DTL Extra 4 part 1

PR by neji

And For a Long Time Afterwards…

[Will you be busy this afternoon?]

SeonJae’s fingers moved swiftly across his phone. He had already checked with her manager and knew that she didn’t have anything on her schedule, but if it turned out that she did have something planned, SeonJae was going to ask SooHyun’s maternal grandparents instead.

[What is it, son?]

He got a reply five minutes later. SeonJae quickly got to the point.

[Can you take care of SooHyun at your house tonight? Maybe he can sleep over, and we’ll come and pick him up before lunch tomorrow.]

As soon as he sent the message, SeonJae’s cell phone began to vibrate in his hand. He moved his finger and accepted the call. A high-pitched voice filled with excitement began to speak through the receiver.

– Why? Does my SooHyun miss his grandma? YeonJung told me last week that SooHyun said he missed me.

SeonJae’s wife wasn’t the only one who would burst out of bed in the middle of the night if it had something to do with SooHyun. HwaYeon had also fallen in love with SooHyun when he was born. As befitting an actress, her emotions were plentiful. She cried to YeonJung in the hospital as she thanked her for making her a grandmother. SeonJae fixed his eyes on his computer monitor and clicked his mouse.

“Yes. There’s also that, but I also want to spend some time alone with YeonJung. It’s been a while since it was just the two of us.”

– Okay. Good idea, son. Even if a woman becomes a grandma, she’s still a woman. Take YeonJung somewhere nice and eat some delicious food. Let her relieve some stress. I know you love her very much, but you can also be very stubborn. YeonJung takes care of the child, takes care of you… How tired must she be? And I heard that she also started working from home.

HwaYeon began to ramble. SeonJae scratched his head as he exited out of the reservation verification window on the computer screen.

“So are you free today?”

– Of course! I had some plans to meet with a friend, but I can always postpone that. What shall I do with my grandson? It’s been a while since we played together. Maybe we should watch that new cartoon DVD I bought the other day. No, should I take him to the ice skating rink? It’s right in front of my house. The amusement park is also nearby.

“Okay, then I’ll pick him up from kindergarten and drop him off at your place.”

He barely managed to end the call with the excited HwaYeon. Now that he found someone to watch SooHyun, all he had left to do was figure out a way to bring YeonJung out.

‘What should I do to appease her mood?’

SeonJae leaned back in his desk chair. With his fingers interlocked, he was lost in thought. YeonJung seemed to treat him with indifference this morning. He could barely get his feet through the front door. But it wasn’t like he could grab her and start quibbling over it. It was all his fault that things had become like this.

The incident that started all of this took place two days ago at the park trail in front of their house.

Exercising was not bad by any means. He wanted to get that straight. Even after they got married, YeonJung was diligent when it came to her water sports or hiking. Now that their son was in kindergarten, YeonJung used that free time to start jogging at the park in front of their house in order to strengthen her body that had become weak due to childcare. Therefore, if one looked at it objectively, YeonJung didn’t do anything wrong.

It was all due to rotten timing. The day he had called her, she happened to lose her phone. They had been having a text conversation when she suddenly stopped responding. After sending her tens of messages with no response, he ran back to their house from his office. When the housekeeper told him that she had gone out for a jog at the park, he ran to the trail. The problematic event unfolded afterwards. When he got to the park, he happened to see her standing with an unfamiliar man.

Woof! Woof!

The man standing next to her seemed to have come out for a walk with his tiny puppy. When the fluffy, white puppy saw him, it began to bark defensively at SeonJae. It seemed that the beast could recognize an opponent who held ill will for its master. SeonJae walked towards them with a frown on his face.

“…Hm? SeonJae-shi!”

As always, YeonJung looked up at him innocently, telling him with her expression that she hadn’t done anything wrong. Instead, her face showed her surprise and her happiness to see him. However, when he saw her standing with another man, his anger had already risen to the top of his head.

“I was worried.”

He barely managed to get those words through his clenched teeth. The other man immediately understood that SeonJae was angry.

“Hello. She was just looking at my puppy earlier and lost her cell phone…”

The noise coming from the side didn’t seem to enter SeonJae’s ears. He was that angry. To be completely honest, when SeonJae heard from the housekeeper that she had taken up jogging, he was very annoyed. Additionally, he heard that she had already been jogging for two weeks. He was the type who would tell her everything about his day, even what he’d eaten for lunch that day before they went to sleep. He wanted to share the aspects of his life that they couldn’t share together. Couldn’t she have done the same?

“You should let me know if you want to exercise.”

