MHD - 73

Chapter 73: Why Did You Do That? (1)

Kang Jae-min’s studio in Namhae faced the sea directly.

Just a few steps from the house, one could reach the clear, deep blue waters of the South Sea, shimmering like lapis lazuli as the waves rolled in.

As soon as Hee-soo arrived at Jae-min’s studio, she dropped her luggage and opened all the windows that had been shut for so long.

The sea in late May basked peacefully under perfect weather.

Listening to the distant sound of waves gently rolling in, Hee-soo closed her eyes.

“…It was like that back then too.”

Ten years ago. The day she lost her baby and was discharged from the hospital.

Dragging her weakened legs out onto the street, the weather had been painfully bright and sunny.

It felt as if her child, now gone, had left this world happier than when it had been with her—celebrating its return to the heavens.

The day had been unbearably beautiful.

“Farewell, my child. Carry my memories, my past, and my lost love with you.”

Hee-soo murmured a line from Paradise Lost and slowly opened her eyes.

Walking from the hospital back home, Hee-soo had felt as though the world around her had exploded into nothingness, leaving only ruins behind.

In that desolate world, everything around her seemed colorless, like a city after an apocalypse where no hope remained.

For days after returning home, she lay curled up like a crumpled corpse, neither eating nor moving. She cried whenever her eyes were open and fell asleep only when exhaustion overtook her.

Looking back, it all felt like a calamity she had brought upon herself.

She had been too naive, too foolish, too hollow.

Her sin had been indulging in the sweetness Jae-hyuk offered, forgetting it was poison that would rot her from within. It was the price for touching what she should never have touched.

Because of that, her hard-earned past had been stolen, and the future she had dreamed of was erased.

Lying there endlessly, when she finally opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the logo of Gangrim Electronics.

Her phone, the refrigerator standing quietly in the corner—everywhere she looked, products from Gangrim Group filled her sight.

Realizing that they would continue laughing and living without sparing her a thought while she crawled on the floor sobbing, a surge of defiance rose within her.

At least, she thought, I can’t die like this, so weak and broken.

In that moment, Hee-soo clenched her teeth and forced herself to stand. Alone now, perhaps it was better this way.

She resolved to survive and become a thorn in their side. The only thing that pulled her out of the ashes was her burning desire for revenge.

And so…

She had believed she would never, ever give her heart to Lee Jae-hyuk again.

That is, until she met him once more.

“…Haa.”

Hee-soo closed all the windows she had opened and stepped outside, heading toward the sea.

Her decision to meet Jae-hyuk so obediently had been driven by unresolved emotions she couldn’t shake. She decided to simply accept that. Walking along the beach, Hee-soo let her thoughts drift.

The beach in front of the studio wasn’t a tourist spot, so there were hardly any passersby. The sandy shore at the edge of the island village was quiet and serene.

Under the warm sunlight of May, a cool sea breeze made walking along the coast pleasant.

Step by step.

Hee-soo walked slowly, leaving footprints on the damp sand.

Occasionally, she glanced back or gazed at the horizon. She wanted to wash away her weary heart with the ebbing waves.

Though she had started acting out of vengeance, once she truly entered the world of acting, she found herself longing for Jae-hyuk.

When playing roles as lovers, his face often overlapped with her co-stars’, making it difficult at times. And whenever he reached out to her, even just once, her breath caught.

She wanted to reply immediately, to make plans to meet him.

She wanted to hold him tightly and cry out how much she missed him.

With each passing year, she realized just how deeply her feelings for Jae-hyuk ran. No matter how much time passed, he remained unforgettable.

But…

The reason she ultimately ignored and rejected his attempts to contact her was because the subtle interference from Gangrim Group never ceased, and every time she saw children, the pain cut her like a sharp blade.

Hee-soo simply wanted to ask:

Why?

She wanted to forget, to let go.

When the hardened lump in her heart pressed down on her soul, she cried silently until it subsided. She imagined the day she would stand proudly before Lee Jung-chul and loudly declare her success.

She believed that would compensate for all her current pain.

She tried to erase thoughts of Jae-hyuk. But it never worked.

Lee Jae-hyuk was a wound that would not heal.

After walking to the end of the beach, Hee-soo sat down on the sand to rest for a moment. Under the warm sunlight, the ripened sea stretched endlessly to the horizon.

Lost in thought, she gazed at the ocean, then rose and began walking back toward the house.

What was Jae-hyuk thinking after opening that letter?

Only now did she reflect on her actions just before fleeing to Namhae.

