TLICO 01

Chapter – 01

Four years ago.

I received a proposal on a cruise ship under this very Han River bridge.

“Ha Eun-rae! Marry me!”

With fireworks popping and even an orchestra mobilized, the proposal was nothing short of extravagant.

That wasn’t all.

There were flashy roses and a flashy diamond ring.

It was a far cry from the modest and quiet proposal I had always talked about.

“Eun-rae, I’ll make your wish come true.”

“My wish?”

“Retire from acting, have kids with me, and let’s live happily ever after.”

If I had only heard that much, I wouldn’t have accepted the proposal.

The problem was the next thing he said.

“You said you wanted a real family.”A real family.

Those words made me accept a proposal that didn’t even suit my taste.

They made me take Kim Do-un’s hand instead of a project by a famous director at the time.

Ridiculously enough.

I fell for just that one sentence.

And four years later.

“The Oscar goes to Director Park!”

That successful director, ‘Park Seo-woo,’ won an Oscar in America.

The Oscars are the most prestigious film festival in the world.

And he won Best Director—something as rare as plucking a star from the sky for a non-English language work.

Wearing a bowtie, he was smiling with a face more handsome and dignified than an actor’s.

And beside him was Kang Ye-ji, who had been nominated for Best Actress through the very project by Park Seo-woo that I had turned down.

On the other hand, I—

“Kim Do-un. You better answer me. Did you really sleep with that woman?”I had become the protagonist of a third-rate morning drama, spitting out cliché lines.

Steam was rising from Kim Do-un’s red sports car, and I was the culprit who made it that way.

From the hotel where my husband, Kim Do-un, came out with another woman to this Han River bridge, I hadn’t just filmed a car chase scene—I had slammed right into the back of Kim Do-un’s sports car.

Kim Do-un shouted at me with a face full of rage.

“Are you crazy?! Do you know how much this car costs?!”

“Are you the one who’s crazy?”

I pointed to the woman in the passenger seat of Kim Do-un’s sports car, who was looking tired while searching for her sunglasses to put on.

She was a very familiar person to me.

She was the top actress, Kang Ye-ji, who was currently all over the news every day for attending the Oscars.

Kang Ye-ji, who went to the Oscars instead of me, was now sitting in my husband’s passenger seat.

“I’m asking if you two slept together.”

I spoke with the clear vocalization that had been ingrained in my body for a long time.

At that, Kim Do-un pointed his finger at me with a face full of annoyance.

“Can’t we talk about this in a quiet place?! Do you know how high Ye-ji’s stock is these days? Doing this kind of thing on a Han River bridge…!”

“Forget it, Do-un. I’ve already called my manager, so take your time talking. I’ll go in my manager’s car.”

Kang Ye-ji, who rolled down the window, didn’t even show her face and just waved her hand dismissively.

Seeing her acting so nonchalant, my boiling anger actually began to subside.

Because Kang Ye-ji looked more comfortable in Kim Do-un’s passenger seat than I did.

Because Kim Do-un was looking after Kang Ye-ji more than me.

Because the two of them looked so used to all of this.

In the place where anger swept through, despair and sadness flooded in.

‘So this is what it feels like.’

I had seen many scenes in dramas and movies where a spouse catches their partner cheating.

A few times, I had even acted it out myself.

Every time, I wondered whether anger, sadness, or resignation would come first, but such worries were useless.

All of them rushed in and washed away like the tide, just changing their order.

“Just… why did you do it?”

I asked in a hollow voice.

Then Kim Do-un looked at me as if wondering why I would even ask such a thing.

The man who once begged me to marry him with a face that couldn’t love me more.

“Can’t you tell just by looking?”

“I’m asking because I don’t know…”

Without realizing it, I reached out toward Kim Do-un’s hand.

Kim Do-un pulled his hand away in disgust.

It was natural.

To him, I was no longer ‘family.’

In the end… I am ‘alone’ again.

“She’s more successful than you, prettier than you, has a better family than you, and earns more money than you. She’s not lacking in anything. Didn’t I tell you to take care of yourself?”