SeonJae ignored the man’s words and only spoke to YeonJung. He suppressed his anger to the best of his abilities, but his voice wouldn’t come out as smoothly as he would have liked. YeonJung was wearing unfamiliar sweatpants that stuck close to her skin. It was made of an elastic fabric, so it was a perfect fit as it covered her slender legs. On top of that, her white t-shirt was drenched in sweat, which caused her black sports bra to peek through the damp fabric. 

‘Just how much did she run for her to sweat this much?’

YeonJung wiped the sweat off of her forehead with her wrist as she gave him a troubled expression.

“SeonJae-shi, I lost… I lost my pho-phone…”

She knew that, at this moment, he was filled with a sense of protectiveness and agitation.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

The man stood with his phone in one hand and the leash in the other. He didn’t seem to know what to do. SeonJae glared at him briefly before grasping YeonJung’s hand as if he wanted the man to see.

‘This woman is mine. So don’t look at her.’

If it were up to him, he wanted to leave this place immediately. However, he suppressed his boiling rage. He did his best to keep his expression blank so that it didn’t twist into a scowl. However, YeonJung must have been on a mission to add oil to the fire. She opened her mouth and began to murmur.

“‘Dat’s why this person said… he’d let me… bor-rrow his phone. Bee-cause I can’t call.”

“Okay. I see. Let’s go. Now.”

He didn’t need to hear her explanation. That guy must have come out with his puppy to pick up women. When he met YeonJung, SeonJae was sure that the guy felt like he’d hit the jackpot. 

“Thank yoo. Fo’ helping me.”

Not aware of the possibility that the man had approached her with indecent motives, YeonJung lowered her head to him.

“No, it’s alright.”

The man bowed reflexively at YeonJung. Then he glanced at SeonJae and began to give him an explanation.

“I think your girlfriend probably left her phone on the bench after she took photos of my puppy. Seeing as how my phone can’t connect to hers, I think it might have also run out of battery. Why don’t we go back and see if it’s still there. If not, we can call the park office and…”

If she was taking photos of the puppy, then she could have just left it at that. What had she been so interested in that she had even lost her phone? Did the man sit down next to her? Is that why this jerk couldn’t come to his senses?

SeonJae’s sharp eyes silently glared at the man. No matter how one looked at it, this man seemed very flustered. He had come out with his puppy to pick up some women, but it turned out he’d met someone who already belonged to someone else.

“I never asked you what happened.”

SeonJae’s mouth twisted as he bitterly spit the words out. The man pressed his mouth shut as he was pushed down by SeonJae’s aura. The only thing making a sound was the puppy barking and growling at SeonJae from the man’s side. SeonJae turned his head to the side so that YeonJung wouldn’t see his lips.

“And this woman is my wife. Not my girlfriend.”

Although he had taken the final shot by revealing their relationship, SeonJae still didn’t feel any relief. He turned around and began to drag her away, but YeonJung resisted as she pulled back.

“SeonJae-shi, come wit’ me over there. It migh’ still be there if we look.”

“There’s no need to find it. Let’s buy you another cell phone.”

“Huh?”

YeonJung blinked as she stared up at him. He had run over here in his suit, and his forehead was damp with cold sweat. And he definitely should have been in the office at this time, so it was strange that he was here now. He’d often meet people after work and come home late, but he’d always let her know ahead of time.

‘Ah, that’s right. I don’t have my phone right now.’

“SeonJae-shi…”

“Let’s go, YeonJung. I’ll buy you a cell phone right now.”

He murmured to her again. His expression was blank, and he was still trying to suppress his rage, but it couldn’t be completely concealed at will. YeonJung finally realized what was going on. SeonJae was angry.

“Hurry.”

YeonJung’s heart dropped. Because she was flustered from having lost her phone, she hadn’t realized earlier. SeonJae must have called her after eating his lunch as he always did. When she didn’t answer him, he must have thought it was strange, which would have then prompted him to send her a text.

He must have given her some time to respond, but when she didn’t give him a reply, he would have gotten into his car without any hesitation. He ran over here, worried that something may have happened to her, but now that he was here, he saw that she was completely fine. Was he worn out and angry with her? Either way, YeonJung thought that it would be best for them to leave. If not, some innocent bystanders might get slighted unintentionally.

Her eyes fell on the man’s puppy. It was snarling at SeonJae with a terrifying expression.

“Bye. See yoo again later… Ah!”

YeonJung wasn’t able to finish her sentence because SeonJae had grabbed her hips and turned her away. She wasn’t able to thank the kind man who had helped her.

SeonJae stuck her body close to his and walked away. He walked too quickly, and YeonJung had a difficult time keeping up. He knew this, but he couldn’t stop. He’d nearly lost his head when he heard her say she’d see the puppy again later. Even though he knew what YeonJung hated the most, even though he knew that dragging her away like this was a mistake, he couldn’t stop himself.

