#44.

Han Su-jin’s apartment bedroom was filled with the hot air of desire and betrayal. On the marital bed of Han Su-jin and Park Tae-young, Lee Han and Han Su-jin’s sweat-soaked bodies were entangled. The rough breaths and moans of the two people racing toward the climax of their forbidden relationship blended together. They were lost in a whirlwind of sensuality, forgetting everything as they devoured each other.

Han Su-jin mounted Lee Han, accepting him deeply as she moved her hips. Lee Han’s firm hands gripped her buttocks, and she moaned as if sobbing each time he thrust her body upward. Lee Han caressed Han Su-jin’s voluptuous breasts and thrust his hips violently, and as Han Su-jin’s inner walls tightened around him, he let out a moan he had been holding back.

“Ah-heu… “

Han Su-jin moaned with a blissful expression. As she reached her peak and her insides contracted convulsively, Lee Han also moaned softly and reached his climax. Hot liquid filled her insides, and the two remained stuck together, soaked in sweat.

As their heavy breathing subsided, Lee Han looked at Han Su-jin, who was lying on her side. Stroking Han Su-jin’s buttocks with a satisfied expression, he spoke in a slow voice.

“Su-jin-ssi, are you getting along well with Eun-ju-ssi these days?”

Han Su-jin hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Yes, we meet often. But Eun-ju-ssi hasn’t been confiding in me about her worries lately.”

Lee Han nodded and smiled.

“Really? Have you ever asked if she has any particular worries or concerns recently?”

“Yes, I asked, but she didn’t say anything special. She just said she was tired because of childcare.”

Han Su-jin’s voice was tinged with hesitation. Lee Han smiled slyly, reassuring Han Su-jin.

“It’s okay. Just keep meeting Eun-ju-ssi often. Keep asking her if she has any worries.”

Han Su-jin wore a dissatisfied expression, but soon sighed and agreed.

“Okay.”

“Once this is over, our relationship will end as you wish. Let’s do well until the end.”

Lee Han’s words contained unspoken pressure. Han Su-jin nodded reluctantly. In her heart, guilt toward Kim Eun-ju and lamentation for her own situation crossed paths.

‘Is it right to do this to Eun-ju-ssi…’

Lee Han, noticing Han Su-jin’s inner conflict, hugged her as if to comfort her, but his eyes were filled with cold calculation.

–

Kim Eun-ju finished preparing breakfast and sat in front of her dressing table. She sighed as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Recently, meeting Han Su-jin had become increasingly burdensome. Han Su-jin’s seemingly happy married life aroused jealousy in Kim Eun-ju, and each time, her own unhappy situation felt even more stark.

‘Meeting Su-jin-ssi is becoming more and more burdensome…’

Kim Eun-ju put down the brush in her hand and sighed. The anguish of suspecting her husband Lee Hyun-woo’s affair without being certain, and the frustration of not being able to confide in anyone about her worries. Each time she met Han Su-jin, her friend’s worried eyes made Kim Eun-ju even more miserable.

‘Every time she looks at me with concern, my jealousy is stimulated. Why am I having such a hard time…’

Kim Eun-ju got up from the dressing table and looked out the window. The bright morning sunlight did not soothe her heart. Torn between suspicion of her husband and jealousy toward her close friend, she was growing increasingly tired.

In the afternoon, in the garden within the apartment complex. Kim Eun-ju came out for a walk alone, pushing a stroller. She tried to regain peace of mind even for a moment as she looked at her sleeping child, but the complicated thoughts did not easily dissipate. Even as she walked slowly, Kim Eun-ju’s mind was filled with thoughts of Lee Hyun-woo and Han Su-jin.

‘It’s just easier to be alone…’

Kim Eun-ju sat on a secluded bench and looked around. The peaceful scenery was in stark contrast to her complicated state of mind. Watching the baby wriggling in the stroller, Kim Eun-ju gained a small comfort, but soon let out a heavy sigh again.

