The difference between a private citizen and a public figure is clear. A public figure. A person who is known to the public and has influence.

Therefore, a public figure must manage their 'image,' and things that would just pass by as ordinary for someone else do not flow ordinarily for them.

And I am a public figure. A quite influential actor, at that. I don't really like saying this myself, but I am a person who rose to the top solely through acting.

Living as a celebrity, the hardest thing to endure was the eyes of people. Eyes that place expectations on 'Actor Baek Do-woo' and are willing to tear him down at the slightest gap.

However, my wife was different. Though we met through an acquaintance, she was the only person who looked at the 'human Baek Do-woo' rather than my job or position.

I was grateful for that. So, even though it was a short period of one year, I married her, believing she was the person I should be with.

The world was noisy for a while just from the news of the marriage. Unlike me, who is used to such situations, everything seemed to be a first and overwhelming for her, a normal citizen.

So, to prevent my wife from feeling burdened, I kept everything thoroughly hidden even after marriage, and thanks to that, only family and a very few acquaintances know this fact until now.

However, the problem erupted in a completely unexpected place. My wife, whom I believed wouldn't have a single flaw, had exactly one decisive problem.

Alcohol.

At first, I thought she just liked it. But it wasn't. It wasn't at a level of enjoying it; it was closer to not stopping until she saw the end. She doesn't drink often, and she doesn't depend on it.

But once it touches her lips, she always crosses the line.

And every time that happened, I was the one going crazy. Unlike other husbands, I couldn't even go pick her up myself. All I could rely on were phone calls and texts.

So actually, from the moment I heard "I have a company dinner" this morning, I wasn't in a great mood... and it exploded when evening came.

11 PM. 12 AM. 1 AM. And 2 AM. It's not just once or twice. This is not right. ...I thought I'd rather end it with this one time.

In the end, I set out to pick up my wife not as a 'celebrity' but as a 'husband.' 2 AM, a busy street full of people. Out of habit, I pressed down my mask and hat and headed to the restaurant she said the dinner was at.

And my expectation was not wrong. My wife was smiling brightly, clinking glasses with a face that had no regard for time.

Seeing that, something I had been holding back finally snapped. Image or whatever, I didn't need any of it. I took off my mask and hat right there and walked into the restaurant without hesitation.

Instantly, all eyes were on me. A familiar murmur followed. But I didn't stop. One step. Another step. I headed straight for the table where my wife was. My wife's expression as she discovered me late. And the expressions of the people around her.

Everyone was frozen in shock, but I didn't care. I just uttered one last sentence.

"Honey. Let's go home."

I know what kind of ripples this one sentence will cause. It's obvious what kind of articles will pour out tomorrow morning. But it didn't matter. Because at this moment, I wasn't the celebrity 'Baek Do-woo,' but just a husband who came to pick up his drunk wife.