Chapter 3: Tangled Bonds and Hidden Stashes

I couldn’t stop grinning at the thought of chilling and eating in the hospital.
After stuffing myself with dinner last night, I came back, washed up, and crashed hard.
I was curious what Jaehyuk said to piss me off, but sleep hit like a truck.
The dream I had was insanely happy.
A huge tree stood by a vast ocean.
A dolphin swam around in the water, and the tree gave me everything.
Pretty leaves, sweet apples—it shared them all.
I tried to reach the dolphin staring at me, but the tree didn’t want to let me go.
When the dolphin splashed, the tree finally released me.
I got close, and the dolphin let me ride on its back, zooming through places.
Wide skies, endless blue ocean.
It felt so real, so alive.
Rustle, rustle—
A rustling sound pulled me out of the dream.
Ugh, I wanted to sleep more. Gotta get up, though…
Why am I so damn sleepy?
I forced my groggy eyes open, hunting for the noise.
“You awake?”
That voice… I heard it all the time at Jaehyuk’s place.
I shot up in bed.
Kang Jaehyuk’s mom, Han Jeongsuk, the source of half his looks.
I used to call her “Lady Han” or “Miss Han” in a teasing way.
But now, married to Jaehyuk, what do I call her?
I gave a little bow and said.
“Uh… hi.”
“…”
Lady Han’s face was heavy with emotion.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly and asked.
“What did I call you?”
Her face lit up instantly, but her eyes couldn’t hide the sadness.
“Mother, of course.”
“…Mother?”
“Yup.”
I rolled my eyes, then met hers.
That confident look—no way she was lying.
I forced the word out, stuck in my throat.
“Mother?”
“Hmm… sniff, sniff…”
“????”
“Ahem, yes. Call me that.”
Feels off, though.
Even if I married Jaehyuk, I’d probably still call her “Lady Han” as a joke, right?
I was thinking, fighting to keep my sleepy eyes open.
Mother’s here nursing me from the morning—if I just lie back and sleep…
Wouldn’t that be a problem?
Stroke, stroke—
Mother patted my head and said.
“Sleep more if you’re tired.”
“…”
Her touch wasn’t bad—it felt familiar, comforting.
It filled some empty, hollow part of me. We must’ve been close.
I nodded at her words and closed my eyes again.

Han Jeongsuk, Mother, couldn’t hide her smile as she saw Yeju asleep.
So much had happened for Yeju and Jaehyuk to get married.
Her study-obsessed, clueless son’s dumb slip-up made Yeju leave home and vanish.
It took months of Jaehyuk pulling himself together to find her and marry her.
Married Yeju called her “Lady Han” but sweetly called her husband “Father.”
How jealous that made Jeongsuk.
‘Heh…’
Jaehyuk was heartbroken over Yeju’s memory loss, but to Jeongsuk, it was a chance.
A chance to cement “Mother” in Yeju’s mind.
“Ha, how did it come to this?”
Jeongsuk stroked Yeju’s hand as she spoke.
She knew how much Yeju had suffered.
She knew Yeju kept going despite cruel intentions.
Sorry for Jaehyuk, but wasn’t this better?
At least the Yeju who carried so many scars wasn’t here now.
Jeongsuk tilted her head, musing.
“…Too cruel for my son, maybe?”
Fixing his mistake, doting on her, dealing with the pregnancy buzz—it’d been a year.
Add the time he spent worrying about Yeju before that.
“Guess she needs to get her memories back.”
Jeongsuk let out a soft breath, smiling faintly at Yeju’s sleeping face.

Two weeks stuck in the hospital like a ghost.
Mother’s devoted care and Jaehyuk’s near-constant crying—I barely got through it, consoling him daily.
And finally, today!
“You’re free to go.”
“Yes!”
Discharged, at last.
To my house, full of everything…
…
Wait, where do I even live now?
I changed into the clothes Jaehyuk brought and stared at him.
“What?”
“Where are we going now?”
“Oh, I didn’t mention. We live together.”
“Got it.”
Jaehyuk packed up my hospital stuff and met my eyes as I sat on the bed.
“If it’s uncomfortable, we can live apart for a bit.”
“You think I read those notebooks as a joke?”
The notebooks Jaehyuk brought were my diaries.
No idea what possessed me to write them, but they were enough to trace my two years.
It was crystal clear Jaehyuk pulled some regretful romance-novel crap.
I lightly kicked his shin.
He looked at me, confused.
‘That face pulled that stunt on me, huh.’
The notebooks had the story he told me, in my handwriting.
Messy as it was, that page was written so darkly.
Neat, deliberate letters.