‘My heart gets heavier whenever I think about Hyun-woo-ssi…’

Kim Eun-ju closed her eyes and took a deep breath. But the knot in her heart did not loosen easily. Checking the time, she pushed the stroller back home. Listening to the lively babbling of her child, Kim Eun-ju forced a smile, but that smile was soon buried in bitterness.

After finishing her walk and arriving home, Kim Eun-ju sat blankly on the sofa, staring out the window. Warm sunlight poured into the living room, but Kim Eun-ju’s expression was heavy. Even after putting her child to sleep, she sat there for a while, lost in deep thought. Suspicion of her husband, jealousy toward her friend, and her own confused heart.

‘What on earth should I do…’

Kim Eun-ju murmured with tears in her eyes. She was floundering in the deepening swamp of worries. Unlike the seemingly happy Han Su-jin, Kim Eun-ju felt as if she was standing on the edge of a cliff in her married life. The accumulated suspicion, jealousy, and sense of loss within her were gradually swallowing her up. Kim Eun-ju buried herself deep in the sofa and began to cry. In the face of a complex reality where she could not find any way out, she felt endlessly small.

–

In the late afternoon, the garden within the complex was filled with a sense of solitude as the sunset cast its glow. Kim Eun-ju sat on a bench with her stroller beside her, lost in thought. Only the occasional rattling of the stroller broke the silence, enveloping the quiet park.

Then, the sound of footsteps came from afar. Kim Eun-ju raised her head to find the source of the sound and discovered Lee Han, who was on patrol, approaching her. Lee Han’s appearance always exuded a somewhat gentle atmosphere.

“Eun-ju-ssi, hello. We meet again.”

Lee Han greeted her with a friendly smile. Kim Eun-ju forced a bright expression and replied to him.

“Ah, Lee Han-ssi. Hello. Are you on patrol?”

“Yes, that’s right. Well, it’s what I do every day.”

Lee Han replied, naturally sitting in the empty seat next to Kim Eun-ju. His leg was close enough to lightly brush against Kim Eun-ju’s leg. Then, he glanced at the stroller and asked.

“Did you come out alone?”

“Yes, I needed some time to think alone.”

As Kim Eun-ju answered, Lee Han’s collar fluttered slightly in the wind. At that moment, the scent of perfume brushed past Kim Eun-ju’s nose. The scent was excessively familiar.

‘Again, Lee Han-ssi’s perfume… It’s the same scent that I smell on Lee Hyun-woo…’

In an instant, suspicion stirred and burrowed into Kim Eun-ju’s heart. She quickly tried to shake off the thought, but once awakened, the suspicion did not subside easily. Even as she continued the conversation with Lee Han sitting next to her, Kim Eun-ju’s mind was filled with the scent of perfume.

A shadow was cast between Lee Han and Kim Eun-ju. Suspicion of her husband, and Lee Han, who seemed to hold the key to that suspicion. Kim Eun-ju tried hard to manage her expression, hiding her complicated feelings.

“Do you often take walks alone like this?”

Lee Han’s tone seemed to contain something profound.

“Yes, I’ve been feeling stuffy lately, just staying at home.”

Kim Eun-ju barely managed to answer. Their conversation was gradually flowing in a somewhat misaligned direction. Kim Eun-ju wanted to end the conversation with Lee Han quickly, but on the other hand, she also wanted to get some clue from him. But she had to suppress the questions that rose to her throat each time she opened her mouth.

On the apartment bench where twilight was gradually descending, they talked for a long time. The child was still sleeping peacefully in the stroller. But Kim Eun-ju’s heart was not at ease. Rather, the more she talked with Lee Han, the deeper her suspicion of her husband grew. The scent of perfume and Lee Han’s presence, which exuded that scent, tormented her even more.

When Kim Eun-ju got up from her seat after a long conversation, Lee Han also got up. Lee Han said with a bright smile.

