Chapter 49: Chapter 49

“For example, I read your columns, like ‘How to deal with your angry boyfriend,’ ‘How to find your groom,’ and ‘My boyfriend’s toys’ were all good. Your columns reminded me of Hojoon. When I followed your tips, I had no fights with my boyfriend.”

It seemed that Yuyoung wasn’t lying.

“You don’t know anything about love, do you, brother Hojoon? Arum, I think you’re a woman who knows best how to date a boyfriend. Don’t you think so?” Yuyoung was now teasing him.

But he just smiled at Arum sarcastically, saying, “Yeah, I think so as well.”

Arum couldn’t reply to his sarcastic comment recklessly.

But she felt good about regular reader Yuyoung’s praise.

In Arum’s mind, Yuyoung was a lovely woman. Yuyoung knew how to rephrase banal words in a beautiful and pleasing way.

“I think your boyfriend really loves you,” Arum said.

“Huaaaa… yeah, he says I’m his one and only love.”

Yuyoung was a smart woman who was shy, but could speak out what she wanted to say.

“By the way, Yuyoung, do you have anything you want to consult our feng shui coach about?” asked Arum.

“Oh, yes. I’ve got some questions, but I want to know which is the best spot in my house to hang a wedding frame? I need to nail it, so I think I should be careful. I already have the frame as well as the pictures that I took with my boyfriend when I had free time.”

She escorted Hojoon and Arum into her main bedroom. There was a wrapped frame in one corner.

“Do you want to look at it?”

“Sure,” said Arum. She helped Yuyoung unwrap the frame.

While they were at it, Hojoon gave a brief explanation.

“The angle or direction in which you hang the frame on the wall is important, but what really matters is the content. The picture of a happy couple increases the luck of love, but when you have a baby, you should change the picture. Just keep in mind that the picture is your past, so you should replace it with a recent picture of you.”

“Yep!” Yuyoung said cheerfully.

And she opened the frame wrapped in several layers of paper. First came out the picture of the bridegroom with a bright smile wearing a white wedding veil and the groom in a tuxedo.

Thud.

Arum dropped the box that she was holding.

The man in the picture was none other than Konsu.

She gawked at the smiling face of Konsu, who was wearing a tuxedo in the picture.

She couldn’t believe that the man in the picture was Konsu, who had a bright smile on his face, holding the bridegroom as if he would never let go of her hands.

Even early this morning he was the man she lay on the bed with side by side. He was the man she kissed in the morning and had a dinner appointment with in the evening.

Suddenly, she felt strange over this man whom she thought she knew really well.

She was scared of him.

She was so embarrassed because she had never imagined that this kind of thing would happen to her.

Her brain was paralyzed completely at the moment, so she didn’t know whether to smile or cry.

And there was another person who noticed that the man in the picture was Konsu.

He was Hojoon.

‘Oh my god…’

It couldn’t be that Yuyoung’s bridegroom was Konsu Han.

That’s too shocking an event that Hojoon couldn’t brush off.

He noticed that Arum was trembling without moving even one step. Obviously, it was too much for her to endure by herself.

He was heartbroken to see her shoulders trembling and her fists clenching with shivers.

But he couldn’t handle the matter emotionally.

He wanted to confirm whether the guy was Arum’s ex-boyfriend.

“Your groom is handsome. I saw his name in the wedding invitation card. His name is…”

“His current name is Konwoo Han. He changed his name when he got married. His previous name is Konsu.”

Arum let out the breath she had been holding when she heard the name ‘Konsu.’

“Wait a minute.”

As Arum couldn’t see the picture anymore, she went out to the living room. She deliberately pretended to organize the materials scattered on the table.

Though her eyes were welling up with tears, she strained her eyes to fight them back.

And then she bit her lips.

Fortunately, Yuyoung didn’t notice her pain at the moment.

“Brother, where should I hang this frame?”

Holding a rather big frame, she was looking for a spot on the wall.

