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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Ye-na, who was lying on the sofa as if she had become one with it, didn’t seem to be in a good mood for some reason.
Maybe she was lost in her own thoughts, as she didn’t even notice me entering.
“That jerk…”
A swear word that didn’t suit her pretty lips slipped out.
…Did something happen?
When I tried to talk to her, she was startled and then glared at me.
I was already shrinking whenever I saw Ye-na, even though I hadn’t done anything particularly wrong based on this life.
Under her sharp gaze, I had no choice but to naturally turn my head away.
“Ah… Well… Nevermind if it’s nothing.”
“Hey. Choi In-wook.”
Ye-na’s tone felt quite different from yesterday.
Was her kindness limited to yesterday?
“…Forget it.”
After a brief pause, she abruptly told me to forget it.
Forget it? Forget what?
“…What?”
Since nothing came to mind right away, I had no choice but to ask her.
“I mean… What I said to you when I was drunk at the MT. Forget it all.”
What Ye-na said to me when she was drunk…
Maybe it was the conversation she had with me while smoking?
I didn’t really know, but given the atmosphere, it seemed awkward to say I couldn’t forget, so I nodded for now.
“Um… Okay…”
Ye-na turned her head and resumed working on her drawing.
I brought a canvas and started finishing the monster drawing I hadn’t completed last time.
Although I tried my best to draw, it didn’t feel like my skills were improving.
At times like this, I thought training was a really good system.
Because the results came out as much as I moved my body and trained.
On the other hand, even if I drew for another 10 years, would I be able to draw better than Ye-na?
I voted for impossible.
Anyway, I needed to find out if Ye-na had returned or not…
It was difficult to strike up a conversation with her when she was emitting a “don’t talk to me” aura.
Giving up on hesitating and being considerate, I blankly moved the brush up and down.
“…If you paint like that, the colors won’t come out right.”
Ye-na was standing behind me with her arms crossed, starting to give me advice.
“This is where you need to emphasize the light and shadow here, here, and here.”
Ye-na pointed out various parts of my drawing with the tip of her pencil.
“…Is it completely wrong?”
If Ye-na’s point was true, it was clear that my drawing was a mess.
“That’s about right.”
“Sigh.”
There’s no hope for me when it comes to drawing…
I put down the brush for a moment and stretched my back.
“I don’t know. I give up.”
Recently, there were many things I didn’t know in various ways.
“Are things going well with Si-hwa?”
Ye-na sat across from me while I was taking a short break.
It was strange that Ye-na asked such a question, but it was even more difficult to answer.
Because Si-hwa and I…
“Not at all. We weren’t even in that kind of relationship in the first place.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Why? You looked like you had a good vibe at the MT.”
We had divorced.
Just like you and me.
And she and I both remember that.
“Still, it didn’t work out.”
Ye-na looked at me with an expression that said it was really hard to understand.
“…It’s not because of me, right?”
She asked carefully.
In fact, Ye-na had done nothing to cause problems between Si-hwa and me.
Rather, the existence of Si-hwa in my previous life had ruined my relationship with Ye-na.
“Yeah. Not at all, so don’t worry.”
“That’s a relief then.”
Because she brought up Si-hwa, I couldn’t help but feel troubled again.
No matter how hard I tried to act nonchalant, the image of her walking away crying kept coming to mind.
“Why are you so gloomy again?”
Only then did I realize that I had a excessively melancholic expression on my face.
Ye-na spoke to me in an irritated tone, but she seemed to be worried.
“I’m just feeling a bit unsettled these days.”
Ye-na stared at me for a while without saying anything, then opened her bag and took out her wallet.
“I think I put it here…”
Rummaging through her wallet, she handed me a card similar in size to a business card.
“What’s this?”
“A free drink coupon for the cafe I work at.”
The address of the cafe was written on the paper she gave me.
It was a slightly familiar name…
Huh? Isn’t this…?
“I think I’ve been here before.”
It seemed to be the cafe I went to for my first pair activity meeting with Ha-rin.
At that time, I don’t think I saw Ye-na’s face.
If Ye-na was an employee, there was no way I wouldn’t have recognized her.
“Really? Then that’s good. I don’t have to go out of my way to explain where it is.”
