.｡.:✧ Chapter 3 ✧:.｡.

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Marriage…

Marriage, huh…

Taking a big bite of the toast my mom made, I thought while chewing.

If I were to get married in this life, it would effectively be my fourth marriage.

Many people look unfavorably upon a person marrying twice, let alone four times.

I chuckled wryly.

Still, how fortunate that no one knew I had been married before.

The world wouldn’t call me a thief of the century.

The words that flowed from the TV on the day I killed myself came to mind.

A special on my ex-wives…

Thinking that the whole nation watched it while eating popcorn made my head throb.

Perhaps my ex-wives also saw that broadcast by chance.

…It was a scene I really didn’t want to imagine.

* * *

Arriving at the academy, the entrance ranking chart posted in the middle of the hallway caught my eye.

While I was the one who graduated at the top in my previous life, I wasn’t a first-rate hunter from the beginning.

If my memory served me right, the person who entered at the top was… as expected…

[1st place. Yoo Si-hwa.]

My second wife, and another woman who held the title of the strongest hunter.

Si-hwa.

I had no connection with Si-hwa in the academy in my previous life.

We only competed for the 1st place spot.

There was no personal friendship at all.

That was natural since Ha-rin was by my side.

Having fallen deeply for Ha-rin, I never even glanced at another woman.

Si-hwa had a nickname back when we were in the academy, and I thought it suited her well both then and now.

[Ice-Blooded Princess]

If Ha-rin was a beauty with a warm image like a bright flower, Si-hwa was a beauty at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Sharp eyes. Pointed jawline. Pale skin.

And above all, the core factor was her non-smiling face.

Even for me, the first time I saw Si-hwa smile was after I divorced Ha-rin and went on a few missions together with Si-hwa.

Only after we took down the strongest monster in history together did she smile at me and say I did a good job.

The fact that I saw her smiling face was more shocking than the fact that we defeated the monster.

Her smile melted my heart, worn down by the divorce with Ha-rin, all too easily.

That’s how beautiful and rare her smiling face was.

The same thought I had with Ha-rin.

If I didn’t approach Si-hwa first, we were destined to live as strangers.

In fact, in my previous life, we never had a proper conversation in the academy, and it was much later that we had more than necessary conversations during missions.

That’s how it should have been, but…

There wasn’t much time left until the morning assembly.

It wouldn’t be strange if the homeroom teacher came in to make an announcement at any time.

The kids were all sitting in their seats, doing their own thing or chatting with their seatmates.

Clack.

The door opened and everyone’s eyes turned to the front door.

And the one who entered wasn’t the homeroom teacher, but…

Yoo Si-hwa.

Without hesitation, she went up to the podium.

It wasn’t just me who was surprised by her sudden appearance, but the entire class.

[Who’s that girl?]

[You know, the girl who entered in 1st place.]

[That’s her? Wow, she’s really pretty though.]

[Eh~ Still, Yoon Ha-rin is better.]

[Yeah~ No way~]

I could hear the conversation of the boys next to me.

Si-hwa, who had been standing on the podium without a word and looking down at our class, made eye contact with Ha-rin.

And for some reason, after glaring at Ha-rin for a moment, Si-hwa eventually turned her head and made eye contact with me as well.

Click, click.

In the silence that flowed through our classroom, the sound of her heels echoed.

She stepped down from the podium and the place she stopped after moving to the back of the classroom was in front of my seat.

“Choi In-wook.”

…I never told you my name though.

“…Yes?”

I was so startled that I spoke in a polite way.

“Here.”

What she took out and placed on my seat was…

Banana milk.

What the.

It felt like my brain circuits had shut down.

What was it? Why on earth was she doing this to me?

“Uh… What is this…?”

Having nothing particular to say, I asked what it was.

“Drink it.”

I get that you gave it to me to drink, but…

There must be a reason you’re doing this…

Si-hwa asked me with an innocent expression.

“You don’t like it?”

“N… No? I’ll drink it well.”

I had no bad history with banana milk, so I would drink it well, but I was dumbfounded.

“I’ll come again.”

Leaving those words behind, Si-hwa leisurely exited through the back door.

The entire class was looking at me, blinking like a fool, with an expression demanding an explanation.

Please don’t look at me with those eyes.

I don’t know either.

* * *

[Choi In-wook. Why didn’t you tell me!]

Crash.

Si-hwa threw the picture frame that held our wedding photo.

[I’m sorry… I just…]

Like the shattered glass, our relationship seemed like it would break at any moment.

[…This is fraud, you know. If this isn’t marriage fraud, then what is it?]

[Si-hwa! You know it’s not like that!]

