Affectionate Obsession - Chapter 58

“I know. It’s been a while since you contacted me. Have you been well?”

The voice on the other end of the phone was very casual.

Yeonhee, conscious of Junhyeok’s gaze, tried to maintain the composure she had painstakingly regained.

In contrast, Sera on the other end of the phone seemed unable to contain her excitement, especially because of what she had just said.

A snort, filled with emotion, immediately reached her ears.

—Ha, that’s ridiculous, really. Are you asking me if I’ve been well right now? If you were me, Shin Yeonhee, would you have been well?

It was a highly agitated voice.

She must be dumbfounded.

That would be understandable.

Sera must have called, full of anger, so Yeonhee’s completely nonchalant response was understandable from Sera’s perspective.

But for Yeonhee, this was the best course of action.

She couldn’t let Junhyeok know she was meeting Sera.

“I was actually thinking I should contact you sometime.”

—You’ve become brazen, acting like me, Shin Yeonhee.

“I know, right? It’s a bit late today, but do you happen to have any time tomorrow?”

Yeonhee, borrowing Sera’s words, asked brazenly.

She had been feeling Junhyeok’s gaze fixed on her for some time now, as he had been looking only at his phone.

Even knowing that, she couldn’t answer “yes” to meeting as if she had been waiting for Sera’s words.

That might make Junhyeok suspicious.

But Sera, unaware of this situation, couldn’t possibly understand the meaning behind Yeonhee’s words.

As expected, Sera’s voice grew louder, filled with agitation.

—Do you even know how humiliated I feel because of the things you’ve been doing? And yet you’re telling me to wait until tomorrow?

“Ah, you’re busy. I guess there’s no helping it. Then, can we meet briefly now? How about in an hour?”

—…Are you even answering what I’m saying?

Sera, perhaps sensing something was off belatedly, paused for a beat and asked in a much lower tone.

Yeonhee quickly responded to her words.

“Of course. Absolutely. If meeting in an hour is okay with you, please let me know a convenient place. I’ll head over there.”

—Ha. Fine, for now. It seems like you’re doing this because Jeong Junhyeok is next to you, so I’ll hang up now and text you the location. See you in an hour, at the place I choose, Shin Yeonhee.

Fortunately, Sera seemed to have caught on, albeit late.

Yeonhee replied briefly and quickly hung up. Then, pretending to check her messages, she secretly changed the contact saved as ‘Yoon Sera’ to ‘The Caregiver Aunt’.

Although she had done her best not to arouse Junhyeok’s suspicion, she couldn’t be completely sure she hadn’t piqued the suspicions of the sharp-witted man.

If necessary, she was prepared to show him her call log to reassure him.

Junhyeok’s gaze felt persistently fixed on her, as if he was waiting for her to talk about the recent phone call.

But Yeonhee pretended not to notice and got up from her seat, heading towards the bedroom.

She then went into the walk-in closet connected to the bedroom and grabbed her coat.

As she picked up her car keys from the vanity, her phone vibrated briefly.

It was a message from Sera.

Come to the address I sent. I’m leaving now, so don’t be late.

Along with the message content, an address for a cafe located in Gyeonggi Province arrived.

It seemed like a place chosen to avoid people’s attention.

She would need to check the navigation for the exact travel time, but an hour seemed sufficient to arrive.

With that calculation made, all that was left was to tell Junhyeok and leave.

But her feet wouldn’t move.

As she finished her call with Sera, Yeonhee had a premonition.

This might be the last time she could spend with Junhyeok.

That thought alone made her chest ache as if it were being torn apart.

Even breathing felt painful, and tears welled up so quickly they felt like they would fall any second.

I shouldn’t be like this.

There were still words she needed to say to deceive Junhyeok.

She had to face him.

But, but…

“I really don’t want to go.”

Yeonhee whispered in a small voice and squeezed her eyes shut.

She had already left him twice, yet her heart ached as if she were going mad.

Her resolve to protect him, her decision to leave him, felt meaningless as Yeonhee suffered so intensely.

Since she didn’t know when she would have to leave him, she had spent her time with him trying her best.

She had spent it happily, without regrets, with that single thought.

But now, as the moment to leave him approached, all those times spent together felt like they were holding her back with all their might.

Her sorrow rose to the tip of her throat.

Her tightly clenched hands trembled as she tried not to cry.

