Chapter Two

After Ji-hoon Han's departure, Soo Jin's gaze lingered on her mug. Seok-Jin's voice shattered the silence, his tone laced with a mixture of confusion and concern, "Soo Jin, hey, what is going on?"

She gave him a glance that conveyed a canvas of emotions. Seeing her, his mind raced, trying to understand the unspoken words. A fleeting moment of realization dawned on him, followed by a laugh. His laugh conveyed agony and hatred, a chilling melody that echoed through the room.

"You cheated on me, now you want a divorce?" He asked, his words dripping with malice, "Soo Jin Nam, do you think this is a joke? You better be kidding me" she still kept mum, a silence which irked him making him narrow his eyes at her to find even a glimmer of uncertainty but she just glanced at him and returned her gaze to their wedding picture. In a quiet but firm tone, she spoke, "let's get divorced" Seok-Jin's smile, was a slow calculated curve of his lips, a gesture that made her skin crawl.

Sitting besides her, he kept his hand on her knee, a brazen attempt to reassert his dominance. Her gaze flicked to his hands. She stood up abruptly, a stark rejection of his advances. He chuckled at her action, a low husky sound, a mocking testament to his disbelief. "Why?" He asked, his voice laced with amusement as if he couldn't fathom why Soo Jin would want to leave him. Her gaze locked onto his and with that, she knew he didn't take her seriously.

Meanwhile, Ji-hoon stepped into his house and spotted his wife on her tablet. Noticing his return, she smiled "where have you been" she asked. Standing up, she hugged him but he didn't reciprocate to which she didn't complain. "Wanna have breakfast?", she inquired, "I already ate, I just came to get ready for work" he said and made to leave but was stopped by her grabbing his coat's sleeve "Ji-hoon" she called out to which he turned around, tilted his head and smiled a little before taking her hand off his and walking away. She angrily threw her tablet, huffing , she followed him into their bedroom which had two separate beds. "Ji-hoon", she held him with both hands " you almost never return home and when you do return, you don't want to even spend a minute with me, what do you want?" She cooed. He slightly pushed her off him and massaged his temple, "don't do this, Hye-Jin, it's too early for this" he said and she grabbed him almost immediately "Ji-hoon, please" she pleaded but soon let go after the look he gave her. He walked to the bathroom and she just stared at his back. "Bastard" she cursed in a low hum.

***********

After being in the beach to her heart's content, Soo Jin walked to her car and made an attempt to drive away but stopped after nearly crashing into an oncoming car. The owner rushed out, "sorry" he said "are you alright?" She gave him a small smile. "How long have you known this place?" She asked after assuring him that she was alright. Seeing that this beach was deserted and not known to many, she was surprised to see him. "I think four years ago" he answered, "oh? I guess other people know about it also" she said and he nodded "do you want to sit?" He offered "no, oh I was just about to leave" she said, "oh, yeah, then-" he was trying to say but she cut him off, "do you want to be a special stranger?" She asked and he raised a brow "sorry?" He asked. "I meant since we aren't going to meet again... except om a day like today, maybe we could tell each other our troubles without disclosing our identities" she explained"that's risky" he reasoned and she just smiled, "do you need an ear?" He glanced at his watch and looked at her to which she slowly nodded masking her feelings."sure" he announced and they made to sit near the water. "I come here from time to time to think" she confessed. "I do the same also" he said to her and she smiled feeling oddly comfortable with him. "I guess you just need to share somethings with a stranger" he added, "a special stranger at that" he chuckled at her remark.

"I'm going through a divorce" she spoke and he nodded in understanding "well...I also have a problem with my relationship...my girlfriend and I broke up after I found out that she was cheating on her husband with me" she looked slightly shocked after what he said. "Oh...I...my husband cheated on me and I did the same yesterday with his friend" she said and he turned his head almost immediately to look at her. "That's... that's really fucked up,... sorry " he commented. The sorry specifically for the bad language he used to which she didn't need him telling her it's use. They sat silently for sometime before he stood up"it's getting late, it's time I leave" she also stood patting her skirt", it was nice meeting you " she smiled and he only hummed at her remark and left.

************

She walked into her home turned house and looked around, it was dead silent. Walking into her room, she showered and got ready for bed, closing her eyes, she saw the stranger and she opened her eyes immediately. "Why have I been thinking of him?" She asked no one in particular and sat up on the bed. 'She hasn't cried after finding out he's been cheating on her, should she?' She thought.

"Soo Jin! Are you okay?" Seok-Jin questioned after stepping into her hospital room, she weakly nodded her head"I'm sorry..." She bit her lips, her eyes glistening and soon she was in tears. "Don't...shhh" he consoled and cleaned her tears. "It wasn't your fault, alright? We can have a baby at anytime" he reasoned and she smiled.

Soon Soo Jin's voice could be heard in her bedroom as she cried sniffling her sobs with her pillow after reminiscing old memories.