Chapter 2
Who Am I?
The sound of hurried heels echoed sharply against the marble floor.
In a rush that doubled each step, the polished shoes swung open the tall, heavy doors.
“Oh my!”
Startled, the wedding assistant hurried into the lounge, heading straight for the sofa at the center.
She had seen all kinds of situations—but never before had a bride fallen asleep right before her wedding.
Frantically, she shook the slumbering woman.
“The ceremony is about to begin!”
No matter how deep the sleep, the bride had to be awakened.
“Miss, please!”
You couldn’t just let the bride sleep through her own wedding, could you?
“Miss, the wedding is—”
“Aaaah!”
“Kyaaa!”
Despite her attempt to wake the woman gently, it had no effect—the screams clashed together, piercing the air.
Fortunately, the bride’s voice didn’t reach beyond the door.
The assistant recovered first.
“M-Miss?”
“Just now… there was a man… he grabbed me by the throat…”
Flailing her arms in the air, the woman murmured incoherent words—typical of someone just waking from a nightmare.
All traces of the heavy gloom and numbness she’d first displayed had vanished.
“He said he’d kill me and came to my side and—”
“Miss! It was a dream!”
SMACK!
The assistant clapped her hands together loudly, a sharp sound ringing through the dressing room.
The flustered bride finally froze.
Her wide eyes turned upward to the glamorous ceiling light.
It was too bright. Her eyes stung. Her head was spinning.
“A dream?”
“Yes, a dream. Whatever it was, it’s over now. You’re safe. Everything is fine.”
Some brides, overwhelmed by the pressure of marriage, had similar breakdowns.
Having calmed many before, the assistant softened her tone.
“Take a deep breath. It’s going to be alright.”
The calm voice began to settle her panic. She took deep, slow breaths, trying to steady herself.
Was it all… just a dream?
She tried to recall something—anything—but her memory felt like a blank canvas.
“Miss?”
“Yes…?”
“It’s your wedding.”
The assistant smiled gently and helped her sit up.
“You seem very nervous. I’ll go get some water. And you should put in your contacts now—it’s time.”
Contacts?
She stared blankly. The assistant offered another warm smile.
“Of course, only one person would be this important today.”
The assistant left and closed the door behind her. The bride was alone again.
“My wedding? Me? Why? I was… I was on a flight to Hawaii.”
“What the hell is going on?”
Her head throbbed. Her vision was still blurry.
She muttered to herself and held onto the nearest surface—her hands gripping the soft fabric of the unfamiliar wedding gown.
“Haaah…”
Taking a deep breath, she lifted her head.
By sheer coincidence, her hand had landed on the dresser in front of the mirror.
She gazed into it.
Her reflection was wearing a wedding dress.
Still hazy… but unmistakably her.
“What is this? What happened to me? Why…?”
It was like looking through goggles filled with water.
Instinctively, she felt around for the blur’s cause—her fingers found something.
“Glasses?”
No. It couldn’t be.
“I’ve had perfect 20/20 vision my whole life. I’ve never needed glasses!”
Yet somehow, her hand raised the pair to her nose and placed them on.
It felt… oddly natural.
She looked again.
And what she saw—
Wasn’t her.
Gone.
Her beautifully tanned skin, a result of years under the sun since her twenties?
Gone.
Her toned, muscular body, shaped from years of athletic training?
Gone.
“What… is this?”
“What the hell… Who am I?”
Her fingers traced a face that wasn’t hers—a pale, delicately made-up face framed by soft features.
Just as the scream rose from deep inside—
The door opened.
And in walked a face that could never be forgotten.
“Ha… Yoonjae?”
With her glasses on, she recognized him instantly.
That dazzlingly symmetrical face, his shoulders broad in a tailored tuxedo, his presence overwhelming.
He rushed toward her.
“I heard you weren’t feeling well. Are you alright?”
His tone was gentle, almost tender.
So much so, it made her dizzy.
“Why… why are you here?”
And then—
Her eyes fell back to the mirror.
She saw it.
What she hadn’t been able to process before.
That reflection.
That woman.
That wasn’t her.
“You look pale. Where does it hurt? We can delay the ceremony and take you to the hospital.”
Yoonjae placed a hand on her shoulder, sincere concern in his voice.
Then—his words from hours earlier flashed through her mind.
“Life is going to get a little more interesting.”
And suddenly, everything clicked.
“Joo Ae-jung.”
“NO!”
Her shout burst out like thunder.
She pushed him away.
“Joo Ae-jung? Me? Are you kidding?”
She spun around in shock, trying to deny the impossible.
“This isn’t real. It can’t be real. I must be dreaming… No—have I gone mad?”
“What are you talking about?”
He stepped closer.
She ran her hand down her face and stared at him.
“This wedding… Joo Ae-jung… you… Ha Yoonjae…”
The moment she met his stunned gaze, she knew—she had to say it.
Her panic had to come second.
“Listen to me. This might sound insane. I know you won’t believe it. I can barely believe it myself. But…”
“I’m not your wife.”
She swallowed hard and pushed on.
“I’m not Joo Ae-jung, the woman you love. I’m—”
“Too late for regrets.”
His cold voice cut through her words like a blade.
“What…?”
There was nothing romantic in the chill of his voice—it was sharp, almost cruel.
His hand tightened on her bare shoulder.
“Joo Ae-jung.”
He called her by that unfamiliar name.
His grip hurt, making her wince.
“You’d better listen.”
“You seem to have forgotten, but I’ve already given you everything. I made the offer—but you chose this. Denying reality won’t change it. Understand?”
He paused, then smiled coldly.
“We’re getting married. That isn’t going to change.”
She didn’t understand—but somehow, she did.
She stood frozen.
“Now move, Joo Ae-jung.”
In that moment, a soft voice surfaced in her mind:
“Ha Yoonjae… I love you.”
Joo Ae-jung’s voice.
“Why would you love someone like this?”
CRACK!
A thunderclap rang out from outside.
Though the room was soundproof, it echoed like a bomb.
Knock knock knock—
Someone banged on the tightly shut door.
Yoonjae released her shoulder and went to answer.
“Excuse me, Executive Director.”
A stranger entered, glancing briefly at her before handing Yoonjae a phone.
BOOM!
Another burst of thunder echoed.
Yoonjae narrowed his brows and turned up the phone’s volume.
(…At 1:55 PM, Korean Air Flight bound for Honolulu encountered a violent incident. All other flights in the same time block have been grounded. The suspect, a 20-something businessman with a history of mental illness, was arrested at the scene. The attack injured two flight attendants and left one female passenger in her early 30s dead—seated next to the suspect…)
“Go Woori is dead?”
One sentence froze her entire being.
“Who died…?”
No sound came from her lips, but her head creaked toward the mirror—like a machine in need of oil.
“Then… who am I?”
The reflection staring back, wearing Go Woori’s emotions—
—was Joo Ae-jung’s face.
Her breath caught.
Her mind went blank.
She let out a dry, bitter laugh.
“This is insane.”
And with that, her consciousness snapped.
“Joo Ae-jung!”
—someone shouted from afar.
But she had already blacked out.
End of Chapter 2
