1. We Broke Up Today
“I want to break up.”
My boyfriend, Pedro, dropped the fork he had been holding with a clatter and stared at me in disbelief.
“What? Who says something like that in a bakery?”
Just as he said, this was a cheap bakery in front of the children’s academy.
It was also a rather shabby place for a restaurant that my boyfriend of five years had brought me to, saying, “You gave me ten million gold, so I’ll pay for us for the first time today!”
“Do you really want to know why?”
“Yes, I’m curious.”
I looked Pedro up and down.
His hair was slicked back neatly with pomade, and he wore a flashy, gleaming watch.
He was even dressed in a custom-made suit tailored perfectly to his figure, giving him a clean and handsome appearance.
‘The catch is that I paid for everything with the money I gave him.’
And what about me?
I was wearing messy hair that covered almost my entire face, round glasses, and worn-out clothes with frayed sleeves.
Once I became fully aware of the contrast between us, I suddenly felt completely disgusted with him.
“I don’t feel like telling you anymore. Let’s just break up.”
As I started to get up, Pedro stared at me with an incredulous expression.
“What the hell is wrong with you all of a sudden? Ah, is this it? That jealousy-inducing scheme that’s popular these days?”
Is this guy crazy?
Then again, I had spent all this time begging him to date me and even paying him to stay with me.
I suppose it was understandable that he might get the wrong idea.
“Do you really want to hear why I’m breaking up with you?”
Pedro arrogantly lifted his chin.
“Yeah. It’s obvious you’re jealous, but I’ll hear you out.”
“If that’s what you want.”
I slipped my hand into the inner pocket of my chest and pressed the recording button on the magical device I had prepared for recording.
Then, in a flat and rapid voice, I began.
“First. You cheat way too much. Apparently, there’s a term for guys like you: a woman-obsessed bastard.”
He had flirted with everyone from Lisa, who had been his academy classmate, to Meryl, his junior at work, and even my younger sister, Soldica.
He replied as if my words were ridiculous.
“You can lose sight of yourself for a little while when you’re living your life. If you had treated me better, would I have cheated?”
Normally, I would have been furious.
But I had long since become immune to words like that.
Instead, I simply smiled at the thought of the magical device faithfully recording everything inside my pocket.
‘Good. I think I’ve got proof that he cheated.’
Now then, shall I start the trash-talking session again to my heart’s content?
“Second. You’re way too arrogant. You’re only a Third-Circle mage, but the way you act, you’d think you were a Grand Mage. Know your place.”
Pedro began huffing furiously after being hit with such blunt facts.
“……What? You’re only a First-Circle mage yourself! And even if I’m only Third Circle, I’m going to receive a noble title soon.”
“Really? Then who wrote the thesis you submitted to receive your noble title?”
For a mage of Third Circle or higher to receive a noble title, they had to submit a thesis proving their magical and intellectual abilities.
But Pedro had absolutely no knowledge of magic.
So I, who possessed specialized knowledge of magical studies, had written his thesis for him.
“That……! You did.”
“And I’m not finished yet. Third. The way you suck money out of me is practically an art form. Even a leech would suck less blood than you.”
Whether Pedro’s face turned red or purple, I calmly continued.
“Fourth. You actually have bad breath. Fifth. You’re incredibly annoying. Sixth. You have a talent for getting on people’s nerves. Seventh. You’re extremely selfish and always think only about yourself. Eighth. It’s hilarious how you act like you’re the most handsome man in the world while judging everyone else’s appearance. You’re not even close. And ninth……”
Pedro’s eyes slowly became lifeless.
“……Next, four hundred and ninety-ninth. You look like a praying mantis. A well-dressed praying mantis. Five hundredth. I just hate you. Everything about you, from the tips of your hair to the tips of your toes, is awful.”
Pedro, who had been clutching his fork with his soul practically drained from his body, finally shouted.
“Ha! This is unbelievable. Have you suddenly gone crazy? Are you insane? You used to be timid and gentle with everyone, so why are you suddenly going berserk? Did you eat something strange?”
“I’m perfectly sane.”
“Then why are you acting like someone who came back from the dead?”
I crossed my legs, stared straight at him, and tilted my head.
Yes.
As unbelievable as it sounded, he was right.
I had died not long ago and come back to life.
To be precise, this was my third life.
I had been a foolish pushover who showered my family and boyfriend with money.
As someone born into a fallen noble family, my fate had been decided from the beginning.
I was destined to live as a money-making machine between an authoritarian father, a spendthrift mother, and a beautiful younger sister.
“Sister, can you give me some money? I need it to buy a dress.”
“Uh, y-yes! Here……”
I had long, messy hair hanging down around my face and filthy glasses so thick that my eyes could barely be seen.
