The Confidante

It was midnight. Coree wakes up and finds herself sleeping in the ground floor office. She has been waiting for her husband, Jae. It was known to her that the man she has been married to for almost twenty years is one of South Korea's famous architects, and she had long accepted the fact that he values his work a lot. He has not come home yet, she thought. She gets up, turns off the desk lamp and goes out the office door which is a few steps away from their contemporary Asian home. She was supposed to attend a conference overseas, as a fashion designer, but when he found out, he got upset which led her to cancel her attendance. "It is our twentieth anniversary, Coree. And you even have the guts to tell me that you would rather spend the weekends with your colleagues than with me and the kids." He slammed the door right after he got out of the master's bedroom. It was clear that he did not want her to go. Coree thought of it the whole day, and decided to not go to the conference. “This time, I am choosing my family,” she tells herself. She did not bother to tell her husband that she had sent the driver earlier to pick the kids up and take them to her parents' home while she prepared a dinner for two in the main kitchen. She isn't a good cook, and she is fully aware of it, but tonight is special. She waited for him to come home as she had finished cooking by seven, stayed in the office and woke up to sounds of heavy footsteps and banging on the stairs. She closes the office door behind her, and goes to the main house. She was halfway up the staircase, when she saw light peeking through the bedroom and heard a woman's voice. It sounds very familiar, but she still has no clue of who it is. She makes a few steps more, trying her best not to make a sound, her heart pounding in fear, sweat all over her, she finally reaches the end of the staircase. The master's has its door open which allows a bit of light to shine through the staircase. Coree makes a few more steps, getting closer to the room. She gets in, and as she does, she sees clothes all over the floor. Coree opens her mouth in shock, her jaw drops in awe at the fact that she sees her husband's blue coat, exactly where she steps on. She hears sounds of a man and a woman kissing and as she sits on the floor, she covers her mouth with both her hands to make sure she will not be making a single sound. She cries in silence, but she touches something beneath. It is a red women's underwear. She has definitely seen this before. It was made of silk, which looks a lot like the gift she had given her best friend a year ago, on her birthday. She lifts it up with a finger, and by looking at the embroidery on the left hip, she is able to confirm who the owner is. Beside it is a ring, she makes no mistake in recognizing it, as she wears the other piece that makes the pair. It is a wedding ring. She gathers up all her strength, gets up, and takes a couple of steps. She sees him, his back facing her, he still is unaware of her presence. She feels her heart beat so loud that she hears it. She hopes it is a different man, she wants to tell herself at the very moment that her husband, Jae would never hurt her. “I choose to know the truth,” she murmurs. She extends her left arm and turns on the light. The man turns and sees her, shocked. A woman gets up the bed, her eyes are very familiar and her expression turns blank. Coree witnesses the most horrific day in her life, but she manages to keep her calm as the two people wrap themselves in the sheets. “What are you doing here?” asks Jae. Coree crosses her arms and returns the question, “What am I doing? This is my house.” She looks at him with tears in her eyes, and then she turns and walks towards the woman who is undressed. She continues , “This is my house, my husband, and my best friend.” She could not continue, as the words are getting difficult to utter each time. Mari, has been her best friend since they were in kinder. She starts to breathe heavily, runs out the door and hurries down the stairs. “Coree, I can explain.” Jae shouts as he wraps himself with a towel, runs after her downstairs and out the house. Mari stayed in the bedroom, with tears in her eyes, and a smile on her face.