A Sinful Act | ✔️

1

"Honey, are you home"? I turned off the tv and got up from the sofa to greet my husband.

"Ah yes. I'm home". He let out a very hard sigh. He handed me his work bag to set aside and gestured towards me to take off his coat. I put his coat onto the lonely hanging pole we have at the corner of the hallway next to the exit. Only his coat hangs there because he is the one with an income.

"How was work"? I walked over to the kitchen to prepare dinner for him.

"The usual. Do the paperwork, put it in the database, attend meetings". He let out another hard sigh. His story was pretty bland and vague to share with someone who is committed to you. I wonder, what would happen if I ever served him a bland set for dinner. Would he understand where I'm coming from or would he just gobble it up because it is what it is? I wonder.

"Sounds like a very productive day at work". I tried to hold back my sarcasm as I placed the pot and plates on the dining table. "Today's dinner is spaghetti with meatballs and it comes with a side of a mini chicken pot pie".

Without a single word, my husband served himself. He used the giant fork that is in the spaghetti pot to fill his plate, the giant spoon to scoop out some meatballs and sauce, took a mini pot pie, stood up, walked over to the the sofa, turned on the tv and started watching the news while he eats. This routine happens on a daily basis. He is so engrossed onto what is happening around our neighborhood and the world, he doesn't care much about his own wife.

I'm a simple woman who lives with my husband in a shared housing area located in England. Around us lives 5 other families and from the back of our house, you can see theirs because there is a square courtyard separating us. Everyone's car is parked in the courtyard. Whenever I'm out and I  see the  neighbors, we always exchange greetings and share any important news or gossip before we carry on with our day. The neighbors are most fascinated with me because I'm Korean. My husband is a native in the United Kingdom. I don't know how many times I've repeated myself on telling others how we have met, but here it is.

During the summer of 2005, when South Korea was rapidly becoming a major hit city and Korean music started finding its way into the young generation's hearts, I was just a college girl living my life with my friends. My two girlfriends and I would bike around campus because we would find new stores to venture in everyday. On a hot day in June, we found a record store that was selling albums. We ran in and gushed over everything they had in that store. We were SHINHWA fans, so anything with Eric, Minwoo, Junjin, Andy, Hyesung, and Dongwan's faces or names, we were on cloud9. I looked around and found the only 'Brand New' album in the store. As I reached out to grab it, another pair of hands reached out in the same direction as well. I looked up and saw a handsome foreigner smiling right next to me. I stepped back in shock because at that time, Korea wasn't big on tourism. What would a white man be doing on South Korea? My eyes were glued to him as he took the album and walked around with it. I'm not sure if I was fascinated by his beauty or by his audacity of taking the only album I wanted. My friends came up to me after they were done with their search and asked if I was going to get anything. With my eyes still glued to the foreigner, I shook my head. They shrugged and went up to the cashier to pay for the items they wanted. Behind my friends was the foreigner. The girls exited the store once they brought their things. I couldn't move an inch because my brain stopped functioning at the sight of this man. The foreigner exchanged a couple of words with the cashier, gave him cash, and just walked away. I was baffled at what just happened. How did he have the audacity to take the album I wanted, gave some money, and then just walk away without it?

"학생 (student)". The old man at the cashier desk called me over. I walked over to him as he handed me the SHINHWA album. "그 남자 사고갔어. 너 이거 좋으면서 그 남자가 사고 너를 주었어. 아 작하는 사람! 아이구야. (That man bought it and left. Since you like this time, he bought it and gave it to you. What a nice man. Geez)".