“But why are you giving this to me…”
“You looked down, and I had nothing else to give you. So at least have that to drink.”
…That’s right.
Ye-na was always that kind of person.
The person who accepted me despite my shortcomings and flaws.
The person who treated everyone warmly.
The person I was most grateful to.
“Thank you.”
As I received the coupon, I felt a warmth in one corner of my heart.
The Ye-na in front of my eyes now was the Ye-na from a time unknown to me, but the fact that she was Ha Ye-na remained unchanged.
“…Come when I’m not there. It’s annoying when there are a lot of customers.”
After doing something nice, Ye-na snapped at me with a coy expression and started packing her bag.
“Are you going to your part-time job?”
“Yeah. I’m leaving a bit early today so I don’t cause trouble by being late again.”
Ye-na, who had finished packing, grabbed the doorknob.
“Choi In-wook.”
“Yeah?”
“Cheer up.”
With those words, she slammed the door loudly and left.
I sat there for a long time, quietly looking down at the coupon she had given me.
* * *
[So I don’t think I’ll have to come in for a while.]
[Okay.]
[Are you sure it’s okay? I was really worried because you didn’t come to the meeting the other day.]
[…Yes.]
[I even sent In-wook, but he seemed really surprised when he didn’t see you.]
[…Choi In-wook?]
[Yeah. I asked him to pass on the meeting notes to you.]
[I see.]
[Anyway, don’t feel too bad, and I’ll contact you again if there are any changes.]
[Okay.]
It had been two days since I stopped going to the academy.
Feeling like it wasn’t right to go incommunicado without any notice, I sent a message to the homeroom teacher and some students saying I was sick.
The content of the conversation with the student council president was a bit unexpected.
I thought it was just a check-in out of concern, but I was told that I didn’t have to come to the student council for a while.
The academy was talking about reducing the number of student council members or something.
They said first-year students were targeted for that.
They said something about first-year students lacking experience, but honestly, I thought it didn’t make sense.
The student council was a purely student-run organization.
I had never heard of the academy directly intervening and adjusting the number of members, neither in my previous life nor in this life.
Someone must have pulled some strings.
…Could it be Yoon Ha-rin?
Considering what she had already done to me, there was a high probability it was her.
Someone with the power to influence the academy.
Someone with hostility towards me.
Honestly, if it were before that incident, I would have gone to confront her right away, but now it might actually be a good thing.
I still… didn’t have the confidence to face Choi In-wook.
I couldn’t think of a surefire way to change his heart.
How could I console his wounded heart?
But I had a vague idea.
Who it was that had comforted him when he was like that…
Who it was that had succeeded in doing so.
That woman I encountered at the MT when I followed him not long ago.
The person who was Choi In-wook’s third wife.
Ha Ye-na.
It was difficult to determine whether she had returned or not.
Because the attitude she showed was definitely not favorable towards Choi In-wook.
But I had no way of knowing where her attitude came from.
Whether it was really because she didn’t like Choi In-wook.
Or whether their divorce in their previous life was because of Choi In-wook’s problem.
Choi In-wook would know the answer, but in my current situation, I couldn’t bring myself to ask him.
“Ha Ye-na… Ha Ye-na…”
I needed to meet her.
* * *
[Yes. I contacted the student council as the young lady requested.]
[Choi In-wook. Yoo Si-hwa. Did you succeed in dismissing both of them?]
[Dismissal seemed difficult… But it seems they were allowed to suspend their activities.]
[I see. Then please put more pressure on them to ensure it leads to dismissal.]
[Understood.]
[You know I value thorough work, right?]
[Of course.]
[I’ll be looking forward to it.]
[I won’t disappoint you.]
I hung up the phone and looked out the window.
Yoo Si-hwa.
I had no intention of standing by and watching her fawn over my In-wook any longer.
She, who had ignored my warning, had to pay the price.
Of course, I had no intention of revealing anything to In-wook.
All the work would be done secretly behind the scenes.
I had no intention of letting a second-rate woman take away the chance I had regained.
I didn’t intend to go this far, but…
You started it first, didn’t you?
You shameless bitch.
Watch closely from now on.
I’ll show you why I was the first.
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