* * * *
After that day, Jisu started treating Jihoon noticeably better, as though they had returned to the early days of their marriage.
She even initiated intimacy that she had so adamantly refused before.
But Jihoon pushed her away, excusing himself as tired.
Because if their bodies intertwined, his heart might grow weak.
He wanted to maintain as clean a body and mind as possible until his revenge was complete.
Perhaps unable to accept being rejected, Jisu turned her back with a sulky face and fell asleep. Seeing that, Jihoon's heart stung, if only for a moment, but it couldn't be helped.
Everything was flowing according to plan.
Now, if only the final puzzle piece would arrive...
'It's about time I heard from them...?'
Jihoon quietly turned on his phone screen.
He was waiting for someone's call.
* * * *
For the next few days, Jihoon lived an ordinary life.
He woke up in the morning, ate meals, and occasionally helped out at his parents' house.
If there was anything different, it was that he didn't talk to his wife as much as before.
Rather, it was Jisu who chattered incessantly beside him now.
She rattled on in great detail about everyday things—what she did after meeting a friend today, what she saw while shopping.
When Jihoon gave no significant reply, she said with a sulky face:
"Oppa! Are you still upset about that night I stayed out? I'm sorry, so I'm reporting everything I do every day like this!"
Even at those words, Jihoon remained silent.
In the end, Jisu let out a deep sigh and asked:
"Just how long are you going to be like this? I said I was wrong! I was angry back then and did it to piss you off! And staying out was because I really drank too much! I passed out after drinking with a friend, just the two of us!"
Her excuses couldn't stir any emotion in Jihoon's heart.
Perhaps because the seed of doubt had already bloomed.
He no longer felt the great love for his wife that he once had.
All her actions simply looked pretentious to him.
That vicious expression she showed when they fought.
Thinking that was this woman's true nature, he felt as though all his affection had completely fallen away.
That very day, Jihoon contacted his father.
It was to receive the statement for the card his wife used from that day.
It was clearly stamped on the statement.
[Transaction: J Bar, 23:48]
Jihoon immediately scoured the internet to find a private detective agency.
He handed over his wife's photo, the location of J Bar, and the date, requesting that they look into her movements that day.
The fee was 5 million won.
It was a bit of a waste, but it was a matter concerning his life.
Yes, the call Jihoon was waiting for was news from that very detective agency.
* * * *
The detective agency that accepted Jihoon's request immediately commenced their investigation.
For these old-timers in the field, this request was easier than expected.
A clear photo and precise card transaction details.
One day was enough.
On the very day of the request, an employee headed straight for J Bar.
When he opened the shop door, a young female owner in sexy attire greeted him.
The employee immediately showed Jisu's photo and intimidated her.
"This woman went missing after drinking here last night."
At first, the owner flatly refused to show the CCTV footage.
The employee spoke as if he had expected this.
"It'll be hard to stay open if I call the police right now, wouldn't it? Just show me, and I'll let it pass quietly. I promise."
At those words, the owner let out a reluctant sigh.
"...Keep your promise. I just need to show you that time period, right?"
The employee smiled and nodded.
The owner manipulated the computer at the counter and brought up the screen.
On the screen was the client's wife, Jisu.
"Ah! That's her. Please turn the screen this way."
When the screen switched to a better angle, the employee inwardly shouted bingo.
Two men, two women.
Enjoying drinks together at the same table.
There was nothing more to see.
"Could I take this footage with me?"
The owner nodded with a reluctant expression.
The employee who came out after saving the footage to a USB traced their movements from the bar entrance CCTV.
He went around to nearby shops, this time using a different method.
"My cat ran away from home... Could I possibly see the CCTV from around this time?"
The sympathy-inducing tactic worked quite well.
After passing through several places like that, the destination they had headed to was a certain motel.
Thanks to the request coming in the very next day, the CCTV footage at the motel entrance still remained.
But motels were notorious for not showing their CCTV.
The employee immediately returned to the office and disguised himself.
He put on a police uniform kept in one corner of the office and grabbed a fake ID.
He went back to the motel and demanded the CCTV, mentioning a missing persons case.
The result was successful.
The time they entered the motel.
The hallway CCTV showing them entering the room.
The next morning, the man coming out first, and the woman coming out much later.
Having secured all the evidence footage, the employee leisurely exited the motel with a word of "Thank you for your cooperation."
Back at the office, the employee organized the evidence so it was easy to take in at a glance.
And he clicked his tongue as he looked at the monitor.
"Tsk tsk... She still looks young. What is she doing, leaving her husband like this? Well... it's not my place to talk since people like me make a living off this..."
As a fellow man, he felt a bitter sensation inwardly.
After finishing the report, the employee picked up the phone.
And he called the client.
"Yes, sir. I've finished collecting the evidence. Where should we meet?"
And so, all the evidence was gathered.
* * * *
The document envelope the agency employee handed over.
Jihoon took it and looked through the pages one by one.
He bit his lip hard.
But the shock was less than he had expected.
Because it was the worst-case scenario he had already simulated over and over in his head.
Who was it that said a woman's intuition was frightening?
That was merely endlessly suspecting men and occasionally getting a lucky hit.
What was truly frightening was a man's intuition.
Men who would eat the wrong order at a restaurant without batting an eye—it was those men who had sharp instincts.
Because that meant clear circumstantial evidence had been captured.
The ring that disappeared after the night out.
The attitude that suddenly changed.
Voluntary, petty reports about every little thing. And even initiating intimacy she had so refused before.
Anyone could see these were clear abnormal signals.
Jihoon furrowed his brows as he looked at the evidence photos arranged in chronological order.
Because there was a familiar face beside his wife.
Her friend Yuri, who frequently called his wife out even normally.
