TDIMEH Chapter 11

 

11. The Peculiar Ex-Wife

It just had to be on a day with perfectly clear skies.

Even the reflection of the ship on the inky black sea was unusually vivid today. It was only a fleeting moment, but I had no hope that he hadn’t seen my face.

In Do Junhyuk’s wide-open eyes, my flustered face was exposed as clearly as a deboned chicken fillet. If there had been any sauce nearby, I might have been tempted to slather it on my face to disguise myself as seasoned chicken.

If I did that, maybe Do Junhyuk wouldn’t recognize me…

As I indulged in this useless fantasy, his deep, dark eyes narrowed as if assessing me.

His neatly arranged eyebrows tilted gradually, carrying a hint of suspicion.

“Jin... Se-ah?”

The sound of my name slipping from Junhyuk's lips made me bolt like a sprinter at the start of a race. I pressed my palms against my face and hurriedly descended the stairs.

At that moment, I had no time to come up with a pitiful excuse like "You must have mistaken me for someone else."

The lie I told before — pretending to be a foreigner — had already been exposed, so I had no more cards to play.

Rolling down to the deck below, I finally dashed into the disorganized employee break room. Only then did I let out a gasping breath that felt like it would burst out of my chest.

There was no one chasing after me, but my trembling hands still fumbled to lock the door with a loud click.

It felt like my insides were on fire, as if I had been engulfed by flames. I gulped down the water left in my tumbler, pouring it into my mouth so hastily that my chin got soaked. Despite chugging it down, only the front of my blouse got wet, and the frustration inside me didn’t ease at all.

Wiping my mouth with my sleeve, I recalled what had just happened, and frustration bubbled up.

Of all people, why couldn’t he forget the face of an ex-wife he barely saw a few times? Why did he have to have such a good memory?

My ex-husband, Do Junhyuk, was someone who had looks, wealth, and intelligence. Instead of envy, I just felt irritated.

When I glanced at the clock on the wall, there were still more than 30 minutes left until we disembarked.

I disliked the troublemaker who caused this mess, but I hated the idea of facing Do Junhyuk, who held my past in his hands, even more. So I decided to endure in the break room until it was almost time to disembark.

Everything that needed to be explained had already been explained. All that remained was the cultural performance showcasing traditional Filipino dance, and I didn’t have anything to do for that.

On a normal day, I’d have to keep an eye on the boss. But he was sitting there with a face as if he had just unified an empire, so I didn’t think he needed any attention.

Anyway, after tomorrow, I would be leaving. Junhyuk might also return to Korea tomorrow.

Sitting on a folding chair, Se-ah tapped her foot to the rhythm of the second hand of the clock and grumbled about how 30 minutes felt like 30 years.

She tried to look at her phone, but her concentration was shot, and the letters didn’t register in her eyes. It seemed like her entire nervous system had abandoned her and focused on Do Junhyuk, who was on the ship.

The more she tried not to be conscious of it, the more conscious she became — a vicious cycle.

Frustrated, she turned off her phone screen and rested her chin on her hand, staring blankly at the sky beyond the window.

Knock knock.

At the faint sound of knocking, Se-ah shot up and clutched the doorknob with a face full of tension.

“[Who is it?]”

“[Coco. It’s me.]”

At the sound of Enya's voice — Enya, who was in charge of the traditional Filipino performance — a sigh of relief escaped her lips. As long as it wasn’t Do Junhyuk, anyone could pass through this door. Well, anyone except that troublemaker.

But then, a thought occurred to her. At this time, Enya should be preparing for the traditional dance, Tinikling. Why was she here in the break room?

As the door creaked open, Enya's tearful face and her swollen, reddened ankle came into view.

“[Enya, are you hurt?]”

Se-ah's startled question was met with Enya's drooping eyes and a reply.

“[I twisted it a little during the first part of the show. I thought it would get better after a while, but it just started swelling more. I was going to push through since the boss was watching, but I really don't think I can do it.]”

Enya's face showed clear anxiety, as if she were afraid of losing her job because of this. That was why she had been forcing herself to perform.

“[How are you supposed to dance with that leg?]”

With her eyes wide with shock, Se-ah quickly pulled out the first-aid kit from the shelf.

Fortunately, there was a pain-relief ointment inside. She applied a generous amount to the injured area and wrapped Enya’s entire foot with a thick bandage. The first-aid treatment went well, but the performance was still a problem.

The schedule had already been set, so it wasn’t something that could just be canceled.

“[Coco, I’m really sorry, but can I ask you for a favor?]”

With her hands clasped together, Enya looked up at Se-ah with a pitiful expression.

“[What is it? Do you want me to talk to the boss for you?]”

It seemed like the boss was in a good mood today, so she thought there was a good chance it would work out.

“[No, not that... You can dance Tinikling too, right? Could you dance in my place just this once?]”

“[What?]”

Se-ah jumped as if she had just heard something absurd. But when she saw Enya's tear-filled eyes, she bit her lip, clearly feeling conflicted.

They say even a dog at a schoolhouse will eventually recite proverbs. Se-ah had watched the performances for nearly three years, so she had become skilled at the dance herself. It was so fun that she had even taken proper lessons from Enya.

On any other day, she would have stepped in without hesitation, but dancing in front of Do Junhyuk?

It felt like she'd be exposing every last piece of herself, and she shook her head firmly, refusing.

