Chapter 149
The black sedan entered the garage with its characteristic slow, elegant grace. Si-heon, returning from Jungshimwon, maintained his usual demeanor—calculating, composed, with movements devoid of excess and a face that betrayed no emotion.
After parking, he entered through the front door, where motion sensors illuminated his arrival. He stood motionless beneath the light for several seconds before stepping inside.
The vacant entryway.
The empty living room.
The silent dining room.
The staircase ascending to the second floor, resembling a lifeless cave.
Layers of silence had settled like dust throughout the darkness-shrouded spaces. The entire house resembled an immaculately maintained ruin.
‘Was this… always the view she saw?’
What thoughts had crossed her mind when she returned home from work to this desolate space?
Then understanding struck him. Until his marriage to Ga-eun, this hollow silence and darkness had been his sole companions. The stillness had only begun to feel foreign because of his wife’s presence.
“Welcome home.”
“You worked hard today.”
“Have you eaten?”
At some point, the stark darkness had been replaced by gentle light as his welcome home—her warm, gentle gaze, her voice, her subtle fragrance.
When did it become familiar?
When exactly… had Ga-eun begun to permeate his life?
No, that wasn’t right.
It wasn’t that Ga-eun had permeated his life—he had seeped into hers.
Gradually, imperceptibly.
Like a drizzle transforming into a downpour without notice.
He felt his heart crumbling within his chest.
“…….”
Upon turning away from the silence, Si-heon entered the bedroom and proceeded directly to the dressing room. He gazed at his wife’s meticulously hung clothes before taking the nearest garment and bringing it to his nose. He inhaled deeply.
It carried a pleasant fragrance, but that was all. It lacked that distinctive, warm essence that emanated from Ga-eun herself. Moving to the vanity, he sprayed her perfume on the clothing. Yet no matter how many times he applied it, he couldn’t recreate Ga-eun’s unique scent.
“Once I achieve what I want from this marriage, we can divorce whenever you wish, Ga-eun.”
His mind and vision had been solely focused on the immediate tasks and the group’s future. He could state with certainty that he had never indulged in such fanciful thoughts before—thoughts of turning back time, of taking back the words he had spoken to her before their marriage. If only he could, he would give anything he possessed.
But his regrets didn’t end there.
“I like you because we’re physically compatible, and secondly, because you know your place.”
Si-heon’s brow furrowed.
“Don’t overstep your bounds, Ga-eun.”
“…I’ll remember that.”
As he recalled her profile when she lowered her head in resignation, he pressed his palm against his chest, his face contorted in pain.
“I’m sorry for overstepping my bounds.”
Each time he remembered her words, his heart was seized by excruciating pain, as if being torn apart. He felt certain he would suffocate if he remained here any longer.
Si-heon headed to the second floor after leaving the bedroom, drawn to where Ga-eun’s essence and traces might linger more strongly. Yet with each step up the stairs, memories of his cutting words to her constricted his breathing.
“Don’t be cheap.”
“If you don’t want to hear comments about your background, then conduct yourself properly.”
“Don’t make things difficult. Don’t waste time by creating an awkward atmosphere over such trivial matters.”
How had Ga-eun responded to his cruel, slashing words?
“I’ll remember that.”
He wanted desperately to halt the flood of memories breaking through, but found himself powerless to do so.
“Well done. Making a fool of your husband.”
“…I’m sorry.”
The memory that seized his ankles as he reached her study door was particularly crushing:
“Then repay me. With your body.”
“Mr. Kwon Si-heon.”
“Do it properly. This is your only purpose by my side.”
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