“Then, go in carefully.”

Kim Eun-ju hid her uncomfortable feelings and replied to his greeting. Kim Eun-ju’s steps were heavy as she left the garden. The conversation with Lee Han had only made her more confused. Suspicion, anxiety, and an unknown fear. Complex emotions were tangled in her heart.

–

The next afternoon, Kim Eun-ju took her stroller out for a walk again. She wanted to escape from her complicated thoughts even for a short while, so the tranquility of the garden decorated in the apartment complex gave her a small comfort.

‘I feel a little more at ease when I come here…’

The moment Kim Eun-ju muttered to herself, Lee Han was walking toward her from afar.

“Eun-ju-ssi, hello. You’re taking a walk again today.”

Lee Han greeted her in a friendly voice.

“Yes, Lee Han-ssi. Hello.”

Kim Eun-ju forced a bright smile. Lee Han nodded and stood beside Kim Eun-ju.

“The weather is nice these days, so it’s perfect for a walk.”

Then he paused for a moment and carefully examined Kim Eun-ju’s face.

“How are you feeling these days? You look a little tired.”

Kim Eun-ju hesitated for a moment at Lee Han’s words. His perfume scent was tormenting her again.

“Just… I have a lot on my mind.”

‘Lee Han-ssi’s perfume… I’m going crazy. How can it smell the same as what I smell on Hyun-woo-ssi…’

Kim Eun-ju cried out inwardly, but outwardly she pretended to be calm and continued the conversation with Lee Han. As they walked slowly along the promenade, the two shared everyday stories. But a black cloud was rising in Kim Eun-ju’s heart. Suspicion of her husband and the same perfume scent that Lee Han exuded continued to torment her.

Near the end of the walk, Kim Eun-ju parted ways with Lee Han. But the meeting with him only made her more confused. On the way home pushing the stroller, Kim Eun-ju’s heart was heavy. The despair that she could not escape from a reality filled with suspicion weighed her down.

–

Kim Eun-ju and Lee Han were sitting side by side on the apartment bench. Kim Eun-ju’s heart was filled with numerous questions. In particular, the scent of perfume emanating from Lee Han continued to torment her.

“Lee Han-ssi, do you… happen to wear perfume?”

Kim Eun-ju asked cautiously. Lee Han seemed a little surprised.

“Ah, no. I don’t really wear perfume. Why? Is something the matter?”

‘Then this scent is…’ Kim Eun-ju muttered inwardly. She hesitated to say it out loud.

“Ah, it’s just… it smelled like a perfume I’ve smelled a lot before. There’s no particular reason.”

Lee Han smelled his own clothes with a puzzled expression.

“Ah, there’s some scent. I don’t really know why this scent is coming from me. That’s strange…”

Kim Eun-ju was even more surprised at his words. ‘Why is that scent that I smell on Lee Hyun-woo also coming from Lee Han-ssi…’

Confused thoughts filled her head. What on earth does this strange commonality connecting her husband and Lee Han mean? Kim Eun-ju was overwhelmed by an unknown sense of unease.

Lee Han, noticing Kim Eun-ju’s complicated feelings, gave her a worried look. “Kim Eun-ju-ssi, do you have any worries? If there’s anything I can help you with, please tell me anytime.”

But Kim Eun-ju could not open her heart to Lee Han’s kind words. Rather, his appearance made her even more uneasy.

“No, it’s okay. I’m just a little tired these days… I think I’ve become too sensitive.”

Kim Eun-ju answered and got up from her seat.

“Then I should get going now. Have a good day, Lee Han-ssi.”

Kim Eun-ju parted ways with Lee Han and returned home pushing the stroller at a fast pace. But the doubts in her heart did not easily disappear. Lee Hyun-woo and Lee Han using the same perfume. There was clearly something between them. Kim Eun-ju tried to calm her confused mind and headed home. Is all of this really just a coincidence? Or… is there really something between the two?