She had practiced this scenario countless times, but the moment of farewell, when it finally arrived, was far more painful and difficult than she had imagined.

What made this moment even harder was the fact that she had to hurry her steps to avoid being discovered by Junhyeok.

Yeonhee took several deep breaths.

She knew her emotions wouldn’t easily subside with this, but she needed the audacity to sustain her, at least while she was lying to Junhyeok.

She recited a mantra in her mind, as if out of habit.

I can do this.

This path towards Sera is merely a path wishing for Junhyeok’s happiness.

So, I can endure.

She repeated the mantra many times, but it had little effect today. Still, she couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

Yeonhee took one last look around the bedroom where she slept with Junhyeok every night.

It didn’t feel like they had slept together in this room for that long, but thinking it might be the last time made it hard to look away.

But it was time to be resolute.

Yeonhee forced her feet, stuck as if nailed down, to move. With every step she took, her heart felt like it was tearing, but she endured even that.

And when she finally stood facing Junhyeok, Yeonhee truly understood what it meant to have her heart shattered.

“Junhyeok, I…”

Her lips, barely parting, stuck together without uttering the important words.

The tears she had managed to hold back began to well up again, her eyes feeling hot.

It was dangerous.

Yeonhee gritted her teeth, then released them and moved her lips with all her might.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

“…Where?”

Junhyeok’s eyes sent a look of unease.

She felt her pupils, which had been meeting his gaze, instinctively flutter, wanting to look away.

Yeonhee clenched her hands hidden behind her back and stubbornly met Junhyeok’s gaze without flinching.

It was hard. It felt like she was dying.

Leaving him had never been easy, but it had never been this agonizing before.

Yet, she had to endure. She had to overcome this.

This was the only thing she could do to protect him.

“You remember the caregiver aunt, right? The one who looked after Mom.”

“…”

“I was thinking I should contact her sometime anyway, and she called me first. She said she’d been feeling a bit unsettled and couldn’t contact me, and asked if I could stop by for a bit if I had time.”

Yeonhee tried to maintain her usual tone and curve her lips upwards, aiming to appear as normal as possible.

Despite that, Junhyeok still looked uneasy.

That made Yeonhee’s heart shatter once more.

I made you like this. You can’t even hear me say I’m going out for a bit without feeling anxious. I’ve ruined you this much.

So, now, even though it’s too late, I’ll definitely protect you so you don’t get hurt anymore.

“She was close with our mom, and Mom passed away so suddenly. The aunt must have been feeling quite down too, and after all the time we spent together, it’s not right to just cut off contact. I should see her today, thank her for everything, and wish her good health.”

Words she hadn’t even thought of poured out of Yeonhee’s lips.

It was a perfect excuse that Junhyeok couldn’t possibly use to stop her.

As expected, Junhyeok couldn’t say anything more.

Yeonhee seized the moment of his hesitation and quickly moved her feet.

Leaving like this was worse than dying, but she steadfastly took a step forward, sustained by the single thought that it was for Junhyeok’s sake.

And just as she reached the front door, Junhyeok blocked her path, and Yeonhee lowered her head, gritting her teeth once more.

“I’ll take you. Where do we need to go?”

His voice was urgent, unlike him.

Hearing that voice pushed her to her limit.

She couldn’t hold on any longer.

So, she had to be even more resolute, to say something that would absolutely prevent him from stopping her.

“No. I’ll go by myself.”

“Yeonhee.”

“Seeing the aunt suddenly makes me think of Mom. I’ll just go for a drive and clear my head. You’ll understand, right?”

At the end of her words, Yeonhee flashed a dazzlingly bright smile.

She knew that when she smiled like this, he would be completely disarmed and unable to refuse her request.

This time was no exception.

Junhyeok stopped moving, and Yeonhee started her stalled feet again.

Finally, she slipped on her shoes, and now, all that remained was to leave.

Her mind screamed at her to just kick open the door and go.

But Yeonhee couldn’t bring herself to open the door and leave.

If this was truly the end, there was something she desperately wanted to say.

Yeonhee slowly turned around. She met Junhyeok’s gaze, who was looking at her, and moved her lips.

“I’m going out.”

I love you, Junhyeok.

And once more, she summoned a smile.

Filled with a confession she couldn’t convey to him at this moment.

She offered him her final farewell.

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