Jinyook, dressed in a black suit and coat, emerged from a hotel with an antique exterior.

The attendant secretary, who had been waiting in front of the hotel, greeted him, and the two got into the car together.

On the sixth day of his business trip to Europe, he was on his way to finish his last schedule.

“The meeting with the partner company at 11 A.M. will be followed by a move to the airport,” the secretary informed.

As Jinyook listened, he gazed out the window. He saw people with umbrellas moving through the exotic scenery.

Drip, drip…

Raindrops speckled the car window, blurring his view. Watching the rain-soaked landscape, an old memory surfaced — the first time he saw Yeonju.

Yeonju, with her long black hair reaching below her shoulders, was wearing a white school uniform. Something, either tears or raindrops, glistened on her pale, almost transparent skin.

She stood there, looking like a drowned mouse, a sight that often came to mind on rainy days.

His initial impression was that she was pretty and pitiable.

But that was all. There were no deeper emotions. She was neither beautiful enough to captivate him nor pitiable enough to evoke a desire to help.

At that time, he never thought he would encounter Yeonju again in his life.

That the small high school girl would become his wife was beyond his wildest imagination.

Lost in these recollections, Jinyook’s eyes shifted to a luxury jewelry store on the roadside.

The jewels displayed in the window, sparkling and catching his attention, seemed perfect for Yeonju. He thought a silver necklace would suit her slender neck and fair skin.

“Stop here for a moment, please,” Jinyook requested, stepping out of the car and heading straight into the store to ask for the necklace he had noticed. The store clerk praised his taste, mentioning the designer’s fame.

Jinyook examined the necklace presented by the clerk. A teardrop-shaped diamond was set in the center, seemingly perfect for Yeonju’s delicate beauty.

“Please wrap this up,” he said, handing over his card and waiting as the clerk packaged the necklace. He had time before his next meeting, making this impromptu purchase possible.

Realizing this was his first time personally selecting a gift for Yeonju, Jinyook felt an unfamiliar anticipation. He imagined her delighted face upon receiving it.

She would surely be happy. He wanted to kiss that happy face, to hold her in his arms. All night long, until exhaustion took over…

Thinking of Yeonju, breathless in his embrace, stirred a heat within him. He wanted to abandon the trip and rush home.

It had been days since he held the weakened Yeonju. Now that she was eating well and returning to her usual self, there was no reason to hold back.

As soon as he got home, he would take Yeonju in his arms and head to the bedroom. Or perhaps, there wouldn’t even be time to reach the bedroom.

He imagined greeting Yeonju at the door, showering her with kisses, pressing her against him. He longed to spend the night immersed in her warm breath and sweet scent.

The image of Yeonju, gasping with flushed cheeks, filled him with warmth, spreading even to his head.

“Sir, the wrapping is done,” the clerk’s voice interrupted his heated fantasy. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Jinyook cleared his throat with a soft cough before approaching the clerk.
The small box containing the necklace was luxuriously wrapped.

“Do you like it?” asked the store clerk.

“Yes, it’s good.”

Jinyook placed the wrapped box in his coat pocket and was about to turn away when his phone rang with a distinctive tone.

The caller ID displayed “Secretary Joo Minhee.” Jinyook’s eyes narrowed upon seeing the name. According to Minhee, Yeonju had been living her usual life without any unusual incidents. Thankfully, neither Aelan nor Hongseok had tried to contact her in his absence.

So, receiving a call from Minhee now likely meant something unusual had happened. Jinyook answered the phone immediately.

“Hello?”

[Jinyook speaking. Can you talk?]

There was a sense of urgency in her breathless voice. Jinyook, raising his voice a tone, asked, “What’s going on?”

[Yeonju wanted to go for a walk, saying she felt too cooped up in the house. We were walking near the house when she said she wanted something from the market. While I was buying items…]

Minhee’s voice faltered, despair seeping through.

[Yeonju disappeared.]

Incheon International Airport.

Jinyook hurried out of the airplane and swiftly exited the airport. A black sedan awaited him, with the driver standing by.

“Hello, Director.”

“Give me the keys.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll drive.”

Jinyook took the keys and immediately got into the driver’s seat, believing he could drive faster than the chauffeur. He started the car and accelerated swiftly, speeding down the road.

Deep furrows marked his brow, wrinkles that hadn’t eased during the entire flight from Europe to Korea.

[Yeonju disappeared.]

Eighteen hours earlier, upon receiving Minhee’s call, Jinyook canceled his last schedule and headed straight to the airport.

He had tried to return as quickly as possible, but given the distance and the difficulty in changing flight times, arriving now was the best he could do.

Yeonju disappeared…? He couldn’t believe it.

Just before leaving for the trip, Yeonju had waved goodbye, even smiling. And now she had suddenly vanished. It was unbelievable without seeing it with his own eyes.

Jinyook pressed the accelerator harder. Scenery whizzed past the windows.

Finally, Jinyook’s home came into view.

He parked the car in front of the house and stepped out of the driver’s seat. Minhee stood at the gate, her expression fraught with anxiety.

Upon seeing Jinyook, she bowed her head.

“I’m sorry, Director.”

Minhee, clearly tormented with guilt, continued, “I should have been more attentive… It’s largely my fault. I’ve tried contacting Yeonju repeatedly but…”

Jinyook, without responding, walked past her. He barely registered what she was saying, focused solely on getting inside the house.

He almost ran through the garden to the front door. The air he encountered felt unusually cold. Faint traces of Yeonju’s familiar scent lingered.
Jinyook immediately entered the living room, searching everywhere Yeonju might be. He checked the kitchen, the bathroom, and the dressing room, but she was nowhere to be found.

Frantically, he rushed to the second floor. He looked in the study, the storage room, the bedroom, but it was the same everywhere. Yeonju wasn’t there.

His pupils trembled, and beads of cold sweat began to form on his forehead.

This can’t be happening.

Denying reality, Jinyook started searching for Yeonju again.

She wasn’t the type to disappear without a word.

Something was terribly wrong.

Jinyook pulled out his phone and dialed Yeonju’s number.

After a few short rings, an automated voice answered.

[The person you are trying to reach is not available. Your call has been forwarded to the voicemail.]

He called again and again, but the response was the same.

After scouring the house, Jinyook paused in his study.

His gaze landed on his desk, the space in the house where he spent most of his time.

There, an unfamiliar envelope lay on the desk, a brown document envelope.

The neat handwriting on the envelope caught his eye.

Slowly, Jinyook approached and opened it.

Inside were several sheets of paper, and on the first one, he saw:

[Application for Consensual Divorce]

Jinyook’s face hardened, and his eyes quivered uncontrollably. The next page, and the one after that, all pertained to divorce.

He stared at them for a long while before his hand weakly dropped, scattering the papers across the floor.

With a look of utter devastation, Jinyook clutched his forehead.

The unthinkable story he didn’t want to believe had become a reality.

His wife had vanished.

As if she had never been there in the first place,

As if she had never stayed by his side,

She had disappeared without even a brief goodbye.