comes in waves ↠ kim sunwoo

chapter fifty eight

Third Person POV

September came again, and before Heiji had the chance to process that she was one year older, she realised that she was now experiencing the second birthday without her husband.

Last year, she felt beyond lonely, and heartbroken that he couldn't have found a way to contact her to say happy birthday.

But as time went on, Heiji began to question if that was because he was no longer here. And that's where she was at today.

"What do I do if he is dead?" She says to Haknyeon, who cleaned her living room table.

"Stop talking like that, Heiji," he shakes his head. "If he was dead, he would be found somewhere, someone would notify the police and it would get back to you, somehow."

"You don't know that," she doubts his words although they made complete sense.

"Do you think Sunwoo was capable of forging a fake identity?" Haknyeon says followed by a small laugh. "If he was, he would have ran away as a teenager and never came back."

"But he did come back," she sighs. "So why not this time?"

"Heiji," he crouches to be eye level with the girl. "He's your husband, but did you ever know what went on inside that head of his? You'll never truly know."

"But I want to," she complains. "Reality is harsh, I don't like it."

"Neither do any of us," he chuckles. "And the reality is that you're only getting older. Get yourself dressed before the others come."

Heiji gave the boy a smile through pursed lips, heading upstairs to change clothes.

She looked around the room, heading towards the wardrobe before she felt flustered at the pressure of hosting this mini party tonight, alongside the thoughts that circled her mind tirelessly.

Haknyeon was right, she never knew what was going on inside his head, but she knew how he thought about certain things. But that still didn't give her closure or an answer.

She thought about the man whilst she looked at the ring on her finger. If he came back, would they still be as in love as they once were?

She nodded her head as though to answer her own question, or at least she would still love him. Yet, how could she be so sure?

The pain he had caused her these last couple of years, partnered with the pain of his accusations and the pain he had caused her before.

She wondered where she became the villain in this story, or if she ever did. She wondered if wherever he was now - if he blamed her, if he hated her or if he never thought of her anymore.

She wasn't sure if she was completely healed, but she knew that she was no longer upset. She had reached the stage of acceptance, she was past the grievance. Although, she was still angry.

And for the first time in two years, she decided to take her ring off. Just for the night. She wanted tonight to be about her, not him.

"Whatever you do," Lia warns Kevin as he looks at her with intense eyes. "Make sure you don't drop the cake."

"I can't promise that," he shakes his head dramatically, attempting to turn his back to the girl as she stopped him. "Why does everyone stop me?"

"Because it's scarring, and last year on your birthday, you literally dropped the cake." Lia looks at him sternly. "Now, be careful."

Kevin rolls his eyes, walking slowly towards the door after lifting the cake up slowly as they walked towards the living room where everyone sat.

"Happy birthday to you," Lia sings as everyone joins in, Heiji hiding her face in her hands.