SeonJae put her in the passenger seat of his car and walked around to get into the driver’s seat. Once he was inside, he finally felt like he was returning to his senses. He grabbed her and made her look at him.

“YeonJung, just now, I…”

He was trying to apologize as soon as possible, but she cut him off.

“Were yoo that worried abou’ me?”

“…YeonJung.”

YeonJung let out a deep sigh.

‘SeonJae-ssi, I’m not a child. It’s not even dark outside.’

She moved her hands as she spoke to him in sign language. If he knew this would happen, he would never have learned sign language. Every single word she signed pierced him in the heart like an arrow. He should have endured it. He regretted it too late.

‘I’m sorry for worrying you, but I don’t think it’s worth all that anger. Of course, I’m sorry for losing my phone. It was a gift from you, and I was too neglectful. I’m sorry for not contacting you sooner. I was only thinking about finding my phone as soon as possible, so I didn’t think about how worried you’d be.’

YeonJung looked at him with a grave expression. Should she have asked someone if she could use their phone to contact him as soon as possible? At times like these, she hated the discomfort that resulted from her handicap.

“I’m not mad because you lost your phone. I’m not mad that you didn’t answer your phone.”

SeonJae barely managed to get the words out.

“Then wha’ is it?”

YeonJung looked at him with a gaze that was mixed with disappointment. SeonJae swallowed. He couldn’t bring himself to admit that he had nearly lost his mind because he had seen her interacting with another man.

“…Nevermind, let’s just goh home… It’s almost time too pick up SooHyun.”

She finally glanced at him and moved her mouth. When SeonJae saw her expression, he began to chew on his lip. Rather than her coldness, he couldn’t bear seeing the disappointment in her eyes.

If he knew this was going to happen, he would have pretended he hadn’t seen anything. Then he would have secretly gone to the puppy’s master and quietly threatened him, telling him not to mess with someone else’s wife. No, she might find out later on and get angry with him. So that wasn’t a good idea either.

But wouldn’t it be even weirder if he didn’t get upset after seeing what he saw? He felt that it was unfair, but he kept his mouth shut. He always ended up like this when he was with her. He was the one who was angry, but in the end, he’d be the one to lower his head. There was a saying that the one who likes the other more is the one who will always lose. It was completely true.

“Huu…”

As he drove, all SeonJae could think about was how to appease her, but he couldn’t find a solution.

The next morning, they went to the park office and discovered that someone had dropped off YeonJung’s phone. They managed to retrieve it and come back home, but a heavy mood seemed to linger around YeonJung. Last night, after he had gotten out of the shower, he saw her lying in bed, sending text messages to someone with a grave expression on her face. When he approached her, she quickly turned off her phone. She was definitely still mad at him.

[I’ll pick up SooHyun from kindergarten today.]

[Will you? Thank you.]

That was her only reply. Although it was no different from any other day, why did it feel so cold? SeonJae hesitated before sending another message.

[Shall we eat out tonight?]

A few moments later, he received a response.

[I was preparing braised short ribs for tonight. I’ve already marinated the meat.]

Damn it. After they got married, YeonJung began to put her all into her cooking classes. He didn’t know what to say. Should he cancel the reservations? He rubbed his temple as his piercing gaze fixated on his cell phone. Suddenly, it began to ring.

[But we can just eat it tomorrow. I’ll get ready to go out for dinner.]

It worked! He held back the urge to pump his fist into the air and let out a shout. He quickly finished the rest of his work and prepared to leave the office. Today, he would look into her eyes and tell her everything. He’d suck it up and tell it to her straight, just as a man should. He would apologize for acting like a bum, and then he’d bring her into his hot embrace. His blood began to boil in his veins at the thought. 

“You’re home?”

Damn it. The moment he walked through the front door and saw her all dressed up to go out for dinner, SeonJae felt himself harden.

“Y-Yeah.”

SeonJae stammered his response. YeonJung was wearing a familiar black dress that showed some cleavage. She was also wearing a pair of sheer stockings.

She had on the pair of glittering earrings he had gifted her for their last anniversary, and she had applied a burgundy eye shadow around her doe eyes. Her plump lips were painted with a sexy, coral lipstick. The bewitching fragrance of her perfume wafted into his nose, causing him to feel dizzy.

“Where… ah-re we going?”

Nevermind dinner. He wanted to take her right here at the doorway of their home. However, he endured the sudden desire and suppressed it. Unable to respond, SeonJae merely stared at her with ravenous eyes as YeonJung leaned against the wall to put on her open-toed high heels.

“SeonJae-shi?”

Just the act of her putting on her high heels was so erotic. SeonJae swallowed. He already knew what kind of sound she’d make if he licked and sucked her toes.

