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When Sena opened her eyes after a night of passion, the afternoon sunlight was streaming hotly through the window.
Seeing Joo-Hyuk asleep beside her, Sena felt a wave of relief wash over her. She was so glad it wasn’t all a dream. The worry that she might wake up and find it had all been a dream vanished completely.
“It’s a relief.”
She rested her ear against his chest and whispered softly.
“What is?”
His voice, still groggy with sleep, came from above her head. Then the arm that had been loosely holding her tightened with force.
“It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”
“Don’t even think about leaving.”
“I won’t.”
“We’ll solve this together. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
With her heart full of happiness, Sena nodded.
Running away again was out of the question. It was time to face things together with Joo-Hyuk, just as he had said.
Above all, it was time to confront the deep wounds of her past.
It was time to tell Joo-Hyuk what she had never shared with anyone—except for her former counselor and her current therapist, Seol-Young.
Sitting across from each other at the table by the bright, sunlit window, Sena slowly began recounting the story from long ago to Joo-Hyuk.
She told him how her father had betrayed her and her mother, and how she had discovered her mother’s lifeless body. She recounted the day she was forced to return to her father’s house and the day she finally ran away from it.
The memories were so vivid, it felt as if she could reach out and grasp them like a reel of film.
“So… you left immediately when Kang-un Han said something to you?”
“I’m sorry.”
She didn’t shed any tears.
There was no way she could ever fully repay her guilt toward Joo-Hyuk. But the past she had just confessed to him was her trauma, the darkest and most terrifying period of her life, and the very thing that shaped who she was today.
Though it was a story that warranted tears, she didn’t feel like crying, nor did she think an apology accompanied by tears would be appropriate.
“It might sound like an excuse, but I had to protect myself.”
Or perhaps crying would have been the right thing to do.
Because at her words, Joo-Hyuk’s face twisted in pain for a brief moment.
Of course, it was impossible for someone who hadn’t experienced it firsthand to truly understand.
Even though she knew that, Sena couldn’t help but feel disappointed, biting down on her lip.
She shouldn’t blame Joo-Hyuk. It was only natural that he wouldn’t understand. Expecting him to understand was wrong in itself.
“I’m sorry. Of course, you can’t possibly understa—”
“You really don’t trust me, do you?”
Sena, who had been lowering her head to continue speaking, snapped her head up at the interruption in Joo-Hyuk’s voice.
What she had mistaken for anger or resentment was instead filled with anguish.
“Joo-Hyuk…”
“I was already angry just knowing that such a thing had happened to you.”
He spoke each word deliberately, as if trying to suppress the boiling rage inside him.
“But what makes me angrier is that you think I could never possibly understand your situation.”
“…It’s only natural. How can someone who hasn’t gone through it possibly understand my feelings one hundred percent?”
Even as she understood the meaning behind his words, even as they brought her comfort and solace, tears welled up in her eyes—but she stubbornly pushed back against him, her voice trembling.
“Do you have to understand one hundred percent to empathize? Is that how people are?”
“Regardless, can you understand why I left you because of that?”
“Absolutely not.”
“There, you see.”
You’ll never understand.
Sena wiped away the tears that had trickled down her cheek with the back of her hand.
“I was really scared. I thought that if I stayed by your side, what happened twelve years ago might repeat itself. I thought maybe this time I’d really lose myself, so I felt like I had no other choice.”
“Why didn’t you?!”
Joo-Hyuk shouted. His eyes were brimming with sorrowful anger.
“You should’ve told me! Even then, you should’ve opened up to me and asked for help!”
With the correct answer laid bare before her, Sena had nothing to say. She had realized the truth of Joo-Hyuk’s words the moment she left the house.
Instead of hurting him, she should have confided in him and worked through it together. That’s what couples do. That’s what people in love do. Especially since she shouldn’t have become a burden to him when he was already going through a tough time.
“I’m sorry…”
“…”
“I’m really sorry.”
It was only natural for Joo-Hyuk to be angry.
“Why did you carry all of that alone?”
By now, his voice had softened considerably.
Sena wiped her tears and looked at him.
“What if I hadn’t carried it alone?”
“You should’ve talked to your father, or at least your aunt. Things might’ve turned out better.”
“Do you really think so?”
Sena shook her head slightly.
“My father would never have taken my side. He definitely would’ve hurt me with harsh words. And I didn’t want to tell my aunt. After all, I wasn’t actually victimized—I just almost was. My aunt thought it was due to my father’s abuse, and she left me alone.”
“That’s incredibly foolish of you. Is that why you developed depression?”
