Wither & Bloom

Prologue

Seoul, 2023

"Are you at the office?" Suzy asked on the phone, her voice filled with concern.

"I am still working. Why?" Joohyuk replied, his tone tired. He is slightly startled with the sudden phone conversation, without even a proper greeting for him to hear first.

"Sujin is throwing a tantrum," she said, frustration evident in her voice. "He's been crying for hours."

"Aigo, uri adeul,"  he muttered softly. "Please let him know that appa will go home soon and I bought him plenty of LEGO toys," Joohyuk promised, trying to sound reassuring.

"Arasso," Suzy replied curtly, then hung up the call. She called Joohyuk in hopes that he would be free to check on Sujin. Worried sick about their four-year-old son, Suzy excused herself from work and rushed home.

As she drove at full speed, every worst-case scenario played out in her mind. What if something was seriously wrong with Sujin? What if he got hurt? The thought made her heart race even faster.

Finally reaching their house, Suzy burst through the door to find their living room filled with Sujin's cries. Her heart sank as she saw his tear-streaked face and the babysitter struggling to console him.

"Aigo, my baby," she whispered as she hurried towards them. "Eomma is here."

Sujin's eyes lit up a little from crying heavily when he saw his mom approaching. He reached out his tiny arms towards her, desperate for comfort and solace.

"Eomma is here," Suzy repeated softly as she embraced Sujin tightly in her arms. "Why is my handsome bunny crying?"

"Appa," Sujin muttered between sobs, clinging onto Suzy like a lifeline.

"Appa? You miss appa?" she asked gently as she wiped away his tears with trembling hands.

Sujin nodded eagerly as he hugged his mother tighter.

"Don't worry. Appa will be home soon," Suzy said to him and smiled, hoping her words would be enough to comfort him. Deep down, she wished she could believe her own remarks. She knows that Joohyuk's absence was taking a toll on Sujin lately, and it made her scruple on the consequences of their choices.

"Eomma took the rest of the day off, do you want to play or do you want to sleep while eomma hugs you?" she asked, her voice tinged with exhaustion, yet she can worry about herself the least. After all, her greatest discomfort is to see Sujin having a hard time.

Sujin looked up at her with tired eyes, his tiny body still trembling from his earlier outburst. "Sleep, eomma," her son answered as he gradually stopped crying, followed by a sleepy yawn.

Suzy sighed in relief and gently rocked him back and forth in her arms. She carried him to his bedroom and laid him down on the mattress. As she tucked Sujin under the covers, she couldn't help but feel a pang of resentment for the circumstances they are in.

She leaned over Sujin's sleeping form and kissed his forehead softly before quietly leaving the room, and trailed downstairs into the living area where images of more amiable times seemed to reflect in every corner.

She poured herself a glass of wine from an almost empty bottle on the counter and collapsed onto the couch with a heavy sigh. The liquid burned its way down her throat as she swallowed it greedily, seeking solace in its temporary warmth. The silence enveloped her like a thick fog as thoughts swirled through her mind.

Adrift in deep pondering, Suzy didn't seem to notice when someone entered through the door. As she lifted her head up, her bleary eyes met Joohyuk's figure standing in front of her. His weary expression mirrored hers, lines of exhaustion etched onto his face.

"Oh, you're here," she muttered. The sound was barely audible, but loud enough for her ex-husband to hear.