True Marriage After Divorce (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10

“Don’t make me feel any more pathetic.”

At first, even with my eyes closed, I kept thinking of Jae Hyuk.

I missed him, yet I didn’t want to see him. I resented him and felt bitter, yet memories of our happy past kept surfacing, causing me pain.

“Seeing you like this is too hard for me, Ban Jae Hyuk. But it’s not hard for you, is it? If you’ve just come out of curiosity, then please leave.”

It was unbearably painful.

Dozens of times a day, contradictory emotions endlessly raged inside me. Overwhelming guilt about the irreversible situation crushed my entire body.

[Jae Hyuk isn’t visiting you because he still has feelings. Didn’t I already tell you? If only I hadn’t been fooled by Master Cheon’s words back then and mistaken everything. Anyway… You’re surely not so foolish as to completely misunderstand the situation, right?]

Ah Rin clenched her teeth, recalling Madam Jeong’s words.

“I won’t ask why you came. Just cut to the chase and file the papers for me.”

Exactly two years after Team Leader Han’s visit, he showed up.

During the time she lived with him, she never wanted to see Madam Jeong or the woman Jae Hyuk loved again.

Jae Hyuk remained silent. He only stared at Ah Rin with hollow eyes.

“Ah Rin.”

“…….”

His gentle, trembling voice echoed in her ears.

Deep inside, Ah Rin’s anger boiled over.

“Are you playing games with me?”

It was awful. Truly awful!

She thought she’d gotten over it after enduring three difficult years—calmer, more composed now. She believed that if she ever saw him again, she could simply walk past without acknowledging him.

She’d thought everything was resolved, yet just seeing him shattered her three-year resolve instantly.

Ah Rin tightly clenched her fists on her lap and bit down hard on her lower lip until tiny beads of blood formed on her thin lips.

“Didn’t you hear it from Team Leader Han? I asked for a divorce. If you have anything to say, please do it through your lawyer.”

“…Yeah. That’s right.”

Jae Hyuk lowered his head wordlessly. Ah Rin’s heart stirred again at the sight, but she refused to show any sign of wavering.

“Congratulations on your engagement.”

So please, just stop now.

“Let’s get divorced.”

Please don’t make me feel any more pathetic.

“…About the engagement—”

“I don’t want to hear it. Whatever you do with Ban Jae Hyuk has nothing to do with me anymore.”

After spitting out every word, Ah Rin stared at Jae Hyuk. He remained tight-lipped. After a brief silence, he finally spoke.

“I hesitated over what to say first.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Despite Ah Rin’s sharp tone, Jae Hyuk only twisted his face in pain but didn’t stop speaking.

“Should I start by saying I’m sorry? No… Can ‘I’m sorry’ really make up for everything I’ve done?”

“……”

“Where should I even begin asking for your forgiveness? The more I think about it, the more there is.”

She didn’t want to waver.

She simply didn’t want to be tangled up with him anymore.

“It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.”

“…Yeah. I guess not.”

At Ah Rin’s words, Jae Hyuk offered a helpless smile.

“Let’s… get divorced.”

He murmured the word “divorce” as if crushing it under his weight.

“Yes. Right now, that’s exactly what I want most. Honestly, I don’t even understand why you’re bringing this up three years later.”

Jae Hyuk bowed his head deeply. A faint, trembling voice escaped his lips.

“I know you don’t want to talk to me.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come.”

“I also know you want a divorce. I know I don’t deserve it. But even so… even so, I…”

Jae Hyuk tightly clenched the fist resting softly on his knee.

“I’m sorry.”

“……”

“If you asked me exactly what I’m sorry for, I’d have so much to say that I couldn’t possibly answer everything right now…”

Jae Hyuk lifted his head and met Ah Rin’s eyes.

“If you’re willing to listen, I’ll tell you everything—everything I’ve done wrong to you…”

He bit his lower lip and continued.

“Of course, since I might not know everything myself, I’ll also need to hear it from you. It might take a lifetime…”

Jae Hyuk didn’t look away from Ah Rin’s eyes. The emotion shimmering in his gaze felt utterly foreign to her.

In her entire life, Ah Rin had never once seen Jae Hyuk display weakness.

‘The Ban Jae Hyuk I knew was always confident and proud. He was a great mountain—my one and only hope to lean on. Then why is he showing me this side now? It’s like he’s someone else entirely.’

Still, she had no intention of wavering for him.

“I always thought it was the stupidest thing to say, ‘You only realize once it’s gone’… but that’s exactly how I felt.”

That had been her intention.

“When I thought I couldn’t see your face anymore, I felt like I’d go insane.”

Until Jae Hyuk came to her today.

She’d even been certain she wouldn’t waver before him—ever.

“I missed you so much.”

“……”

“To be honest, I wanted to say ‘I missed you’ just as much as ‘I’m sorry.’”

“That’s incredibly selfish.”

Ah Rin was confused.

What about what your mother said!

Why are you standing here saying completely different things to me?

“So what? What do you want from me then?”

She had no intention of meeting again, so she needed to be firm and send him away.

Even if—though it was impossible—there had been a misunderstanding, she still didn’t want to see him again.

