The Tyrant Husband - Chapter 2.1 - Searching for Memories

Chapter 2.1 – Searching for Memories

When Eun-sol went down to the first-floor kitchen, Mrs. Boryeong, who was trimming cabbage, greeted her.  

“Madam, you woke up late today.”  

“Yes, I was a bit tired. I’m going out for a walk.”  

She wondered if her trembling lips had been noticed and quickly turned her body, but suddenly, Mrs. Boryeong wiped her cabbage-stained hands on her apron and stood up.  

“I’ll go with you, Madam.”  

Mrs. Boryeong put on the cardigan draped over the dining chair and neatly tucked her phone into her pocket.  

“What?”  

Eun-sol was flustered. Mrs. Boryeong had never accompanied her on a walk before.  

“This area is quite deserted, so it might be a bit dangerous to go alone. From now on, let’s go together.”  

“Oh, there’s no need for that.”  

She tried to come up with various excuses to shake her off, but Mrs. Boryeong was adamant. Judging by her sudden change in attitude, it was clear that Kwon Jeong-hyeok had instructed her.  

Her breath caught in her throat. The recent declaration of their marital relationship and everything else—Kwon Jeong-hyeok was clearly taking a different approach than before.  

This only solidified her reasons for running away. The problem was that things were going off track right from the start.  

“Alright. But could you do me a favor and make me another glass of carrot juice? I accidentally spilled the one on the bedside table.”  

“Oh, of course.”  

At her words, Mrs. Boryeong took off her cardigan again.  

While Mrs. Boryeong rummaged through the refrigerator, Eun-sol quickly pulled the phone out of her cardigan pocket and hid it in her own chest.  

“Here you go, Madam. I just juiced it, so the carrot flavor is strong.”  

“Thank you.”  

Eun-sol chugged the carrot juice. Her stomach churned with nerves, and drinking two glasses of carrot juice back-to-back only made it worse.  

“Let’s head out now. Oh, could you also pack some cold water for me? Not in that tumbler, but the pink one.”  

“Oh, the pink tumbler? Where did I put that?”  

She deliberately kept Mrs. Boryeong preoccupied and then left the mansion with her. The overcast weather, heavy with dark clouds, only made her more anxious.  

As soon as they passed through the mansion’s front gate, Eun-sol casually pulled out her own phone from her pocket, subtly reminding Mrs. Boryeong of the existence of her phone.  

Mrs. Boryeong had an only son who had recently enlisted in the military, and since she never knew when he might call, she always kept her phone on her.  

So, if she realized her phone was missing while outside, there was a high chance she would go back into the mansion to retrieve it.  

Eun-sol planned to escape while Mrs. Boryeong went back inside to look for her phone.  

If Mrs. Boryeong realized her phone was missing after they had gone too far, she would likely give up on retrieving it. Now was the perfect moment.  

“Oh dear! Look at me. I thought I had my phone in my pocket, but I must have left it behind. Madam, please wait just two minutes. I’ll grab an umbrella while I’m at it.”  

The moment Mrs. Boryeong went back into the mansion, Eun-sol dashed off in the opposite direction. She threw the powered-off phone into a patch of grass by the roadside.  

‘Mrs. Boryeong, I’m really sorry.’  

She felt guilty, but she had to deal with the phone.  

If her disappearance was noticed, Mrs. Boryeong would immediately contact Kwon Jeong-hyeok. Since the house didn’t have a landline, the only means of communication was Mrs. Boryeong’s phone.  

Delaying Mrs. Boryeong’s contact with Kwon Jeong-hyeok as much as possible would buy Eun-sol more time to escape the area.  

Meanwhile, the dark clouds gathering overhead became even heavier. The imminent downpour made her even more anxious.  

Just as she had anticipated, a male student on a bicycle appeared at the end of the road.  

“Hey, student! Please help me!”  

She ran toward the bicycle, shouting. The boy stopped, looking confused.  