A streak of tears flowed from Si-hwa’s eyes.

[Is that so? Then what were you thinking? Choi In-wook. Give me an answer.]

Si-hwa punched my chest repeatedly.

She was also an S-rank hunter. The force of her punches was never the same as the cotton fists of ordinary women.

A pain like being hit by monsters remained in my chest.

[I didn’t intend to hide it forever… And if it was you… surely…]

Si-hwa looked at me as if it was unbelievable.

[Did that woman know when she married you?]

She must be talking about Ha-rin.

[No… But at that time, I didn’t know either…]

[Then this time, I was the only one who didn’t know and married you.]

Si-hwa kicked the floor as if she was angry.

[What are you going to do?]

[What?]

[My career. My life. What are you going to do about it? You want me to grow old and die disgracefully with you like this?]

Each and every one of her words became sharp daggers and stabbed into my chest.

[And above all…]

She plopped down.

[I wanted to have a child with you too…]

That day was the first and last time I saw Si-hwa crying like a child.

[Our child who would look just like you and me. I wanted one so badly.]

I embraced her shoulders as she cried.

[I’m sorry… I’m sorry… Si-hwa…]

[How ridiculous must I have looked? Getting excited while looking at the children’s section without knowing anything.]

[The day I asked you what we should name the baby. The reason you hesitated and couldn’t answer my question was this.]

[I was the only one who didn’t know anything… and was happy alone…]

Covering her face with both hands, she sobbed.

Her sorrowful cries filled the newlywed home that should have been filled with warm words.

[Let’s divorce.]

[…What?]

Si-hwa glared at me with bloodshot eyes and said.

[I… don’t think I can live with you.]

Don’t do this.

Please don’t do this, Si-hwa.

I knelt down in front of Si-hwa.

[I’m sorry. So please… please…]

I was desperate.

I couldn’t lose Si-hwa too.

[I’ll beg you like this. I’ll find a way somehow, no matter what it takes. Just please don’t…]

I had no pride or anything.

I had to hold onto Si-hwa.

I had no confidence to live a life without her.

[…There’s no way.]

[No… If I try harder…]

[In-wook.]

Si-hwa interrupted me.

[I know you… You’ve already tried all the possible methods, haven’t you…]

She was right.

Even during my married life with Ha-rin, and after divorcing her, I constantly sought ways, but nothing improved at all.

[I love you. Si-hwa. I love you. Please, even if it’s for my sake.]

Tears began to flow from my eyes too.

[How can we avoid divorce…?]

With trembling hands, I grasped Si-hwa’s hand.

[I beg you like this… Please… Don’t leave me alone…]

Si-hwa returned the hand I held out back to me.

[In-wook.]

Her sunken voice.

I instinctively sensed that she wouldn’t give me the answer I wanted.

[How can you be so selfish?]

Si-hwa got up and walked towards the front door.

Frozen by her words, I couldn’t say anything and just stared at her back.

[Take care.]

The door lock opened and Si-hwa disappeared beyond the front door.

Left alone in the ruined second newlywed home, I clutched my head.

Si-hwa’s words were right.

If I had confessed the truth before marriage, it might not have ended like this.

I was just afraid of being abandoned by her, so I brought her here, hypnotizing myself that she would understand me.

…It was a terribly selfish love.

* * *

The classes didn’t properly enter my ears.

I already knew all the content anyway.

My mind was filled with thoughts of the wives I had to face again.

And the message from the primordial spirit that I couldn’t help but be concerned about, regardless of its authenticity.

If those words were true, who should I choose?

I also thought that perhaps this time, it might be a way to shake off my lingering attachment to my previous life and start a completely different life by forming a connection with a new person.

Ding-dong.

The bell signaling the last class rang.

Having concluded that I should avoid contact with my wives while my thoughts were still disorganized, I tried to pack my things as quickly as possible and leave the classroom.

Opening the back door to leave, I was startled.

“Let’s go together. Choi In-wook.”

As if she knew I would come out this way, Si-hwa was waiting for me in front of the door with her arms crossed.

“…I’ve been curious since earlier, but who are you to do this to me?”

“Yoo Si-hwa.”

I know that too.

But this was the first time she revealed her name to me, so I pretended to accept it for now.

“So, Yoo Si-hwa. What business do you have with me?”

I answered a bit coldly on purpose.

Even if I hadn’t known her, I probably would have reacted similarly.

“Let’s go home together.”

“So why should I… with you…”

As I persisted in questioning Si-hwa’s out-of-the-blue actions, I had no choice but to stop speaking for a moment.

Because…

At the opposite end of the hallway, the person who was my third wife.

Ha Ye-na was looking at us with a contemptuous expression.

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