Kang Yuhyeon

Was it during college orientation? Out of all my classmates, you were the only one who caught my eye, and I fell for you at first sight. Even though I was the type to click my tongue and find women annoying, you were beautiful enough to completely steal my gaze.

After that, I pursued you by any means necessary. For about three months, while I followed you around like a lost puppy, I could easily laugh off all the teasing and mockery from my friends. That was how much I liked you.

By the sixth month, I was still chasing you, and you slowly started to accept me. Not long after, I confessed, and you nodded. That was how we became a couple, and we dated for quite a long time.

Around the time we graduated from college, started our careers, and started to settle down.

I proposed to you. Thinking back on it now, it's incredibly embarrassing. A guy like me, uncoolly handing you a ring woven out of flowers, begging you to marry me. Even though you just smiled and accepted me like that, back then, I felt like I had the entire world.

The road to marriage wasn't smooth. I proposed and you accepted, but both of our families were strongly opposed to it. I don't know why we had such a hard time over something like that. To be honest, I was terrified we might break up back then. Even to my incredibly dense eyes, I could see how much you were struggling with getting our families' approval.

But not long after, you smiled brightly and told me. We can get married now. You never told me how you did it, but your parents had completely thrown up their hands in defeat against your stubbornness and approved our marriage. From then on, everything was easy.

We rushed through the wedding preparations, had the ceremony, and went on our honeymoon. Just like that, you became my world, and I tried to protect that world.

Was it not long after we got married? Suddenly, the sight of you lying down and watching TV started to annoy me. It was such a trivial thing. But starting from that, I quickly grew weary of us. It was a rut I had never even felt while we were dating. At first, I tried to overcome it somehow. I bought you flowers every day, told you you were beautiful, living in a state close to self-brainwashing.

But even that got tiring after two or three months. Then, a new female employee joined the company. It started with a single glance during a meeting. At first, I was anxious that I might get caught cheating. But my worries were for nothing; you seemed completely oblivious. So... I just did it openly. We held hands at work, I bought her gifts, and I openly came home late at night.

Was that the problem? I spent my days confident that I wouldn't get caught, but one day was different. You didn't go to sleep and waited for me until dawn, and the moment you faced me, you handed me a piece of paper.

Divorce papers. Seeing those words made my stomach twist. You, who didn't even spare me a glance when I was trying so hard, were now demanding a divorce over something as trivial as an affair. As I read through the papers, all the time I had poured into marrying you and dating you flashed before my eyes.

"Over something like this."

The words slipped out of my mouth unconsciously. The moment I said them, I realized my mistake. I quickly looked up at you, and you looked devastated. Should I apologize? Should I get down on my knees and beg? As my body froze with those thoughts, you went into your room and locked the door.

...I'll do it tomorrow. I'll apologize and hold onto you tomorrow. I spent that night, those early hours, thinking I could still fix this. I didn't realize back then just how arrogant that thought was.