Chapter 61
by Gideon“People are spreading rumors. I’m telling you this, Hyewan, because if we don’t stop it now, it’ll get out of hand.”
“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll look into it.”
“Get some rest, then.”
The caregiver closed the hospital room door and left.
Hyewan stared blankly at the sleeping pills on the nightstand. What was the point of talking about her insomnia? By now, she couldn’t sleep for even an hour without them.
She debated whether to ignore what the caregiver had said and just take the pills. They were a high dose, so she’d be asleep within thirty minutes. It was ten o’clock at night. If the man who was coming around midnight was Yundo, she had to take the pills and sleep now.
She was torn between the urge to just take the pills and her desire to see Yundo.
“Ah, I don’t know.”
After a fierce internal struggle, Hyewan gave up on reaching a conclusion and pulled the blanket over her head.
Will he come today?
She didn’t have the slightest shred of forgiveness left for him, yet the tragedy that had struck the Sewon Family held her back. She worried for Yundo—heartbroken, furious, and utterly exhausted.
If you’re going to barge in in the middle of the night and drop a bombshell like that, the least you could do is check in the next day!
It had been a week of absolute silence, and she was seething. She’d cursed him for always doing the worst thing possible, yet here he was, playing the martyr in the lobby.
She felt pathetic—driven mad by her own willingness to understand, pity, and even worry about a man she couldn’t forgive.
At the stroke of midnight, Hyewan finally got out of bed. She threw on a thick cardigan, settled into her wheelchair, and wrapped a blanket around her lap. She had learned her lesson the hard way after catching the flu because she’d left Hankuk University Hospital without a coat; now, she was prepared for anything.
She wheeled herself out of the room.
The night was still, everyone asleep, but a nurse spotted her and called out.
“Where are you off to at this hour? You should be asleep,” the nurse asked.
“I couldn’t sleep. I just wanted to get some fresh air.”
“It’s freezing outside, though.”
“That’s why I bundled up,” Hyewan replied, pointedly gesturing to the blanket draped over her lap.
“Don’t stay out too long. You can’t afford to catch another cold.”
“I won’t.”
The nurse, having stepped away from the station, went ahead and pressed the elevator button for her. “Be careful not to fall. Watch your step.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Hyewan had once learned the hard way how terrifying people could be—those who weaponized friendliness to dismantle one’s soul. She had thought she would never be able to trust anyone again. But she was wrong. Instead, she found herself genuinely grateful for the unconditional kindness of strangers. Her time in a wheelchair had also taught her that there were many people willing to offer help, even in the smallest ways they could.
It was a truth she’d never known before experiencing it herself.
So, was Hyewan someone who offered kindness?
Before she could find an answer, the elevator reached the first-floor lobby.
Stepping out, Hyewan slowly rolled her chair toward the center of the lobby. Just as the caregiver had said, she spotted a figure sitting alone on a chair in the darkened lobby.
It was Yundo. She had expected as much, but seeing him still made her heart sink. Even from the back, she could tell what kind of war he was fighting. It was a hollow, lonely battle—one he couldn’t afford to lose, but one he wouldn’t be happy to win.
“Cha Yundo.”
Her voice shattered the silence.
“Hyewan.”
Startled, Yundo spun around and sprang to his feet.
“What are you doing here?”
“That’s my line,” she said, glancing toward the on-duty staff at the administration desk.
“Let’s go outside and talk.”
“It’s cold out there.”
“I’m bundled up, so don’t try to get out of this. Just come with me.”
As always, Yundo had no choice but to comply. He naturally took hold of the handles of Hyewan’s wheelchair and pushed her out.
The moment they stepped outside, the chilly air wrapped around them. Still, the wind wasn’t as fierce as he’d imagined back in the hospital room.
Hyewan looked up at him. “What were you doing in the lobby?”
“Just resting. What about you? Aren’t you cold?”
“I’m fine, so keep your coat on.”
She stopped Yundo as he started to take it off.
“But… Alright.”
Hyewan’s gaze made him put the coat back on.
