IWTSDLPF 4

                                                         <4>

Bzzzt— Bzzzt—

“Ah!”

Seol-hee opened her eyes wide.

Early morning sunlight was coming through the window.

Her sleepy eyes looked around the small room, which was only about three pyeong wide.

She soon found the source of the vibration and reached under her pillow. She took out her phone.

[Jin Poop Car]

“Hah.”

The moment she saw who was calling, her sleepy mind became fully awake, and she let out a small laugh.

It was definitely not because she was happy to hear from Dong-chan.

Seeing his name on her phone made her realize once again that she had really returned to the past.

She calmly pressed the reject button and got out of bed.

“Dad.”

She went into the living room while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

The house was quiet.

There was a yellow note on the dining table.

[Dad went to the early morning market. Eat some apples.]

“You should have woken me up. I could have gone with you.”

It seemed her father had gone shopping to buy something delicious for his daughter, who had been through so much.

Her heart felt warm.

“Even though you aren’t feeling well…”

He had to go back to the hospital that afternoon.

Her father’s stomach cancer had been found in its early stage before her wedding, and his surgery had been successful.

But only three years after the surgery, he had passed away.

Maybe this time, things could turn out differently.

I have to at least try.

Seol-hee picked up a washed apple and took a bite.

Crunch—

A sweet smell filled her mouth.

“Mmm. Cheongsong apples.”

There were always apples in the refrigerator, no matter what season it was.

Her mother had told her that when she was pregnant with Seol-hee, she had suffered badly from morning sickness.

The only thing she could barely eat was apples.

Seol-hee guessed that was probably why she liked apples so much.

While eating the apple, she mixed glutinous rice and regular rice and soaked them in water.

Then she searched the cupboard and found some dried seaweed.

“I should make seaweed porridge for Dad.”

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Ding-dong, ding-dong—

There was only one person who would come this early in the morning.

As expected.

“I knew it.”

On the intercom screen was Dong-chan, staring angrily at the camera.

He must have been in a hurry.

Dong-chan usually loved sleeping late, so the fact that he had come this early showed how desperate he was.

Seol-hee picked up the intercom.

—Woo Seol-hee! I know you’re inside. Open the door!

He must have checked that her father’s car was gone before shouting like that.

His face was full of anger, as if he thought he had every right to be angry.

“Go to the cafe at the intersection.”

Click.

She said only that and went back to the kitchen.

She put the cut seaweed into cold water to soak, quickly washed her hands, and went to the cafe.

Jingle—

“Welcome.”

Seol-hee entered the cafe and ordered an iced latte to take out.

The cafe also had a flower shop, so it was the only place nearby that opened this early.

Dong-chan’s eyes slowly moved from Seol-hee’s head to her feet.

She was wearing a simple white T-shirt that she had grabbed without thinking.

She had three-stripe slippers on her feet, a hat pulled low over her head, and clearly had only sunscreen on her face.

Dong-chan looked annoyed.

He seemed unhappy that she had left behind the clothes he had bought for her and come wearing such cheap clothes.

His lips moved as he tried to hold back what he wanted to say.

“Oppa told you not to eat sweet things. I saw kale juice here, so you should drink that—”

“Why did you come?”

Seol-hee sat across from him.

There was no reason to listen to anything else, so she went straight to the point.

Dong-chan watched her expression and sighed.

“Are you really going to end things like this?”

Seol-hee crossed her legs and looked directly at him.

Maybe emotions really could change how someone looked.

Jin Dong-chan from ten years ago looked even more annoying than she remembered.

“Then how do you want to end it?”

To Dong-chan, her words sounded like she was saying that everything was already over.

Who said you could decide that?

He raised his voice.

“Don’t you think you should at least hear my explanation? You’re not usually this unreasonable.”

Seol-hee bit the inside of her cheek so she would not laugh.

There it is.

This was one of Dong-chan’s usual habits.

He always tried to teach other people and act like he knew better.

She did not know why she had once thought that way of speaking was kind.

Dong-chan saw her biting her lip and thought she was becoming timid like before.

Thinking this was his chance, he continued.

“And wasn’t it too much to investigate my background?”

“You didn’t investigate mine?”

Seol-hee gave him a small smile and answered immediately.

“You investigated me, my father, and even relatives I had cut ties with. You searched through everything.”

Dong-chan’s mouth opened.

His face clearly asked:

How did you know that?

Before her regression, she had accidentally found the documents on her mother-in-law In-ok’s dressing table.

She could almost hear Dong-chan desperately thinking of what excuse to give.

“Th-That’s unavoidable because of how our family is. We’re going to become family, so we needed to know everything about you. It was just to prevent problems later… But how did you find out?”

Seol-hee spoke with a mocking smile.

“I have no reason to answer someone whose own private life isn’t exactly clean.”

