SELA - 61

“Were you perfectly fine, not a single scratch? Not even a crack? Of course, you would be! This is the past, where time has turned back! I wonder what that woman would think if she knew. If she knew she died a sudden, violent death because of Shin Ji-hyuk. Hmm, but what could she do? Unfortunately, she’ll never know. Because that sly Shin Ji-hyuk will pretend he doesn’t know and approach her.”

“Stop it.”

“Are you going to see her again?”

“Shut your mouth.”

“Are you going to love her again? Heek, what incredible nerve!”

It was instantaneous. Ji-hyuk, no longer able to bear it, grabbed the man by the collar and slammed him against the door. The man, who had winced in pain, soon bared his teeth and smiled.

“Shameless bastard.”

At the man’s words, Ji-hyuk snapped.

“Yeah, I’m shameless. I never had anything like that in the first place. That’s why even after Sa-hee died like that, I only looked for Sa-hee again.”

At Ji-hyuk’s grinding voice, the man continued to smile gleefully.

“I won’t let Sa-hee go, no, I can’t let her go. Do you think it’s just because of my greed?”

“Can you say it’s not?”

“Of course, there’s greed too. But that’s not all. The guilt that Sa-hee died because of me, I’ll live my whole life repaying that. I’ll protect Sa-hee myself so she won’t get hurt or go through any more hardships. Do you understand?”

“Ugh, I can’t breathe. Now let go of this and talk.”

The man said, weakly tapping Ji-hyuk’s hand. Ji-hyuk pushed the man away and let go.

“You said it was a deal earlier. You took my memories in exchange for turning back time, so that’s it. I don’t owe you anything anymore.”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it. Who said anything?”

“Don’t ever appear in front of me again.”

The man stared silently at Ji-hyuk.

“I’m already in this state, but Sa-hee must never get involved.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why can’t she?”

“Why can’t she? Because you grant wishes and make the situation go to hell.”

“You wound me with your words. Even though you’re the ones who made the choices.”

“You probably don’t have any conscience, but why don’t you be honest? You never had any good intentions in the first place.”

“Well.”

The man shrugged. Ji-hyuk, letting out a sigh, leaned back in his seat as if exhausted by the conversation.

“You know, I’m fairer than I look.”

At the man’s sudden words, Ji-hyuk turned to him as if asking what nonsense he was spouting.

“If someone desperately seeks me, and if my heart moves, I’ll go anywhere. And the most important thing is...”

The man suddenly moved very close to Ji-hyuk’s face.

“I don’t take orders from anyone.”

Ji-hyuk’s and the man’s gazes met in the air. They were firm gazes that didn’t yield in the slightest.

A moment later, the man, who had returned to his seat, began to straighten his clothes. It seemed he was about to get out of the car.

“So, it doesn’t matter if it’s Yoon Sa-hee or anyone else, for me.”

“......”

“And who knows? You might have already met.”

“What?”

At Ji-hyuk’s distorted face, the man chuckled and opened the back door of the car. His movements getting out were agile. Bang, the inside of the closed car became silent.

Ji-hyuk belatedly buried his face in his hands, overwhelmed by self-loathing. He felt that even breathing was a waste for someone like him. How could he have forgotten that memory? How could he have let Sa-hee go again, even with her right in front of him? How, how.

“Excuse me, Director.”

Jin-ha, who had somehow gotten back into the car, called out to Ji-hyuk. Ji-hyuk, still leaning back with his eyes covered by one hand, gave no response.

“Calls keep coming in. What should we do?”

“......”

“Should we wait here?”

“No. There’s somewhere I need to go.”

“Somewhere you need to go?”

Ji-hyuk’s eyes, having lowered his hand, were sharp again. Before being consumed by emotion, there was something he absolutely had to do. The desire to somehow get Sa-hee back grew stronger.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir.”

Soon after, the engine started, and the quiet beast of a car began to move forward smoothly.

Ji-hyuk took a long breath and looked out the window. The dark sky was full of clouds, looking like it was about to rain. No matter, he was going to see Sa-hee again, so the weather didn’t matter at all.

Brushing back his hair, Ji-hyuk engraved one resolution in his mind again. He would never let Sa-hee go again. He would not let anyone separate them.

Ji-hyuk completely loosened his tie and threw it aside. Then, he found Sa-hee’s number on his phone. Without hesitation, he pressed the call button. The ringing tone began.

________________________________________

Early morning, a time when visitors to the bereaved are scarce. A man came to offer his condolences. Perhaps it was raining outside, as the shoulders of the man’s black suit were soaked.