• Bastard. You hate me because I’m a TS patient? If you hate it that much, don’t blush, don’t show interest, don’t talk to me. Just ignore me. What’s your deal? You’re just like them.
  After that, it was a straight-up runaway diary.
  No joke, it detailed scraping by with barely any money.
  So long, I couldn’t finish it in the hospital.
  “When I get my memories back, I don’t want to wonder why I acted like that. Staying with you might help me remember faster.”
  “…”
  “Hey! Stop moping! Come on, let’s go.”
  I pushed Jaehyuk’s back, weighed down with bags, to get out of the room.
  Ugh, this giant.
  We went to the underground parking lot, and I hopped into Jaehyuk’s car.
  ‘Wow, me in a car with a logo slapped on it?’
  After buckling up, Jaehyuk hit me with the triple-question combo: anything hurt, want to eat, want to buy?
  The car started, and I savored the breeze ruffling my hair, taking in the scenery.
  Always saw it through hospital windows, but up close, it feels different.
  Buzz—
  Jaehyuk, oblivious, raised the window, killing my vibe.
  I glared, and he said, “Too much cold air’s bad for you.”
  Health comes first, so I shut up and stared ahead.
  We arrived at a massive apartment complex.
  The one I’d mutter about through the hospital window, “If only I lived there.”
  Mother would cackle every time.
  ‘Guess it was funny since I live here and didn’t know.’
  I pressed my cold hands to my burning face.
  In the elevator, Jaehyuk looked at me and said.
  “Cold?”
  “Nah, it’s not that.”
  “You just got chilly from the wind.”
  He grabbed my hands.
  Both of mine could fit in one of his.
  His hands were huge, I realized…
  ‘What’s this?’
  Two years did this? It didn’t feel bad—kinda ticklish.
  Before the elevator hit the 15th floor, Jaehyuk nodded at the bags.
  “You can’t carry those with one hand. Let me.”
  “I’m fine.”
  He really was fine, hauling all that stuff.
  ‘Monster…’
  But his warm hand made me want to keep holding it…
  ‘Yeju, what are you thinking?’
  We’re married, so we like each other, right?
  Isn’t this normal?
  “Ugh…”
  While my head waged war, Jaehyuk opened the front door.
  I followed him, gawking at the house.
  “Wow. Spacious.”
  Sofa, TV, and still tons of living room left.
  In one corner, two desks and chairs sat side by side.
  ‘Holy sh*t.’
  Up close, the computers were way beyond my budget.
  Definitely for gaming with Jaehyuk.
  The kitchen had snacks lined up at my height.
  ‘Stuff to play, eat, and rest!’
  Is this paradise?
  I wandered in a daze, poking around.
  Opened random drawers, snooping everywhere.
  It’s two floors, but the first floor alone drained my stamina.
  The last unopened drawer was by the computer.
  As I reached for it, Jaehyuk looked panicked.
  ‘What?’
  Startled by him rushing over, I yanked the drawer too hard.
  Thud!
  It fell, spilling its contents everywhere.
  Condoms…?
  I stared at Jaehyuk, freaked out.
  Not one or two—how many boxes are these?
  He avoided my eyes, nervous.
  I knelt, inspecting them slowly.
  “What, every kind in existence?”
  “…”
  “Even if you’re full of energy, think of your partner. You’ll wreck my bo—”
  My brain’s neurons fired off.
  I’m the one married to him. I’m the partner.
  …This many? For that?
  Are you insane, human?
  “How the hell did you treat me?”
  “It was mutual…”
  “Oh? Mutual? Still, this is… when were you planning to use all these?”
  A slight pause.
  Then Jaehyuk’s answer.
  “Two weeks.”
  “Hold on, stay right there.”
  Two weeks? For these?
  I’ve got two kids in my belly, and this much would guarantee a third and fourth.
  I took one step, two steps back from Jaehyuk.
  I twirled my hair nervously and said.
  “Let’s keep some distance…”
  I’m not ready for that yet.