“Even now, it seems like I’ve been selfish enough. And contract dating or contract marriage seems similar, doesn’t it?”

Watching her respond with unabashed soliloquy, Jaehyuk chuckled.

“Why?”

“Oh.”

Jaehyuk quickly corrected himself, wondering if his laughter sounded mocking.

“It’s not mockery. It’s just… because Arin, you’re unlike anyone else.”

Arin felt strange as she watched Jaehyuk speak with a smile.

The situations they were discussing, like contract dating, seemed like a dream just a little while ago. Now, it felt as if their relationship had turned into an ordinary one, engaged in a very ordinary conversation.

In novels or dramas, scenes of ex-husbands or ex-boyfriends were often portrayed with sentimental and lingering moments. If one or both parties harbored lingering feelings, the relationship inevitably became sticky.

Then, the two either realized and combined their feelings, or a new person appeared, leading to a complete separation.

Just a while ago, the two were in a similar situation. Thinking back, there had always been conflict between Ban Jaehyuk and Choe Arin.

Shouting matches, cries filling the air.

Someone clinging desperately, while the other forcefully pushed away.

The more they tried to approach each other as if two opposing forces, the more they seemed to drift apart.

In the past, he had looked at her with disdain, but now, his lingering feelings fell off, and he desperately tried to catch her somehow.

When he tried to hold onto her, it was already too late.

The result was divorce.

Choe Arin and Ban Jaehyuk’s relationship was like a common cliché.

But…

‘How could things change so much in just a year? Of course, the topic isn’t ordinary, but I’ve never had an ordinary conversation like this, face-to-face with someone… it’s strange…’

Arin looked at Jaehyuk’s face.

Thump, her heart was beating faster than usual. Her reflection in his eyes was clearly shaking.

It was the first time.

Now, both he and she, as well as anyone else, continued the conversation without shouting or crying, as if it were an ordinary conversation.

Perhaps because of that?

Arin couldn’t come to a definite conclusion about the true nature of her feelings toward Jaehyuk.

‘Snap out of it!’

For a moment, it felt like someone shouted in her ear.

‘Even if you try to understand the world’s worst man… you’re not a bodhisattva.’

Lost in thought, Arin met Jaehyuk’s gaze. He smiled with his eyes crescent-shaped. Her heart sank.

‘Why are you so indecisive like this? Why are you doing this, Choe Arin!’

The change in her emotions toward him felt unfamiliar. She couldn’t explain it to herself, and it was uncomfortable.

Deliberately, Arin shot a sarcastic remark at Jaehyuk.

“Seeing you laugh like this, it seems you’re quite relaxed.”

It was a sort of defense mechanism to hide her shaking emotions.

“It’s not like that.”
Jaehyuk spoke without any hint of unpleasantness. Her heart fluttered at his demeanor. Her heart began to beat a little faster.

‘Ugh. This is really not going well. I should just cut this off.’

She genuinely wanted to escape from this situation. Pity for him? No, a sense of camaraderie? Anyway, there were indescribable emotions that had emerged.

So her heart was heavy. Yet, she couldn’t accept his proposal. She had no intention of being by his side, and she didn’t want to be. Therefore, her decision was clear.

“You understand that I will reject this, right?”

Choe Arin and Ban Jaehyuk were over.

“It’s not that I don’t understand Ban Jaehyuk’s situation, but it has nothing to do with me.”

It was true that she felt more burdened by the fact that he was suffering and being used by his parents, but that was as far as it went.

She didn’t want to be hurt by it anymore.

His face sank deeply at my words. For a moment, a feeling similar to guilt rushed in.

‘He gave me an incomparable big wound. So, I don’t need to feel guilty about rejecting him.’

It might be an unreasonable self-justification, but Arin tightly clenched her small fist to gather her emotions.

“I’ll decline; I can’t go into that house. Suddenly suggesting this is honestly quite burdensome. Don’t you think it’s selfish?”

She rejected his proposal as she had decided.

But why did she feel so uncomfortable?

Why was her heart throbbing like this?

“…I know.”

A heavily strained voice flowed through his lips. Gradually, her mood became strange.

“I’ll be leaving now.”

Unable to control her emotions, she stood up.

“Arin.”

“I don’t understand Ban Chairman’s situation either, and I don’t want to see Mother-in-law. That house is like hell to me. How can I willingly step into hell with my own feet? Ban Jaehyuk, try to put yourself in my shoes.”

Arin looked down at Jaehyuk with bowed head.

“I’m not asking you to do it for me.”

When she tried to turn away, his voice reached her. Pausing for a moment, he quickly added.

“Just look at this.”

Holding her gaze, Jaehyuk extended a bundle of documents from his bag.

“What’s this?”

“Read it once. Let’s talk again after you read it.”

“I don’t want to.”