Ji-hyuk, who had stayed up all night guarding Sa-hee’s mortuary tablet without sleeping, greeted the man with a bow.

“Oh dear. How heartbroken you must be.”

The approaching man embraced Ji-hyuk and offered his condolences. As was customary for visiting mourners, this man, too, seemed overwhelmed with emotion. Ji-hyuk simply accepted the man’s comfort and expressed his gratitude.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Actually, I’m not sure. What is your relationship with my wife?”

Ji-hyuk, exhausted but with a sharp glint in his eyes, asked him. The man quietly looked at Ji-hyuk, then gestured as if asking him to lean in. Ji-hyuk politely lowered his head, bringing his ear close to the man’s lips.

“I have something important to tell you about your wife. It’s awkward to talk about it here, so let’s go outside.”

What? As Ji-hyuk straightened up, he saw the man’s smiling face. It wasn’t the kind of face one would expect to see at a funeral.

Ji-hyuk frowned, and just as he was about to speak again, the man nodded towards the outside and walked straight out. It was a signal for him to follow.

“......”

‘He has something important to tell me about Sa-hee?’ The words of a man whose identity he didn’t even know had a very low probability of being true, but they kept piquing his curiosity. Ji-hyuk, looking at Sa-hee’s brightly smiling portrait, wavered.

It couldn’t hurt to just hear him out. In the end, Ji-hyuk decided to ask his younger brother, Su-hyuk, to watch over the place for a while and left the funeral hall.

Outside, the surroundings were still dim. The closer he got to the entrance, the louder the sound of the pouring rain and the more the dampness seemed to cling to his skin.

“You’ve come.”

The man was standing right in front of the glass door of the entrance, smoking a cigarette. He offered Ji-hyuk a cigarette, but Ji-hyuk refused.

“I can’t be away for long. Tell me what’s so important.”

“You’re a more impatient fellow than you look.”

The man, his cheeks hollow as he inhaled the smoke, laughed again as he exhaled it into the air.

“Do you love your wife?”

It was a sudden question. Ji-hyuk, caught off guard by the simple and direct question, let out a short laugh.

“What are you trying to do?”

“Isn’t it a simple question? I asked if you love your wife.”

“I came here to hear a story, not to answer questions. If you’re joking, go find someone else.”

He was on edge, having lost Sa-hee and not having slept. Ji-hyuk, reacting sharply, glared at the man and turned his back. That’s when it happened.

“I will let you meet her again.”

What? What nonsense. Ji-hyuk raised his eyebrows and turned around. He couldn’t even laugh at the crazy gibberish.

“What did you say?”

“I said I would let you meet your wife again.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“You called out so desperately, and now you have so much to say.”

“What?”

“I said I’ll let you meet her. Just tell me. I’ll grant you anything.”

The man threw his cigarette butt into a puddle of rainwater. The red tip of the cigarette quickly died out, turning black.

“It’s a win-win, isn’t it? Just tell me. Who knows, it might really come true?”

At the man’s serious expression, Ji-hyuk this time snorted with laughter. In his life, he was even seeing crazy people on such a terrible day.

“Yeah. As you say, I love my wife. I love her madly, desperately. I love her so much I’m going crazy that I couldn’t die in her place. You’ll let me meet her again? Fine. Let me meet her. Bring her to me right now. Bring her before my eyes right this instant.”

“Hmm.”

“You were talking about how it’s a win-win. Why, why don’t you try doing something?”

Ji-hyuk frowned at the man’s staring eyes. Suddenly, irritation surged within him. What was the point of all this?

“Crazy. What am I doing?”

Ji-hyuk, putting his hands in his pockets, glared at the man and then turned away. This time, the man didn’t stop him. However.

“I’ll grant your wish! Don’t worry, just show me your true feelings!”

True feelings? What a load of nonsense. Ji-hyuk sighed, ruffled his hair, and headed back into the funeral hall. He had no idea what he had just done; it was as if he had been possessed by something.

That small incident that day came to an end, and on the last day of the funeral, Sa-hee’s burial was completed without any issues. The feeling of returning from the burial site, leaving her alone there, was utterly devastating.

Everything returned to normal. The world remained the same, and Ji-hyuk also returned to work, handling his tasks and living his daily life.

Then, less than a month later, one night, Ji-hyuk made a decision during a drive to soothe his frustrated heart. He decided that this was enough.

Having made the difficult decision, he drove his car and rushed towards the reservoir.