PARADOX 25

[Anonymous] I think my husband is married to his work

Hello. I’m a newlywed, married for about 3 months now.

Before the wedding, my husband did tell me he’d be busy because it’s a very important time for him.

So I tried to be understanding, but lately, I’m just so exhausted… ㅠㅠ

My husband has frequent overtime and business trips, so he hardly ever comes home.

I’m just left alone in this big house, and I keep thinking, “Did he marry me or his job?” It’s making me so depressed.

He stops by the house occasionally, but it’s usually so late that it’s hard to even share a meal together. He’s so tired that he falls asleep almost immediately, so we barely talk.

Before we got married, I thought it was cool how hard he worked… but I didn’t know it would be like this.

I think I feel this way even more because my friends who got married around the same time as me look so lovey-dovey and happy.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

How can I overcome this period…

I’m so troubled.

Comments

—Oh no, and you’re newlyweds ㅠㅠ You must be so lonely.

—It sounds like your husband is being a bit indifferent. No matter how busy he is, he should at least be able to look after his wife’s feelings. Try to pick a day and have a proper talk with him. You’ll never get this honeymoon phase back, so it’s a shame to waste it like this.

└(Author) I saw the comments and talked to my husband. He said he’s actually preparing to change jobs because he wants to spend more time with me! I’m looking forward to spending more time together in the future. ^_^ hehe

└That’s great! Congratulations!

“Espers can’t exactly change jobs, though…”

Hanseo muttered to himself without thinking.

It was a meaningless comment—as meaningless as the act of staring blankly at his phone.

A week had passed since the wedding. And Gu Jeyi hadn’t come home today, either.

To be precise, he hadn’t emerged from the Gate he entered on the day of the wedding.

“Hmm…”

Naturally, he wasn’t worried about Gu Jeyi not being able to get out. He knew better than anyone that Gu Jeyi wouldn’t die in a Gate.

Rather, his eyes were feeling stiff from staring at his phone for too long. Hanseo put his phone down and picked up the remote.

The 85-inch TV, which had been purchased and installed within three days, had quickly become Hanseo’s favorite piece of furniture.

—…Chun-sim, you may leave now.

A rerun of a famous historical drama was playing. It was a drama Hanseo had seen in his past life.

‘I think this one was pretty good.’

Hanseo focused on the screen.

The camera illuminated a room lit only by candlelight. Inside the room, a woman still wearing her wedding robes sat alone, staring at the empty space and murmuring.

—…In the end, my husband does not come.

Even as she murmurs this, the woman cannot blow out the lantern. Soon, her gaze turns toward the firmly closed door. As if she expects to hear the sound of footsteps approaching from outside.

However, no such thing happens.

—It was not love that I sought. I only wished for him to meet my eyes once, to call my name once… Ah, he is so cruel to me.

As she murmurs sorrowfully, transparent tears roll down her pale cheeks…

Beep.

Hanseo turned off the TV. The expression reflected on the black screen was peculiar.

‘Was that actually in that drama?’

He felt strange. From the internet post to the drama, everything seemed eerily similar to his situation, almost as if someone were playing a prank on him.

Of course, Hanseo wasn’t waiting for a groom who wouldn’t return while weeping sorrowfully like that woman.

If there was anything Hanseo had done for the past week, it was lying on the large sofa and surrendering his entire body to the stimulation provided by the media.

‘But I think I could use that as a reference once Gu Jeyi returns.’

Isn’t that exactly what ‘Yeo Hanseo’—someone who married the person he loves but hasn’t seen his husband’s face for a week—would do? Hanseo, who had roughly mimicked the melancholic and sorrowful face of the woman in the drama, chuckled and sat up.

In truth, resting for a week wasn’t entirely his own choice.

‘I’ve gained too much attention.’

After Gu Jeyi announced the news of his marriage, it seemed the public’s curiosity about Hanseo had exploded. It was a reaction even more fanatical and explosive than when he first appeared as the survivor of the Heuk-yeong-dong Gate.

Back then, even though his face was revealed, there was a self-regulating atmosphere on the internet saying “one shouldn’t do that to a victim.” Now, on the contrary, people wanted to find out about Hanseo’s identity by any means necessary. To the point where if you typed Gu Jeyi’s name into a search bar, “Gu Jeyi Husband” would pop up immediately at the top.

Fortunately, Gu Jeyi had kept the identity of his spouse strictly a secret. However, there was no way to stop everything from leaking through the cracks.

After learning that reporters who found Gu Jeyi’s residence were wandering around with fire in their eyes hoping to find even a small clue, he was being even more careful. Having realized through the last incident that things become irreversible once they spread on the internet, he was keeping a low profile.

Still, as time passed, the intensity was definitely less than before. It was also because public attention had shifted toward Gu Jeyi since he had been attacking a Gate for a whole week.

