A Marriage with A Reason - Chapter 79

The tea house was filled with a heavy silence. There, Seok-hee, Jaehoon’s father, sat alone.

“Would you like to order something?”

“Two cups of coffee, please.”

“Yes, understood.”

With a soft sound, the waiter left the room, and before long, two cups of coffee were placed in front of Seok-hee. One was hot, steam rising from it, while the other was cold, ice clinking inside the cup.

Not long after the coffee was served, Miyoung entered and stood in front of Seok-hee.

“You came early.”

“Sit down.”

At Seok-hee’s gesture towards the empty seat, Miyoung sat in front of him and said:

“I ordered the coffee in advance. I wasn’t sure if you’d prefer hot or cold, so I got one of each.”

“Then, I’ll have the hot one.”

“Alright.”

Both Seok-hee and Miyoung took a sip from their respective cups. Though one was cold and the other hot, the bitter taste of coffee lingered on their tongues.

“By the way, you’ve really changed a lot. In the past, no matter how long I waited, you never came. Do you remember? The first time we were supposed to have dinner alone together.”

“…”

“I was so excited. It was the first time you ever suggested something like that to me. But you didn’t show up, no matter how long I waited. One hour, two hours… no matter how long. The reason you couldn’t come that day, I guess, was because of your first love, right?”

Seok-hee took another sip of his bitter coffee, his thoughts turning to that incident. He felt guilty about it. Even now, he still felt sorry. But it was something he couldn’t help. As Miyoung had said, it was the first time he had suggested doing something first. After marriage, after Jaehoon was born, Seok-hee had started to open his heart. But that day, it just so happened that he received a call from Dayun’s mother. She had gone into labor, and both her husband and everyone else were unreachable. As a result, Seok-hee had no choice but to rush to her. If anyone had been in his position, they would have made the same choice. After all, it was a matter of saving two lives.

“As a result, that day Dayun was born.”

“Let’s stop talking about that. You know it was an unavoidable choice.”

“Yes, it was unavoidable. When your first love and her child could have died, it was unavoidable.”

Miyoung continued to mock Seok-hee, repeatedly bringing up his first love. It was starting to feel suffocating. She had already started speaking in a way that made him feel like communication was breaking down. This was how it had always been. Even back then, after a long time, Seok-hee had apologized to Miyoung. His apology was sincere, even though it had nothing to do with the situation. But Miyoung didn’t believe it. Like now, she mocked him with talk of his first love and Dayun’s mother. She was even harsher back then.

Looking at her, unchanged, brought a sense of exhaustion, but also a suffocating feeling. Finally, Seok-hee spoke sharply, his voice cutting through the tension.

“So, you did all this because you’re upset about that? After all this time, you’re still upset about it?”

“… If you had just opened your heart to me a little, none of this would have happened. You never thought about how much pain and loneliness I went through, did you? How much I was hurt! How much I suffered! And now, you can’t even imagine how I felt, can you?!”

Miyoung’s voice grew louder, her veins standing out in her neck. The more her voice rose, the deeper Seok-hee’s sigh became. He felt frustrated. And then, irritation began to boil inside him.

“You’ve always been the same, just like before. You’re so predictable it makes me sick.”

“Ha, so it’s my fault…”

“You always think only of yourself. You only care about your own pain and suffering, never thinking about how the people around you feel. Why do you think I didn’t open my heart to you? I had your child, I married you even though it was forced. At first, I treated you harshly because I resented my father, but you never noticed the changes in me. You only thought about your own pain and ignored mine.”

“…”

“And yet, you always blamed me, blamed that person. At first, I thought it was all my fault. But then I realized it wasn’t. It was your own insecurity. You were angry because a simple person like her was surpassing you. That’s why you pushed her to the point of death.”

“… No!!”

Miyoung screamed, her face turning red as she shouted at Seok-hee. For a moment, the image of Dayun’s mother, who had been hit by a car and killed, flashed in her mind. The desperate look in her eyes, the bloodied hand she raised for help… But Miyoung turned away without offering help. In that moment, she had wished more than anyone that the woman would die.

“She must have hated it. A woman with nothing, the one your father supported, hated how she was always surpassing her. She probably hated it, right?”

“…”

“Plus, her future husband’s first love, too.”

“…”

“On top of that, her own marriage was full of insecurity, while that woman seemed happy every day. Eventually, she couldn’t handle the jealousy and did something she shouldn’t have. Using her power, she ruined that man’s business. Ah, that must have been her thought. But look at her now, still laughing? Still happy?”

Seok-hee looked at Miyoung with an intense gaze, as though he could see through her. It felt like he was exposing all her wrongs. Miyoung, in return, glared at him with eyes full of venom, as though she wanted to cut him down. But once Seok-hee opened his mouth, it didn’t seem like he would stop.

