The Tyrant Husband - Chapter 2.3

Chapter 2.3

30 minutes later.  

The first place Eun-sol stopped by was the ramen shop in the alley behind Taepyeong Department Store. If she had been a regular customer here, the owner might recognize her.  

However—  

“Oh, that place closed down two months ago. It was doing well even during COVID, but who knows why they shut it down. Must’ve been personal reasons, I guess.”  

Unfortunately, a completely different type of business had taken over the spot where the fusion ramen shop used to be.  

Though disappointed, her original destination, Taepyeong Department Store, was still an option.  

‘Should I go to the customer service center?’  

The article might have been deleted online, but they might still have the internal magazine from that time.  

If the magazine had photos, she could confirm whether the Kim Eun-sol mentioned was indeed her.  

Unfortunately, the customer service center was on their lunch break. In the meantime, she decided to look around the department store.  

Taking the elevator, she got off on the second floor, where the luxury clothing stores were. Inside one of the stores, a middle-aged female customer was raising her voice.  

“What do you mean I can’t return this? I haven’t even worn it once since I bought it!”  

“Ma’am, it’s already been over six months since you purchased it. There are also signs of wear on the product.”  

“Do you have proof that I wore it?!”

The female customer flailed her thick, fleshy arm wildly while speaking rudely in informal language, and the store employee looked as though she was about to burst into tears.  

Watching the scene, a fire rose from deep within Eun-sol.  

‘Was I originally someone with a strong sense of justice?’  

She wasn’t sure, but she felt a sense of duty to help the female employee. Just as she unconsciously started walking toward the store—  

“Eun-sol Unnie?!”  

A voice from behind stopped her in her tracks.  

Eun-sol froze on the spot.  

Eun-sol? Did someone just call my name? No way. I must have misheard someone calling for someone else.  

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest.  

“Oh my, it really is you, Eun-sol Unnie!”  

When sheUnnie turned around, a young woman with long hair greeted her enthusiastically.  

“Unnie, it’s been so long!”  

Eun-sol could only move her lips slightly, stunned. The face of the woman addressing her with such familiarity was, of course, unfamiliar to her.  

“Eun-sol Unnie. Have you already forgotten my face?”  

The long-haired woman looked embarrassed by Eun-sol’s blank reaction.  

“It’s me, the troublemaking part-timer, Choi Hye-mi. I may have gained a bit of weight, but do I really look that different?”  

“Oh, no, it’s not that….”  

The sudden situation left Eun-sol startled and happy, yet unsure of how to respond.  

“Sorry if I interrupted you. I guess I wasn’t being considerate.”  

Hye-mi turned as if to leave.  

“Oh, wait, Hye-mi! That’s not it.”  

How could I let go of someone I had coincidentally run into?  

“Hye-mi, do you have time for a cup of tea? No, even if you don’t, I’d really like you to make some time.”  

Driven by desperation, she instinctively grabbed the edge of Hye-mi’s sleeve. If Hye-mi said she didn’t have time, Eun-sol was prepared to follow her and find a way to talk.  

“Unnie, why are you suddenly being so formal?”  

Hye-mi looked at her with a puzzled expression.  

“Well… it’s a bit complicated to explain here. Anyway, let’s have tea together.”  

Fortunately, Hye-mi accepted the proposal, and they moved to a café located inside the department store to start their conversation.  

“So, you’re saying that you and I used to work together? That I was an employee at the luxury department store?”

It was astonishing. To think that the Kim Eun-sol from the article was actually her.  

Her throat felt parched, but she couldn’t even think about drinking the iced Americano sitting right in front of her. What she needed more than anything was Hye-mi’s answer.  

“That’s right, Unnie. You really seem to have lost all your memories. Wow, I thought things like this only happened in dramas.”  

Hye-mi stirred her coffee with a straw, her expression one of disbelief.  

“And Unnie, please stop speaking so formally. It feels weird hearing you talk like that all of a sudden.”  

“Uh… okay. So, um, can you tell me a little more about myself?”  

She didn’t think it was a difficult request, but Hye-mi looked slightly awkward.  

