answer to come in, Yeonhwa reached out and pulled the doorknob. Secretary Kim stepped back and Yeon-hwa entered the office and closed the door behind her. Geonwoo, who was sitting in a black chair, covered the file of payment documents , stood up.

“I couldn’t get in touch with you.”

Like a firm pledge, she smashed the bottom of her shoes, walking in front of Geonwoo. Yeon-Hwa, standing at the desk, pulled a sheet of paper out of a brown envelope. It was a divorce paper with Geonwoo’s stamp. Yeon-Hwa held both ends of the thin paper and ripped it in half as it was nothing.

“What are you doing now?”

Yeonhwa, who gave a lot of strength to keep her neck not to tremble and opened her mouth:

“I can’t divorce. I’m here to tell you this.”

When She put the torn paper on the desk, Geonwoo said

“What’s the reason?”

Yeonhwa’s pride didn’t allow her to say that she still loves him.

“You know that my mother and father depend a lot on me. After marriage, the investment that comes into the foundation is only three times. This sudden divorce, even my parents will not be able to accept it.” .

Geonwoo’s words were stuck in his throat trying to get out.

“If that’s the case, let me go and explain.”

She was also aware to some extent that this would not work for Geonwoo. But there was nothing she could do. All that left was the exterior. When She opened the door, Secretary Kim bowed while holding a tray with a cup of green tea . Yeon-hwa passed secretary Kim and pressed the elevator button. The elevator door opened, Yeon-Hwa walked in and Geon-woo was followed behind.

Surprised, Yeonhwa’s eyes wide open as Geonwoo stood next to her. The elevator door closed and Yeonhwa turned her head toward him.

“Are you thinking of meeting my parents right now? “

She wasn’t trying to be sarcastic, but the words came out petty.

“ I am going to see you off.”

It was embarrassing that the man just spoke of the divorce, saw her off. She pressed her lips tightly to stop the words of Thank you so much’. The elevator was going downstairs while decreasing the numbers but Yeonhwa’s ears felt deaf and her heart felt stuffy as if it was going up to a higher floor.

“I made an appointment for dinner with my grandmother today.”

She could see what the appointment with Chairwoman Bae Young-sook meant, without asking any further questions..

“I’ll tell your parents as well within this week. You don’t need to care”.

Turning away or avoiding the eyes did not improve the situation, but She couldn’t be with Geonwoo anymore because She was choking. Yeonhwa knew that she was on the second floor, but she came out of the elevator anyway when the door opened. As She stepped down the circular glass staircase connected to the first floor, She heard Geonwoo’s footsteps from behind. She felt the resentment that she had endured slowly filling up. Seeing off was just a cause. In the end, She wanted to confirm the divorce. Yeonhwa, with tears in her eyes, shook her heart and turned her back.

“I will never.”

She tried to say that She can’t divorce, but somehow her body fell backwards. Geonwoo’s expression came into her sight, changed visibly. Her lips were wide open, and fear passed in an instant in her eyes. Yeonhwa tried to balance herself but the heels of her shoes caught the end of the stairs and did not move. A very short moment felt very long as if it was the end of her life. The right finger tips of Yeon-Hwa fell backwards and touched Geonwoo’s fingers.

Tears were hanging from the tail of her eyes scattered in the air, and Yeonhwa’s fingers slipped out of Geonwoo’s hand. Her body floated in the air and threw down the stairs. Thump !! The scream of someone which tore her ears .

“Song Yeon-hwa!”

She heard Woo’s cry for the first time. A fever rose behind her neck. Blood spilled from her head soaking her back and shoulders. Obviously, her head was torn and her shoulders hit the floor as she fell, but She didn’t feel any pain. Was God giving her mercy to her absurd death? Blink, blink. After opening and closing, Yeonhwa’s eyelids could not be lifted anymore.

*****

Finally when she could open her eyes, the first thing she saw was a white cloth.

“Is it heaven?’

As the pupils rolled to the side, the ceiling light broke over the soft eyelids. ‘There are lights in Heaven too.’ Yeonhwa frowned between the eyebrows at the smell of the disinfectant that permeates gently. And then, a pain which she had never felt before hit her body. Yeonhwa closed and opened her eyes in a sorrowful pain. But Geonwoo’s face, who should not be there, was settled in front of her blurred eyes.

“ Are you alright?”

“‘Yoon Geonwoo, are you also in heaven?”

Her dry lips were sweet, but no sound came out. “Am I seeing a face I missed in my last life? “. Rather than having a fantasy right. Geonwoo tenderly wiped her forehead. Seeing Geonwoo like that, Yeonhwa regretted the past. She would tell him the truth if She had known it was the last time. Whatever Yoo Geon-woo said, She would tell him that she still loved him. The self in the past became resentful. She wanted to go back in time but that would be impossible.No more chances. Because it was already dead.

“I can’t hear your voice? Or, is it difficult to talk?”

Relief and despair intersected on his face at the same time. His widened eyes squinted and his eyebrows are distorted. With a colorful expression, Yeonhwa just stared at him. The touch that touched her face was warm as she felt the strength in Geonwoo’s hand holding her hand. Only then did Yeonhwa realize that this was not heaven but the hospital.

“Do you remember the day when You fell off the stairs?”

She remembered it very well. Usually people do not lose memory in this situation. It’s not a drama, so it’s not going to happen. She would rather have lost all of her memories so the divorce would have been postponed. As She was staring at Geonwoo blankly, the man’s face was cold. Geonwoo’s heart was thumping as he asked.

“Do you know who you are?”

Would it be possible to postpone a divorce if She said She had lost her memory. Even Yeonhwa herself thought it was ridiculous. However, what could she do? She liked the man. He was her first love and she didn’t want to break up. After swallowing dry saliva in succession, Yeonhwa’s lips feel dying.

“Who?”.

“Song Yeon-hwa. “”

“Do you know me? “

Geonwoo’s gaze rattled at the unfocused glances and unfamiliar voice. Yeonhwa’s hand slipped out from Geonwoo’s handgrip. She didn’t know the impulsive lie would be the beginning of the play.