Kangwook arrived at the worksite and his brow furrowed immediately. It was loud, and thick dust filled every corner. He scanned the chaotic space looking for Yunjoo, and then he spotted her, asleep against one of the pillars.
Kangwook strode over to her, lowered himself to his knees, and looked at her quietly. Uncle Seok had been watching the whole time, from the moment Kangwook walked in and looked around searching for Yunjoo, to the moment he knelt down in front of her. He recognized right away that this was the husband Yunjoo had kept hidden, and quietly approached from behind.
“Is that you?”
“Pardon?”
“Are you the dim-witted fool she mentioned?”
“Sir!”
“Well, you look smarter than what Yunjoo described, so that’s a relief.”
“Sir, what do you mean by that?”
He had been watching to see how long it would take before anyone came looking or called. If he was her husband, he should have come to find a wife who hadn’t come home.
“That stubborn girl has been up for two nights straight, she’s practically a corpse. If you came to take her, bring her home and let her sleep and eat. Tsk tsk tsk, how can she be so foolish…… At least you look strong enough to carry her.”
Kangwook kept his eyes on Yunjoo and gave no particular reaction to Uncle Seok’s blunt words, and Uncle Seok, who had been deliberately pushing a little harder than necessary, studied him steadily.
“I’ll see you again, sir.”
“Take good care of that one. She’s a gem.”
Uncle Seok’s words followed Kangwook as he turned and walked away with Yunjoo in his arms. The woman who had shown no particular shine while living with him had begun to glow brilliantly from the moment she announced she wanted a divorce. And Uncle Seok had known that side of Yunjoo very well. There was also one other person who knew it. Someone Kangwook found very disagreeable.
“Still, maybe not a complete fool after all.”
The parting shot landed at the back of his head, and he nearly let the flash of irritation show, but he looked down at Yunjoo in his arms and kept walking. He needed to get out of there quickly. If she woke up, she would refuse to leave.
He drove carefully on the way back, worried she might stir, and even after arriving, he barely breathed as he carried her inside. Only once he finally reached her room and laid her down on the bed did he let himself look at her sleeping face as long as he wanted.
Looking at her made him want to touch her. He reached his hand toward her face and pulled it back, reached again and pulled back, repeating it several times before finally letting himself brush her soft cheek. He left the house in good spirits.
He felt at ease now that he had brought her home. He returned to the office, where a mountain of backed-up work was waiting for him. But there was no chance of it getting done. The sensation of her cheek against his hand was still alive in his fingers, and the feeling of holding her in his arms kept pulling him away from everything.
He couldn’t stand how pathetic he was being, but there was only one thought in his head. He wanted to go home. He was anxious that Yunjoo might leave while he was away. He handled only the things that were genuinely urgent among everything waiting for him, cancelled the rest, and headed home quickly.
His mind was rushing but the traffic wasn’t, and every red light seemed to catch him. The frustration was turning into irritation by the time he finally arrived. He walked inside, turned on the lights in the dark and quiet living room, and headed upstairs. Without pausing, he took the stairs two and three at a time and carefully pushed open Yunjoo’s door to check on her. She was there, sleeping exactly where he had laid her.
Kangwook stepped toward her and reached out his hand, then startled back when Yunjoo shifted in her sleep and came downstairs. His heart was still pounding from the fright. Then he laughed to himself. He was too ridiculous.
He settled in the living room and couldn’t bring himself to go into the study. He was keeping watch in case Yunjoo woke up and tried to leave without him seeing. His eyes were on the papers in front of him, but his ears were fixed entirely on the staircase above.
He wasn’t sure how long had passed. He turned to look up at the second floor while waiting for Yunjoo to come down, and found himself looking directly at Yunjoo, standing halfway down the stairs. She stood there still, watching him. Kangwook steadied himself and spoke naturally.
“You’re up?”
“What happened? Did you bring me here?”
“Yes. One of the men there asked me to get you out of the way.”
“I need to go back.”
There was still plenty to do, and things that needed her there. She couldn’t just stay home like this. Kangwook passed along Uncle Seok’s message as she said she was going back.