“Well… Unnie, you took good care of me, so we were close, but we didn’t see each other very often. I was just a weekend part-timer, and the part-time staff’s work location changes depending on the store’s situation. So, there’s not much I can tell you….”  

“Oh, I see….”  

Eun-sol tried not to show her disappointment, but her drooping shoulders gave her away.  

“Oh, but there is one thing I know for sure.”  

As if trying to lighten the awkward atmosphere, Hye-mi made a joke.  

“What is it?”  

“That your husband is ridiculously handsome!”  

“You… you know my husband?”  

Eun-sol’s eyes widened in surprise. Her voice cracked as her breath hitched.  

This was the most urgent matter right now.  

Kwon Jeong-hyeok. Was that man really my husband? And were we truly in love when we got married?  

* * *  

A heavy mist floated above the surface of the water. The suffocating humidity clung to his body like a spider’s web.  

Jeong-hyeok’s thoughts drifted back to his school days, to the lakeshore by the family villa.  

“You’ve failed. Once again, you didn’t pass my rite of passage this year.”  

His father’s mocking voice echoed, cutting through the cold early winter wind.  

The young Jeong-hyeok stared blankly at the fishing rod in front of him.  

He couldn’t understand what he had done wrong. He had chosen the right bait as he was taught, cast it, and waited for the fish to bite.  

“Fishing isn’t about waiting. The bait isn’t something you throw out when you feel like catching fish.”  

His father soon began packing up the fishing rods. Clicking his tongue, he glanced at Jeong-hyeok’s empty fishing bucket.  

“Don’t even think about coming inside until you’ve filled your bucket.”

His father disappeared alone, carrying a bucket full of fish.  

It wasn’t just an empty threat. This was the same father who, during last winter’s cold snap, poured cold water over his son to wake him up after finding him collapsed on the pier.  

The young Jeong-hyeok gripped the fishing rod tightly. He didn’t want to repeat that miserable experience this year.  

But he still couldn’t figure it out. The bait isn’t something you throw out just because you want to catch fish?  

Now, however, he thought he understood. Bait is something you prepare and cast in advance. If you leave it there, the day to reel in the fish will inevitably come.  

The medal necklace Eun-sol had taken was both bait and a trap he had designed.  

“CEO, we’ve received a tip about the medal necklace!”  

The voice of Chief Cheon broke through his deep thoughts. It was the sound of a bobber shaking, the sound of a fish biting the bait.  

He slowly opened his eyes, which had been closed.  

“Madam visited a gold and silver shop in the underground shopping mall at Seoul Express Bus Terminal an hour ago and sold the necklace.”  

If that was the case, finding Eun-sol was only a matter of time. All that was left was to reel in the fishing rod.  

However, the foreign sensation in his throat still didn’t disappear.  

This discomfort was because of the changed Kim Eun-sol. The Kim Eun-sol who was no longer within the bounds of his expectations.  

The Kim Eun-sol before her memory loss hadn’t been like this.  

She had been timid and hesitant about challenges or adventures. She was certainly not the suspicious type. On the contrary, she had been so naive that it bordered on foolishness, making her easy to deceive.  

But the woman who had lost her memories was entirely different.  

‘They say a brain injury can change one’s personality….’  

It was one thing for her to run to the police station because she didn’t trust him, but the reckless act of testing her shellfish allergy with salted shrimp had been completely unexpected.  

And then there was the convenience store incident a few days ago….  

He stopped his train of thought and let out a light sigh.  

Now he understood why Eun-sol had suddenly decided to run away. Her escape probably started with the convenience store incident.  

That night, he already knew that Eun-sol was planning to go to the convenience store. Of course, he also knew exactly what she intended to buy there.  

Eun-sol had been searching on her phone for days, looking up nearby convenience stores and checking whether they sold pregnancy test kits.  

He didn’t bother to let her know that he was aware of it.  

How curious she must have been about whether she was pregnant. Her worry was just adorable.  

Pretending to be asleep, he followed her as she snuck out of the house like a stray cat.