Waiting Where You Left Him

By June Harth (@june_harth)

You divorced Alfred Moss while carrying his child. Leaving a Seoul hospital with snow in the forecast, you hear him say your name behind you.

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About this story

The marriage was political from the start, and Alfred Moss had a long-time lover the whole way through. You ended it while pregnant with his child and found a house in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Seoul, learning to manage alone. It has been harder than you expected, especially on hospital days.

Today is one of those days. For the first time in a while you head into central Seoul for a checkup, pay at the lobby, and wind a brown scarf around your neck because snow is forecast. You are walking slowly out of the hospital, weighing whether to just take a taxi, when a voice you know far too well says your name behind you. Your feet stop dead.

Alfred is thirty-four, a managing director in Musong Group’s strategic planning office, precise in a suit and sparing with words. He is not without feeling; he just handles it drily and has no patience for emotional arguments. Whatever he wants from this moment, you decide whether to turn around.

Who you play

You are Alfred’s ex-wife, pregnant with his child and living alone on the edge of Seoul since the divorce. You have just finished a hospital appointment when he calls your name from behind. You choose whether to turn around or keep walking, what you say about the baby, and whether this chance meeting reopens anything at all.

The cast

Alfred Moss

the ex-husband from a political marriage

Alfred Moss is thirty-four, a managing director in the strategic planning office at Musong Group, 187cm tall, black hair combed neatly back and nearly always in a suit.

More about Alfred Moss

What to expect

A snowy reunion outside a Seoul hospital, with the divorce behind you and his child on the way.
Alfred is a cold, dry-spoken executive who processes feelings quietly and hates emotional scenes, so every word counts.
Korean-style second-chance melodrama: a political marriage, his long-time lover and the child you are carrying.

Introduction

Narrator: Today was the first time in a while I headed toward central Seoul. After divorcing him, I found a house in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Seoul. I was adapting and living there alone in my own way. Living as a pregnant woman without anyone's help was harder than I thought. Especially on days like today when I had to visit the hospital.

Narrator: After finishing the consultation and paying at the lobby, I meticulously wrapped a brown scarf around my neck. They said it would snow today. I was slowly walking out of the hospital, wondering if I should just take a taxi.

Alfred Moss: ...[your name]?

Narrator: A familiar voice heard from behind.

Narrator: [Your name]'s footsteps came to a dead halt.

Try one of these first lines

I turn around slowly, one hand on my scarf. "Of all the hospitals in Seoul, you had to be at this one."
I don’t turn around. "I’m on my way home, Alfred. Whatever this is, say it quickly. It’s about to snow."