What Made Him Change

'This time, I want to be your husband properly.'

Taejun's words would not leave her head.

Her joy lasted only a moment before confusion set in.

Her decision to divorce him had been the conclusion of a long, one-sided love. It was a choice she had struggled to make — to stop being hurt, to protect Yoon Chaeyoon herself.

Chaeyoon found herself thinking back to who she used to be, so different from the woman she was now.

At twenty-three, she had laughed easily and gotten swept up in things easily. The whole world had seemed to sparkle, and she had been at an age where she believed that love alone could carry her through anything.

The smallest gesture of kindness could flood her face with color, and a single offhand remark could keep her happy all day long.

Looking back now, the Yoon Chaeyoon of those days had been fearless. There had been nothing to dread, nothing to fear. She'd felt like she could do anything.

But not anymore. She knew all too well how exhausting it was to let yourself hope, only to come crashing down. Those agonizing months had hardened her heart — and at the same time, turned her into someone who could no longer afford to hope easily.

And yet…

"Haaah."

Chaeyoon let out a long sigh. She had reached no conclusion. Her resolve, somehow, felt like it was wavering.

'What if we open a little café together?'

It was what Juhyun had said when Chaeyoon returned from her trip.

Chaeyoon had agreed without hesitation. She wanted to forget everything and make a fresh start. And she had been certain that was exactly how it would go.

But then…

"What on earth…"

She couldn't fathom what had made him change like this.

Had his mind really been damaged? Nothing else could explain everything he'd shown her. It was as if he wanted to erase the past she knew entirely and become a completely different person.

But that was impossible.

'You can think of it as partial memory loss.'

She had heard it clearly.

'When emotions become too overwhelming, or memories too difficult to accept, patients sometimes push them away unconsciously.'

Chaeyoon slowly closed her eyes.

Was not loving me… was it something that pained him that much?

'Everything related to Yoon Chaeyoon may, in fact, have been an enormous source of pressure for the patient.'

"…!"

Her eyes flew open.

Could it be… did he remember her asking for a divorce?

The thought came out of nowhere — and yet it felt more convincing than anything else in explaining the Taejun of today.

But soon Chaeyoon shook her head slowly.

There was no reason for it. Moon Taejun had no need to feign memory loss.

If he didn't want the divorce, he could simply have refused. And if he had wanted it, he would have ended things coldly and decisively. There was no reason to put on an act about losing his memory.

"What an absurd thought…"

Chaeyoon grabbed handfuls of her hair. The more she thought, the more her skull felt like it would crack.

No — things weren't getting any clearer. They were only getting more tangled.

"I've always been bad at sorting out my thoughts."

She felt like she was going to lose her mind from the frustration. If only someone would just lay it all out for her. The best person for the job would be Taejun himself, but she couldn't exactly ask him.

Chaeyoon slid off the bed quickly. There was someone perfectly suited to this.

A friend who thought so simply it bordered on simple-minded.

After setting up a plan to meet her friend and getting ready in record time, Chaeyoon headed for the stairs. Going down from the second floor to the first always required care, but today irritation won out over caution.

Because she wanted to avoid running into anyone at all. Naturally, though, she walked straight into the household drones lounging around the house with nothing to do.

"You're out and about a lot lately."

Minjung sniped, as if she'd been lying in wait.

"I'm going out to meet a friend."

"Honestly, you've got it easy, don't you? Running off to see friends in the middle of all this. Aigoo. If it were me, I wouldn't make so much as a breathing sound."

It was nonsense. How does a person live without making a breathing sound?

"Young or not, have you no sense at all? Do you even know what mood this household is in right now?"

As always, Jiyoung simply talked too much. Nothing she said ever ended in one breath.

"That's exactly why Mother can't stand you. You have zero sense."

"Enough. Surely that's not the only reason Mother dislikes you. Anyway, don't be too late. You do remember that we're all preparing dinner tonight under Mother's direction, don't you?"

Every so often, Jang Hyun-ah insisted on personally overseeing the dinner preparations. In the beginning, even though Chaeyoon barely knew how to cook anything, she had thrown herself into every task with everything she had. Of course, the harder she tried, the sharper the criticism became.

Still, it occurred to her now — did a daughter-in-law who'd been told to get divorced really need to take part?

"Shouldn't I be a daughter-in-law this house has already cast out, then?"

She had no desire to be their background extra anymore.

"Oh my, Elder Sister! Did you hear that?"

Jiyoung cried out in exaggerated shock. Minjung gave a hollow, disbelieving laugh.

"She told me to my face that she was bringing in a new daughter-in-law before my divorce was even finalized."

"Goodness, Chaeyoon!"

Jiyoung shrieked, as if having a fit.

"Weren't you the one who asked for the divorce first?"

Just then, Jang Hyun-ah was stepping through the front door, returning from her outing.

"Mother."

"You're home, Mother."

The two daughters-in-law sprang up from their seats and greeted her with painted-on delight.

"Why all this noise? I believe I've told you any number of times not to raise your voices inside the house."

Jang Hyun-ah chided them in an exquisitely refined voice.

"I'm… I'm sorry. Chaeyoon was saying such nonsense that I… we couldn't help ourselves…"

Jiyoung cast a sidelong glance and blamed Chaeyoon without a flicker of hesitation.

"…"

Unbelievable. And who exactly was the one spouting nonsense?

"Bring me some water. Cold, with lemon."

"Yes, Mother."

Shooting Chaeyoon one last contemptuous look at the order, Jiyoung left the room at once.

"Are all the ingredients in?"

Jang Hyun-ah asked Minjung as though Chaeyoon didn't exist.

"Yes, everything arrived. The fresh seafood is on its way now, I was told."

"Good. The Chairman seems to have less energy these days than he used to. We should take extra care."

"Of course. Shall we go start preparing now?"

"Yes. Even starting now, we won't have much time to spare."

"Understood. We'll get started right away."

"Mother, here's your water."

Jiyoung's hand knocked squarely against the glass. The water tipped over and spilled across Chaeyoon's clothes.

"…"

"Oh no… what do I do. My hand slipped… Mother, I'm so sorry. Right away, I'll…"

"Forget it. Leave it."

Jang Hyun-ah swept her gaze once over the water-soaked Chaeyoon, then turned away as if nothing had happened. Only the two of them remained in the living room. Chaeyoon glared at Jiyoung with sheer incredulity. She was too speechless for words.

"What am I going to do, I'll have to change. And of all days, in something this light… oops."

"Oops, my foot."

Chaeyoon fired one last look at Jiyoung, who was grinning with malicious delight, then walked straight out of the house. She had no intention of attending that dinner.

Taejun received the message just as a meeting ended and he returned to his office.

It was an order from Moon Daeshik to appear at the dinner Jang Hyun-ah was hosting.

Taejun gave no answer either way. But in that instant, he thought of Chaeyoon sitting alone at that dinner table — the table where she had endured meal after meal, all on her own, through all those years.

Moon Daeshik held his mandatory family dinner once a month, and Taejun had often skipped it. And the person who filled his seat had been Chaeyoon.

He didn't need to ask what kind of contempt had been traded across that table. He could imagine it, and then some.

Remarks laced with quiet humiliation were practically the family's signature talent.

Nearly twenty years of it had numbed him, he'd believed — and yet once in a while, the anger still surged up past anything he could swallow.

So how many wounds must that fragile girl have taken? The thought ignited a fury in him he could not contain.

Taejun shot to his feet. He could not leave Chaeyoon alone at that table.

And tonight, he had no intention of tolerating a single insolent word.

No matter who it came from.