The Way I Loved You

Fight After Fight

"They're fighting again, tread lightly."

Hyunwoo felt like he was hearing this more and more often lately. Unfortunately, being in high positions in the company meant that everyone was constantly noticing their presence, along with every hint of tension between them.

Everyone knew to be careful whenever they were having another one of their fights. It applied more to Haein since she would absolutely destroy anyone who stood in her path whenever she was on a rampage.

As for Hyunwoo, well, everyone was just nicer to him than usual out of pity. They knew how hard Haein could be on him, often giving him unreasonable demands as a way to vent her anger and show him who's boss. Honestly, most of the staff pitied him. It wasn't easy being constantly pressured by your wife's chaebol family to do their bidding.

Hyunwoo sighed. He could already hear Haein's rage once they were out of earshot. She detested it when people gossiped about their marriage, yet she was the one who initiated the majority of their fights. Why must she always make things difficult for him? All he was trying to do was keep his head low and do his job.

He didn't know when the fights started. It felt like it had been going on forever, but in reality, he knew that wasn't possible when they were still a perfectly happy couple one year into their marriage. How did this happen within a span of two years? Once upon a time, they would have been willing to sacrifice anything for one another, but now she couldn't care less about what he thought.

Once again, they had another argument today over whether she could kick out the stores in the bottom 20 percent of sales. He had given her his professional advice, telling her how it would not only look bad on them as a company but also how it was impossible to win the case legally.

It was ironic how she constantly mentioned that he studied law at SNU and was incredibly clever, but refused to listen to his advice. She no longer had any respect for him with how she was constantly interrupting his staff meetings by demanding to see him and humiliating him in front of other directors at the same time.

He was tired. Tired of always being forced to do her bidding regardless of whether it was reasonable or not, tired of being unable to get away from anyone in this family and being slowly suffocated from the inside.

"Are you eager to let others know that we don't get along?"

She stepped into the elevator, her heels clicking sharply on the floor. He stepped back at her proximity, feeling her eyes of contempt boring into his skull.

"Our relationship has nothing to do with this." He replied calmly. The best way to deal with her intimidation tactics was to stand his ground. Just like trying to scare off a wild animal.

She crossed her arms across her chest. She hated how he remained completely expressionless. Did he even care at all?

"Quit playing hero and treat the ones close to you better."

Hyunwoo nearly scoffed at that statement. What was she trying to imply? The audacity, especially when she was the one constantly undermining his authority. At this point, she treated her assistant better than she treated him.

"As in you?" His voice dripped with sarcasm.

"What?"

She tried to hide the surprise on her face. They were married for goodness sake! They lived in the same house! She was the one who helped him get to where he was today. If she wasn't the CEO, he wouldn't have climbed to become a director so quickly. Shouldn't he at least have a sense of loyalty to his wife instead of going behind her back to help others?

"Do you really think we're close?"

He wasn't completely wrong, she'd admit that. But it still stung to hear him say it out loud.

"I need to talk to you."

He'd had enough. They needed to talk this out. They couldn't go on like this, not with all the fighting and the tension in front of their employees. Being coworkers was impossible enough with her, let alone being a married couple.

"Fine."

Somewhere, in the non-rational part of his mind, he hoped that this one conversation would somehow solve all their problems. Maybe they could come to an agreement, maybe they would finally talk about how they both felt and come to a mutual understanding. Maybe if he was pathetic enough, she would feel sorry for him and care about him again. After all, he'd once loved her for a reason.

That hope slowly diminished as the seconds ticked by. He watched the city skyline out of the windows, highly conscious of the time passing by. She'd agreed to meet him, so why wasn't she here? She wasn't one not to be punctual, if she cared enough that is.

He sat there for over an hour, holding on to the hope that she was just caught up in a meeting and would be a little late, but she didn't show up. She didn't reply to any of his text messages either.

When the sun started to set, he finally gave up after wasting his afternoon waiting for her. But perhaps it wasn't a complete waste of time because it finally gave him the space to think. He was sure of it now, he wanted a divorce. Her act today simply stood as a testament to what he already knew: that she didn't care about them anymore.

For the first time in a while, he felt a strong sense of direction. He was going to draft the divorce settlement agreement the moment he reached home. That conviction gave him a sense of relief, an assurance that all this would be over soon.

...

Woah, that was weird.

It felt like her consciousness had flickered for a moment, like a flashlight running out of batteries.

She blinked slowly.

The lipstick. She was going to pick it up.

"Sajangnim? I thought you cancelled your plans to meet up with Director Baek Hyunwoo. Why are you still here?"

Hyunwoo?

The lounge.

She glanced at the clock, her eyes widening. Three hours had passed.

Was her clock faulty? The night sky outside her window said otherwise.

What the-? Forget it. She needed to get to the lounge right now. If he was even still there.

She got up in a rush, brisk-walking to the elevator. She didn't even bother to grab her things even though she was supposed to be heading home soon.

He would be upset that she was so late.

She slowed to a stop at the entrance of the lounge, finally taking the time to catch her breath. Her feet hurt from trying to walk so quickly in heels.

No one. The lounge was mostly empty at this hour as most of her employees had already gone home. His absence sent a wave of regret through her chest. She hadn't meant to stand him up.

Sighing in defeat, she checked her phone. There were a bunch of messages, all from him. It was filled with concern at first, asking if she was on her way and if she was okay. But at the end, she could feel the coldness in his words.

I'm leaving.

She wanted to call him on the spot, to explain what had happened. But what had actually happened? Did she really just zone out for hours without realising it? Was she so preoccupied with her thoughts that he just slipped her mind completely? It didn't make sense. How could she have no recollection of what she was doing? It just sounded like a lame excuse.

Whatever. She would just go home and sleep the guilt off. She couldn't wait for this day to be over.