13. Frozen Shoulders

Ashley gasped.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself still in the living room. In a very uncomfortable position—sitting with her left side of her face resting on the table.

The sunlight had already poured in and illuminated the entire room through the large glass window from one end of the wall to the other. It made her frown several times because of the glare.

But the bright sunlight that had risen was nothing compared to the pain that shot through her when she raised her head.

A fierce, dull ache filled her neck and shoulders, radiating upwards to tingle all the nerves in her head and downward as if gripping her shoulders and back. Even after managing to sit upright, her head was still tilted to the right—it was extremely difficult and stiff to move it back to its normal position. 

Groans of pain escaped her lips, echoed repeatedly there, as she struggled until finally managed to make her head face forward.

Even after succeeding, the groans of pain continued to slip from her mouth because it was truly unbearable.

Very slowly and carefully, she crawled onto the sofa behind her and laid herself down on her back.

Tears slightly moistened the corners of her eyes as she stared at the ceiling, filling with a mountain of regret.

How could she fall asleep like that? Even this late in the afternoon—though she didn’t know exactly what time it was—without waking up. From her peripheral vision, she could catch traces of the mess from her alone midnight dinner party. On the table, boxes, plastic bowls, and several disposable food containers were scattered haphazardly. Food stains were also splattered everywhere, dirtying some parts of the table.

She sighed. Instead of waking up refreshed, she felt like her life had drained away. Her head was dizzy. And her entire body, down to her big toe, felt more sore and exhausted than the night before. She also felt his strength weakening. Not to mention the mixture of various pains now attacking her upper body—especially her neck and shoulders. Stiffness and tightness sensations alternately tugged and gripped the muscles there.

As she lay still, she could fully feel the various sensations of pain running through her. While her eyes still drifted on the ceiling of the room, her mind naturally floated and wandered.

The lingering effects of the liquor also contributed to her dazed state. Her body's tolerance for alcohol was incredibly low, but she had managed to down two bottles of soju the night before.

Now, as the effects hit her, regret slowly crept in.

Her stomach also began to feel hot and nauseous. The combination of super spicy food and alcohol didn't seem to suit her very well.

After enduring the nausea for a while, she finally gave up and rushed to the bathroom. She could no longer hold back the contents of her stomach that bubbled up her throat.

A mixture of water and chewed food, both coarse and fine, came out abundantly. It filled the bathroom with an unbearable odor.

Once she felt more relieved, she rinsed her mouth and went to the kitchen to make a warm drink. Then dragged herself back to her bedroom and laid down comfortably on the bed.

She checked the clock, which was already ten in the morning. 

Planning to sleep just a little longer to fix the chaotic feeling in her body, her eyes began to close. Not long after lying there, she drifted into sleep once again.

Probably because the overwhelming fatigue was simply unstoppable, along with the drowsiness that was still hanging over her due to a very poor quality night's sleep.

Ashley woke up again after a few hours of deep sleep.

She glanced at the desk clock on the nightstand next to her bed—past one in the afternoon.

It felt like she had just closed her eyes for a moment, but three hours had passed.

She still felt the ache in her back and the tightness in her calves. The pain gripping her neck and shoulders hadn’t faded either. But at least this time, she woke up feeling much better than before—her head buried in a soft pillow and her body wrapped in a warm blanket. It was so comfortable that she wanted to sleep again without a care in the world.

But her stomach rumbled and twisted.

She had eaten a lot, but now she was hungry again.

Being angry not only drained her emotions, but also her food reserves in her body.

With laziness hanging over her, she tried to get up and cleaned herself up.

Just as she stepped in the bathroom, she vaguely heard her cell phone ringing in the living room.

She went out again to make sure her hearing wasn't wrong, and saw a missed call from Bella. She immediately dialed back.

“Are you still busy with your husband? I just wanted to say goodbye. That's all. Bye, have fun.”

Bella spoke as soon as she picked up the line and hung up as soon as she finished before Ashley could respond. Ashley automatically winced in annoyance.

She quickly pressed the call button again, and ready to spit out her frustration as soon as Bella picked up.

“Don't hang up!”

“Why are you yelling? I just don’t want to interrupt you.”

“Interrupt me what? Who says you're interrupting? When does your plane leave?”

“Later tonight. I'm just going out to eat and buy souvenirs.”

“Come eat with me. I happen to be leaving. I'll send you the address, and you can show it to the taxi driver.”

“Going where? With your husband? Alone?”

“Why would I be with him? I want to eat with you before you go home. We probably won't see each other again for a long time, so—”

“Ah, I feel bad. But are you sure your husband will let you go? You're newlyweds... is it that easy for him to just let you go?”

“Well, yeah, it’s fine,” Ashley muttered, knowing exactly what Bella meant. But unfortunately, her marriage was not as Bella imagined. “So what? I’m just going out for a bit to see a friend. Take Mike with you too.”

“I can't.”

“What do you mean? Why can't you?”

“I’ve knocked on his door countless times, called, and sent tons of messages. But he only replied with one short message that was... very strange.”

“Very strange? Are you sure he’s in his room? What if he went out and got lost?” Ashley suddenly remembered the robber who had pestered her back in school. “Hah! What if he met a bad guy and got into trouble?!”