Love Contract / Mark Lee

Chapter 51

Areum and Mark sat on the long couch of the therapy room, waiting for Jane to walk in. Mark looked up at his wife.

"did you get into the shower?" He asked. She sighed.

"Um yeah, but it was early. You were asleep." She mumbled. He nodded.

Oh. Usually, you need my help in the shower because you were still in pain." He said. She nodded.

"Yeah um... Today it wasn't that bad so I decided to shower myself." She explained. He looked over at her.

"Did you make it to the shower?" He asked. She cleared her throat, ignoring his question. He nodded. They both sat in silence for a while.

"Areum, about what happened before-"

"Can we just forget about it, Mark?" She asked. He shook his head.

"No. Because I did a horrible thing to you and I need to apologize." He explained. She scoffed.

"You and I clearly have two different ways of grieving... yours is more aggressive than mine." She explained. He massaged her temples.

"Areum, come on. That's not fair" He groaned. She looked up at him.

"Look, I'm not saying I hated it. It was great. I mean really really great." He explained. She shook her head.

"M-mark I was a mess. What part of you thought that I was ready for that?" She argued. He shrugged.

"I couldn't even get out of bed! I-I didn't eat. I sat there and just.... I was miserable. And out of nowhere you just... well you became you" She argued. He was about to say something when the door opened.

"I'm sorry I'm late. Traffic. But how are you two doing, ever since... your son died?" She asked.

"His name is Mark Daniel... was" Areum mumbled. Jane nodded.

"How has it been like? Let's start with the beginning"

~~~

Areum lay in her bed, staring at the wall. She was playing with the baby outfit in her hand, while her mind had wandered somewhere else. She didn't even recognize the footsteps walking towards her.

"Hey... Areum, you ok?" Mark asked. She sighed, pulling the covers over her shoulders.

"I hate that question, Mark." She mumbled. He nodded, sitting down on the side of the bed.

"Are you still cold? I turned off the air conditioning and put on the heating." He asked. She shrugged.

"I-i'm f-fine" She shuddered. Mark brought his hand over to hers.

"Y-you wanna go outside for a bit? Get some fresh air?" He asked. Areum shook her head.

"No thank you, Mark. But you should go if you want" She mumbled. Mark nodded.

"O-ok. I'll come back in an hour or so. I'm going to church" he said. She didn't move.

"My mom's gonna come over and bring one of the chefs to cook dinner for us. Do you wanna see her or-"

"I'm sorry Mark. I'm just not in the mood for guests." She whispered. He stood up.

"Ok, that's ok. I'll uh... I'll come to see you later." He said, pecking her forehead before walking out of the room.

~~~

Areum sighed, closing her eyes.