'I had a fishy feeling about her, and she pops up here?'
Why were bad hunches never wrong?
A hollow laugh hung at Jihoon's lips.
Seeing Jihoon grinning silently, the detective agency employee misunderstood.
'Tsk tsk, I guess the shock was so great he lost his mind.'
"Then... I'll be on my way."
At the employee's words, Jihoon bowed his head.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Yes, sir."
The employee also bowed and took his leave.
Jihoon was left alone at a Han River convenience store table.
The river breeze blew refreshingly.
After falling into thought for a moment, he entered his wife's Instagram to make a final confirmation.
And he found Yuri in the follower list and sent her a DM.
[Don't tell Jisu, but please give me your number. It's important.]
Yuri wondered 'What?' at Jihoon's sudden contact, but felt uneasy as she sent her number.
A call came through immediately.
"Hello?"
"Yes, hello Yuri. This is Jisu's husband, Kim Jihoon. It's been a while since the wedding."
"Yes... but what is this about...?"
"Ah! It's nothing much. I want to give Jisu a surprise without her knowing, and I need some help. I'll pay you generously for your trouble, so could you help me with the event?"
At those words, jealousy squirmed inside Yuri.
'Hmph, did that bitch save a nation in her past life? Landing a husband like this.'
She wasn't in a good mood.
"Ah~ that's why you said not to tell her. Yes, I should help you."
"Haha, are you busy right now?"
"No, I just finished class at school. Why?"
"Then could we meet briefly to talk?"
"Hm... okay. Where should we go?"
"No need. I'll come to you. Just tell me your location."
"Ah, I'm in front of school."
"Yes, then I'll see you in front of the main gate."
Jihoon's eyes shone coldly as he ended the call.
He was facing the final puzzle piece: a meeting with Yuri.
* * * *
Having parked in front of the university main gate, the appointed meeting place, it wasn't long before Yuri, dressed to the nines, climbed into the passenger seat.
I smiled and started driving.
"Oh my~ you're so sweet~!"
What, was she being sarcastic by calling me a sweet guy?
Yuri's face, as she sat in the passenger seat chattering away, overflowed with sex appeal unbefitting her age.
She probably had plenty of male attention.
Of course, only as a one-night stand.
"But... where are we going?"
"Ah, I want to talk somewhere quiet. There's a very pretty cafe on the outskirts. I'm thinking of renting it out for the event."
At my words, Yuri's eyes sparkled.
"Oh my~ that's wonderful~ I'll make sure to take good care of it for you!"
And so the car drove to the outskirts of Seoul, to a place with few people.
The sun was slowly setting.
Once the car turned onto a mountain road, there wasn't a single other person, let alone another car, in sight.
Perhaps growing anxious, Yuri asked:
"Hm~ there's a cafe in a place like this? Ah~ maybe like some forest cafe deep in the mountains or something. Hoho."
Her friend's husband.
That fact erased all her suspicions.
I gently pulled the car over to the side of the road.
When the car stopped, Yuri looked puzzled.
"Huh? Here? This is just a road...?"
Instead of answering, I turned off the engine and unfastened my seatbelt.
—Click.
I slowly turned my body toward her.
And with a face devoid of any smile, I said:
"Hey, you fucking bitch."
At the same time as my curse, Yuri's face turned deathly pale.
Her eyes lost their bearings and shook crazily.
"Why... why are you like this, all of a sudden...?"
Yuri asked with a trembling voice.
The darkening hour.
A road deserted of people.
A place where only the occasional car with headlights on would zip past.
The situation of a man who, just minutes ago, had worn a kind smile now completely changing his expression to hurl profanities.
Any woman would naturally be terrified.
No, honestly, even a man would have pissed himself.
Instead of answering, I turned my body back.
To grab the document envelope I had thrown in the back seat.
She flinched.
Yuri trembled in fear.
Did she think I was pulling something out?
I straightened up again, pulled out a few photos from the envelope, and flicked them onto her lap.
I spoke in a voice forcibly suppressing my anger.
"Explain."
A short, concise word.
Yuri lowered her head and checked the photos.
And froze solid.
In the photos, she and her friend Jisu were sitting with unfamiliar men, drinking.
A single word surfaced in her mind.
'I'm fucked!'
The blood drained from Yuri's face, and she alternated her gaze between the photos on her lap and my face.
It was almost as if I could hear the sound of her brain spinning rapidly.
She must be searching for an excuse to somehow escape this situation.
After a moment, she opened her mouth.
Her voice was still thin and trembling.
"I... this is a misunderstanding. That day... I liked that man so much... so I begged Jisu to stay with me, asking her to hang out just once."
Even then, she covered for her friend, saying it was her fault.
Yuri had a one-night stand with the man, and she thought Jisu had gone home first while helping her out.
Since Jisu hadn't told her separately, she had naturally assumed that was the case.
"Jisu just drank and then sent me off first, and went home on her own! It's true!"
What the hell kind of bullshit is this?
Jihoon was bewildered by Yuri's words.
Without a word, I pulled out one more photo from the document envelope.
And shoved it in front of her eyes.
It was a CCTV screen installed at a motel entrance.
In the photo, Jisu and the man were clearly captured entering the motel with their arms affectionately linked.
Yuri's eyes, having seen the photo, grew so wide they couldn't possibly grow wider.
Her mouth gaped open.
With the very lips that had just been covering for her friend, she couldn't say a word.
She had completely lost any words to say.
Only one thought echoed in her mind.
'This crazy bitch... what the hell has she been doing? Going this far off the rails wasn't part of the plan?'
The shock at the fact that her friend had been living out a trashy drama beyond imagination.
That was clearly revealed on her face.