Should he just forget everything and embrace her right here, right now? Only one thought remained in his head, so SeonJae didn’t realize that she hadn’t asked about their son’s whereabouts.

“Aren’t we… lee-ving?”

When she tugged on the hem of his clothes, he finally returned to his senses. She had put mascara on her long eyelashes. The eyes beneath them looked up at him questioningly.

Yeah. This wasn’t the time for that. He couldn’t let this idly go by. He couldn’t miss this opportunity to give her an apology.

“Let’s go.”

SeonJae escorted her to the passenger seat of his car before closing the door shut. The headlights of the sedan were bright as it pulled out of the driveway. As it accelerated down the road, YeonJung tilted her head, but she didn’t ask him anything. Thank goodness.

“…SeonJae-shi?”

As they began to cross a familiar bridge, she glanced at him. But when they reached the airport, surprise flashed across her face.

“We’re only going to eat dinner and come back tomorrow morning.”

“Wha’ about… SooHyun?”

SeonJae placed his hand on her shoulder as if to soothe her.

“He’s at Mother’s house. We can just pick him up tomorrow. I’ve already explained everything to SooHyun.”

It wasn’t that YeonJung didn’t know where SooHyun was. As soon as HwaYeon ended her call with SeonJae, she sent YeonJung a message. When HwaYeon realized that she was going to be spending time with her grandson for the first time in a while, she was floating on air. 

She added that SeonJae had asked her to watch SooHyun so that he and YeonJung could spend some time together. She even made YeonJung an appointment at the salon she frequented to help her get ready for her date. While YeonJung felt a bit taken aback, she realized that she had a wonderful mother-in-law, so she followed HwaYeon’s instructions. When SeonJae asked her to go out to eat dinner tonight, she thought he had found a good restaurant that he wanted them to try. However, she never expected to get on a plane. 

“Let’s go, YeonJung.”

The procedures for traveling within the country were quick. Within the hour, the plane had landed on the runway of the airport at Jeju Island. A rental car was parked and waiting for them as soon as they exited the airport. SeonJae took the keys from the employee and began to drive them to one of the coastal islands. Although it was late autumn, the winds of Jeju Island weren’t chilly at all. 

YeonJung lowered the car window and gazed at the glittering lights of the ships on the black sea. It had been a while since she’d left Seoul. It had been even longer since she and SeonJae had traveled, just the two of them. It made her heart flutter.

“We’ve been waiting for you.”

The place SeonJae had taken her to was a four-story building that had been built like an ancient castle. Ivy traveled up its walls, and delicate lights were hung at the very top. It almost seemed as if it had come straight out of a movie. One of SeonJae’s employees had discovered this place when they were looking around for various wedding venues.

The waiter guided them to the top floor. The restaurant used minimal lighting, so the interior was dark. The only lighting came from various candles. The decorations were gothic, and the candlesticks were made of silver. Overall, it gave off a very splendid aura.

On top of that, there was only one table set up in the middle of the room. They were the only customers on this floor. This was because SeonJae had asked the restaurant earlier if he could reserve the entire floor.

“Shall we prepare the meal right away?”

“Yes, please.”

After pulling out the chair for YeonJung, SeonJae walked around the table and sat down in the opposite seat. He looked into her eyes and asked.

“Are you surprised because I brought you here all of a sudden?”

“Yoo never said we’d come too Jeju Island.”

“I told you we’d eat out tonight.”

SeonJae laughed. The first course meals came out. YeonJung, who was starving, began to move her lips as she chewed on her food. SeonJae stared at her in silence for a long time before holding up a napkin and wiping her mouth. He filled up her glass with champagne and asked a question at what he felt was the right time.

“Are you still mad at me?”

Even though she couldn’t hear him, he still spoke in a soft voice.

“Why… would I be?”

“Because of what happened at the park a few days ago.”

“Aah.”

YeonJung took a sip of her champagne. Seeing this, SeonJae tensed up and coughed awkwardly.

“Back then, I was a bit hot and couldn’t think straight…”

Vrrr. Just then, her cell phone on the table began to vibrate. A message popped up on the screen. YeonJung glanced down. SeonJae saw the brief text conversation between YeonJung and Hyejin.

[I thought about it for a long time, but I don’t think I have much choice.]

[He’s a very difficult man, your husband. I think it’ll be best if you just make the decision yourself, YeonJung-ssi.]

[I’m sorry for not being much of a help, YeonJung-ssi. Good luck. Fighting.]

YeonJung quickly flipped her phone over, but SeonJae’s eyes had already seen it. His sharp eyes blinked a few times. As soon as his eyes registered what they had seen, his head began to turn.