Attempting an Affair More Seriously Than I Thought
I think back to the argument my wife, Jung Eun-ho, and I had this morning.
"Then I'll just get pregnant with another man's child."
"You can apply at a sperm bank and pick out good sperm from a suitable donor."
"...What I'm saying is, I don't necessarily need you to get pregnant."
It isn't the first time I've heard those words.
Scientifically, technologically, and legally, a woman can get pregnant on her own. Eun-ho has always been a freelance documentary director who actively participates in expanding women's rights regarding pregnancy and childbirth. Beyond cases like celebrity Sayuri, there have been plenty of women she's interviewed who pursued solo pregnancies. She would know exactly which OB-GYN clinics and specialists could perform the procedure.
My wife is an extremely methodical and meticulous person. There's no way her statement this morning was impulsive. I should have realized that this fool had already prepared to put her plan into action. She might have already contacted a sperm bank, selected a donor, and arranged everything with a hospital...
But then...
"I'm meeting a man today."
What does this text mean? Not "sperm," but "a man"? Does she intend to meet the man who would provide the sperm? To check what the real person looks like? Why meet the man at all? Surely she isn't planning to receive the sperm directly from him?
- What man? Why are you meeting him? I told you we'd talk when I get back. Eun-ho, please calm down. Let's discuss this properly.
I send the message in a panic. These days, Wi-Fi works on planes, so texting is possible. Passengers have to pay, but flight attendants can use their phones freely as long as it doesn't interfere with their duties. I want to call her, but talking on the phone while working is out of the question.
...The "1" disappears. The phone vibrates repeatedly.
Eun-ho is replying with clear intent.
"Final position." My wife and I have our own rules to minimize conflict and communicate rationally. When someone says "final position," it means an uncompromisable bottom line. Trying to change it means divorce. It's the end. That's why it's a decisive phrase we never utter lightly.
Eun-ho has said she wants a child many times, but this is the first time she's pulled out the "final position" card. Since we established this rule, neither of us has used it even once in our three years of marriage. This is truly a serious marital crisis.
My fingers move faster on their own.
- I understand what you're saying. I'll respect it for now. But I'm working right now. We'll be apart for two weeks. Bringing this up in this situation is cowardly.
The phone vibrates again.
- It's precisely because of this situation that I can say it... Please understand my feelings, Sung-won.
The phone vibrates twice more.
- What do you even want me to understand????
- No matter how much we keep talking, our positions won't align. I thought this was the only time I could move forward without your interference.
I try to type a reply, but my hands freeze at the next message that arrives first.
- I'm going to sleep with the man I'm meeting today.
- I went to the hospital. Starting today, it's my fertile week for one week.
- I'm sorry, honey...
- I love you. Really...
My head feels so hot I think I'm going to lose my mind. But my hands mechanically hand out wet towels to the passengers. This is my workplace. I am a flight attendant. A butler in the sky. I have to perform my assigned duties. No matter the situation...
"Would you like the chicken or the bibimbap?"
Eun-ho, this isn't right. Pregnancy isn't like choosing between chicken and bibimbap. How could you do something like this while I'm away?
"What would you like to drink? We have carbonated beverages, juice, and beer..."
Even the passengers get to choose between carbonated drinks, juice, or beer! I should get a choice too! What kind of tyranny is this? Where did all our rational conversations and equal marriage go? I can't believe it. We're flying through the sky, yet my heart feels like it's plunging endlessly downward...
"Senior!"
"Hurk?! S-Seo-hye...!"
The dazzling blonde beauty shakes my shoulder, snapping me out of the dizzying freefall. Min Seo-hye, the official "Sky Toilet" of Hankook Air and my self-proclaimed office wife, looks at me with a serious expression.
"Senior, you were completely out of your mind, you know?!"
"D-Did I seem that out of it...?"
Seo-hye speaks in a low but forceful voice. "Totally! The passengers asked for food and you didn't answer! I had to serve everyone from the middle onward!"
Oh no. I'm completely unqualified to be team leader right now.
"Senior, tell me what happened...!"
"W-What happened is..."
Seo-hye genuinely looks worried. The other flight attendants glance at me with expressions that are half concern, half contempt. This is the busiest time during the flight—serving meals—and all eyes are on me for failing to do my part.
"Seo-hye, just a moment, over there..."
We slip into the cleverly concealed cargo compartment in the middle of the cabin. There are bathrooms on the left and right walls, but in the center is a secret space only crew members can access. It's used to store our belongings and, during night flights, serves as a rest area where a team leader like me can stretch out and relax when there's a break.
In that dark space, only Min Seo-hye and I exist.
"Senior, what's up with you...!"
The mixed-race beauty who genuinely cares about me presses her D-cup breasts against me without hesitation. It must be because the space is so narrow... But what fills my nose isn't just perfume. It's Min Seo-hye's pheromones—the very essence of a female.
In that moment, I realize with painful clarity that I've never been this close to her, alone in such a confined space. This is moving way too fast.
"S-Seo-hye. I'm sorry for acting so unprofessional as team leader. Actually... my wife..."
"...your wife?"
In the darkness, Seo-hye's large, cat-like eyes widen, filled with equal parts worry and curiosity.
"Senior... tell me everything."
"E-Everything...?"
...No, in an instant... curiosity seems to have taken the upper hand.
"My gosh..."
I end up showing her everything—from my morning conversation with Eun-ho to the KakaoTalk messages. Even with our deep trust, sharing marital conversations like this is a first. That's how shaken I am. Or maybe I've gone crazy from Seo-hye's pheromones. What an idiot I am...
"Suddenly like this... completely unreasonable, saying she'll get pregnant with another man's child... It seems like she's made up her mind. She must have... made a plan."
"Hmmm... Senior, first calm down."
Seo-hye reassures me in an unexpectedly serious and calm voice. Her take is this: from a third party's perspective, my wife is saying and doing things that are completely incomprehensible.
"Senior's wife, she can't be serious. This is her trying to do that thing to you."
"That thing?"
"I mean provoke... It's a provocation... provocation! She's provoking you, senior!"
"A provocation, you mean..."
"That's what I mean! Provocation!"
Seeing her golden smile as she claps her hands, my real-world worries feel lighter, as if by magic.
Yeah... Eun-ho is a rational woman. Above all, we truly love each other. No matter how firm her personality is, it's hard to believe she'd do something so terrible as to destroy our marriage. That must be the source of the unease I've been feeling. I let out a deep sigh of relief.
Thud!
Suddenly, the plane lurches violently, perhaps from a change in air currents!
"Ah, senior, be careful..."
"Whoa..."
As I try to avoid Seo-hye's hand reaching out to steady me, I end up burying my face in her chest.
"S-Sorry, Seo-hye! Mmph?!"
I try to pull my head away quickly, but it's impossible. Seo-hye's arms are firmly gripping my head and won't let go...
"It's alright, senior... just relax..."
"T-This is inappropriate, Seo-hye. We're coworkers..."
Instead of releasing me, Seo-hye's arms tighten even more...
"I know... you are my senior..."
In return, my face sinks deeper into her ample cleavage, growing more intoxicated by her increasingly strong scent...
"...and I'm your Serena."
At her sweet whisper, I give up resisting. In the dark cabin, held in Seo-hye's arms... for that moment, I forget about my wife.