Episode 5
Su-han had been deceiving Min-seon since the beginning of their relationship.
“If I let this slide and Min-seon does nothing, this man will deceive and discard me dozens more times using the same method. And just like before, he’ll abandon me in a miserable state.”
Her shoulders burned with pain.
She had no intention of letting it go. She wanted to return everything she had lost in her previous life, every wound driven deep into her heart. She wanted revenge. She wanted to get even.
That feeling of having lost everything, the bone-chilling loneliness, the trembling pain of betrayal—she wanted him and his family to experience it all, exactly as she had.
And then, at that final moment, she wanted him to think, ‘What did I do wrong? What did I do to end up like this?’ And until the moment he closed his eyes for good, she wanted him to never understand why this was happening to him.
It was at that very moment. As if reacting to Min-seon’s emotions, letters appeared in the air.
“Right. I saw something like this right before I died too. So I wasn’t seeing things.”
The shimmering consonants and vowels shifted about, and in the time it took Min-seon to blink twice, they formed a complete sentence.
[You have chosen revenge.
This revenge can be abandoned at any time.]
“Min-seon? Min-seon-ah? Are you angry? Don’t be like that, try to understand. You’re still young so you might not get it, but this is a necessary part of corporate life. And—”
“I’m not angry.”
Min-seon answered without taking her eyes off the text. It seemed Su-han couldn’t see it.
Angry? That word was far too inadequate to describe what she felt. She would hate him with all her life.
“Yeah. It’s good that you’re mature for your age, Min-seon.”
And then the text changed again.
[Tutorial
‘Kick Kim Su-han’s Shin!’
Reward: 1,000,000 Won]
Min-seon’s eyes narrowed. A tutorial? One million won? For something so unrealistic, the reward was quite tangible.
If that was real, how exactly should she kick Kim Su-han’s shin? Could she do it naturally?
“But why did you call me here?”
“I called you because I have something to say.”
“Does it have to be now? I’m busy.”
“If you’re busy, you must be busier than me?”
“I have a lot of work to do too.”
Su-han let out a hearty laugh. Then, as if speaking to a child, he placed a hand on top of Min-seon’s head.
“The work you do is all just miscellaneous tasks anyway, nothing important. You can do it later.”
“Even miscellaneous tasks are necessary. I was told to submit them by today.”
“By who? Manager Yoon? Forget it. If he says anything, I’ll cover for you.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Su-han stared at Min-seon. His smile faded, seemingly displeased with her uncharacteristic rebuttals.
He bent down to meet Min-seon’s eyes.
“Is our Min-seon going through that phase?”
“Huh?”
“The phase where she gets a bit of a big head. Usually, new hires get knocked down here and there while adjusting, and once they start to get the hang of it, they begin to get arrogant. They start feeling like they’re somebody, like the company can’t run without them. Right? Especially you, Min-seon, you get praised a lot everywhere, so it must be worse. But it’s all useless.”
His tone and voice were affectionate, but the words themselves were ice-cold.
“It’s all because I’ve been shielding you and propping you up. What could you possibly do outside of my shadow? So, don’t get any vain ideas.”
Min-seon listened quietly to Su-han’s words without a change in expression.
In the past, she would have hung on his every word. After all, Su-han was not only her boyfriend but also her direct superior. But not anymore.
Throughout her married life, she had heard these kinds of words. That she wasn’t good at anything, that she needed his help, that she shouldn’t get arrogantly ambitious and desire things beyond her capabilities.
Su-han said he liked that Min-seon was smart and capable, but conversely, he hated it when she outperformed him or got ahead.
It seemed what Su-han wanted was to bring a capable woman into his home and make her focus only on him.
It was because of this pathetic and peculiar psychology that he had wooed Min-seon, who had joined the company as the top recruit, married her, and then prevented her from working properly.
“And, actually… never mind. It’s better if I don’t say this.”
“What is it?”
Su-han hesitated, slowly stroking his chin.
“Some employees were bad-mouthing you behind your back. They said they had high expectations because you were the top recruit, but your actual skills are lacking. Don’t be hurt. I gave them a stern talking-to and told them to stop.”
