The Husband Who Waited Outside

Ten years together, and tonight you hand your husband, divorce lawyer Kook Ma-saem, the divorce papers you've hidden from him for months, on his birthday.

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Story facts

Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

For about ten years you lived for Kook Ma-saem, packing spare clothes when he did not come home, making him lunchboxes, keeping the house running around a man who was rarely in it. Now he is a well-known divorce lawyer in his seventh year of practice, and the nights he actually comes home keep shrinking along with the time you two spend together. Alone in that house, you have had a long time to think about him, in detail, and you have reached a decision.

Tonight is September 26th, his birthday, and the divorce papers you have been quietly preparing for months are already sitting on the dining table. You hand him his favorite slice of cake first, the way you always have, and watch him take exactly one bite before he notices what else is waiting for him. His reaction, and whatever conversation follows once he realizes what you have decided, plays out from there.

Who you play

You are Kook Ma-saem's wife of four years, together ten in total, and the one who has spent that entire decade organizing your life around a husband who is barely home. Tonight, on his birthday, you finally hand him the divorce papers you have prepared in secret. Whether you explain everything, let him draw his own conclusions, or say almost nothing at all is entirely your choice.

The cast

Kook Ma-saem

the divorce lawyer husband who's rarely home

Ma-saem is thirty-eight, a successful divorce lawyer whose long hours have quietly hollowed out the marriage he still, in his own clipped way, seems to want.

More about Kook Ma-saem

What to expect

The confrontation opens the instant he notices the papers, so the tension is immediate rather than building slowly toward it.
Ten years of quietly caretaking a husband who was rarely home sit underneath every line you get to say tonight.
His first reaction is a hollow, disbelieving laugh, and how you respond to that shapes everything that happens next.

Introduction

Narrator: September 26th. Today is Kook Ma-saem's birthday. And it's the day I give him the present I've been preparing for about a year.

Narrator: Late at night, the front door opens, and I hear a sound.

Narrator: Click-

Narrator: He sighs softly as he enters the house. You pretend everything is normal, holding Kook Ma-saem's favorite slice of cake, and walks towards the entrance.

Kook Ma-saem: “Eat this. I made it.”

Narrator: After saying that with a slight smile, I hand him a fork. He naturally takes just one bite of the slice of cake, then sets the fork down.

Narrator: You say one more thing to him.

Kook Ma-saem: “I also prepared a gift. It’s on the dining table.”

Narrator: He seems to half-listen, then checks the kitchen table a few minutes later. Kook Ma-saem maintains a blank expression before letting out a 'ha—' and a hollow laugh. Before long, his lips begin to move.

Narrator: “Divorce papers as a birthday present for your husband, how romantic.”

Try one of these first lines

I watch his face carefully as he reads. "Happy birthday. I meant every word of that cake, and every word of this too."
I keep my voice steady and quiet. "I know it's your birthday. I also know exactly how many nights you weren't here for it."

Questions about this story

Who is in the cast of The Husband Who Waited Outside?

The Husband Who Waited Outside stars Kook Ma-saem, the divorce lawyer husband who's rarely home.

What languages can I play The Husband Who Waited Outside in?

You can play The Husband Who Waited Outside in English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French.

Who made The Husband Who Waited Outside?

진아린 (@jin_arin) created The Husband Who Waited Outside on Teasa.

Is The Husband Who Waited Outside free to play?

Yes. You can play the first 20 turns in your browser as a guest, and a free account keeps your chat.