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Chapter 25
by GideonThe next morning, Yundo came into the living room and held out a navy blue tie.
“Hyewan, tie this for me.”
Hyewan approached him. She found it cute how he insisted on doing everything else himself but always asked her to tie his tie.
Looking at it now, though, his taste in ties was terrible. The navy blue was a muddy mess of black and dark gray, making it look exhausted.
“Is this the only color you have?”
How can a tie look like it’s pulled two all-nighters? she wondered, amazed.
“Why?”
“It makes you look inflexible.”
Come to think of it, every tie she’d seen Yundo wear so far had been this exact shade.
“Really?”
Yundo shoved his hands into his pants pockets and looked at the tie as if seeing it for the first time.
“This is all I have.”
Her hunch was correct.
“Can’t you wear something a bit brighter? At least a normal color.”
“The secretary’s office prepared all of these.”
As Hyewan held the tie up to his collar, Yundo bent his knees slightly to make it easier for her.
“My attire is part of the strategy,” he explained. “Since I’m young, they want me to look older and more experienced at first glance.”
“Then at least wear something fresh once or twice a week,” she countered.
“You buy it for me, then.”
Hyewan looked at him, taken aback. “I’ve never bought a man a tie before.”
“Not even for Lawyer Kim Jin-myeong?”
She frowned and tapped his chest. “Don’t ruin my morning.”
“Heh, sorry. Don’t be mad. If you buy it, I’ll wear whatever you choose.”
Hyewan tightened the knot, smoothed it down, and stepped back.
“All done.”
“I’m off.”
Yundo pressed a light kiss to her lips and walked toward the front door. Hyewan watched him go, her eyes pouting.
Why did he have to bring up Kim Jin-myeong? He’s so mean.
“Have a good day,” she said, waving to him anyway.
Just before the front door closed, he blew her a kiss.
Giving with one hand and taking with the other. And yet, here I am, smiling. I’m the problem.
Hyewan shook her head and walked into the kitchen. She took her vitamins, one by one, from the pillbox neatly arranged on the island table. As she drank some water, her gaze fell on the sink.
“There’s so few dishes it’s embarrassing to even put them in the dishwasher.”
She planned to wash only the breakfast dishes before heading out.
Even though she had her own study, she always struggled to focus at home. The habit of studying while crouched in a corner of her mother’s side-dish shop since childhood had left its mark. She wasn’t used to concentrating in absolute silence. That was why Hyewan preferred the local library or a study cafe. It was true—the body remembered poverty.
“No, maybe we should go to the department store first?”
Yundo had asked her to buy him a tie, after all. Hyewan pondered which color would suit him best as she washed the few dishes they owned.
Her distraction was her undoing.
She slipped while scrubbing a thin glass salad bowl. Instinctively, Hyewan gripped it tighter.
“Oh!”
The bowl shattered in her hand. It made a crisp, crunching sound, like thin ice breaking.
“How can a bowl be this fragile?” Hyewan grumbled, turning off the faucet.
She froze.
Blood dripped from her left hand, trickling down the drain. A shard of glass was embedded in the center of her palm. Around it, tiny fragments glittered brilliantly in the light. A chill ran down her spine.
Hyewan stared blankly for a moment as drops of blood fell, finally snapping back to her senses.
She pressed a thick towel against the wound to stop the blood from dripping on the floor and hurried to a nearby surgical clinic. Being in a mixed-use complex with a variety of medical offices was a huge relief.
Ironically, the fact that she’d gone in with the glass shard still embedded in her hand meant she was seen immediately. After extracting the glass and examining the wound, the doctor announced she’d need stitches.
After stitching her up with five sutures, the doctor warned her that the cut ran across a crease in her palm, meaning it would heal slowly and was prone to reopening. He instructed her to return the next day for a dressing change. With that, Hyewan paid the bill and headed to the pharmacy.
As she waited for her prescription, a thought kept circling in her mind.
Why didn’t it hurt?
If I’d felt the pain the moment it sank into my palm, I would’ve opened my hand. Then it wouldn’t have gone in so deep.
“Ugh, whatever. I’m already hurt, so what’s the point?” Hyewan muttered.