“Depression, panic disorder—it’s all part of the trauma. But thanks to therapy, I’ve gotten much better. It even helped me decide on my career path.”
Joo-Hyuk nodded deeply, as if he now fully understood why Sena had become a counselor.
“Make me a promise.”
After sitting silently lost in thought for a while, he finally spoke.
“What kind of promise?”
“I promise I’ll never run away again.”
“…I won’t run away.”
I won’t run anymore.
From the moment Joo-Hyuk found her, Sena had already made that decision.
“Promise to always be honest with me about anything.”
“Yes.”
“Trust me.”
“I trust you.”
“That’s all I needed to hear.”
But for Sena, that wasn’t enough.
“I’ve realized something because of this situation. I’m going to tell my aunt and father about what happened that day.”
Joo-Hyuk’s eyebrows furrowed in surprise at her resolve.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“It feels like it’s time to open up to my family.”
“You’ve kept this secret hidden for so long. Why bring it up now? It could end up hurting you even more.”
“Remember when you said that Gang Ji-Chul blackmailed me into marrying you because of what happened in the past? What if he tries to use someone else—my aunt’s family or people from the center—to threaten me again? He might even come after me again.”
“If he dares try anything again, he’d better be ready to face death.”
“I’m just so frustrated. My father blames me and my mother for everything without even knowing why I left home.”
She resented him.
How could he do this to us? After abandoning Mom and me, he didn’t stop there—he brought another woman and even a half-brother into the house.
“Why should I keep carrying around this resentment?”
Sena gave a bitter smile.
“I don’t want to keep suppressing it, hiding it, or running away anymore.”
“Alright. Do what you feel is right.”
“But there’s one thing I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
Joo-Hyuk narrowed his eyes, suspicion creeping into his gaze as he looked at her.
Sena sat back down, straightened her shoulders, and faced him head-on.
It was time to hear his story.
---
“This can’t be real…”
As Sena stared at him in utter shock, Joo-Hyuk couldn’t help but smile faintly.
Why was she so surprised after asking him directly?
In truth, compared to the secret she had shared, his past wasn’t even worth calling a “past.” It was just the kind of story that could be summed up with the phrase “unfortunate family circumstances.”
“So… you married me on the condition that your mother’s resting place would be moved to the family burial ground?”
“Yes.”
“And did you move it?”
“No, not yet.”
“Why not? Is it because of KMS?”
“Something like that.”
If things hadn’t gotten so tangled, maybe it would’ve been moved by now.
But perhaps due to his vague response, Sena jumped to a different conclusion.
“Is it because of me? Because I disappeared?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Did everything get canceled because I asked for a divorce?”
“Hah—no, that’s not it at all.”
Joo-Hyuk chuckled softly and flicked her forehead with his finger.
“Of course, while I was seeking your father’s help to find you, I thought about it too.”
“What did you think about?”
“My father has this habit of assigning people to keep an eye on me. I figured that the moment you left this house, he’d know exactly where you were and what you were doing. So I went to see him, and sure enough, he knew.”
“And then?”
“I thought if I met his conditions, he might tell me where you were.”
Sena covered her gaping mouth with both hands, unable to believe what she was hearing.
“Don’t tell me he refused to let you move her! Don’t tell me you gave up!”
Before Joo-Hyuk could respond, Sena bombarded him with questions.
“Would it really matter if I didn’t?”
Curious about her reaction, Joo-Hyuk teased her with a lie.
“Why not?!”
She practically screamed.
“How could you say that?! How could you?!”
“To be honest, wanting to move my mother’s resting place to the family burial ground was my own selfish desire. I doubted whether she’d truly be happy being buried among the Choi family, who never even acknowledged her.”
Joo-Hyuk stood up and pulled the trembling Sena into a tight embrace.
“It’s alright.”
“How is it alright? You spent your whole life fighting and suffering to achieve this. And you even entered into a marriage you didn’t want for it…”
“In the end, through this marriage, I gained so much.”
Kang Sena—the woman he loved for a lifetime, and a happiness he had never experienced before.
“Joo-Hyuk…”
“Don’t make that face. Thanks to you, I’ve truly found a new version of myself.”
Thud.
A heavy weight settled in Joo-Hyuk’s chest.
“And, sorry, but I didn’t trade places.”
“What?”
Sena’s head shot up.
“I didn’t exchange your resting place for my mother’s. I just teased you because you jumped to conclusions.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“I knew you’d react exactly like this—with lightning-fast anger—so I didn’t do it.”
“I’m not mad at you; I’m mad at myself. Because of me, you had to give up something you’d worked your whole life for.”
“Exactly. That’s why I didn’t do it.”
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