Wishing for Salvation (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
Seo Yoon tore open a long bag of seaweed and poured it all into a stainless steel bowl.
This was definitely too much.
Tilting her head in puzzlement as she gauged the quantity, Seo Yoon finally scooped out about a handful of the overflowing strands.
It might swell up in the water and overflow entirely.
Once again, Kang Hyun had slipped in silently, unnoticed by anyone or anything, and was now getting ready for work.
Well, at least he’d come on her birthday—that was something.
Seo Yoon stir-fried the pre-seasoned beef, dumped in the seaweed, mixed it thoroughly, and then added water again.
“I should’ve boiled it ahead of time.”
Leaving the bubbling seaweed soup to simmer, she took out the marinated ribs she’d set aside and placed them in the steamer.
With last night’s prepared ingredients and the need to toss together japchae as well, she felt like she needed ten hands.
But this was the last birthday she’d spend by his side.
She wanted to do this much, at least.
She first arranged the prepared dishes on the table, filled a rice bowl, ladled out soup, and set everything on the dining table.
Japchae wasn’t too difficult, but the braised ribs needed more time.
She’d hoped Kang Hyun would take longer getting ready—but soon enough, the bedroom door opened.
Kang Hyun glanced briefly at the busy Seo Yoon, then walked straight past the kitchen toward the front door.
She felt foolish for having gotten her hopes up, thinking he’d remembered on purpose.
Lately buried under heavy workloads, he’d apparently forgotten his own birthday.
Pushing down the sudden surge of disappointment, Seo Yoon followed him.
“Can’t you at least eat breakfast before you go?”
“I have an important meeting.”
“Then dinner, at least. I’ll wait however late it gets—I have something to tell you, oppa.”
“Next time.”
Kang Hyun kissed her wide eyes—still looking up at him for a long moment—and left the house without a second thought.
Trudging back into the kitchen, Seo Yoon turned off the induction stove and sat blankly in front of the cooling rice and soup.
Thankfully, no tears came—perhaps because she’d already cried herself dry after meeting Kim So Ye.
In the dim, deserted dawn when no one walked the streets, time drifted aimlessly toward 3 a.m.
After waiting a long while for Kang Hyun’s return, Seo Yoon rubbed her heavy eyelids and picked up a spoon.
Tick. Tick. The sound of the clock’s second hand, echoing through the empty space, once again grated on her ears.
Out of habit, Seo Yoon bit her lip and finally threw the clock away.
The broken glass scattered loudly, glinting under the light.
“It’s tasteless.”
Of course it had no flavor.
The cooled soup and braised ribs were floating with congealed oil, and the cold japchae and rice had hardened stiffly.
Her birthday had already passed.
Still, Seo Yoon kept forcing herself to eat.
The greasy food churned painfully in her stomach, making her nauseous—but she didn’t stop.
And in that moment, she realized:
Ah, I’ve truly reached my limit.
I can’t stay by his side any longer.
As she resolved once more to part ways, it felt as if both her esophagus and windpipe had suddenly sealed shut.
She was terrified of a life without Tae Kang Hyun.
Having eaten about half the rice, Seo Yoon pounded her chest weakly—just as the smart lock clicked open and the hallway sensor lights lit up one by one.
Kang Hyun, who was about to pass by the dining room as usual, turned his head toward the bright light.
Rubbing his tired, dry eyes firmly, Kang Hyun approached Seo Yoon as he scanned the set table.
“It was my birthday. I don’t know if it’s actually the day I was born, but… well, it was.”
His steady footsteps came to an abrupt halt. He’d completely, utterly forgotten.
“I’ll get things ready—go shopping tomorrow at a time that’s convenient for you.”
With a flicker of strain crossing his face, Kang Hyun’s words drove the final nail into Seo Yoon’s heart.
She wanted to ask if she’d become a burden to him.
She wanted to ask what she’d even been to him—just a comfort doll, nothing more?
But knowing empty words like that meant nothing to Tae Kang Hyun, she asked instead the same concrete question as before:
“Do you really have to get married?”
“I don’t understand why you keep bringing up this marriage. I already told you—it’s none of your concern.”
“How is it not my concern? After marrying, will you still come and go from this house like this? Will you still keep me glued to your side like a doll? Should I—standing next to a married oppa—keep loving you forever?”
Seeing he wouldn’t listen at all, Seo Yoon’s clenched fists trembled faintly.
“She already knows about your existence. We’ve already settled this—she won’t interfere—so don’t worry about it.”
“What does she ‘know’ about my existence? That I’m a shameless orphan? A leech that clings to Tae Kang Hyun and won’t let go, even in death?”
Unable to contain her fury, Seo Yoon’s voice rose sharply. She had no way to express the suffocating weight in her chest—she wanted to tear at her own hair.
“Who told you such things?”
“You’re the one making me this way!”
“I never have. Why are you still carrying on like this so late? Go to bed already.”
Even with Seo Yoon stomping her feet like a volcano about to erupt right in front of him, Kang Hyun remained as calm as a still lake.
“I have something to say.”
“It’s too late—tell me tomorrow.”
“Let’s end it here. I’ve been by your side my whole life—please just let me go now.”
“I don’t know why you’re so angry, but that’s enough. I’ve already clearly said no.”
His already cold eyes now radiated an icy chill.
It was a phrase Seo Yoon should never have uttered.
