Chapter 9

"You really are exhausting to the very end, Lee Da Hee."

"..."

"That's why I hated you. So cruel, so cold. You're not even like a person."

Da Hee never showed her pain or struggles. She handled everything herself and never even discussed anything. Kang Ho felt powerless and infinitely small beside her. One day, the constant anxiety that his love for her would be unrequited forever turned into anger. Even on the day he told he loved Hye Young, wanting to return the pain he'd received, Da Hee didn't lose her expressionless face. She calmly wet her lips with water and asked, 'Is that so?'

When he desperately asked 'Aren't you going to ask why did you cheat, why it had to be Hye Young?', Da Hee replied, 'It's only natural'. In the end, Kang Ho shouted, 'You don't love me!' in a fit of anger and left. Da Hee didn't stop him.

"I have no intention of appearing human to you."

Da Hee replied, staring coldly at Kang Ho.

"You, to the very end..."

"Ask Hye Young, the one you love so dearly, why I came all the way here. Oh! You must be tired from the wedding, so should I tell you?"

"Da Hee!"

"I was invited to this wedding by your bride."

Hye Young's scream-like cry and Da Hee's voice intertwined. Kang Ho's face hardened.

"I merely accepted the invitation, and is this my fault? Or is it Hye Young's fault for shamelessly inviting me to her wedding, despite cheating? Don't you know my personality?"

Kang Ho's sharp gaze turned towards Hye Young. Hye Young was already crying. Da Hee slowly looked back and forth between Kang Ho and Hye Young.

"Lee Kang Ho."

At Da Hee's call, Kang Ho turned his head. The movement was so awkward that his neck creaked.

"I have no reason to be criticized by you just because your way of loving and my way of loving were different."

"..."

"Just enduring you, who only knew obsession and possession in my nature, was enough proof that I loved you sufficiently."

"..."

"So don't utter words like 'I'm fed up.' Because the one who's truly fed up is me."

It was at the exact moment Da Hee finished speaking. An announcement blared, instructing the owner of the Ferrari who illegally parked in front of the wedding hall to move their car. Da Hee's gaze shifted behind her.

Woo Hyun, who had approached from behind, looked at Da Hee and calmly said.

"They're telling us to move the car."

At some point, he had started speaking informally.

"How did you park it?"

Da Hee asked, looking at Woo Hyun, who maintained a calm demeanor uncharacteristic of a Ferrari owner.

"Everyone else parked horizontally, so I parked diagonally."

"Why?"

If everyone else parked horizontally, shouldn't he have parked horizontally too? Da Hee looked at Woo Hyun with that expression.

"Because I want to leave quickly."

"..."

"It's a waste to kill time in a place like this when we're supposed to be on a date."

At the word 'date,' Kang Ho and Hye Young's expressions, as well as Da Hee's, subtly crumpled.

"Shall we go?"

"What happens if we don't?"

"The security guard for this building will probably be making dying noises."

Woo Hyun's voice, softer than ever before, filled the air. Moments ago, her heart had felt suffocated, but hearing him speak brought a wave of relief. Woo Hyun extended his hand.

"Let's go."

Da Hee looked at his hand, then let out a small laugh.

"Alright."

She took his hand and walked out of the bridal waiting room.

Da Hee had smiled. Kang Ho bit his lip, replaying that fact in his mind. It was a smile she had rarely shown him during their time together. An unknown sense of doubt and defeat washed over him. Kang Ho bowed his head. Watching his back, Hye Young bit her lip.

Everything Da Hee said was true. Hye Young wanted to be free from the whispers. She no longer wanted to hear whispers like 'Da Hee suits Kang Ho better' or 'Da Hee must have been deeply hurt.' But, the hardest part was the constant anxiety that Da Hee might appear at any moment and take Kang Ho away. That's why she ultimately wanted to nail it down to Da Hee that she was the one who would claim this man.

Instead, that nail had been hammered into her own heart.

On her wedding day, the day she was supposed to be the most beautiful.

~~~~~

Miel's Translations