Running away like that after throwing such a thing at him—she felt both ridiculous and cowardly.

Unable to handle the aftermath, she had abandoned everything, feeling like a pathetic person who couldn’t bear the burden to the end.

Hee-soo sighed deeply at her own weakness and continued walking slowly.

Walk, rest. Look at the sea, look at the sand.

As she walked slowly, the sun descended closer to the sea. The reddish glow of dusk began to spread across the horizon.

Without her phone, she didn’t know the exact time, but she could roughly guess it was near sunset.

After hours of walking, her legs grew weary. As she dragged herself forward, a voice calling her name broke through the air.

“Seo Hee-soo!”

Thinking she might have misheard, she looked around. Across the sand, someone came running into view.

Recognizing the figure as male took only a moment, and realizing it was someone familiar didn’t take much longer.

“Seo Hee-soo!”

The sea breeze carried Jae-hyuk’s hair as he called out to her. The always immaculate man in a perfectly tailored suit now stood before her, disheveled and wild-eyed.

“You. Why did you do that?”

Bloodshot eyes bore into her, pain etched into their red rims.

The moment Hee-soo met Jae-hyuk’s gaze, her chest swelled with a whirlwind of indescribable emotions.

“Why are you telling me now!”

Jae-hyuk’s shout echoed across the beach, carried by the wind.

“Why!”

Though he screamed loud enough for veins to bulge in his neck, his voice was swallowed by the rhythmic crashing of the waves, dissipating into the air.

“…This was the best I could do.”

Hee-soo looked up at Jae-hyuk calmly and spoke softly.

“I wanted to keep it hidden forever, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry for telling you so late. But please don’t blame me too much. I’ve had my own struggles, you know.”

Hee-soo stood still after her soft, almost whispered words.

“So why? Why did you try to hide it? Why from the start! Did you really distrust me that much?”

Jae-hyuk seemed overwhelmed with emotion, unsure of what to do. A strong gust of wind swept in from the sea as the sun dipped below the horizon, passing through the open collar of his untucked shirt.

Hee-soo quietly gazed up at Jae-hyuk, who was glaring at her, shouting as if crying out in pain.

“What else could I have done...?”

She let out a weak laugh—a bitter smile. She had asked herself countless times whether she could have changed anything, only to arrive at the same conclusion each time: despair.

After all, Seo Hee-soo, poor and powerless at twenty, would have been left defenseless no matter what.

A surge of frustration welled up inside her, and she bit down hard on her lip. Before tears could spill over, she forced herself to speak. She wanted to say goodbye to all of this once and for all.

With a calm face, Hee-soo asked:

“Everything happened so fast. I couldn’t do anything. Should I have confessed late that it was my fault I lost the baby? Or should I have blamed you for not protecting me? Should I have begged you to take responsibility? If I had acted differently, would we even be standing here now?”

It was a question she had buried deep inside for so long. A futile question. Asking it now, hearing an answer—it wouldn’t change anything. Just empty words strung together.

“...Every breath I took, I asked myself: What could I have done to avoid this pain, to create a different present?”

“Hee-soo, please.”

“And there was always just one answer: I shouldn’t have met Lee Jae-hyuk. It’s my fault for being greedy, for wanting you. I brought this upon myself.”

With every word she spoke to Jae-hyuk, Hee-soo felt something inside her slipping away, like sand running through her fingers.

Finally, when everything had drained out, she felt hollow, like an empty shell that would soon vanish from the world. All that remained was emptiness.

In front of her, Jae-hyuk was seething with anger. Clenching his teeth, he exhaled sharply, trembling.

“I didn’t know! I swear I didn’t! Not even a little… I….”

His voice choked on unspoken words, heavy with anguish.

“I—I resented you. I thought you abandoned me. You—you made me into this idiot who spent the last ten years… damn it.”

Jae-hyuk couldn’t finish his sentence. He clutched at his chest as if trying to hold himself together.

Tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to spill down his cheeks. His gaze wandered aimlessly, as if trying to catch the droplets before they fell.

“Why did you do it! Why did you suffer alone in that pain? And why did you leave me alone? Why did you make me resent you!”

The red glow of the setting sun bathed Jae-hyuk, painting him in its crimson light. Facing the truth, his expression was more devastated than Hee-soo had imagined.

Jae-hyuk’s bloodshot eyes remained fixed on her, unblinking. Tears swelled on his reddened sclera, reflecting the crimson hues around them—almost as if they were tears of blood.