“[If you really don’t want to, I guess there’s nothing I can do... I’ll just have to go upstairs and tell the boss.]”

Seeing Enya turn away with slumped shoulders made Se-ah feel incredibly uncomfortable.

In the end, Se-ah called out to Enya, who had just placed her foot on the stairs, and let out a deep sigh before speaking.

“[What are you doing? Aren’t you going to change clothes first?]”

***

Why is Jin Se-ah here?

After returning from the deck, Junhyuk sat right in the center of a trio of people who were chatting non-stop. But not a word of their conversation entered his mind.

The startled face of Jin Se-ah that he had seen earlier kept replaying in his mind as if someone had pressed the repeat button.

Her long, flowing hair and glamorous face from before were gone. Instead, she now had a short bob framing her small, delicate face, which still glowed even without makeup. There was no doubt in his mind — it was his ex-wife.

If it wasn’t her, she wouldn’t have had any reason to run away from him. Her retreating figure, covering her face and fleeing from the deck, only served to reinforce his certainty that it was Jin Se-ah.

The face he had seen on the jeepney yesterday must have been hers too.

If she had hidden her face with a mask from their first encounter and even pretended to be a foreigner just to avoid him, it all started to make sense. After all, in this situation, she probably wouldn’t want to be recognized.

In Junhyuk’s mind, images of a crumbling, old house and her worn-out clothes flashed one after another.

Hiding in a place like that, it was no wonder no one knew where she had disappeared to.

He was sure he had given her enough alimony, so why on earth was she living like this in a place like that?

There had been no rumors of her gambling, so he figured there must be another reason. Perhaps she had taken on a large debt that even the alimony couldn’t cover.

No matter the reason, it didn’t sit well with him.

Suddenly, he became curious about why she was using the alias 'Coco.'

“Boss Nam, it seems like the only Korean employee here is a woman named Coco. Is she a local from this area?”

Junhyuk casually struck up a conversation with Boss Nam.

“Oh, Coco?”

“Yes. Her name sounds local, so I was surprised to find out she was Korean.”

Of course, he left out the part about being even more shocked because she was his ex-wife.

“Her real name is different, but everyone just calls her that here. It’s because all the clothes she wears are fake Cha* brand knockoffs. It was so funny that everyone started teasing her, and it stuck as her nickname.”

Boss Nam chuckled, saying the name suited her perfectly.

Fake?

He didn’t know much about women’s clothes, but he was sure the clothes Jin Se-ah wore weren’t fakes.

"Even if it’s an older design, it doesn’t seem fake to me."

Moon Sohee, who never missed a chance to shop, also agreed with him.

"Maybe she knows someone in China. She’s got connections everywhere, and she’s got quite a network here in the local community too.”

“So, she’s not from around here after all.”

"Yes, she came here about three years ago. I don't know why she came to the Philippines, but she’s such a diligent person that I never really felt the need to ask about her personal circumstances."

Diligent?

For a moment, Junhyuk let out a hollow laugh, wondering if there was any description that fit Jin Se-ah less.

Are they sure it's even the same person?

If it really was her, then for some reason, Jin Se-ah had drifted to this place three years ago and had been working hard to survive ever since.

He guessed that she had probably made up the story of having a husband deployed abroad as a way to brush off annoying people. She might have even shown them a wedding photo as proof.

Suddenly, it all made sense why Boss Nam had called him 'Coco's husband' when they first met. Realizing this, Junhyuk's curiosity about Jin Se-ah's situation grew stronger.

The side of Jin Se-ah that he had always thought of as flashy but hollow now seemed much more intriguing.

His persistent nature — the one that never let a puzzle remain unsolved — was starting to kick in.

“By any chance, is it related to Mindanao…?”

He was about to ask if her reason for going to such a dangerous place had anything to do with that, but Boss Nam, brimming with pride, pointed ahead instead.

“It looks like it’s about to start. This is the pride of our ship — the Tinikling, a traditional Filipino dance. I even brought in the best dancer from another performance hall.”

“What kind of dance is it?”

Hearing the word 'dance,' Jisang's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“It’s a lively, fast-paced dance where you jump between bamboo poles. It’s said to mimic the movements of a bird hopping around to avoid farmers, which is why it’s called Tinikling.”

Just in time, a narration like a prologue flowed out of the speakers.

'Do you know how difficult it is to capture your love? It’s as hard as catching your legs in a trap.'

Following the playful music, a dancer in traditional Filipino attire took the stage, accompanied by two men holding bamboo poles.

“Huh? Why is she up there?”

Boss Nam, who had been bragging non-stop about the performance, stood frozen, his mouth agape.

Junhyuk followed his gaze toward the stage, and as soon as he recognized the dancer’s face, he was so shocked that he nearly dropped his glass.

For a moment, there was utter silence.

Then, uncontrollable laughter erupted from him.

“Ha ha ha ha ha.”

He laughed heartily, realizing he would have to completely revise his opinion of his ex-wife, Jin Se-ah.

She really was one peculiar woman.

🌼; The brand referring to, 샤* (Chanel), a knockoff or counterfeit version of the well-known luxury brand Chanel. The reason people refer to it as Coco is likely a reference to Coco Chanel, the iconic founder of the brand. The name Coco is often used to evoke the luxury, elegance, and glamour associated with Chanel.

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