“It doesn’t matter. Don’t come here now trying to shake me. Whatever your reason for coming to me, nothing will change.”

Ah Rin’s emotions surged violently.

“You’re the one who ruined this relationship! You say you missed me? How dare you say that to me now?”

When I’ve already lost everything?

When I had to let go of the one thing most precious to me with my own hands…?

“You’re shameless. As you can see, I’ve finally started living like a real person again.”

She was furious. Back when she’d begged him to just look at her, he gave her no attention at all—so why show up only now?

Ah Rin placed a hand on her flat stomach—completely empty, holding nothing now—and spoke.

“I don’t ever want to face Ban Jae Hyuk again. So please, just end this quickly.”

Whether or not you love that woman, whether or not she’s the reason you won’t agree to divorce—it’s all irrelevant to me.

Ah Rin forced her voice into the coldest, steadiest tone she could muster.

Her gaze was so icy it could freeze even the warm sunlight of spring.

“My answer is this: ending the relationship I’ve spent three years trying to put behind me.”

“I know it’s shameless, but… I’m sorry. I have no intention of divorcing.”

At Jae Hyuk’s reply, Ah Rin’s eyes instantly turned glacial.

She couldn’t understand him at all.

“Are you playing with me?”

Three years ago, when she’d left the divorce papers with him, their relationship had ended with a full stop.

“Why? Why do you have to keep making things so hard for me until the very end? Why are you so selfish, Ban Jae Hyuk?”

She couldn’t comprehend his intentions—claiming to be engaged yet refusing divorce.

Even before Ah Rin mentioned divorce, Madam Jeong—who had always intensely disliked her—had already prepared another match for Jae Hyuk.

A woman far superior to Ah Rin in family background, appearance, and ability: Min Yu Jin.

She was also the woman Jae Hyuk loved.

That’s precisely why Ah Rin felt even more humiliated—unlike herself, who had merely been a tool, that woman would stand proudly beside him as his rightful wife.

Given Madam Jeong’s personality, she surely would have filed the divorce papers immediately upon receiving them. Ah Rin didn’t want to witness Min Yu Jin standing at Ban Jae Hyuk’s side.

Remembering that time, Ah Rin bit her lower lip.

“All I want is one thing: divorce.”

Months, then a year, then three years had passed since she’d left the divorce papers, yet no contact ever came from his lawyer.

[The papers still haven’t been filed. They said Mr. Ban Jae Hyuk has absolutely no intention of divorcing Ms. Choi Ah Rin.]

When she finally called the lawyer Seo Ji Yoon had recommended, that’s what he told her.

“Ban Jae Hyuk. I don’t want to be tied to you in any way—not even for a single minute or second. So, if you care about me even a little, you shouldn’t come to me like this.”

Jae Hyuk kept lowering his head before her again and again.

She didn’t want to see this side of him either.

“If you really feel sorry to me…”

Ah Rin’s emotions surged uncontrollably. To steady herself, she bit hard on her lower lip.

Once her anger subsided slightly, she continued.

“It’s been three years. Do you want me to file for a court divorce? Do you really want to drag this into a messy, public fight?”

Ah Rin stood up from her chair, glaring at Jae Hyuk.

“It’s not like that.”

“Then let’s end this peacefully. Please leave. And don’t come back next time.”

“Ah Rin.”

Jae Hyuk reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“Let go of my hand.”

“Can’t you… give me just one more chance?”

“…You’re insane.”

Ah Rin roughly shook off Jae Hyuk’s hand from her wrist.

“Am I a joke to you? Is your whole family laughing at me?”

What are you expecting?

If you wanted me back, you wouldn’t have let me go in the first place.

“If you knew how I felt when I left you, you wouldn’t have come here like this. If you knew how I’ve lived these past three years since I left you, you wouldn’t dare ask me to come back.”

“……”

“Are you really that entitled just because you’re rich? Social class? What even is that? Fine. Yes, social class—I get it. Go find a woman who matches your status. It’s too late now. I’m happy right now. The moment I see you, Ban Jae Hyuk, I feel like I can’t breathe—I feel like I’m dying. I never want to go back to that hell again. The day I walked out of that house, I swore I’d never step back inside.”

Jae Hyuk’s eyes trembled violently.

She wondered if she’d been too harsh—but she couldn’t afford to show weakness.

The real danger wasn’t him; it was her own heart, trembling despite knowing full well he was selfish, cold, and cruel.

“Don’t come looking for me again.”

Ah Rin stood up and walked past Jae Hyuk. His voice followed from behind.

“I missed you. I’m serious.”

Ah Rin’s emotions surged again.

She was angry.

As much as she’d missed Jae Hyuk, that’s how furious she was now.

Back when I begged you to just look at me, you acted like I didn’t exist.

Don’t act so selfishly.

I won’t let you control me anymore.

Ah Rin finally let the tears she’d been holding back spill over.

“How can you show up in front of me and say you missed me? How can you say such meaningless words to my face?”

She heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor.

With each approaching step—thud, thud—Jae Hyuk’s unique white musk scent, mixed with his presence, pricked at her nose.