“It’s a long story, but I really need your bike. How about we trade your bike for my brand-new smartphone?”  

“What? What do you mean…?”  

The boy hesitated, but his eyes lit up when he saw the smartphone she held out.  

The newly released smartphone was so popular that even with money, one had to wait on a reservation list to get it.  

“But if my new bike goes missing, my parents will scold me, Noona.”  

“Then let’s do this. I’ll leave the bike at the bicycle parking area at the Express Bus Terminal station. You can pick it up after school today.”  

The boy nodded enthusiastically.  

At that moment, Eun-sol saw Mrs. Boryeong running toward her from behind. Though Mrs. Boryeong’s age slowed her down, her approach was enough to terrify Eun-sol.  

“Instead, there’s a condition. Tell that lady coming from behind that I seemed to be heading to the train station! And don’t ever lend her your phone.”

***

Jeong-hyeok was at the construction site of a large apartment complex in Busan.  

Busan was over 400 kilometers away from his seaside mansion.  

Even so, it didn’t take him long to figure out Eun-sol’s whereabouts.  

Although the report of her disappearance was delayed because Mrs. Boryeong had lost her phone, as soon as he found out, Jeong-hyeok tracked Eun-sol’s phone and called both the train station and the express bus terminal.  

There was no need for lengthy explanations. In this area, the name “Kwon Jeong-hyeok” alone was enough to resolve anything.  

– The ticket booth CCTV confirmed that Madam purchased a ticket for a bus heading to East Seoul.  

Following the report from the terminal manager, Jeong-hyeok’s car promptly departed for Seoul.  

“Send the driver of that bus a description of my wife. Tell him not to let her off when they arrive in Seoul and to keep her on the bus.”  

“Yes, Sir.”  

“Just in case we miss her, deploy a few guards around the area.”  

His commands were calm and precise.  

Jeong-hyeok lazily reached inside his jacket. However, it had been quite some time since he quit smoking, so there was no way a cigarette would be in his pocket.  

“Would you like a cigarette, Sir?”  

Chief Cheon, ever perceptive, quickly pulled out his own pack and offered it.  

Without a word, Jeong-hyeok took one, lit it, and inhaled. The feel of the lighter’s wheel against his fingers was unfamiliar. It had been that long since he last smoked.  

The glowing nicotine faintly scratched his throat as he exhaled. The cigarette smoke, expelled between his teeth, quickly disappeared outside the car window, thanks to the speed of the sedan.  

The highway to Seoul was unusually quiet.  

“Must be because of the freight union strike.”  

It was fortunate. It meant the time for this amusing chase with Kim Eun-sol could be shortened by a few hours.  

He closed his eyes and slowly exhaled the cigarette smoke. As the smoke dispersed, a wry chuckle escaped him.  

Damn, a construction company owner being grateful for a freight union strike…!  

“Sir, just now, I got in touch with the express terminal driver….”  

Chief Cheon spoke up hesitantly, his expression troubled.  

“They said Madam wasn’t on that bus.”  

“…What?”  

“After purchasing a ticket to East Seoul, it seems she exchanged it with another passenger for a bus heading to the Gangnam Express Bus Terminal. That bus has already arrived in Seoul.”  

He twisted his lips, letting out a bitter laugh.  

Eun-sol’s escape was something he had somewhat anticipated. She had always been suspicious of him.  

Still, he had held onto a vague hope.  

Though their relationship had been precarious up to now, and would likely become even more so in the future, he had hoped she wouldn’t cross that line.  

But she had crossed it faster than he expected—meticulously and cunningly at that.  

However, there was one thing Eun-sol likely didn’t know.  

He stubbed out the barely-smoked cigarette in the ashtray.  

“Tell Mrs. Boryeong to take a picture of the jewelry box on my wife’s vanity and send it to me.”  

“Pardon? The… the jewelry box? Oh, understood.”  

Chief Cheon, momentarily bewildered, quickly replied.