She hated how he was walking on eggshells, looking for all the world like a puppy that had done something wrong. He was the one who had messed up, yet she felt like the villain.
So annoying.
“Have you eaten?”
“Who are you to ask me that, Cha Yundo? Have you eaten yet?”
“A little something.”
“Why did you pay the hospital bill?”
“I’m still your husband. Of course the husband should pay.”
“We’re practically strangers once the final decree is filed. What do you mean, ‘husband’?”
His shoulders slumped even further.
“I know.”
“If you won’t do it, I will.”
Yundo immediately relented. “I’ll pay.”
So frustrating!
“But Hyewan…”
“What?”
“Can’t we just… stay together?”
Desperation clung to his dark eyes, set against his pallid face. Hyewan forced herself to keep her voice cold.
“Do you really think that’s possible?”
Yundo pleaded. “I’ll pay it all back. For the rest of my life—no, even after I die, I’ll pay you back.”
“You don’t glue a broken bowl back together and keep using it.”
It hurt to speak so harshly to him. But seeing the light extinguish from his eyes at her words hurt even more. Hyewan wanted to scream, Am I the only one who has to change? Am I the one causing us both so much pain by being stubborn? Is this really all my fault?
“I’m sorry,” Yundo said, his voice low. “I knew it was impossible, but I still wanted to try and force it. I wanted to take advantage of how soft-hearted you are.”
“I’m a piece of trash, all the way to the end. You’re right, you’ll be better off without me.”
His voice dripped with bitter self-loathing.
“If you know that, then just leave me alone. Just let me hate you.”
Hyewan burst into tears, her heart aching so sharply it felt like it would shatter. Every single moment of this just hurt too much.
“Don’t cry.”
Yundo stared down at her, but instead of pulling her into his arms, he turned his wheelchair away.
“It’s cold. Let’s go inside.”
His clear boundary made the tears fall even harder. Ko Hyewan, you’ve finally lost your mind. What are you doing? I hate it when Cha Yundo is like this, and I hate it when he’s like that.
Hyewan couldn’t find any peace in her heart.
The next afternoon, Hyewan received a message from her lawyer.
[ The divorce has been finalized. ]
Hyewan bit her lip as she read the lawyer’s message.
It’s finally official. You and Cha Yundo are no longer married.
She should have felt a wave of relief. She should have been happy. So why was she so furious?
That inflexible man!
Her already throbbing headache felt like it was about to split her skull open. Everyone else does whatever he wants, so why is he like this with me? Why does he have to be like this?! He could have just kept pretending not to know and insisted on staying married!
She no longer had the strength to ignore her own feelings. The moment she learned she was legally separated from Yundo, a surge of anger and heartache had erupted within her like a wildfire. It was clear: she wasn’t ready to let him go.
Despite everything they had been through, she didn’t want to break up with Yundo. She finally looked honestly into her own heart.
Dong-yeong couldn’t stand watching Yundo’s mood, which was already foul, sink even lower.
“Aren’t you going to the hospital to see her, hyung?” he asked.
Yundo shot him a glare that could have devoured him whole.
“Hey, don’t take your anger out on me,” Dong-yeong shot back. “I’m telling you to go beg her! You should be on your knees, pleading for her to see you just once. Why are you still digging your heels in here?”
“She told me to leave her alone.”
“Who? Your wife?” Dong-yeong clicked his tongue. “Since when did you start being so obedient… Ugh! She must be so frustrated with you.”
“If you don’t know what you’re talking about, shut up.”
Hyewan had cried.
Did he know how much it hurt to see her tears? It felt like his heart was being ripped to shreds.
If it were up to him, he’d run to her a dozen times a day. He was willing to beg, to let her curse him, just to see her face.
“Just think about yourself, Yundo. What’s wrong with being a little selfish? Don’t do something you’ll regret later—be shameless. Grow a thick skin.”
Dong-yeong offered his advice, his voice laced with frustration, before leaving the office.
Just think about myself? How could he do that? But not being able to see Hyewan was too much to bear.
Be shameless?
Yundo took a deep breath.
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