Chapter 16 - Drowned (1/2)
”Jae?”
Yunjae snapped back to the present with a start.
”Are you okay?” the voice asked again, and she smiled as she turned to look at Yihan who was standing just a few paces from her.
”Yeah,” she said abruptly as she placed Yuan's medicine back on the table.
Yihan frowned thoughtfully at her before he cleared his throat and glanced at his watch. ”I've been called back to the company so I have to leave,” he announced and Jae nodded.
”O-okay…” she said as Hana, carrying a crying Yuan stepped into the room. ”Baby, what's wrong?” Jae asked as she tried to get him, but his son ignored her. Yuan had his arms stretched towards Yihan, asking to be carried.
”Da-da-da-da,” he sobbed.
”Ah, he doesn't want you to leave,” Hana told Yihan with worry.
”Aww, I'm sorry, baby, I had to go to work,” Yihan cajoled but he took Yuan in his arms anyway. ”I think you have to accompany me to the car,” he said and everyone agreed.
All three of them marched towards Yihan's old Hyundai. ”I have to go now baby,” he said as he planted a kiss on top of Yuan's head and handed him to Yunjae's waiting arms and got behind the wheel.
”Da-da-da-da!” Yuan screamed after Yihan, throwing a fit and Jae had to rock him to make him quiet down as the car left.
”Don't cry baby, sshhh,” she coaxed her distraught son as her sister-in-law handed her Yuan's new plushie. ”Here now, stop crying baby,” she crooned, just as the phone in her pocket rang.
”Here, let me have him,” Hana offered and Jae didn't think twice in handing Yuan to her.
As she watched them return to the house, she fished the phone from her pocket, her lips trembling upon seeing the caller ID before she pressed the answer buŧŧon with a breathy whisper. ”Y-yes…?”
There was silence on the other end for several heartbeats before the familiar baritone answered. ”Meet me…”
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A sleek black car was parked across the street, several meters from Yunjae's house.
His almond-shaped eyes filled with moisture, turning red as his nose flared, his lips curling into a sneer as he controlled his anguish. A few minutes ago, when he saw Jae and her husband standing together with their child, he'd been beyond furious.
How could Jae continue to act like that with her family in spite of having an affair with him? He wondered, though deep inside, he knew the answer, just as he knew the answer years ago…
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2 years ago
”What's wrong with you?” Jinho asked his lover who sat on the bench nearby as she warmed up for a swim. The Nationals was looming over them and everyone had been busy doing last-minute preparations, practicing hard, that the two of them seldom spoke lately.
It didn't escape him however to see the changes in Yunjae. Since a month ago, he noticed the other's frequent spacing out, ŀȧpses into silence, staring ahead when she thought there was no one looking. Jae had been terribly distracted from practice too, making their coach beyond furious with her.
Once he had seen his coach screaming at Jae again, and Jinho thought it was too much even for a scolding. He had wanted to confront the old man, but his girlfriend told him not to, saying she deserved it.
After that incident, however, instead of improving, Yunjae's ŀȧpses worsened. These days, the slender swimmer rarely swam. She spent her time on extracurricular activities sitting on the bench looking pale and sickly. Not only that, Jinho could feel her drifting slowly away from everything – including him.
Jinho was scared. He didn't like what was happening one bit and it was distracting him. Oh, he was still fast, and he was still determined to win the nationals as it had been his longtime dream. Then again, with this concern with Yunjae, he found that swimming didn't hold weight against his lover.
If he would choose one, he'd choose Jae. Hands down. He would be upset because he was this close to his dream championship, but if he had Jae, he knew he'd forget it soon enough.
So what was wrong? ”Jae?” he called again, and his lover turned to him with almost vacant eyes.