Even if someone else called her his comfort doll, he’d never denied it.
She was the doll he held close, awake or asleep.
He hadn’t seen it as a bad thing—the meaning mattered more than the label “doll.”
To him, Seo Yoon truly had been that presence. It was merely a matter of perspective.
“This is also infidelity. Infidelity is wrong—our relationship isn’t normal.”
“I’m getting tired of hearing the same thing over and over. It’s just for appearances—don’t attach grand meaning to it. It has nothing to do with you.”
A sigh escaped her reddened lips. It would’ve been better to just talk to the wall.
“I’ve told you repeatedly—I truly mean to leave. I won’t see you again.”
“If you’re struggling, take a few days off—I’ll assign someone to help you.”
Frowning, Kang Hyun brushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen over her face.
Their repeated arguments since the engagement had started to grate even on him.
“I’m the only one leaving.”
Explaining her tangled emotions to make Tae Kang Hyun understand had always been exhausting.
And now, she felt suffocated. She couldn’t stay in the same space as him any longer.
Loving Kang Hyun while getting hurt alone had become too heavy—her once boundless empathy had completely vanished.
She was tired. Yes, she was utterly exhausted.
From loneliness and solitude.
She wanted to finally escape this bottomless swamp sucking her in.
“Why can’t you… give up on anything?”
Through blurred vision, Seo Yoon’s dark eyes drifted aimlessly.
She might’ve appeared pitiful—but Kang Hyun only pressed his stiff neck, his expression dry and indifferent.
“Seo Yoon.”
Avoiding his cold gaze, Seo Yoon shook off his hand as he tried to grab her arm and walked straight out of the house.
The door slammed shut with a loud bang; Kang Hyun let out a deep sigh and pulled out his phone.
“Yes, Managing Director.”
Do Director, who had returned home around the same time as Kang Hyun, answered the call in a slightly subdued tone.
“Reassign someone to Seo Yoon—track her location and have them wait nearby…”
“Managing Director?”
Kang Hyun frowned as he finally noticed Seo Yoon’s phone left behind on the dining table.
“Just handle it as discussed for now.”
“Yes.”
Kang Hyun quickly ended the call, grabbed the cardigan draped over the wooden chair along with the phone, and hurried after her.
What stopped Seo Yoon as she walked away was the flashing green pedestrian light at the crosswalk.
“Where do you think you’re going without anything?”
“Anywhere—anywhere you’re not. I really want to break up. I don’t want to live as a doll anymore. So please, let me go.”
“How could I ever let you go?”
Kang Hyun genuinely didn’t understand. The word “breakup” felt impossibly distant from Seo Yoon.
“If you can’t stand seeing my face, go to a hotel. I’ll contact Seo Won…”
CRASH!
The accident happened in an instant.
Her darkened vision flickered momentarily before a deafening sound—like something collapsing—pierced her eardrums.
On an empty street with not even an ant in sight, the roar of an accelerating engine scattered into the air.
The car that rammed into them retracted its headlights and vanished without a trace.
“Ugh…”
Kang Hyun clung desperately to his hazy consciousness and forced his head up to search for Seo Yoon.
He tried to crawl toward the distant silhouette—but his body wouldn’t obey his will.
Planting his knees and elbows on the ground, he attempted to drag himself forward but collapsed repeatedly right where he was.
From that unreachable distance, he stared at Seo Yoon—who hadn’t moved at all—and finally let his heavy eyelids fall.
“Seo Yoon…”
Warm liquid dripped somewhere, sliding down his closed eyes and gathering at his chin.
Amid the sharp metallic tang filling his nose, he wanted to ask Seo Yoon:
Do your tears carry this same warmth?
***
***
***
One day, after coming home from watching a movie for the first time in ages, a sudden thought struck her.
Maybe it was because she’d just seen the male lead die in place of his beloved in the film’s ending.
“I wish I’d die before you, oppa.”
It was a somewhat selfish wish—but surely, this small hope was acceptable.
Countless people would mourn Tae Kang Hyun, but only he would grieve for her.
“Why?”
“I only have you. You have to hold my funeral and grieve for me—even if you won’t cry, of course.”
Lying side by side on the bed, Kang Hyun stayed silent for a long while without answering.
Right—just that one sentence would’ve been enough.
She nearly snapped at him for taking so long to ponder something so simple, but bit her lip tightly out of spite.
“How long do you need to grieve? Three years? Or five?”
“What’s with that odd number?”
“Anything under three years is too short, and anything over five is too long.”
“Five years is long? That’s disappointing. I’ve lived with you for twenty—remember me for at least ten.”
Unlike her, who’d cried buckets through the sad movie, Kang Hyun had watched indifferently, alternating his gaze between the screen and her tear-streaked face—and even now, telling him this stirred no reaction.
“More than five years would be too hard.”
“Fine, then—grieve and remember me for exactly five years.”
Though she’d tried to sound sullen and disappointed, Kang Hyun only nodded silently.
“I’m scared no one will cry for me. That would mean I’m alone even in death.”
Just before sleep drowned her, she seemed to mumble those words.
“…Someone will.”
If only she’d waited five years—she would’ve been there.
She never heard his final words, spoken with that cold touch.
And so she realized far too late:
He had loved her deeply—in his own way.
While she’d given him five years of hell.
Thinking it lucky she’d gone first, she closed her eyes with a little peace at last.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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