But Hojoon was totally concerned with Arum.

“Let me take a look at the overall harmony of this house when you buy other furniture. Thanks for showing your house,” he said.

He came out to the living room quickly. Putting on a coat, he held Arum’s hand and said, “Let’s get out of here.”

But Arum’s flabby hand wouldn’t move.

Yuyoung, who came out after putting the frame back in place, looked hurt.

“Are you leaving this early? You haven’t yet had coffee,” Yuyoung said.

“I forgot I had an urgent meeting. I’m sorry. Don’t worry since I already looked at your rooms. See you on the shooting day, then.”

“Got it. Let’s have dinner together that day.”

“Okay.”

Hojoon answered half-heartedly and pulled Arum’s hand again, signalling with eyes.

‘Let’s go!’

But Arum, with her eyes bloodshot, shook off his hand and approached Yuyoung.

“By the way, Yuyoung…”

“Pardon?”

“As for your bridegroom, I wonder if he…”

Losing his temper, Hojoon pulled her out to the front door and said, “You can talk about him later. We have to run because we’re late for the meeting. Yuyoung, I’ll contact you later!”

“Leave me alone,” Arum resisted.

“We’re already late for the meeting.”

Quarrelling like that, both of them came out to the hallway.

“You don’t have to come out. Bye.”

Hojoon pushed Yuyoung back into the house, who was trying to see them off outside, and closed the door.

“What the heck are you doing?”

“Can you be quiet?”

“I’ve got something to ask her.”

But she couldn’t go back to her house because he stopped her.

Fortunately, they could take the elevator right away.

With all his might, he pushed her into the elevator and said, “Let’s get out of here today.”

“I really want to…”

“Can’t you understand my point?”

They kept quarrelling until the elevator doors closed.

Thud.

When the elevator doors closed, she hid her face with both hands. Tears, which she fought back, came down.

Her tears broke his heart.

How did she come to stand here beside him like this?

He recalled the first day that he met her.

“Are you Konsu?”

She was the woman who called another man’s name in his house.

In fact, when he was alone in his house late at night, he would sometimes hear her vivid voice.

‘Why did she do that?”

Hojoon couldn’t solve that mystery.

He thought it was because she wanted to call her lover’s name so desperately. He thought so, at least until he experienced that embarrassing moment this time.

But he clearly knew it today.

For she was exactly like him who often made international calls to Soran from Paris late at night. He didn’t believe it when he received Soran Cho’s wedding invitation card sent by airmail.

‘How can you get married to another guy when I’m alone here in Paris? Don’t you know how much I love you?’

He conjured up the vision of himself who cried over alcohol at that time. Even though Arum didn’t say anything, Hojoon knew how much pain she was feeling now, a feeling like the whole world was crumbling or that she was collapsing.

He didn’t want to experience the situation twice, wherein someone who he felt was his one and only love would refuse him.

So, he had locked his heart since then.

But Arum Yang, this hapless woman, unlocked it.

“Stop crying! It’s not the end of the world,” he said calmly.

That’s true. That’s not the end of the world. Hojoon rather felt it was good that he knew it before her marriage.

But this woman probably would not be able to overcome her overwhelming sorrow at the moment.

“It’s alright. Please stop crying,” said Hojoon in a soft voice.

Tapping her on both shoulders, he said, “Which side feels better? Right? Or left?”

But Arum didn’t move at all, hiding her face.

“Well, I have no other way but to do this.”

Then he hugged her suddenly.

“Cry your fill. And when you get off the elevator, just forget about him!”

Instead of answering, she cried out.

“I know it’s very hard to deal with…”

Trying to comfort her, he patted her back gently.

***

She was on her way to the office in Hojoon’s car.

As it was nearing rush hour, the traffic leading to the north of Seoul was quite congested.

Although Han River looked red in the setting sun, Arum felt like vomiting. She took down the glass of the car.

“What’s the matter? Are you sick?”