Deal Breaker - Chapter 119
Was it really that hard for men to stay and not leave?
A man who taught her the meaning of staying by someone’s side, who made promises he could not keep and then left. One biological father like that was enough. But now, enduring the fear of being betrayed again, even the man she had accepted into her life might leave her too.
He hadn’t declared that he was going off to die, but she already hated him.
“My wish shouldn’t have been wasting 2 euros at some stupid fountain. I should’ve wished to you, Kanghyeon-ssi—”
“Hyeji-ya…”
Tears welled up in her large eyes and then began to fall, drop after drop. Noh Hyeji, whose eyes had always been dry whether she bought the Han River view apartment she had longed for or heard she might have cancer, was crying.
“Please just stay by my side, like this. That’s my one and only wish.”
The woman who had always been faithful to her own desires yet never openly showed greed toward Kanghyeon was now pleading through tears that she wanted only him. The woman who had seemed indifferent, as if she would not mind if he left at any time, was clinging to him. Only now was she honestly laying bare her naked emotions. At an unexpected moment, the final wall between them collapsed.
I never meant to knock it down by making you cry.
Kanghyeon wiped the wet corners of Hyeji’s eyes with his hand.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong, Hyeji-ya.”
Blinded by the sense of duty ingrained in him, he had been about to leave behind the person he truly had a responsibility toward. That was his fault.
Just as Kanghyeon steeled his resolve, climbed into the seat beside Hyeji, and shut the taxi door.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion thundered overhead. Beyond the elevated road on the departure level, shards of glass and metal rained down.
A bomb had gone off.
* * *
They only found out later that the bomb the terrorists had planted in the luggage was a timed explosive.
Even if Kanghyeon had intervened and stopped the terrorists, the scheduled explosion could not have been prevented. There was a high chance he would have been caught in the blast and injured, or killed.
They say if you listen well to your wife, you’ll get rice cakes even in your sleep. Han Kanghyeon listened to his wife and had his life saved.
There was one more thing that went well because he listened to his wife. Just as the taxi was about to leave the airport, two armed men ran out and jumped into a van parked at the entrance to the parking area. It looked like a prearranged getaway vehicle.
[ Let’s chase the terrorists. ]
Hyeji did not object to that much. Pretending to be an ordinary taxi, they followed the van while the driver reported it to the police. Five minutes after getting onto the highway, they saw police cars join in and pursue the van, and then the two of them returned to the hotel.
That day, they saw news reporting that the terrorists had been caught after a chase. Either way, Kanghyeon had helped in subduing the terrorists, so the weight on Hyeji’s heart eased.
It was only natural that the airport was paralyzed by the bombing. Because of that, the two arrived in Seoul two days later than planned.
“We’re home.”
“Oh my, you must’ve had a hard time.”
When they got home, Kanghyeon’s parents greeted them. On the living room TV, an overseas news channel was covering the airport bombing. The bomb had gone off at the very time their son and daughter-in-law would have been at the airport returning home, so they must have been extremely worried.
As Kanghyeon brought the suitcases inside, he grumbled.
“When we left, we were plagued by Korean style troublemakers, and when we came back, we got held up by European style terrorists.”
“Still, you came back alive. That’s what matters. You were lucky.”
Hyeji, who had already gone into the living room and collapsed onto the sofa, picked up a slice of watermelon from the table and let out a languid sigh.
“Ha… home really is the best.”
…No matter what, isn’t that a bit much to say right after going on a honeymoon with me?
At a loss for words, Kanghyeon stared, and the clueless Hyeji popped a piece of watermelon into his mouth. At least it was sweet.
– Uung… byaah…
Baby babbling came from the tablet on the table. With the baby cam app open, Saebyeok could be seen in the center of the screen, sitting up in her crib.
“Oh my, Saebyeok-ie woke up. She’ll be so happy when she knows Mom and Dad are back.”
Even waking up alone in a dark room, she didn’t cry. As expected, she was Noh Hyeji on the inside.
When they entered the nursery, Saebyeok’s eyes, wide as she stood leaning against the crib rail, grew even rounder. Then she grabbed the rail and started wiggling her plump bottom. It was the expression of excitement of an eight month old.
“Kyaa…”
It seemed she really had missed Mom and Dad. Hyeji had been grateful, calling her a filial daughter for eating well, playing well, and sleeping well even without them, but honestly she had also felt a little hurt. The moment she saw Saebyeok’s delighted face, all of that melted away.
“Byaaa…”
The baby babbled, stretching her tiny hand toward Kanghyeon, who had entered the room first.
“Papa.”
Startled, Kanghyeon stopped and turned to look at Hyeji.
“Just now…”
“She said Papa.”
After confirming he had not been hearing things out of sheer desperation to hear the word ‘Papa’, Kanghyeon immediately scooped his daughter into his arms.
“Yeah, Saebyeok, Papa’s here. Did you miss me?”
“Pappaa…”
At that point, even Kanghyeon had no choice but to admit it.
Home really is the best.
