[2] The Substitute Wife

CHAPTER 218

Bambam instantly clenched his fists tightly as he watched the tears slide down Lisa Lim's pretty cheeks and crash onto her phone screen. He felt his chest tighten, as if the tears were landing on his heart instead of the screen.

Lisa Lim remained squatting and stared at her phone for a while before another teardrop trickled down, followed by larger teardrops that began to stream down her face as if a dam had broken. He had been with her for 10 years and, although he had seen her cry many times, this was the first time that he saw her cry silently.

An indescribable sense of pain seized Bambam's entire body, making it impossible for him to breathe. He felt as if something was choking him, and he couldn't even muster up the strength to swallow. He wanted to go pull her up from the ground, embrace her in his arms, and wipe away the tears from her face; however, he couldn't move. It was as if both of his feet were nailed to the ground, and he could merely watch her cry.

She cried silently for an exceedingly long time, and her tears showed no signs of stopping. She seemed to become increasingly upset and, as if her emotions had spiraled out of control, she suddenly raised her hand and covered her face. She buried her head in her knees, and her shoulders began to tremble as she sobbed. Now Bambam could hear her fragmented sobs even with the music coming from the bar. She sounded as if she was in complete despair.

Bambam's heart was mercilessly crushed, and his entire body felt heavy. Even his breathing stopped. He was tortured as she cried for a very long time with no sign of stopping. Her sobs even became increasingly loud and, eventually, her entire body was trembling. Her voice by now was hoarse, and at times she would let out an agonized wail, causing the color to drain from Bambam's face.

They remained in this standstill for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, her sobs became softer as she tilted deeper in the corner of the wall. Bambam blinked his eyes lightly to unblur them from their stinging sensation and watched her hugging her shoulders while curled up on the ground. She seemed pitiful and helpless, as if she had lost all hope and direction in life.

Is she really in that much agony over that girl answering Jeon Jungkook's phone?

When Bambam had received Kim Namjoon's text, he had quickly rushed over with the intention of currying favor, but now he had lost some of his courage to do so. He pursed his lower lip slightly and stood rooted to the spot as he watched Lisa Lim. After a while, he gradually retracted his gaze, turned, and left in silence as if he had never been there.

When he returned to the bar, he found Kim Namjoon and troubled him to help get a reliable female staff person. When she appeared, he passed her some money and asked her to take care of Lisa Lim at the restroom entrance.

After exiting the bar, Bambam got into his car. He waited until the woman came out of the bar with Lisa Lim and accompanied her into a taxi, which he tailed from afar. He stopped a short distance from Lisa Lim's apartment and watched the woman take her into the building. Shortly thereafter, Lisa Lim's bedroom lit up.

Bambam continued to wait until the woman came out of Lisa Lim's apartment building and left in the taxi. Only then did he start his car and drive off slowly in the night. While he cruised along the dark streets, an especially strong thunderstorm began, greatly reducing visibility and forcing him to slow down considerably. Twenty minutes later he was still crawling along when suddenly, through the dense streaks of rain on his windshield and fast-moving wipers, he saw the gates of A High School. He slammed on his brakes and steered the car to the curb.

Bambam got out of the car with an umbrella and stepped gingerly through the puddles of water as he walked toward the school gates. Other than the lights at the gates and in the field, it was pitch black everywhere else at the school.