Chapter 015: Suspicion
Chapter 015: Suspicion
**
The next day, everything proceeded as usual—the daily grind of heavy work.
Yet these past few days, my mind couldn't settle. Whenever I had a moment, my thoughts would wander.
After all, I couldn't monitor the real-time situation at home.
My mind kept drifting, and I even made some minor mistakes at work that I normally wouldn't make, leaving me physically and mentally exhausted.
"Honey, have you eaten yet?"
By evening, I'd waited a long time but Yumi hadn't called.
Normally, after finishing dinner after work, she'd always call me first.
Tonight, though, there was no call.
After waiting so long, unable to suppress my worries, I dialed her number myself.
Contrary to my expectations, she answered immediately.
"I've eaten, honey. What about you?"
The environment on her end was unusually quiet.
Normally, I'd hear Jihoon watching TV. Why was it so silent today? My heart tightened involuntarily.
"I've eaten too. Why didn't you call me tonight? I was worried something might have happened..."
Unable to contain my doubts, I casually asked the question I most wanted answered.
"Sigh, honey, hold on..."
Yumi sighed first, and then I heard the sound of slippers shuffling across the floor.
She must have been moving to another spot to talk to me. This made me even more suspicious.
Where was Yumi? Why was she changing locations to talk to me? This wasn't normal.
"Sigh... Today was midterms at school, and Jihoon's grades dropped significantly. It's so frustrating."
"After dinner, I was talking to him about it and completely forgot to call you..."
Yumi couldn't help but sigh heavily.
Hearing her explanation, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.
There was nothing unusual in her tone, so she probably wasn't lying.
Besides, it was only the second day since I left. Even if something had happened, it couldn't have happened so quickly.
"The kid's been through so much lately. A dip in grades is normal. Don't push him too hard..."
Though I felt much lighter, a tiny twinge of discomfort still lingered… Yumi had forgotten about me because of Jihoon.
To others, it might seem understandable. After all, a child's studies are the priority, while phone calls are just a minor thing.
"Yeah, I know. I'm planning to set up a tutoring schedule for Jihoon to boost his grades."
"After all, it'd be embarrassing for a homeroom teacher's kid to be falling behind, hehe..."
After our call, Yumi's earlier worries had largely dissipated.
"Hmm... Don't put too much pressure on yourself..."
"Alright, honey, gotta go. I need to supervise his homework."
"We haven't been keeping an eye on it lately, but starting tonight, I'm cracking down..."
Before I could finish my sentence, Yumi cut me off.
I glanced at the time on my phone.
Usually when I was away on business, our nightly chats would last at least half an hour.
Now, after just two minutes, she was already hanging up.
But there was no way around it, her reason for hanging up was impossible to refuse.
"Okay... take it easy. You and the kid get some rest early..."
"Okay, you too. Bye, honey..." Yumi replied.
But before I could say goodbye, I heard the dial tone.
Staring at the disconnected screen, I couldn't help but smile bitterly.
When Yumi talked about work, she was always so serious, especially when it involved our son.
She'd even ditched her husband for it. Oh well, no point dwelling on it. Better get some rest.
The third day was busy at work, and the evening was no different.
Yumi didn't call me, so I reached out again.
She'd already eaten dinner and was helping Jihoon with his homework as usual.
There were no sweet nothings exchanged over the phone, just snippets of Jihoon's studies and daily life.
The call lasted less than five minutes before Yumi suggested hanging up.
Perhaps she viewed tutoring our son as a job, and she disliked being interrupted during work.
After hanging up, I felt the conversation was unfulfilling.
After all, I didn't enjoy constantly talking about the child.
What I needed was Yumi's care and affection over the phone, but this time it was entirely dominated by topics about Jihoon, and Yumi seemed to relish it.
On the fourth day, Yumi didn't call me first, so I reached out.
She still talked about all sorts of things concerning Jihoon. The call lasted five minutes...
On the fifth day, Yumi didn't call me first.
I called her, and she still talked about all things related to Jihoon. The call lasted three minutes...
On the sixth day, Yumi didn't call me first.
I called her, and she still talked about all things related to Jihoon. The call lasted two minutes...
On the seventh day, my final night in this city, Yumi didn't call me either.
I reached out again.
This time, she deliberately avoided talking about Jihoon, steering the conversation toward work progress and health updates.
Yet, I detected a hint of distraction in her words...