When Arthur returned home that evening, Yao already had dinner set out on the table.
"Welcome back, aru!" Yao greeted Arthur as he walked into the house. "Would you like to change first or have dinner first?"
"Have you eaten?" Arthur asked.
"Not yet, aru," Yao replied. "I was waiting for you."
"Well, you don't have to," Arthur told him.
"But I want…"
"I said, you don't have to!" Arthur yelled. "In fact, you don't even have to prepare dinner! If I don't see anything prepared, I'll just go out for dinner!"
Yao stared at Arthur with wide eyes. "Okay, aru," he said in a small voice.
"But since you've prepared dinner, I guess I'll eat first," Arthur said nonchalantly.
They both sat in silence, eating their dinner. Arthur wondered if his outburst was enough to make Yao mad at him.
When Arthur was done, he stood up to bring his dish to the sink, but Yao put his hand out, stopping him. "Let me do it, aru."
Arthur stared at Yao in hesitation. Even after he had shouted at him, Yao was willing to do the dishes for him?
Arthur nodded curtly and left to change.
Yao stared at Arthur's retreating back. He frowned – why had Arthur yelled at him like that?
Despite Arthur telling Yao not to prepare dinner for him when he returned from work, Yao did it anyway. Although Yao came from a rich family, he was frugal as well, and didn't like to see unnecessary money spent on eating out.
And Arthur, even though he yelled at Yao everyday not to prepare dinner for him, got a scrumptious meal in return. He honestly couldn't fathom Yao and what he was thinking.
Also, in spite of Arthur screaming at him, Yao was unbelievably patient with the Englishman. He would submissively agree with everything Arthur said, and tried to do everything the way Arthur wanted. It looked like Yao was trying his very best to make this marriage work, even if Arthur didn't want it to.
Arthur was expecting a package delivered to their home that day. Unfortunately Yao was not in – he had met up with his brother, Yong Soo for lunch and had lost track of time.
This led to Arthur's current series of yelling. "I told you to wait for my package!"
"I'm sorry, aru!" Yao cried. "I was out and I lost track of time!"
Arthur knew he was being unreasonable, but he really wanted to test Yao's limits. "Where were you?"
"Having lunch."
"I knew it – you are having an affair!"
"No… what?" Yao was baffled. How did Arthur come to this conclusion? "I was having lunch with Yong Soo, aru!"
"You only say that, but in truth you are having an affair behind my back!" yelled Arthur.
"No!" exclaimed Yao. "I really was having lunch with Yong Soo – if you don't believe me, ask him, aru!"
"Shut up, you whore!" Arthur brought his hand forward and slapped Yao on the left cheek. "Now I have to make a trip to the post office to collect the package!" He walked out angrily, slamming the door behind him.
Shocked, Yao brought his left hand to touch his cheek where Arthur had slapped him. In all the time they had been married, Arthur had yelled at him countless times, but he had never hit him. This was the first time Arthur had lashed out at him.
Yao's lower lip trembled as he sucked in some air to his lungs. He wouldn't cry. Men didn't cry.