Hanseo made a decision.

‘It should be fine to start moving now.’

And it seemed Hanseo wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Ding!

His phone rang.

‘Is it spam again?’

After blocking Park Jin-tae, there was no one in particular who would contact him, so Hanseo checked his phone with a look of annoyance.

However, unexpectedly, it wasn’t spam, but a message from someone he knew.

The problem was that he had no idea why the other person was contacting him.

‘Why on earth is this person…?’

Hanseo, who had prepared in a hurry to make it on time, entered a cafe near the Center. It was a small private cafe with about five tables, and there was only one customer other than Hanseo.

That one and only customer smiled.

“This is a cafe my parents run, so I rented it out for just an hour. I thought you might feel a bit uncomfortable since it’s near the Center.”

“Ah, thank you, instructor.”

“Just call me Guide Im Eun-young. You’re not a trainee anymore, are you? Well, in private, you can call me noona.”

The person who had contacted Hanseo was the instructor who had been in charge of Guide training.

While they had exchanged brief messages when she passed on the news about Park Jin-tae, they hadn’t really spoken since then.

Unable to guess why the instructor had contacted him, Hanseo did not let his guard down.

“Then you can call me Hanseo too, noona!”

Of course, only in his head.

Watching Hanseo smile brightly, the instructor looked as if she were looking at something cute, but on the other hand, she looked a bit complicated.

“It’s a bit late, but congratulations on your marriage. You became an adult before I did, Guide Yeo.”

“Ah, no. More than that, I’m sorry I couldn’t invite you to the wedding.”

“There’s no need to feel sorry about that. It seemed like things proceeded in a hurry, so you probably didn’t have the chance.”

It was a statement that felt a bit strange. Before Hanseo could retrace that feeling, the instructor continued.

“Still, it’s a relief. I think I would have been a bit anxious if you had become a team Guide as you were.”

“I am a bit unreliable, aren’t I… even though I worked hard.”

“Your Guiding skills are outstanding, Guide Yeo. If anything, that would have been the problem.”

She was pointing out Hanseo’s naive attitude compared to his Guiding rank and skill. However, Hanseo only blinked his eyes as if he didn’t understand. The instructor didn’t bother to explain and asked in a soft tone.

“Then are you going to be working as Esper Gu Jeyi’s exclusive Guide now?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Even if you’re married, don’t forget to make sure you’re properly compensated. For your information, this is about how much an exclusive Guide receives.”

The instructor mentioned a fairly large amount, but Hanseo wasn’t surprised.

Gu Jeyi had already written an amount twice that size in the contract.

However, he hadn’t received a single cent yet. It was money he received each time he performed Guiding, and the count was still at zero…

“Looking at your face, it seems he takes good care of you. That’s a relief. Then again, Esper Gu Jeyi isn’t the type of person to be stingy about things like that.”

As she said that, the instructor suddenly picked up her phone and began typing something. Hanseo waited, thinking it might be an urgent message, but the instructor showed the screen to Hanseo.

[Text on screen: Yeo Hanseo-ssi, are you really okay? Did Esper Gu Jeyi force you into this marriage?]

Hanseo looked at the instructor with a startled expression. The instructor continued speaking nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.

“To be honest, even I would say yes if Esper Gu Jeyi asked me to marry him. He has the kind of face that makes it perfectly normal to fall in love at first sight. Maybe because he’s lived in the Center since he was young, but he does have a bit of a stiff side that’s unusual for his age.”

“Ah.”

“But did Esper Gu Jeyi really fall for you and chase you around? Since he’s someone who always has such a blunt expression, it’s a bit hard to imagine.”

The instructor watched Hanseo’s expression quietly and then typed another message.

[Text on screen: Nod if it’s true, shake your head if it’s false. Rest assured, I will make sure nothing bad happens to you even if you tell the truth.]

After slowly reading the message, Hanseo shook his head.

“No, actually… I was the one who fell for him first.”

“Oh, really?”

Letting out a short exclamation, the instructor was still looking at Hanseo with an unconvinced expression. Soon, she tapped on the screen again.

Right then, Hanseo’s phone began to ring.

“Ah! I’m sorry. Just a moment.”

Seeing the name that appeared on his phone, Hanseo answered quickly.

“Yes…”

Before Hanseo could say anything, the person on the other end spoke urgently.

—Han, Hanseo. Can you come over here right now? Right now, Jeyi is…

“I’ll be there!”

Without another thought, Hanseo jumped up and ran out of the cafe.

He was in such a hurry that he even forgot to say goodbye to the instructor.

Therefore, he didn’t know that the instructor, left alone, muttered something that would have made Hanseo jump if he had heard it.

“Hmm, well… it looks like he really does like him.”