The Breaking Point
For a moment, I doubted my ears. Had those words truly come from my son, or had I misheard them? Seo-jin sat in the living room with the corners of his mouth curled up, sneering at me.
“You… what the hell do you…”
“What? That face says it’s true, huh?”
I stammered in confusion, but my son just let out a snort of laughter.
“What do you mean by that? What about Seo-jin?”
My wife, who was also in the living room, asked the question, but Seo-jin simply lifted his phone and showed us a single photo. The image of a man and woman facing each other in the pouring rain was of Ha-jun and… me from just moments ago.
“Already gone that far? Our dad works fast.”
My son spoke with open mockery, and before I could even respond, my wife spat out her own words.
“Isn’t that the man we saw in front of the hospital?”
Her gaze stabbed straight into me. Her eyes burned with certainty and disgust as she continued.
“Ha! So it started back then? How desperate must that man have been, going after someone with kids…”
“No! Ha-jun isn’t that kind of person—”
I snapped back, but my wife cut me off and kept mocking me.
“What? Ha-jun? Spent one day together and you’re already head over heels?”
“Wow, dad’s skills are fucking insane.”
“Men are all the same even after they turn into women. Fucking disgusting.”
The words from my wife, son, and daughter cut sharper than ever before. The contempt and ridicule they hurled at me squeezed my chest until I could barely breathe, yet I still tried to explain.
“It’s not like that… I just took a job as a housekeeper. I have to work, so…”
My wife sneered and stepped closer, her sharp eyes boring into me.
“Ha, how hilarious. You still have severance pay and compensation money, don’t you?”
“Ah… no, yesterday you clearly said, honey—”
“Now you’re blaming me? Since when did you ever listen so well?”
Did she simply want to insult me? Nothing I said seemed to reach my family at all.
“And what? No support fund? Are you kidding me? Do you think I’m an idiot?”
With that, my wife threw a document in front of me.
Recipient has been approved for monthly support payments. Please check your registered account for deposit details.
“See this? Fuck, I checked the mailbox on my way out today and there it was. How stupid do you think I am to tell a lie that would get caught immediately?”
I had expected it to come out eventually. After all, my wife controlled my bank account; I only ever received allowance money. But when the moment actually arrived, it still stole my breath.
“Why? Nothing to say? You lied about the support fund on purpose so you could go see that man. What’s your excuse?”
She wouldn’t believe a single word I said now. No matter how much I denied it, she would only stab me with even sharper accusations.
“Kikiki, this is straight-up legendary. How does it feel to be a woman, dad?”
“Ah, fuck. Those male bastards all think the same.”
My children’s words carved deep into my heart. A sneer played on Seo-jin’s lips while pure disgust filled Seo-a’s eyes.
At that moment, my breath stopped completely. It was as if I had forgotten how to breathe—air refused to enter my lungs. My heart hammered wildly, threatening to burst. Dizziness washed over me and my vision began to blur.
“Ha… haa…”
I tried to draw in air but could only push it out again. The wet clothes clinging to me grew colder, and my whole body felt like it was freezing. As I leaned against the wall, gasping, the next words my wife spat out struck like a blow.
“What? Are you acting now?”
Hearing that, I collapsed onto the floor. With trembling hands I scratched at the ground, barely managing to open my mouth.
“Stop… fuck, just stop! Please…”
“Wh… what? Did you just swear at me?”
My wife looked startled, but I kept going.
“Fuck… I can swear too. Why the hell are you doing this to me? Am I not family? What’s the reason for treating me like this? You look at me like I’m trash and…”
I began pouring out every word I had kept locked inside my heart until now.
“The support fund? It was going to come anyway. You’re the one who manages my account. And three hundred thousand won? That was my allowance money. Can’t I at least get that much in return?”
Whether rainwater or tears slid down my cheeks no longer mattered. I only wanted them to listen.
“What does family even mean to you? Just treat me like I don’t exist. Please… just stop…”
After I emptied everything, silence fell over the living room for a long moment. Even my wife and children seemed to have lost their voices as they stared at me. I let out a shaky breath and spoke again.
“Ha… haha… What, is it weird that I finally said something? Yeah… I guess I really am pathetic, huh?”
My voice trembled. Laughter and sobs tangled together. I lowered my head, shoulders shaking.
“That’s right. I’m pathetic. But… I didn’t think I was pathetic enough to deserve being ignored and cursed at every single day. At the very least… if we’re family…”
My words cut off there. It felt like something blocked my throat; no more sound would come. In that heavy silence, my wife opened her mouth.