He looked up and down at my outfit—plain jeans and a T-shirt—and spoke.

“When was the last time you even put on makeup?”

“You’re cute even without makeup. That’s a side only I get to see.”Words Kim Do-un once said flashed through my mind.

It felt like ice was piercing my chest.

“Your husband is a Channel Bureau Chief. At that level, do you know how many pretty celebrities I see? But looking at you, wearing an apron and smelling like kimchi stew, I lose my appetite!”

“I think you’re much prettier when you’re cooking for me than when you’re acting. My one and only wife.”The futility of my last four years of marriage felt like it was turning to ash and disappearing.

You said you would be a ‘real family’ for me.

My extravagant mother. My father, who became a beast when he drank. My brother, who only looked for a get-rich-quick scheme.

“It must have been so hard for you, our Eun-rae.”You shouldn’t have comforted me like that.

If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have chosen you.

Then I wouldn’t have let go of acting—the only lifeline in my miserable life—to take your hand.

Just then, a black van approached and stopped.

The door opened, and a familiar face appeared from inside.

Hong Jong-ho.

The person who was once my manager.

“You know that role is absolutely perfect for you. Can’t you get married a little later?”He was also the only person who tried to hold me back until the very end.

Hong Jong-ho tried to speak to me as I stood there with a miserable face, but when I avoided his eyes, he headed toward the sports car.

Then, he suddenly supported a limping Kang Ye-ji and put her in the van.

“Director Hong. Please take her to the hospital. The aftereffects of a car accident are scary.”

“Huh? Oh… okay.”

Hong Jong-ho answered hesitantly and closed the van door.

The moment I saw that, I realized.

What I had lost wasn’t my husband, Kim Do-un.

By taking Kim Do-un’s hand…

I lost all those opportunities.

The sets that made my heart flutter.

The audiences who held their breath while watching a movie with my face in it.

The times I spent reading through a newly printed, warm script with Hong Jong-ho.

I lost all of it.

Just because of a man like this.

Slap!

I slapped Kim Do-un’s cheek and threw the ring that was on my hand.

Seeing that, Kim Do-un’s face contorted as he shouted.

“Are you crazy?! Do you know how much that diamond costs…!”

Kim Do-un ran disgracefully to catch the ring rolling on the road.

And at that moment—

A large truck rushed toward him.

‘Uh, uh…’

At this rate, he’ll get hit.

The moment I thought that, the truck swerved.

Toward me.

My body floated into the air.

The sky grew closer.

The black water of the Han River came into view.

Like slow motion, all time flowed slowly.

That’s why I could know for sure.

I—

I am going to die like this.

If there is such a thing as a next life, I will never choose you, Kim Do-un.

In that moment, something suddenly popped up in front of my eyes.

[Searching Wiki for ‘Ha Eun-rae’!]

Wiki? That’s the info site celebrities hate the most.

An information repository that various people can edit. A place where a celebrity’s “dark history” is easily memorialized.

Why is that suddenly—

[Ha Eun-rae]

XXXX-XX-XX ~ XXXX-XX-XX (Died in a car accident)

– Overview

Actress of South Korea

– Activity

Appeared as a supporting actress in a successful noir film. Became a hot topic for a nude scene and filmed several dramas and movies afterward. However, compared to her unique “mask,” she received evaluations that her choice of projects was disappointing and that the direction of her agency’s push didn’t fit her—

Then, she fell into the abyss due to a “Debt-too” scandal!

…Even in this situation, this is making me angry?

Meanwhile, she died after rushing toward an oncoming vehicle (Fortunately, the driver only suffered minor injuries but complained of great trauma. An all-time nuisance death).

The only industry insiders who attended the empty funeral were Director Hong Jong-ho and Director Park Seo-woo.

However… a next opportunity comes to such a woman?

A next opportunity?

[You have gained Wiki editing permissions.]

[Would you like to edit the Wiki?]

I don’t know what this is, but—

‘I can’t leave a dark history behind, even in death. And why am I a nuisance, death! I’m dying because of Kim Do-un!’

I immediately shouted.

‘Yes.’