Dong-chan became speechless.

He needed to argue back, but he could not find anything to say.

He did not want to admit it, but everything she said was true.

Damn. Why is she so good with words?

Dong-chan had liked Seol-hee because she was obedient and knew her place.

In simple words, she was easy to control.

But the Seol-hee standing in front of him now was different.

She was rude, disrespectful…

And strangely confident.

Why do I feel like I’m losing this argument?

Dong-chan frowned deeply.

“But… Seol-hee, why are you speaking informally to me?”

During their four years of dating, she had always spoken politely to him.

Seol-hee pretended to think for a moment before answering.

“I can’t seem to speak politely anymore.”

Dong-chan gave a short, disbelieving laugh.

Just then, the owner awkwardly raised a hand to let them know Seol-hee’s take-out coffee was ready.

That was exactly how long she had planned to stay.

The maximum amount of time she was willing to spend talking to Jin Dong-chan.

“If you have nothing else to say, I’m leaving.”

Dong-chan quickly spoke.

“Are you really okay with ruining this marriage?”

Seol-hee sat back down.

“What about your father’s hospital bills? You’re already having trouble paying off your student loan. And you delayed getting a job because you were going to marry me.”

Dong-chan quickly continued.

“You know what kind of family we are, right? My mother is very angry right now. This may sound cruel, but finding a job won’t be easy for you.”

Until then, Seol-hee’s expression had barely changed.

But now, her face became dark.

His words did not sound completely like a bluff.

Her in-laws had influence in more places than she had expected.

She had seen it herself more closely than anyone.

They became friends with famous business leaders.

They gave them valuable information under the excuse of helping them, and used that to gain influence.

Seeing Seol-hee’s stiff expression, Dong-chan thought she finally understood the seriousness of the situation.

“I’ll break up with the girl I’m seeing.”

It was a lie.

“And I’ll explain everything about the wedding to my mother.”

His mother had been furious and had ordered him to bring Seol-hee back.

The fortune teller at Cheonmyeong Shrine had specifically chosen Seol-hee’s fortune.

He had said there was no one in the world whose fortune could bring Dong-chan as much luck as Seol-hee’s.

So if he brought her back, his mother would not even need to forgive her.

She would welcome her with open arms.

“Do you love me?”

Seol-hee looked up and asked a question Dong-chan had never expected.

Dong-chan became flustered and smiled.

“Of course I love—”

“You love me, but you sponsor an actress?”

Her voice was still calm.

Dong-chan’s face became stiff.

“If that’s love, isn’t it pretty strange?”

Seol-hee tilted her head slightly, as if she really did not understand.

She had met Dong-chan right after entering university.

It was also a time when she could not even take care of herself properly.

Back then, he was the only person who supported and encouraged her.

That was why she liked him and decided to marry him.

But he had approached her with bad intentions.

His control, which he called love, slowly became harassment and violence.

It made her feel trapped again and again.

Seol-hee asked him a question that made her look at the situation clearly.

“If you don’t even love me, why are you trying to marry me?”

Dong-chan opened and closed his lips.

He could not explain.

Seol-hee’s eyes stared directly into his.

They seemed to say that she already knew everything.

Seeing that Dong-chan could not speak, Seol-hee stood up.

“If you have nothing to say, I’m leaving. And don’t come looking for me again. No matter what you do to me, I will never get involved with you or your family again.”

Seol-hee picked up her iced latte and walked out of the cafe.

Dong-chan remained behind.

He stared at Seol-hee’s back as she walked farther away.

The look in her eyes from their conversation kept coming back to him.

It felt like standing in a quiet darkness, facing the sharp edge of a knife that could attack at any moment.

“She couldn’t know.”

There was no way she could know the real reason he wanted this marriage.

So why did it feel like she knew everything?

Dong-chan nervously shook his leg.

Until the morning of the wedding, Seol-hee had been just like usual.

So why had she suddenly changed into a completely different person?

Was it because of Ryu Areum?

He knew that, from Seol-hee’s point of view, this was a huge thing that she could never accept.

But the Seol-hee he knew was gentle.

Before believing something like this, she would have at least listened to his excuses.

“Could it be…?”

Suddenly, familiar faces from the wedding flashed through his mind.

There had been one person he had never invited to the wedding.

And if there was someone who could make Seol-hee change her mind…

“Could it be… Do Yi-hyeok…?”

Could she have something to do with that bastard?

“No. I made sure those two could never meet. I was extremely careful about it. Seol-hee probably doesn’t even remember what Do Yi-hyeok looks like.”

Things were becoming tangled in a way he had not expected.

Dong-chan finally started biting his fingernails.

Bzzzt— Bzzzt—

The phone on the table vibrated.

[Mom]

Dong-chan saw the caller’s name and cursed under his breath.

“Fuck. What the hell am I supposed to do?”