“In the end, I used myself as an excuse to summon her. It led to an argument, and then I pushed her. She fell onto the road, and in that moment, a car ran over her. You turned away from it. It was like you wanted her to die.”

“You, you don’t know anything!!”

Miyoung screamed again, her voice raw, as she took heavy breaths, trying to calm down. She slowly began to speak.

“I didn’t intend to kill her, I didn’t want her to die, and I didn’t run away either.”

“…”

“There were people there. Not just me, but also the person who owned the car. I saw him report the accident, and that’s when I turned away.”

“…”

“I didn’t feel the need to be there. That’s why I turned away.”

But everything she said sounded like an excuse. She was saying she wasn’t guilty, that she wasn’t running away, but it didn’t make sense to Seok-hee.

“Ha, so you didn’t do anything wrong?”

“… Well, I didn’t mean to. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Is it not a crime to push someone, cause them to get hurt, and then walk away? The police investigated, and you used money and lawyers to avoid it. And still, you say you’re not guilty? Isn’t that a contradiction?”

Miyoung lowered her gaze to avoid Seok-hee’s eyes. She had gone silent, her lips pressed tightly together. Seok-hee sighed deeply, clearly frustrated, and then asked:

“Let me ask you one thing. What were you thinking when you did this?”

“…”

“Yeah, what else could it have been? It was all because of your own insecurity, right? Don’t you feel ashamed of yourself? You destroyed a family in an instant, and now you want to hurt that child too?! How could you do that, take away a mother from those children in an instant, and then do this?!”

“… I just…”

Seok-hee’s voice, full of anger, echoed, and a suffocating silence followed. The silence was broken by Miyoung’s voice, as if she had no other choice but to speak.

“I hated that child. Even though she had nothing, she was so similar to that woman who was better than me… I hated it. Even though my son was lonely and hurt, that child seemed so happy, and that reminded me of her. I blamed both of them, and all my pain and suffering went to them.”

“…”

“Yes, at first, it was because of my insecurity. I was jealous. Even though I had more than her, I kept feeling like I was losing. It hurt to be compared to her, and I thought my father treated her better because of her. The man I loved also loved her, not me. I felt miserable, angry, and resentful. But Dayun was a little different. I resented her for looking like her, because it reminded me of things I wanted to forget. But that wasn’t the real reason.”

“…”

“I needed someone to blame, or else everything would feel like my fault. That’s why it was Dayun, who looked so much like that woman.”

The conversation ended, and another heavy silence hung in the air.

What had gone wrong? Where did it all begin? Seok-hee couldn’t find the answers. Honestly, he could understand Miyoung’s feelings. Her father, too, had been selfish, loving only the things that benefited him, just like hers. But that could not justify what she had done. This tragedy had to end here.

“The police investigation wasn’t much. You know that, right? After the accident, the death was confirmed within two days. After that, Dayun’s father said he didn’t blame you. He said you weren’t at fault, that’s what he said.”

“…”

“It’s funny, isn’t it? After all that happened, after all the suffering, they both said they didn’t blame you. I couldn’t understand it either. But then I realized. It’s because they were those kinds of people. You should know that too. Dayun’s parents were both honest and good-hearted people. Later, I heard that her father always felt sorry for you. He knew you suffered because of him.”

Why hadn’t she realized it sooner? She had known, at least in part, that her actions had caused Miyoung pain.

Hearing this, Miyoung couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

“… You really know how to make someone feel miserable.”

She felt empty. The resentment and anger she had felt seemed like nothing now. What had she been doing all this time? What had she done? These thoughts overwhelmed her, and for the first time, she felt she was the one to blame.

Seeing Miyoung’s confused face, Seok-hee slowly spoke again.

“The accident… I know it wasn’t intentional. It was a mistake, you were scared. I’m not going to dwell on that. But you are responsible for what happened.”

“…”

“Even though it was an arranged marriage, Jaehoon really likes Dayun. He really does. After you left, after the divorce, he was hurt. He shut himself off and refused to speak to me.”

At the mention of Jaehoon, Miyoung’s eyes trembled, her body shaking slightly.

“But after he started spending time with Dayun, he changed for the better. He started laughing more, he even said he was happy. But now, because of everything you’ve done, Jaehoon is suffering. Please help him. You need to fix the mess you created. As his mother, just like he supported you, do something for him this time.”

Jaehoon was Miyoung’s only precious son. But in this moment, her own feelings seemed more important than the son she had raised. This made her feel ashamed. Was she really a mother?

Seeing Miyoung lost, Seok-hee’s words broke through the silence.

“Jaehoon always had a blank expression. But now, he finally smiles. Please, protect that smile for him.”

It felt like she had found the exit from a long maze. She finally understood what she needed to do.

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