The Unforgivable Truth
Yoo Kang-soo let out a deep sigh once more, then spoke in a quiet voice.
"Hey... pack your things quietly and get out... I just can't live with you in the same house anymore. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have cared... But seeing you and that bastard fucking naked like that... Even if I die, I can't sleep under the same blanket as you. Let's just leave quietly... Divorce or whatever... that's a different issue... For now... pack your things and get out of the house right away..."
"I... I can't do that. I've been through a lot too. Living with you has been really tough. If I had to cut ties with that man, you would have had to know... I'll accept it that way... If you forgive me just this once... From now on... the rest of my life... I'll live looking only at you. Please... forgive me."
Ji Hye-in grabbed her husband's arm as she spoke.
They had known each other for twenty years—one year of dating and nineteen years of marriage. She had been a good wife, a good mother. There was nothing to say about her being a good mother. She had never raised her voice at her husband. After marriage, when her mother-in-law suddenly fell ill before she turned thirty, she had cared for her for years and even nursed her through her final days. Kang-soo could never forget the good daughter-in-law she had been until the end.
Before his mother passed away, she had held his hand tighter than his own and thanked him... He still couldn't forget that.
"Please... just this once... forgive me... You don't know how hard it was for me to take care of her... Don't forget that. I... I was really struggling back then. I couldn't even repay my parents for what they did... Please don't just see my mistakes... For your mother... for you... and for Pil-jun... I really gave my all... So please... just forgive me..."
Yoo Kang-soo had no response to that, at least not on that point. It was a fact.
"Hye-in... Now, how am I supposed to live from here on... I saw you with that bastard..."
"What are you talking about... What did I do... You're just imagining things. That man was just talking in despair... You think I'm going to do that?"
Ji Hye-in's eyes welled up with tears as she spoke.
Yoo Kang-soo took out his phone and played the video sent by Yeom Seong-bong right in front of his wife's face.
Her face turned deathly pale.
"M... mad... How... how could this..."
She trembled as she spoke.
"You called me a whore... You said you fucked your own whore for two years... You told me that. You said your business is ruined and your divorce too... You said you have nothing left to lose."
".........."
Ji Hye-in bowed her head, unable to say a word.
"I... I don't know what to do either."
Yoo Kang-soo sighed deeply, but Ji Hye-in shook her head and raised it again.
"What don't I know... I'm your wife... I'm Pil-jun's mother. Pil-jun is in his second year of high school. Next year, he'll be in his third. Even thinking of Pil-jun... forgive me just this once. If you want to punish me for my sins... after Pil-jun goes to university... shouldn't you punish me then?"
Yoo Kang-soo just let out a deep sigh in response to his wife's words.
In fact, divorce wasn't easy. His son Pil-jun would be a high school exam student next year, and he himself was constantly traveling to the provinces for insurance investigation work and staying away from home. It was impossible to properly care for his son while doing that job. Moreover, he still loved his wife. She was a good woman... a good wife. That couldn't be denied... it was a fact.
"Even if I file a lawsuit for adultery... That bastard... I want to kill him... If not for Pil-jun... I'd just do it... But I can't."
Ji Hye-in replied in a quiet voice.
"You know I'm angry and wronged... That man has no money now... He's just living in despair. If it goes too far... he'll contact you directly. Just don't deal with him. The one who loses nothing is the scariest, they say. What if he does something to harm you. Just don't deal with him... He kept threatening me too... Telling my husband... Until it reached here."
The next day, in a calmer situation, Ji Hye-in talked with her husband Yoo Kang-soo while their son Pil-jun was at the academy.
"Those kinds of guys... I'll handle them well... Don't worry... Those kinds of guys need to be tied up by law... Let's file an adultery lawsuit... And Hye-in... Don't misunderstand... I haven't forgiven you. For now, because of Pil-jun... I'll put off how to handle the relationship with you. Don't talk like we're one side..."
"Yeobo... Actually, I knew. If you sue that man... The man who divorced... his wife will sue me too. Since only one year has passed since their divorce... it could happen. When that man... when he divorced his wife... he gave away property and custody... To prevent me from suing... He gave up a lot..."
Yoo Kang-soo laughed at the absurdity of his wife's words.
"You guys... got divorced because of that relationship? I don't understand at all. What kind of relationship was it?"
"It was just a mistake... a relationship that shouldn't have happened."
"No, that's not it. From what you say... That man protected you even after divorcing his wife... He protected you till the end. Isn't that right?"
"Well... but..."
Yoo Kang-soo thought her words were not entirely wrong. That man Yeom Seong-bong had already divorced his wife, but only one year had passed, and the reason for the divorce was adultery between the two. So, there was a high possibility of a counter-lawsuit.
Yoo Kang-soo, who had felt a strong disgust from his insurance fraud investigations, knew that in this world, money came before justice or loyalty. Money before brothers, friends, everything. Even parents and children fought over money. Kang-soo was stuck between not being able to do one or the other.
"Excuse me... can I talk to you for a moment?"
Yoo Kang-soo blocked Jeong Jeong-hee, who was heading home after work at the mart.
"Who are you?"
Yoo Kang-soo handed over his business card and spoke.
"Yeom Seong-bong... your ex-husband, right? Do you know a woman named Ji Hye-in?"
The woman's face showed momentary surprise.
Yoo Kang-soo continued without hesitation.
"Ji Hye-in is my wife. I won't take much of your time. 30 minutes... is that okay?"
"Ah... no... I have to prepare dinner for the kids when I get home. I'm here... I'll prepare dinner for the kids and come out for a bit. Can you come to my house later?"
"Okay. Thank you very much."
"Showing up unannounced is really sorry. I have something I want to ask..."
Jeong Jeong-hee smiled. Not a bright smile, but a rotten one. A smile that couldn't be understood. An expression as if she had been holding back a lot.
With that rotten smile, she spoke in a voice that seemed to be suppressing anger. But the voice was shaking a lot.
"Amazing, huh... I got divorced a year ago... And you still haven't been caught... Your husband... found out about it now?"
Yoo Kang-soo's heart felt like it was being stabbed.