She felt pathetic, suddenly alone in her self-inflicted injury and self-blame. Why am I blaming myself when no one’s even criticizing me? she thought. At least it’s not my right hand.
In the end, Hyewan couldn’t make it to either the library or the department store. The throbbing pain in her hand set her nerves on edge, eventually giving her a headache.
“Ugh… what a mess.”
After taking some medicine, Hyewan groaned and collapsed onto the sofa. She must have drifted off from the medication’s drowsiness. The sound of the front door’s digital lock waking her up. As she struggled to push herself up using only her right hand, Yundo’s voice called out.
“Hyewan, I’m home.”
“I’m here,” Hyewan said, checking the time through her lingering drowsiness. “You’re not off work yet. Is something wrong?”
“I just stopped by on my way back from an outside meeting. I have to head back out soon.”
More accurately, he’d stopped by to give her the cake and macarons he’d bought from the bakery everyone was talking about lately. Yundo, who had been approaching her with a smile, spotted the bandage on Hyewan’s hand. His expression instantly hardened.
“What’s wrong is what’s going on with you. What happened to your hand?”
“I broke a salad bowl while washing dishes this morning,” Hyewan said sheepishly.
Yundo couldn’t wrap his head around it. Breaking a dish while washing up was a common enough accident. But it was rare for it to escalate to this.
“Just how bad did you cut yourself to need a bandage like that?”
“It only looks bad because of the bandage, but the cut isn’t a big deal. It was just a shallow slice, but they stitched it up because it was right over my palm line. They said it would heal faster that way.”
The truth was, the cut had been deep enough to require stitches, but there was no need to tell him that. Now that I’d been treated, I didn’t want to worry Yundo.
“How many stitches?”
“Five.”
“Ko Hyewan, how does getting five stitches to ‘heal faster’ make any sense? That’s half your palm!”
His face darkened as he pressed her. “Are you sure you just cut it? Tell me exactly what happened.”
His tone was so accusatory, as if he’d seen the wound himself, that Hyewan couldn’t lie any longer. She told him the truth.
His expression turned fierce. “Why didn’t you call me when this happened?”
“Because…”
I never even thought about calling him. No, I chose not to.
Why would I call him? My legs aren’t broken, and I’m not mentally incapacitated. I’m a working adult.
The hospital was close, and I had the money for the bill. Besides, Yundo coming over wouldn’t have changed a thing.
But somehow, she knew saying this would only make him angrier.
“I’m sorry. I was just so flustered, I didn’t think to call.”
“Call me immediately next time.”
“I will.”
Only then did Yundo set the box he was holding on the sofa table and sink onto the living room floor.
“You should have been more careful. Why are you washing dishes by hand when you have a dishwasher? And why weren’t you wearing rubber gloves?”
“…You’re right. Why wasn’t I wearing them?”
Hyewan repeated his words, looking up at him.
Her body had always been frail, and her skin was sensitive to external irritants. She always wore gloves whether she was doing the dishes or cleaning the bathroom. So why hadn’t she worn them today?
“I must have forgotten because I was rushing to get out the door. I always wear them, usually. Just my luck—what a joke.”
“Hyewan, are you trying to make me upset?”
Yundo sighed heavily as he took off his jacket. When he started loosening his tie, Hyewan stopped him.
“You said you had to go back out, didn’t you?”
“I’m not going.”
“Don’t be like that. Just go to work. I’m really fine.”
“Forget it. What kind of wealth and glory am I chasing if I leave my injured wife alone to go work?”
“Everyone does that.”
“Not me. I already have enough, so I don’t need any more.”
Hyewan fell silent. He was so right that she had nothing to say.
She had been able to bear the pain when she was alone. But now that Yundo was here, a wave of agony she hadn’t felt before washed over her.
“If it hurts, don’t hold it in. Just scream.”
“But I took the medicine…”
“You had five stitches. Do you really think the medicine would make the pain just vanish? Holding it in will only make things worse.”
“Anyone who sees me will think I’m dying of some terrible disease.”
“Shut up and stay in bed,” Yundo threatened, turning to head back to the kitchen.
Hyewan followed him, trailing close behind as he rolled up his sleeves.
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