What Kind of Bitch Is She...?
"I've waited long enough... so now, it's my turn, right?"
The words that woman said keep replaying in his mind. "Once I get my hands on you, I don't intend to let go." It was a little chilling. "See you tomorrow, Executive Director." He really didn't want to see her again.
As he sits in the car, he keeps touching his lips. The driver glances at him through the rearview mirror and asks if he'd like a new lip balm, but he waves it off with a shake of his head. He keeps thinking about that woman. He doesn't want to, but it’s a strange feeling. 'Eunbyul...' She was a strange woman. A peculiar sensation. He had sensed danger from the moment the drinking party started, a feeling that something was bound to go wrong. Fortunately, it seemed to have passed without incident, but she had caused a scene right at the very end. Thank goodness it hadn't happened in front of everyone.
But what was scary was that, at the moment she tried to kiss him, she had clearly looked sane in his eyes. Not drunk, not a hint of regret, not a single tremor of hesitation. 'She’s a strange person...' Even so, as he headed home, he found it better to think about what happened at the party and what she had said, rather than thinking about Seo Jia, that woman.
'If it were me, I wouldn't take my husband's money.' That was meant for him to hear. She must have just guessed. 'It's money your husband earned working hard.' That was a bit pleasant to hear. He couldn't help it. Seo Jia had never shown the slightest interest in what he did while he worked, how hard he worked, or what kind of results he achieved. In every situation, the only thing he could remember about the things she said was that they were "childish."
'I'll earn enough so that I won't have to take that money.' That was a pretty cool thing to say. Honestly, at first, that was one of the reasons he had fallen for Seo Jia. He preferred a woman who was frugal and had a strong will to live over one who would squander his money just because he was rich, and that was Seo Jia. But at some point, something went wrong, and when he repeatedly told her to quit that job, she wouldn't listen.
'It feels like I'll be tied down.' That was a dagger to his heart. Honestly, it was true. He didn't know how she knew. He figured she must have guessed that, too. What was even stranger was how she changed during the drinking party. He knew from Jeongwon that she had never been with a man, but aside from that, she was extremely...
'...stimulating. Strangely. In a different way.'
She gave him a subtle, different kind of stimulation than his ex-wife. The refreshing scent of apple spreading, the way she didn't blush too much but looked slightly shy. It was a different kind of shyness than the Seo Jia he had seen at the hotel. Nevertheless, it was true that he felt a strange sensation seeing her kiss him with that look in her eyes, determined to get what she wanted.
He unconsciously touches his lips again. He thinks they were quite soft. Just like that, he arrives home.
"Thank you for your hard work. Isn't this your first company dinner?"
"Yes, that's right."
"You must be tired from working so late."
"Others do this every other day, so I should be the one more grateful."
The driver, dressed in a neat suit, bows deeply, watches him enter the apartment lobby, and only then drives off to leave the complex. He takes the elevator up, and before opening the front door, he hesitates for a moment and checks his phone. He finally sees a KakaoTalk message from the person he had renamed 'Seo Jia'.
After seeing it, he opens the front door and enters; the lights in the house were still on. It seemed she hadn't gone to sleep yet. He drags his tired body inside, leaves his briefcase next to the sofa, and walks in. Seeing her come out of the boiler room, it looked like she had been doing laundry.
"Oh, you're home."
"Yeah. You haven't slept."
"Give me your clothes. I'll..."
He was about to say it was fine, but feeling tired, he took off his outer coat and handed it to her. She quickly draped it over her arm, carefully went into the master bedroom, took all his other clothes, and then hesitated for a moment before putting them in the dresser. For a split second, she wore a cold expression, but he didn't care.
"Go finish what you were doing and get to sleep early. I'm going to wash up and go to bed."
"..."
"Why?"
"Oh, no. Good... night."
She had said she would sleep, but she was worried and kept looking at the front door. Wondering when he would come in. She seemed to check the KakaoTalk chat room every minute. She waited to see when the '1' would disappear, but after about three hours, she finally gave up. It seemed he wouldn't look at it at all. It was 11:00 PM, and seeing there was no reply, tears welled up in her eyes, thinking he was having a good time without a thought for her.
