Unmet Greetings
“Ah… Hello?”
My mother and father, who had noticed me, stopped in their tracks. There was a distance between us, but I could clearly see my mother’s face crumpling. I was equally startled, yet I bowed at the waist and greeted them.
My mother moved her feet again and came to stand right in front of me.
“You are well?”
A cold note in her voice sent a wave of anger through me. I shrank my shoulders, clasped my hands together, and lowered my eyes.
“…I’m sorry.”
Those were the only words I could offer. My mother let out a scoff when she saw that my apology meant nothing to her.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to be seen? Is it that hard?”
I hadn’t meant to be noticed, of course, but I didn’t bother with excuses either. I knew saying anything would make no difference, so I pressed my lips tight.
“Stop this.”
Until then, my father had stood silent, but now he stepped forward and wrapped an arm around my mother’s shoulders.
“Anyway, thanks to you, Do-hyun can receive the inheritance.”
My mother’s face softened at his kind words.
“You too… it really is difficult when a person is too kind.”
“And living with me?”
Her stern expression vanished, replaced by the gentle warmth she always showed my father. The two of them had always been very close.
I had heard about the arranged marriage, yet I envied their affection and sometimes wished I could be like them too.
“Let’s go in. It’s cold outside.”
“Yes.”
After they stepped inside together, worrying about each other and speaking with such warmth, I exhaled slowly and whispered to myself.
“You go ahead…”
After a few steps, my father turned and gave me a slight nod. It meant to hurry inside.
I watched him leave, then recalled every time he had greeted me during those past encounters. Even the mere nod made me grateful.
“…Hah.”
I tilted my head and looked up at the sky. The sky above was pitch black, mirroring my own suffocating feelings. I stood alone in the darkness, as if no one else existed. A sudden wave of loneliness crashed over me.
Until the betrayal, my mother-in-law had treated me kindly. The guilt and shame only grew heavier. What words could I even offer? If she hated me, I could only accept it.
Was there anyone who enjoyed being disliked? Every day, every single day, it felt as though I was sinking one inch deeper into mud.
The sharp wind whipped across my body, giving me a chill. I brushed my arms and turned toward the Annex, but someone stepped in front of me.
He was coming straight toward me.
“……”
Yet the moment he saw me, he glanced away and walked past without a second look. I stood rooted to the spot, watching his retreating figure until he disappeared inside the house.
***
I watched him as he prepared for work, the same routine he followed every day. I kept stealing glances at him, opening my mouth only to close it again and again.
Today was the day my father told me to bring him. I had tried to speak so many times, but my lips refused to move each time, as if honey coated my tongue.
How could I possibly approach him and say I wanted to see my father? How could I even begin to deliver the message that my father was looking for me?
The man who already despised me so deeply—I couldn’t even imagine the expression he would make if I mentioned my father’s name.
Once his final tie was straightened, I stepped closer to him.
“Um… Do-hyun.”
His hand paused on the tie.
“What?”
He didn’t even glance at me and asked why. It meant he hated having to look at me. I forced a bitter smile and closed the remaining distance. Standing right in front of him, I caught the scent of his cologne that pressed against my shoulders.
“Do you… have plans today?”
He frowned. To confirm I had heard correctly, he stared back at me.
“You have plans today?”
“Why?”
I could only nibble at my lip from his irritated question.
“Ah… that’s…”
The words to ask him to meet my father refused to come out.
“You have plans, but you’re asking why I asked.”
“Ah… it’s nothing.”
I spun around and hurried away from him. Plans… So he had plans. Of course. With her.
Lately his work hours had been getting later and later. In the past, he used to cancel every plan just to hear my father scold him. Now he went straight home without meeting anyone, except for the short bathroom break.
My heart sank even deeper. Of course I would go see the person I loved, yet the bitterness remained unavoidable.
I waited outside the main house as he ate his lunch. The suffocating emptiness made me wish for even the cold wind to ease the ache. But the sadness refused to lift.