What now.
“Ah, I see.”
“What’s with your attitude?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you sure you’re not mad at me? You’re acting a bit strange today.”
“I’m not.”
Su-han tilted his head.
It was no wonder he found it strange. Normally, by now, she would have been startled, asking in detail what seemed lacking or seeking advice on how to improve.
But how could she do that now? Su-han’s tricks were transparent to her now, and the Min-seon from before her regression was only a year younger than the current Su-han.
So the man who had seemed so mature back then was, in reality, just someone who had lived a few years longer than her, with nothing but smooth talk.
Was that all? The vivid image of him kissing another woman flashed in her mind.
So now, only four words existed in Min-seon’s mind.
Yeah, whatever.
Min-seon’s gaze drifted upward again.
[Kick Kim Su-han’s Shin!]
Those nine words looked incredibly appealing.
Kim Su-han was still the same, even with time reversed, and every word out of his mouth was trash.
She needed to verify if those words were real anyway. And above all, she really, really wanted to kick that shin with all her might.
A slow smile spread across Min-seon’s lips. Su-han, looking puzzled, rolled his eyes, then smiled back at her.
Yeah. Min-seon spread her arms and approached him. A silent request for a hug.
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue as if he’d expected this, Su-han spread his arms wide. Min-seon moved as if to hug him. Then, her foot twisted. Of course, it was intentional.
Ah, my ex-husband. His right leg was weaker, wasn’t it?
“Oh my!”
Pretending to regain her balance, she kicked up at his shin with all her strength.
THWACK!
A sound like throwing a rock against a cement wall echoed through the area.
“Argh!”
Su-han let out a short, intense scream and crumpled to the floor.
“Oh dear, oh dear! Are you okay?”
Min-seon grabbed the back of Su-han’s head, pretending to help him up, but instead gripped it tightly and shook it vigorously.
“Ah! My head! Let go!”
“Oops, sorry.”
Min-seon let go of his hair and pushed him backward. Losing his balance, Su-han fell back with a loud clatter, tangled up with the chairs.
“Aaargh!”
His shin, his scalp, his butt—everything seemed to hurt as his hands flailed about, not knowing where to go. Pitiful moans escaped his lips. He seemed unable to even open his eyes properly from the pain.
Such a drama queen. And I was the one who actually died once.
Min-seon swept back the hair that had fallen over her face. Finally, she could breathe a little easier.
Regardless of whether that mission was real or not, she had genuinely wanted to hit Kim Su-han at least once. And as if to congratulate this version of Min-seon, the text shimmered brightly.
[Tutorial ‘Kick Kim Su-han’s Shin’ Successful!]
Firework emoticons, visible only to Min-seon, exploded spectacularly in the air.
“Hey!”
Su-han shouted angrily.
“Yes?”
Su-han limped to his feet. The way he frantically rubbed his shin the whole time was pitiful.
“What the hell was that? Ha. It hurts.”
If this were the 26-year-old Min-seon, she would have been shocked by this side of Su-han, wouldn’t she?
At this point in time, Su-han had never once raised his voice or used harsh language. But having endured the tumultuous ups and downs of married life, she had seen this side of him countless times.
It wasn’t surprising in the least. It was just pathetic to see him reveal his true colors so easily.
“I’m sorry. My foot slipped. Are you okay?”
“Okay? Do I look okay? Get your hands off me. It hurts like hell. Are you sure it was an accident?”
“Of course. Why would I ever kick Team Leader-nim’s shin? It’s not like we’re mortal enemies.”
Su-han still looked suspicious, but he seemed to agree that she had no apparent reason to kick him on purpose. He rolled up his dress pants to check his leg. The skin was already swelling.
Oh dear. That’s going to bruise badly. Naturally, she felt not an ounce of remorse. Even doing worse wouldn’t be enough to release the pent-up resentment festering inside her.
“I’m really sorry. It was a mistake… Why are you so angry?”
Su-han’s face was still angry, but perhaps thinking he’d overreacted to an accident, he quickly toned down his intensity.
“No, it’s just… it hurts. I could have been seriously hurt. And why did you grab my head, for heaven’s sake?”
