A Marriage with A Reason - Chapter 76

“Ah…”

After Dayun left like that, Jaehoon was trapped in confusion. He quickly regained his senses and rushed out of the room to chase her. However, Dayun was already gone, and he couldn’t see her anywhere. Jaehoon headed to the front door, trying to follow her, but soon Miyoung grabbed his arm.

“Let go.”

“It’s too late. What are you going to do by holding onto someone who’s already left? It’s over now. You two were married for a reason from the start. That purpose has been fulfilled, and there’s no need to waste more time or emotions.”

“Is that really what you’re going to say?! Ha…”

Anger surged up to the top of his head. He wanted to shout right away. Did she know what she had just done? What was she even thinking? Of course, he knew he had made mistakes too, but he hated Miyoung, who treated his request as if it was nothing, and he wanted to blame her. But seeing her hold onto him with such a calm face, as if she didn’t know what she had done, made him wonder if it was even worth arguing. He felt frustrated, wronged, and angry, but he knew that no matter how much he revealed his feelings, Miyoung would never understand.

In the end, Jaehoon pulled her hand off himself and left the house without looking back. He ran. And ran some more. No matter where he looked, Dayun was nowhere to be seen. The darkness stretched on, and Jaehoon felt his heart burning with worry.

“Ah!”

After running for a while, he finally saw Dayun’s back. She was walking, looking like a hurt puppy, relying only on the flashlight from her phone. Seeing her like that, he suddenly thought:

‘Is it okay for me to go to her now…?’

For a moment, fear hit him. The girl who had so many wounds, yet never lost her bright smile… He had always made her lonely and hurt. Could someone like him approach her now? He hated himself for it. In that moment of self-blame…

“Ah…”

Dayun soon stopped in front of a taxi and began to leave, driving off into the distance. Jaehoon, realizing too late that he should have stopped her, stretched out his hand, but she was already too far for him to catch.

Meanwhile, Dayun, alone in the taxi, stared out the window with sad eyes.

“Ha…”

Her eyes were full of hurt, and her heart was full of disappointment and sadness. As she quickly walked away from the villa, she hadn’t heard his voice calling her to stop. Of course, she had been the one to push him away and leave, but how could she just let go like this? It was an unknown feeling that made her chest feel tight. Even now, she couldn’t forget Miyoung’s mocking smile as she had looked at her before leaving. The whole situation didn’t make sense to her. Everything felt like a dream, a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.

“Excuse me, are you going to Seoul?”

“….”

“Miss!!”

At the sudden shout, Dayun jolted, startled.

“Yes?”

“Are you sure you’re going to Seoul?”

“Ah… Yes, please take me to Seoul.”

It seemed the driver wanted to double-check.

“Okay, understood.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you? Well, it’s my job, and I’m getting paid for it. But miss, you must be from a pretty wealthy family.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, usually, people don’t take a taxi all the way to Seoul. To go from here to Seoul, you’d have to pay at least double the fare.”

“Ah…”

At the driver’s comment, Dayun’s face showed a moment of embarrassment.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“No? Ah, no.”

“Anyway, it surprised me. It’s so early in the morning, and a young lady like you is walking alone… then suddenly wants to go to Seoul…”

It was still early in the morning, and the driver seemed excited to have met a passenger. However, Dayun didn’t really hear his chatter. Her thoughts were elsewhere. She suddenly thought, “Ah… I have nothing now.” In her distress and pain, she had rushed out without thinking, even forgetting to bring her wallet. Although nowadays, you could make payments with just a smartphone, this didn’t matter to Dayun. She wasn’t someone who enjoyed spending money, she didn’t shop online, and as a new writer, her income was unstable, so she hadn’t even gotten a credit card. With a deep sigh, Dayun quietly thought to herself:

‘What do I do now…?’

She had run away from everything without thinking, but now she was stuck in an awkward situation, unsure how to get out of it. The taxi she was in continued to distance itself from her.

Unable to do anything, Jaehoon returned to the villa. Miyoung, sitting with her legs crossed on the sofa, spoke as if she had expected this outcome.

“See? I told you it wouldn’t matter if I went after her.”

“…”

“See? You should listen to me. I’m always right.”

How could someone be so shameless in human form? She was shameless. With an indifferent face, she was hurting someone, and yet she was smiling. Seeing that made Jaehoon think deeply:

“Disgusting…”

“What?”

“Really disgusting…”

It was disgusting. The fact that he had pitied this woman and blamed his father seemed so foolish now.

Miyoung seemed shocked by Jaehoon’s words and immediately stood up, looking like she was about to argue. But Jaehoon was quicker. He ignored Miyoung and went upstairs to pack his things, including the things Dayun had left behind. While packing, he found Dayun’s wallet, and his face showed concern as he ran his hands through his hair.

“Ha… her wallet is here. What am I going to do now?”

He took out his phone. On the screen, he saw the license plate number of the taxi Dayun had taken earlier. He had written it down just in case. But it wasn’t enough to do anything, so he decided he had to call her. However, even after dialing the number, he couldn’t bring himself to press the call button. Eventually, Jaehoon put the phone down and packed faster. He figured she wouldn’t go to her parents’ house because she probably didn’t want to see them, and she wouldn’t go home either. He needed to get to her studio quickly and wait for her.

He quickly finished packing, and Jaehoon hurried to leave the room. Or rather, he tried to, but Miyoung stood in front of him.

“What now?”

“What’s going on with you? Where do you think you’re going, alone, at this hour?”

Jaehoon let out a laugh, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Then his expression turned cold.

“It was you who kicked her out this early morning.”

“When did I kick her out? She left on her own.”

“The reason she left was because of you.”

Even when Miyoung tried to argue, Jaehoon didn’t stop.

“I begged you, didn’t I? To not treat Dayun like that. If you really thought of me as your son, if you had any motherly love for me… you shouldn’t have let this happen.”

Without waiting for a reply, Jaehoon left and got into his car. He wasn’t sure if Dayun would accept him, but he only thought about getting to her as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, Miyoung, left behind, bit her lip in frustration.

“This isn’t right.”

She was satisfied that she had hurt Dayun the way she had been hurt in the past. But somehow, she felt more pathetic and lonely. Unlike herself, Dayun had people who cherished her, people who whispered that they loved her. Miyoung, on the other hand, was still alone.

Soon, the sun began to rise, and the day started to brighten. As she looked at the sparkling sun, a bitter feeling lingered.

“I never thought today would come like this.”

How did things get like this…?

Where did it all go wrong…?

She couldn’t understand. She had just wanted to love someone, just wanted to be happy together… “Was my love and happiness such selfish thoughts?” she wondered.

“Ha…”

The deep sigh that she couldn’t express echoed in her chest. She had loved Jaehoon alone, and despite the many wounds and tears, just knowing that he loved her too had made her happy. She could endure it. But now, it felt too heavy. Loving him was so painful, and it felt impossible to continue.

For the first time, she regretted loving him.

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