Before we say Goodbye

1 - The Decision

To say that Se-ri had a bad day would be a terrible understatement. There was a problem at work so her boss had a reason to be twice more of an ass than he already is, she left her hard drive in the office making her unable to work tonight to meet a deadline, she's very hungry, and it friggin' rained.

Seri used to love the rain. Drizzle or heavy, she enjoyed every minute of it- not just because of the refreshing feeling of the cold breeze it brought, but also because it reminded her of something important in herlife.

It reminded her of how they met.

The memory presented itself in brief flashes. Shared one umbrella while walking in the rain. All wet, waited for a bus that would take them to Myeong-dong. Jeong Hyeok lent her his suit jacket because she might get cold. Ate dinner in a very famous Ramen place that he suggested. By the end of the night, he had asked for her number.

Her eyes would crinkle up in mirth whenever she sees a single drop of rain.

...But that was then. Now all it does is to get her groaning in annoyance.

The only thing that can save this day is this dinner, she thought as she stared at the soup she prepared , waiting for it to boil.

Mm, this is great.

After finishing, she waited.

Seri sat by the window of their apartment, staring at the raindrops stuck in the glass. She took a glance at the wall clock at her right, and a sigh automatically came out of her mouth.

The clock striked half past nine, and the soup on the table had gone cold.

By now she was no longer hungry.

Packing the food she prepared into tupperwares, she carefully placed them on the fridge one by one. That was when she heard the door knob turned, and the voice of her husband subsequently followed.

"I'm home."

Despite her slight disappointment of his late arrival, she carefully took the container out and again set the table before Jeong Hyeok reached the dining.

Seri smiled at Jeong Hyeok, "Let's eat?"

Jeong-Hyeok put his backpack on one of the dining chairs as he casually muttered, "Oh, I already ate."

A loud clanking was heard. Seri had carelessly discarded the ceramic plate on the glass table. Couple of moments have passed, and the silence in the room got a little overwhelming.

"Fine."

Jeong Hyeok sat on the table, noticing the pissed tone of his wife. "I'll accompany you while you eat, Seri-ah."

"No need." Refusing to look at the man beside her, Seri settled in staring at the drawings on their China. "I'm not hungry anymore.."

It baffled him, because they were so used to not eating together during dinner. Seri would often get home first, eat by herself, and go to bed. She would put some food on the table for him to eat, and if he already did elsewhere, Jeong Hyeok would put it back in the fridge.

And the cycle would go on.

But today he realized what effort it would've been for his wife and it would be unfair if he didn't do something to meet her halfway.

"All right, I'll eat again." Jeong Hyeok declared as he forced out an enthusiastic smile, "what are we having?"

But Seri wasn't having any of it.

"I said I'm not hungry. Just go to bed and mind your business like you usually do."

She was upset, for a reason he was not aware of. These past few months, he can say that that was not an unusual occurrence—They never really talked about it, and everything just get piled up to the point that they didn't care anymore.