He walked past me, not even tasting his food.
“……”
I followed his back, my legs heavy. Why did the old habits keep surfacing today? The man who used to kiss me every morning before work flashed before my eyes, and tears welled up instantly.
It was strange. Why was I crying so much lately?
Normally I could hold back the tears, yet now they fell without warning. I didn’t understand why.
“Come back safely.”
As always, he didn’t answer and simply climbed into the car. I smiled despite the sadness in my chest. That was all I could do.
Today, too—every single moment—I was practicing how to let him go.
I stood there until the car vanished into the distance, then turned my steps toward the garden. Suddenly my stomach growled with an intensity that felt like days without food. I hurried to the kitchen on quick feet.
After my mother-in-law stopped coming to the Annex, I started shopping and cooking myself, but even that had become too much of a chore these past few days. I ate nothing.
Just in case, I opened the refrigerator door wide.
“Ugh! W-what?!”
The moment I opened it, a foul stench hit my nose. My stomach lurched and nausea surged.
Even while running toward the bathroom, I wondered. There had been no food in the fridge, so how could it smell spoiled?
I dropped to the floor and clutched the toilet bowl, vomiting everything inside. I hadn’t eaten for days because it was too bothersome, and the feeling that I wouldn’t have been able to keep anything down lingered.
After emptying my stomach, I flushed and leaned against the wall, gasping. My vision blurred and my head spun. I stood up and staggered toward the sink, my legs weak and unsteady.
“Ha… ah.”
What was this? Why did it keep happening? Sleep came to me against my will, my stomach churned, and my face twisted in discomfort. The woman in the mirror looked pale, as if she had never eaten anything. Her eyes were wide and red-rimmed.
I couldn’t stop staring. When had I had my last period?
“……!”
I clapped both hands over my mouth. I nearly screamed.
No way… impossible. It couldn’t be.
I hugged my flat stomach tightly with both arms. I didn’t know for sure, but if my guess was right… I bit my lip until it hurt.
I desperately hoped it wasn’t true. I prayed it wasn’t. If I was pregnant, I would have to apologize to the child. I prayed it wasn’t, that this was all a mistake, as I looked up at the sky.
A short while later, before heading to my parents’ house, I stopped at the hospital.
I sat waiting for my appointment, face pale. My fingertips trembled from the constant fear that my intuition would be right.
I didn’t dare touch my belly or even look at it; I simply stared straight ahead.
Just stress, I told myself. It couldn’t be anything else. My name was called and the room grew quiet.
“Ms. Jin Yeon-woo. Please come in.”
“A-ah, yes!”
I stood up on trembling legs and walked into the examination room.
“H-hello…”
“Yes. What brings you here today?”
“I… haven’t had my period. My stomach has been upset all the time…”
The doctor nodded, urging me to continue.
“And I’ve been sleeping badly too.”
“When was your last period?”
“My dates are irregular… it’s been more than a month.” The longer I spoke, the clearer my suspicion became. Anxiety swirled inside me.
“We’ll do an ultrasound, so change into this skirt in the changing room. Put the skirt on, leave the underwear behind, and come out.”
“Yes, I understand.”
I entered the room the doctor had shown me, changed into the skirt exactly as instructed, and stepped out in nothing underneath. I was asked to lie on the bed.
“Don’t be nervous. It won’t hurt.”
The doctor sensed my trembling and tried to calm me.
Please… please…
“Here we are. You’re seven weeks pregnant.”
My heart stopped. Unbearable tears welled up.
The room grew strangely quiet, as if sensing what I had noticed.
I’m sorry. Little one… I’m so sorry you came to me.
I placed my hand on my belly. I was so sorry to the child inside. Especially to me, of all people.
If he knew, everything would explode. He could make me abort, or if I gave birth, he could take the child. He could let her raise it.
So I must never hear that I was pregnant.