The Way I Loved You

Retreat

Haein didn't know what to think. Over the past 24 hours, her life had flipped upside down. Suddenly, all the luxuries that she'd been given since birth were stripped away from her, and her entire family was kicked out of the house they'd lived in their entire lives. What was more crazy was the fact that she was currently at her ex-husband's house hiding from the media who were out on a manhunt to humiliate them.

When Grace had delivered the news that they would no longer be allowed back into the house, Hyunwoo had been the last person she'd expected to see. He had now been demoted to an ordinary employee, unconnected to the family. The only relationship between them now was simply employer and employee, yet he'd shown up out of the blue with a van to whisk them all away, protecting them from having their faces plastered all over the morning news.

As reluctant as the rest of her family was, they'd accepted his help because they had no one else to turn to. They had to give up their pride after being condescending and disrespectful to him and his family throughout their three years of marriage and allowed him to take them to his hometown.

It was strange how even though they'd never sat in the same vehicle as a family before, they had settled into their seats naturally. There had been a silent agreement that she should be the one sitting in front with Hyunwoo, not her aunt or her father which was funny now that she thought about it, considering how they'd divorced on bad terms. It was almost as if everyone knew that her place was up front with her husband, as if nothing had changed. It was crazy how the mere act of sitting together in the car felt overly intimate for them because they'd always travelled in separate cars while they were married.

The entire journey had been a tense one; Soocheol was still in utter distress in the back seat, looking as if someone had stabbed him in the back which probably wasn't too far off from the truth. Her father simply looked lost and defeated, staring blankly out of the window at the passing scenery while her mother glared at the back of Hyunwoo's head fiercely as if he was the one who'd started all this. And between her and Hyunwoo, neither had known what to say. Their last conversation had been far from civil, and the reminder only made her feel guilty considering that he'd still come back for her despite everything.

Guilt wasn't something that Haein knew how to handle if her brother's death and the miscarriage were anything to go by. Up to this point, she'd carried the burden in her heart, refusing to talk to anyone about it without blowing up in their face. She hated the horrible feeling so much that she stuffed it aggressively to the back of her mind where she didn't need to think about it, and tried her hardest to move on with life. Now, she had to face guilt yet again. She knew that she should probably apologise to him at some point, but she didn't know how. She didn't know how to express herself and have him understand her, because she always said the wrong things and made it worse. Instead, she chose to remain silent.

They sat at opposite ends of the table at dinner where she kept silent once more and kept her gaze on the table. It felt awfully audacious to sit at the same table with the rest of his family when they knew what she'd done to Hyunwoo. As annoying as his sister could be sometimes, she'd been right when she called him a sly fox. She was manipulative and cunning, keeping her family's wealth a secret until he proposed to her and dragged him into this entire mess. After the divorce, he was a free man, he could keep his distance without getting himself involved in their bullshit, yet he'd stayed by her side and she owed him everything for that.

There were so many things she wanted to say to him. She wanted to thank him for coming back even though he had no obligation to, and bringing them to his family whom he treasured so much, allowing them to mar his home with their obnoxious behaviour. She wanted to apologise for being harsh to him the last time they spoke and lastly, apologise for everything she'd ever done to make him miserable during their marriage.