Translator: Nox

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A dark-colored, unfamiliar stiletto heel lay in the entryway of her husband's officetel.

Im Se-ah stood frozen, unable to step inside. She couldn't control her expression.

"You're here? Your husband is in the shower."

The owner of the shoes was revealed sooner than expected. Perhaps he had her run this errand precisely because he had no intention of hiding it.

"Heo Yuri, why are you..."

"Why am I here? Why do you think?"

Yuri, who spoke so irritatingly, was Se-ah's longtime friend. Se-ah was speechless, staring blankly at her friend, who was wearing nothing but a gown. Yuri approached Se-ah, mocking her.

"Did you bring Ji-man's clothes?"

She snatched the shopping bag from Se-ah's hand and unceremoniously checked its contents. Comfortable clothes, a shirt for tomorrow, a suit, even underwear.

"Bring two pairs of underwear from now on. I'll be asking you often."

Se-ah couldn't understand Yuri, who went back inside humming. For a moment, she wondered if she was misunderstanding the situation.

"Why are you so brazen?"

Rage steadily built up inside her. She couldn't believe the betrayal of the two people she thought were closest to her. The two of them, really the two of them... Her jaw trembled with emotions that went beyond bewilderment and turned into shock.

"Oh my god, you really didn't know? For eight years?"

Yuri looked astonished, as if Se-ah was the biggest fool in the world.

Se-ah knew that Ji-man wasn't the same as before.

Although it was a political marriage for the sake of their families, Ji-man and Se-ah tried to love each other. Even if they weren't head over heels, they tried to be as affectionate and considerate as possible. Until she found out she was infertile.

Se-ah had a constitution that made it difficult for her to have children. She went to the hospital and tried everything, but in the end, a child never came.

"You can't even have kids, yet you tried to stick around?"

"How can you say such a thing..."

"Ji-man must have gotten tired of you. We were so obvious, how could you not notice for eight years? You should have been more perceptive."

Shock turned into anger. She was appalled by Yuri's attitude, who didn't feel guilty or apologize, but instead acted so brazenly. Heo Yuri had often looked down on her, but this was far beyond the limit.

Without even taking off her shoes, she charged in. She intended to grab Heo Yuri's long, well-maintained hair and throw her to the ground.

"What are you doing?"

It was just as she grabbed Yuri's hair. Ji-man, who she didn't know when he came out, grabbed Se-ah's wrist and pulled her down.

"You... What are you doing!"

"Get a divorce."

"What?"

She felt utterly drained. His eyes, which spoke of divorce so resolutely, held not a trace of apology. The past eight years, during which she had given up her dream of acting for him and made every effort, flashed before her eyes like a panorama.

"How could you do this to me..."

She always felt guilty towards her in-laws because she couldn't have children. Ji-man was the only son in three generations, and her mother-in-law desperately wanted a grandchild.

She had to endure all sorts of harsh words and contempt from her mother-in-law. Being treated like luggage, like a housekeeper, at her husband's family home.

"Don't be clingy, go to your family and tell them you're getting a divorce."

The gaze that looked down on her was icy. Ji-man, who didn't avoid her gaze and didn't seem ashamed at all, dragged Se-ah out and pushed her out the front door.

"I'll give you enough alimony so you won't be disappointed."

"Do you think I'm angry because of that?"

Only hollow laughter continued to erupt. Alimony? She didn't need that kind of alimony. Love? Loyalty? Whatever. Her love had faded as well, and her friendship with Yuri wasn't that deep.

Okay, let's concede a hundred times, let's say they had to have a child to continue the family line. Or let's say he found someone he loved more than her.

Then at least he should have shown her this scene and told her about the divorce, but rather explained and made her understand with an apology! Even then, she might or might not have accepted this situation.

"Then. Do you even love me?"

She had tried to love him. But he twisted up the corners of his mouth as if he had never loved her even once. Saying that they weren't head over heels for each other anyway.

"The scandal eight years ago."

Se-ah frowned at the story Ji-man suddenly brought up. There was an incident that forced her to give up acting, which she had loved so much. Do Geon-ha and Im Se-ah. The nasty scandal endlessly tarnished her image, which was just beginning to rise as a rising star. She actively explained that it wasn't true, but the explanatory articles kept getting buried.

The public only remembered the sensational content, and the entertainment industry, which lived off the public's attention, turned its back on Se-ah. It was a pretty big blow to Do Geon-ha, who was already a top star, so how would she have felt? But why was he bringing up that story now?

"Don't tell me..."

"I did it. Heo, the CEO, and I worked hard on it."

"Do you know how much Ji-man and my dad suffered back then?"

Yuri said with an exaggerated sigh. CEO Heo was Se-ah's agency's CEO at the time and Yuri's father. She was speechless at Yuri's attitude, who spoke as if she had really had a hard time.

Se-ah's agency was quite large. It was strange that no matter how many explanatory articles and rebuttals they released, they kept getting buried. But she never imagined that the agency would be involved.

"We needed a woman who could have children and take care of her husband, but a working woman was a problem."

Then isn't Yuri, who he's seeing now, a working woman? She wanted to argue because it didn't make sense, but she kept her mouth shut. Because she didn't want to seem like she was clinging on in the slightest.

"That's all it was. Not love or anything. I'm busy, so leave."

Saying that it was a good thing they didn't have children, he said terrible things until the end and slammed the front door shut.

"Heo..."

She stood in front of the officetel for a long time.

The shock of learning the truth behind the scandal eight years ago was too great to handle. She felt empty and angry. She wondered what she had done wrong. There was nothing she could change now. She felt wronged.

She had lived a life without herself for a long time.

Honestly, she was exhausted. Every day was a struggle, living like a sinner because she couldn't have children.

