The Way I Loved You

The Home That Never Was

The drive home was silent, the exhaustion of their long day weighing heavily on their shoulders. Hyunwoo had opened the door for her and ensured that she was comfortable before getting in on the other side. Remembering how she'd been cold earlier, he turned up the heaters to warm up her hands which seemed to get cold more easily of late and glanced at her every few minutes to check on her while driving.

Surrounded by the warmth of his meticulous care, Haein found her eyelids drooping, and she fell asleep before she even realised it. When she awoke, Hyunwoo was pulling into a parking lot in a basement which she didn't recognise.

"Where are we?" She mumbled groggily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"My apartment. I thought it would be better for us to sleep here tonight. You're exhausted and it's a long way home."

"You have an apartment?"

It shouldn't surprise her. Where did she think he lived after she kicked him out of the house? He had probably bought or rented a place somewhere because he clearly hadn't moved back to Yongduri. Suddenly, she became curious as to how he'd been living without her. Had he felt as cold and empty living on his own? Or was she the only one who felt that way?

She followed behind him in the corridor, suddenly feeling like she was dating him all over again and it was her first time staying the night with him. She felt the same apprehension as she did the first time she'd gone to Yongduri, because seeing his home felt like such an intimate step in their newly blossomed relationship. She wondered what his apartment would be like without her dictating the interior design. Would it be vastly different from their mansion at Queenstown?

He paused at the end of the corridor, the same apprehension reflected in his eyes as he gestured towards the door.

"Here is where I've been staying."

Slowly, deliberately, he typed in the code for the digital lock.

1031. The same combination that unlocked her phone.

He was showing her on purpose. She realised. All the times that they'd been at odds with each other, they'd held their unborn child closely to their hearts. Remembering and honouring their baby in their own way. Hyunwoo loved their baby, and he loved her too. He'd just been unable to express it the entire time because he was so overcome by grief.

Beyond that, she realised that he was indirectly telling her that this place was hers as much as it was his. Now that she knew the passcode, she could come in anytime she wished. He was opening up his home to her.

The door unlocked with a soft click, and he held it open for her like the gentleman he always was. It was dark inside, but the moment he switched on the lights, he scrambled towards the ground, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste.

"Gosh, you startled me!" Haein jumped at his sudden movement, hand clutched to her chest as she turned to look at him in bewilderment. Was there a cockroach running about or something? Instinctively, her hand shot out to grab the back of his shirt, worried that he would actually faceplant on the wooden floor.

As he began scooping up rumpled shirts from the floor, she fought the urge to laugh. He was acting like a boyfriend who was trying to impress his girl for the first time. They've been married for three years for goodness sake! She knew that he could be rather messy at times, so she wasn't surprised in the least. As a matter of fact, she'd often nagged at him during the early days of their marriage to stop leaving his stuff all over the room. She hadn't been caught up on his habits for a while since they slept in separate rooms, but it was endearing to see that he hadn't changed.