'Still, still...' If he had a company dinner, he would drink, and if he drank, he would change like he used to. For that, she had chosen pretty underwear and washed her body. What if he grabbed her hair the moment he opened the door, threw her into the master bedroom, and ravaged her like a dog? She would die of happiness. She tried hard to control her heart so as not to show it.
'He's a person who comes home, so if I just don't make him drink so much...' Very occasionally, when he said he was eating dinner out, he would arrive home before 8:00 PM at the latest. With a beer or two. She remembers the past again.
"...Drinking again, I'm really sick of it..."
"S-sorry..."
He had come in with flushed cheeks and approached her with a bright smile as soon as he saw her, but she winced, as if touching something dirty, and told him to go away.
"What am I supposed to do when you come home this drunk? Did you think I'd like it?"
"...No, it's just, for the first time in a while... my friend asked to meet after three months..."
"I guess your friend is more important."
"That's not it, I'll be more restrained from now on..."
"Always 'restrained,' 'from now on,' 'cut back'—you haven't kept a single promise."
She grips the dining chair tightly, her heart aching, and takes a deep breath. As soon as she remembered what she had said in the past, her breath became stifled and stress piled up. She had said things like that periodically—no, whenever he drank, she treated him like an alcoholic. Just as he said, it was a rare occurrence, maybe once a quarter. Waiting for him to drink and ravage her now was enough to make her feel pathetic.
'11:30...' Still, there was no sign of him coming in. She thought he might be past midnight. She kept doing other housework to fight off the sleepiness. Don't fall asleep before he comes. Let's greet him after he arrives, then sleep. That was all she could think about. Then, hearing the sound of the front door opening, she hid her joy at the fact that he had at least come home, and slowly came out of the boiler room to greet him.
"Give me your clothes. I'll..."
Right. He hates it. Thinking that, he looked at her for a moment before taking off his coat and giving it to her. She was dazed for a moment, then surprised, and hurriedly took it. Then, just as she was about to take his dress shirt and pants to tidy them up.
"..."
"Why?"
"Oh, no. Good... night."
She slowly enters the study and listens to the sound of him washing. She had received his clothes, and everything was fine, but she wondered what the problem was. With a serious expression, she hugs her knees tightly and falls into thought. From the clothes she received, his perfume, a slight scent of cigarettes, the smell of meat. And at the very end, the scent of another woman.
"...The smell of apples..."
She slowly lifts her bowed head. She thinks back to the past for a moment. Even though she has become a being lower than a concubine, she thinks she hasn't lost her intuition. And then the thought occurs, '...Why, a scent that wasn't there before...' And she dwells on the KakaoTalk message he sent.
- Personnel transfer.
Following that, her brain begins to spin rapidly. Personnel transfer, a company dinner he didn't usually have. Who came in the personnel transfer? There was no contact all day today. No, in fact, there was never any contact, but today the feeling was just stranger. And he drank, and stayed for quite a long time... staying for a long time must mean he had fun. He isn't the type to stay long in a place that is useless, annoying, and stressful. That's right. I know better than anyone. A person named Han Suhyun. We were together for so long. I can know what he's doing even with my eyes closed. Leaving aside the fact that it's strange that a woman who knows him so well ended up divorced.
'This time, I didn't even go... He's not even a person who likes alcohol...'
And the apple scent. She had never seen a man use apple-scented perfume. Or maybe there is one? She doesn't know. But he wouldn't use it on purpose. And if a man used it, is it strong enough to soak into his clothes? Anyone would think they had a passionate hug. A hug, he hugged someone...? Someone who smells like apples? Who?
'...Did he hold a woman...?'
She thought about going to check his neck or his dress shirt, but entering the master bedroom was an action she couldn't take other than to receive his clothes. She had heard of people looking for things like hickeys on the neck or lipstick marks on a dress shirt. 'I was too hasty... But still, even so... definitely...'
With that, she slowly lay down on the carpet. After covering herself with a very thin blanket, she lay down using the floor as a pillow. The fact that her head felt the hardness of the floor didn't matter. The only thought in her head after repeating her worries was just one.
"What kind of slut is she...?"
It seems her ex-husband has a lover.