In contrast, my younger sister Soldica was extremely beautiful.
She clicked her tongue at me sympathetically.
“Sister, at least clean your glasses. No wonder Pedro is cheating on you…… Ah, never mind.”
“……Thanks for caring.”
Even though I was the one giving her money, I looked almost pathetic as I wiped the sweat from my forehead and trailed off.
And my boyfriend, Pedro, the one person I had relied on more than anyone else, was no different.
“Ishael, you’re really ugly.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you think you should lose some weight? How did you get so fat?”
As if that weren’t enough, he openly cheated on me with countless women.
Of course, even while he was doing that, the money for his food and living expenses still came from me.
My family was no different.
They told me not to break up with Pedro, saying things like, “Who else would ever take you?”
And all the while, they faithfully took my money.
Even though I knew exactly what they were doing, I foolishly couldn’t say a single word.
I simply wasted away from pent-up frustration until I died of a heart attack.
And at that very moment—
Not only did I remember my second life, the life before my regression, but I also remembered every last detail of my first life.
My first life.
Before I was reincarnated as a woman named Ishael.
Back then, in South Korea, I had been a confident workaholic named Yoon Se-jin.
“Ms. Yoon Se-jin, you majored in marketing. How do you know how to code?”
“You have to properly understand the references provided by the development team to do marketing, don’t you? So I learned it in advance.”
She was exceptionally good at her job, and she worked incredibly hard.
Above all, she was someone who knew how to speak up when something was unfair.
“Someone died because the main contractor abused its power over the subcontractor. Shouldn’t we correct that?”
“Yoon Se-jin, aren’t you afraid of ruining your future? That’s not how you’re supposed to behave in society.”
“I’m not afraid, and I say what needs to be said. I want to live with a clear conscience.”
“A nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
“Wouldn’t a world where every stone looks exactly the same be boring?”
Yoon Se-jin had been a passionate person who spoke her mind without worrying about the consequences.
She was definitely someone people either loved or hated, but as a person, she was undeniably cool.
She was the complete opposite of how I had been in my second life, being manipulated by my family, constantly drained of money, and wasting away.
After spending several days sick in bed and finally becoming aware of all my past memories—
A storm of change swept through my daily life.
No, it wasn’t as if the reality surrounding me had changed.
But I had gained confidence and courage in myself.
‘I was confused at first, but things are different now.’
Now that I had fully equipped myself with Yoon Se-jin’s memories, courage, and confidence!
The very first thing I decided to do was throw my ex-boyfriend into the trash.
When Pedro contacted me and asked me out because he needed money, I secretly rejoiced.
Because I was happy?
Because I was sad?
No.
Because I realized that it was finally time to give him a refreshing shower of sweet, satisfying revenge.
Now it was time for the memories of my first life, when I had lived proudly and confidently, to come in handy.
I returned to reality and looked at Pedro.
‘In the potato field that is my life, someone like Pedro is basically just a baby potato.’
I couldn’t afford to get sentimental while dealing with such a weak opponent.
It was time to focus and finish this properly.
“If you have nothing else to say, I’m leaving.”
“Ha…… So that’s how it is. I have something to say too, you know.”
After listening to the five hundred reasons I should break up with him,
Pedro, battered and tattered as if he had taken five hundred punches, was just about to prepare his counterattack.
That was when a waitress approached our table.
“What?”
She roughly placed a tray down and said,
“Your order is here.”
Pedro tilted his head in confusion.
“But we didn’t order anything.”
Rather than looking at the bewildered Pedro, she looked directly at me and said,
“It’s on the house. Here we have pepperoncino spicy enough to burn your eyes if you put it in them, a hard campagna filled generously with hot custard, and a warm, sticky cappuccino that’s just perfect for pouring over someone.”
With a loud thud, the hard, oversized campagna bread was placed directly in front of me.
I immediately caught the strange nuance hidden in her words.
‘So, if you want to get rid of a clingy, crazy ex-boyfriend, you need a fiery finale.’
The waitress winked at me before disappearing as swiftly as the wind.
“Enough. I’m never letting you go. If you’re going to break up with me, then at least wait until after I receive my noble title.”
To him, I was nothing more than his source of money and an easy pushover, so of course he didn’t want to let me go yet.
“Pedro, do you really not want to break up with me?”
As I said that, I slipped my pinky finger into the cup of cappuccino and pulled it back out, checking its temperature.
“Yes. I even thought about marrying you.”
By the time I had wiped my fingertip with a napkin,
Pedro’s face had turned as red as a pepperoncino.
“Well then.”
I wrapped one hand around the warm cup and elegantly raised my pinky.
It was time to put on a spectacular finale.
There was no reason to hesitate anymore.
Whooosh—!