I held the faintest hope that she might apologize. That fragile hope shattered instantly.
“What… now you’re playing the pitiful victim, filming your own drama?”
At her words, the children chimed in as if on cue.
“Stop whining already. So fucking annoying…”
“Wow, the sugar baby finally exploded.”
Those words killed any remaining hope I had.
“…I’m leaving.”
The sound that slipped from my lips was tiny. It didn’t matter whether they heard it or not. I simply had no strength left to stay in that house. I just wanted to run.
I forced my trembling legs to stand and headed for the door. Sounds came from behind me, but I decided not to care anymore.
“Haa…”
The cold air brushed my face, and only then could I truly breathe. The breath I couldn’t manage inside the house somehow came easier the moment I stepped outside. The absurdity of it almost made me laugh.
“Haa… heup…”
Sobs or sighs kept escaping, but no one came after me. The rain that had been falling grew heavier, as if mirroring the storm inside me.
If I stay like this, maybe I really will die…
With that thought circling my mind, I wandered through the downpour. I had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. My phone screen showed no calls, no messages from my family.
Then headlights appeared behind me. I turned, hoping against hope, but it was only the security guard and a police officer.
“Excuse me! What are you doing over there?”
The two figures in rain gear approached me cautiously. Once the officer realized I was a woman, his guarded expression softened slightly.
“Is everything all right, miss?”
“…It’s nothing.”
My voice shook so badly I could barely speak. The officer noticed and stepped closer. Wet hair, trembling body, standing in the rain without an umbrella.
He studied me for a moment, then asked again with a serious face.
“Are you truly okay?… Your condition right now…”
I shook my head, but he clearly wasn’t willing to leave me like this. He spoke gently.
“Let’s get out of the rain and go to the substation first. Staying out here like this could be dangerous.”
His eyes showed he had no intention of abandoning me, so I finally nodded. When he saw my response, he opened the umbrella in his hand and held it over me.
“Take this.”
The cold rain no longer fell on my head. Only then did I realize the drops running down my face were tears, not rainwater. The officer looked at me carefully and said,
“Let’s go. It’s really not safe to stay out here any longer.”
At the kindness in his voice, I took a step forward, and the harsh sound of the rain seemed to fade just a little.
When we entered the substation, warm air greeted me along with countless stares. Officers who had been sorting papers lifted their heads one by one. The previously noisy room fell silent.
“Please sit here.”
The officer who had brought me pulled out a chair. I nodded weakly and sat down, trying to steady my breathing.
My body shook violently as the moisture began to dry. My fingertips felt like ice. A short while later, the officer returned with a towel and a cup of warm water, setting them in front of me.
“Drink this and try to calm down.”
I tried to hold the paper cup, but my hands had no strength. It slipped from my grasp and spilled across my thigh. I felt nothing.
As I stared blankly at the fallen cup, the officer quickly stood up.
“Are you all right?”
He dampened a fresh towel and wiped my leg, but I could only move my lips without producing any sound. Then the female officer who had been standing nearby came over and gently took my hand.
“Did something happen at home?”
I flinched and shook my head. Seeing this, she simply held my hand and waited patiently. Perhaps it was that patience.
“…It’s just… too hard.”
The whisper that finally escaped was so small and trembling it was barely audible. Yet the entire substation seemed to freeze at the sound. Soon the female officer asked softly,
“Is there… any violence involved?”
I shook my head again. The contempt and disregard I had endured were worse than violence could ever be. My face, exhausted from bearing it all, already told the whole story.
“…I understand.”
The officers asked no more questions. Instead, without releasing my hand, one of them signaled for a blanket. The moment the warm fabric settled over me, feeling finally returned to my body and the trembling began to ease.
“Is there anyone besides your family that you can trust?”
Was family no longer someone I could trust? The words wouldn’t come. Just days ago there had been someone, yet now I couldn’t think of anyone who would believe the current me. I would be lucky if they didn’t treat me like a crazy woman.
In the end, only one name came to mind.
Ha-jun.
I had thought of him the entire time since leaving the house but had tried to push the thought away. Relying on someone I had only known for two days felt like an imposition. Yet right now, no other person existed in my mind. I nodded, picked up my soaked phone, and dialed.
"Seoyeon-ssi?"
The voice that answered after a few rings was exactly the same as the one I had heard an hour earlier. The memory of his words—“If something happens, don’t try to carry it alone”—rose in my mind.
“Heup… heu-euk…”
I could no longer hold back the sobs. They tore out of me completely.