There had been more than one or two times when she wanted to run away. She was dumbfounded and angry, but she didn't want to change this situation and continue the relationship.

"..."

Se-ah, who was slowly leaving the officetel, stopped in front of the crosswalk.

She began to hear the sound of cicadas. An insect that spent seven years in the ground and then burst into song for only one season before ending its life. Even cicadas endure for such a long time and burn with passion, so what about my life?

A burst of laughter erupted at the sudden silly thought. Maybe I'm abnormal. Laughing in this situation.

"I wish I was crazy."

Se-ah, watching the cars speeding past in front of the crosswalk, suddenly looked up. She felt dizzy at the thought of her mother-in-law's nagging as soon as she entered the main house. She lived in that house, but she didn't feel like it was her home.

The hazy summer sky.

A corner of July before the vacation was busy. The excited noise of midsummer was deafening.

Had she told her mother-in-law about the divorce? Ji-man didn't seem to have said anything first, so she couldn't help but sigh. As she rolled her eyes around, a flashing outdoor billboard caught her eye.

The person advertising the luxury bag with a smile on her pretty face was her longtime friend, Heo Yuri.

The absurd sight she had just seen dominated her mind.

A hollow laugh escaped along with the buzzing of cicadas. The humid and damp air filled her lungs as the tail end of the typhoon passed.

Screech-

The traffic light at the crosswalk turned green and the cars stopped. People began to cross the crosswalk.

Se-ah just stood there blankly in the noise.

Her husband and friend were brazen even as they committed adultery.

'Don't be clingy, go to your family and tell them you're getting a divorce.'

She expected him to pass the buck to her because he didn't want to be scolded by his mother. What should she do?

Should she keep her mouth shut until Ji-man tells her first? Or should she say she's getting a divorce and leave the main house?

She felt sick to her stomach and suffocated when she heard even more news that made her feel betrayed, even though the affair alone was enough to make her stomach churn. She suddenly felt dizzy and staggered before regaining her balance.

She didn't have a single card to turn the tables. It was useless to expose Ji-man's behavior in front of her mother-in-law.

"What should I do?"

She wanted to get revenge. Back then, eight years ago, her father's business was in crisis, and she lived thinking that it was heaven's will to help him.

Even though her heart was aching, she tried to think of it that way. Foolishly and stupidly.

"What should I do first?"

She tried to pull herself together, but her mind was blank and nothing came to mind.

In the meantime, the signal changed. Se-ah rubbed her throbbing head as she looked at the red light across the street.

A three-lane road with traffic in both directions. Seeing not only small cars but also large trucks speeding by made her want to throw up. It had been a whopping eight years.

She had been deceived by her husband and friend for eight years.

How could they do that? How could they be so cruel wearing human masks...? The more she thought about it, the more shocked she became, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Screech-

The signal changed again and the cars stopped.

Suddenly, she remembered herself before the arranged marriage. Back then, she was working hard for her dream, but she couldn't see a way out.

What if she had devoted herself to her work more desperately back then? More desperately than just a pure desire for acting.

She was always in the back because she belonged to the agency where Yuri's father was the CEO, along with Yuri, but Se-ah was still a promising acting prospect.

She had loved acting since she was a child and devoted herself to it until her early 20s before she got married. Her bloodline must have played a part. Her mother was a famous actress that everyone would know if they heard her name.

She was dead now, though.

Because her surname was different and she looked more like her father, no one thought of her mother when they saw Se-ah. It was also because her father hated her mother's job and didn't disclose the information. She liked and respected her mother, but she could only miss her in her heart.

"Haa..."

A sigh escaped from her lips as she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them.

Things started to go wrong after she met Ji-man. From being caught up in a sudden scandal to retiring from the entertainment industry. It felt like everything was flowing that way. So she just gave up.

Not knowing that it was all his scheme.

What if she had known? What kind of life would I have been living if I had known everything?

The green light was flashing in the distance.

It was a futile imagination and a meaningless regret. The signal turned red the moment she took a step to cross the street belatedly.

The afterimage of the truck that started off with a whoosh made her snap to her senses. Se-ah quickly withdrew her foot, which had stepped onto the road, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Screech-

The tail end of the typhoon. A strong wind swirled into the cloudy sky.

"Oh oh... Get out of the way!"

"Kyaa!"

Suddenly, the people standing next to her all started running backwards. She was bewildered by the sudden sight for a moment.

Screech-

The chilling sound was louder than before. She turned around at the sound of something big cutting through the wind.

"Gasp...!"

A traffic sign for vehicles.

A large, square green iron plate was in front of her eyes.

It was no longer a distance she could avoid. The thoughts that came to mind in that short moment were neither resentment nor revenge.

I should have just lived the way I wanted to. I should have just focused on acting, even if it was hard because of the scandal and the pressure from my family. I should have gotten up, she was filled with regret. She felt it was a waste. Her life.

「It is a waste.」

It was a small sound, like a bird chirping in the distance, but she nodded her head without realizing it.

「But you're lucky. You caught the eye of the fickle god.」

Before she could even think about what that meant.

Crash!

A huge roar echoed in the middle of the road, and the street instantly became a scene of chaos.

「Live the life you want this time.」

The paramedics rushed in, took the injured to the hospital, and cleaned up the street.

A little later, breaking news flashed due to the late typhoon damage. Inside the flashing outdoor billboard, an anchor appeared along with subtitles.

One death.

Identified as Im Se-ah, wife of An.B Group Vice President Park Ji-man...

And a few days later, her funeral.

Top actor Do Geon-ha, who was caught up in a scandal with Im Se-ah eight years ago, came to pay his respects, and the world was abuzz for a while.