“He said not to come in today. Call and check.”
“That man, honestly! Does he even know who you are, just handing me off like that?”
Yunjoo grumbled on hearing that Uncle Seok had told Kangwook to take her. She couldn’t believe he had handed her over so readily to someone he didn’t even know.
“He seemed to know me well enough. Called me a dim-witted fool.”
“Pardon?”
“Why so surprised. Did Cha Yunjoo say something like that?”
“I did not!”
“Then never mind. Sounds like it hit a nerve. Why are you shouting.”
She had been genuinely startled to hear he had called him a dim-witted fool, and she was also curious what Kangwook had said when he heard it. But more than anything, what she was curious about was the worksite. She wasn’t free enough to be standing around talking nonsense.
“Hold on, let me make a call.”
She picked up the house phone, dialed, and turned her back to Kangwook.
“Uncle, it’s Yunjoo.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m heading out now.”
“No need. We’re calling it a day too. Go wash up and get some sleep.”
Hearing she didn’t have to come in, she crouched down behind the sofa and dropped her voice even lower.
“Uncle, did you call him a fool to his face?”
“I did, so what? Calling a fool a fool, what’s wrong with that? Though he didn’t seem like a complete fool, I’ll give him that.”
“Who says something like that to someone’s face. You’re going to be the death of me, Uncle, I swear!”
“Quiet down! Tomorrow the worksite has people to handle the cleanup, so come to Art Entertainment and we’ll start setting up the stage with what’s done.”
“Oh! Can we really?”
“Yes, so get some proper rest and come to Art Entertainment.”
The relief washed over her and the tension she had been holding loosened, and a soft smile spread across her face.
“By the way, that man carried you out. Are you alright?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know how many days you went without washing? You must have smelled something awful. He didn’t say anything?”
“Uncle!”
Only then did she understand what Uncle Seok was getting at. Not only had she not washed, but there was the dust and the sweat too.
“If he didn’t say a word, tell that man to see a doctor. Something’s clearly wrong with his nose.”
“Uncle, that’s exactly why I said don’t just hand me off to anyone! You’re going to drive me absolutely crazy!”
Yunjoo was fuming, but Uncle Seok just laughed heartily. At his age, he knew how to read people, and he had been watching Kangwook from the moment he walked in. He was a steady, decent man. And on top of that, he was someone Uncle Seok had seen on screen from time to time.
“Quiet down, where do you think you are, yelling like that.”
“Fine.”
“But Yunjoo.”
“Yes.”
“He’s got some strength on him.”
“What strength? Don’t tell me you had him swinging a hammer.”
“There’s a reason for living together. Seeing him carry you out, I’d say he’s worth keeping around. The fool.”
“Uncle!”
Yunjoo hung up and couldn’t bring herself to look at Kangwook, fidgeting where she stood. She didn’t need to be told what she looked like, having come downstairs without washing. Kangwook found the whole thing thoroughly entertaining. Yunjoo was obviously trying to work out what expression to put on when she turned around and what to say. Completely unaware of Kangwook watching her with that thought, she turned and called his name at the exact same moment his voice rang out.
“Cha Yun…….”
“Kang……wook.”
They both stopped. But under the man’s gaze, fixed on her with a sharpness that almost stung, Yunjoo spoke first.
“You go ahead.”
“Aren’t you hungry? Let’s eat.”
“I am hungry, but more than that, did you carry me again?”
“Were you planning to walk in your sleep?”
“You could have woken me. Looking like this.”
“What’s wrong with how you look? Why would I need to? You’re my wife and I carried you home.”
“What did you say? Your wife…….”
Yunjoo looked up in surprise at Kangwook’s words and met his eyes. His face was always unreadable, but today it was telling her that what he had just said was no light joke. Yunjoo couldn’t believe it.
Not once during their time together had she ever truly been Choi Kangwook’s wife, and not once had she wanted to be. So why was he saying this now, and why was he looking at her like that?
She had no idea.
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Tillda
He’s anything but decent man. Just because he can carry petite woman doesn’t make him decent. If he were one he wouldn’t cheat on her for years. Seriously what’s wrong with those characters?