Chapter 9: The Bargain for Vengeance!

It was a truly uncomfortable sensation.
Listening to Sayoung speak felt like watching him stab himself with a reverse-gripped knife.
It was more than uncomfortable; it was unpleasant.

What Sayoung had just said was a statement that made Yoon Sayoung himself, more than anyone else, the most miserable.
It was the most heart-wrenching way to talk about the fact that the person he had loved so dearly was in love with someone else.

Sayoung was talking about revenge, but the one who would be most painfully wounded by those words here was Yoon Sayoung.

Whether he didn’t know his own chest was bleeding, or whether it didn’t matter, Sayoung spoke indifferently.

“That’s why I want Han Jaewoo… to writhe in a pain that’s several times more miserable than what I experienced.”

How utterly pathetic.
To gain the miracle of dying, coming back to life, and returning to the past, only to undertake such a shabby and childish revenge—it was absurd.

Yoojun truly wanted to laugh at him.
Without hiding his unpleasant feeling, he said to Sayoung in a low voice.

“I find that hard to accept.”

“……”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be far more satisfying for you to win Han Jaewoo’s heart yourself and then dump him? Besides…”

Sayoung’s revenge was fundamentally flawed somewhere.
Yoojun organized his thoughts on what he found so unsettling and continued.

“Even for the revenge you just mentioned, wouldn’t it have been a better choice to properly seduce me rather than confessing everything so honestly?”

This was the part he truly couldn’t understand.
If he wanted proper revenge, it would have been better to make Yoojun genuinely fall in love with Sayoung.

Controlling a person’s heart at will wasn’t an easy task, but if the revenge was this important, shouldn’t he have that much determination?

‘If I can use my cards to win Yoojun’s heart, to pay Han Jaewoo back for what he had done, and in the end dump Yoojun, it would be a truly perfect revenge.’
Yoojun would have naturally made such a plan.

Just then, Sayoung, who had been listening to Yoojun in silence, quietly opened his mouth.

“Mr. Yoojun.”

“Yes.”

“Look at me.”

Sayoung’s question was strange.
Yoojun was already looking at Sayoung.
While Yoojun was trying to find the meaning of those words, Sayoung continued.

“For years… I was abandoned because I couldn’t win the heart of the man I was married to.”

“……”

“Now, I’m a retired actor, and a divorcé saddled with numerous rumors. Haven’t you heard how full of jealousy I am, how viciously I torment Han Jaewoo out of envy for his success?”

He was at a loss for words.
The rumors about Sayoung were so public that even Yoojun, who had no interest in such things, had heard them from time to time.

A self-deprecating smile touched Sayoung’s face.

“With what means could someone like me possibly win your heart, Mr. Yoojun?”

A dull ache throbbed in his chest.
Yoojun, without realizing it, clenched his fists tightly.

“Even Han Jaewoo didn’t love me, so how could someone like you, Mr. Kim Yoojun, ever sincerely love someone like me?”

This person was broken somewhere.
His shattered pieces, carried on his voice, poured down at Yoojun’s feet.
Yoojun found it so unpleasant, so distasteful, that he just wanted to turn and leave.

“I don’t have the ability to be loved by anyone. The fact that I’ve returned to the past doesn’t change that. So, I can only… confess everything honestly and appeal to your pity and sympathy, Mr. Yoojun.”

But Yoojun couldn’t turn back.
He couldn’t retreat, and he stood there listening to Sayoung’s words.
All those pathetic and miserable words.

“I’ll give you whatever you want in return… so please, just pretend to love me.”

Sayoung didn’t cry.
His voice didn’t tremble.
He was saying such desperate words so very calmly.

“Begging you to take pity on me is the best I can do. So… please help me with my revenge, Mr. Yoojun.”

Yoojun felt bad about that, and wanted to run away, but he couldn’t turn around because of Yoon Sayoung’s uncharacteristic calmness.

****

Even after Sayoung finished speaking, silence flowed through the hospital room for a long time.
The two of them stared at each other without averting their gazes.
The one who spoke first was Yoojun.

“…Let’s talk again after you’ve recovered from your leg injury.”

It was a hollow, empty statement, the final breath of a tension that had been building to the point of bursting.
Sayoung sighed silently, feeling a slight sense of emptiness, and Yoojun continued.

“If you’re asking me for a favor, shouldn’t you at least give me time to think?”

Yoojun’s voice, as he spoke with a slight shrug, sounded somewhat arrogant.
Sayoung didn’t find his attitude unpleasant.
From his perspective, he was making a reasonable request.

Getting involved in an unbelievable person’s unbelievable revenge naturally required serious consideration.
Sayoung readily nodded.

“Yes. Then please contact me when you’ve made a decision.”

“…Alright. I’ll be going then.”

“Yes. Go safely.”

It was then that Yoojun realized where the sense of incongruity he had been feeling from the beginning came from.

The one asking for a favor was Sayoung.
If there was anyone in a tight spot between the two of them, it would obviously be Yoon Sayoung.

Since he himself had said that Yoojun was essential for this revenge, it should have been Sayoung who was anxious about what would happen if Yoojun refused his proposal.

But there was little sign of that from Sayoung.
On the surface, he looked like someone who couldn’t care less whether Yoojun accepted or not.
It was enough to make him wonder if Sayoung was messing with him.

Yoojun, who had turned to leave the hospital room, paused for a moment, glanced back, and asked.

“Mr. Yoon Sayoung.”

“Yes.”

“If I refuse…”

“……”

“Will you still get revenge on Han Jaewoo?”

It’s not that revenge is impossible without Kim Yoojun.

To be brutally honest, if this were a novel or a movie.
If the main character was betrayed by the one they loved, died, and returned to the past, the most classic method of revenge would be to win the other’s heart and then dump them.

‘What could be more satisfying than having the person who said they didn’t love you in a past life kneel before you and beg you to forgive them, saying they love you?’

‘Isn’t it a much more appropriate method to make the other party love you, by whatever means necessary, rather than handing the knife to a third party who may or may not cooperate properly?’

So, even if Yoojun didn’t participate in this plan, Sayoung could continue his revenge in some way.
Or so Yoojun thought.

“…I’m not sure.”

But Sayoung once again gave a vague answer.
It seemed less like he truly didn’t know and more like a declaration that he wouldn’t let anyone who wasn’t on his side into his life, not even a single grain.

“I’ll be going.”

Thinking that this was a person he didn’t like one bit, from top to bottom, Yoojun finally turned completely and left the hospital room.

‘If I accepted his proposal.’
‘And became a part of this ridiculous revenge saga.’
‘Then would I be able to know what kind of expression was truly hidden behind that mask-like face?’

Imagining Yoon Sayoung’s face, openly shaken and agitated, Yoojun walked down the quiet hallway.
For no reason, his fingertips tingled.

****

“Sending a congratulatory message for the wrap-up would be a bit much, right?”

As soon as he heard the question, Jaewoo’s manager, Eunsung, struggled to control his expression.

He hadn’t said who he was sending the congratulatory message to, but he didn’t know him so little as to not be able to guess the recipient.

Even though he knew it was unnecessary now, his heart sank for no reason.

Eunsung still couldn’t quite believe that Jaewoo and Sayoung were divorced, but Jaewoo was already acting as if he had completely forgotten Sayoung.
It was an attitude Eunsung couldn’t easily understand.

No matter how much he had never truly loved him, they had lived as a married couple for years, so how was it possible to erase his existence so completely in an instant?

Even Eunsung, who only served as Jaewoo’s manager and treated Sayoung with the utmost respect, was so distraught.

Eunsung recalled the gentle face of Sayoung, who had always been kind and considerate toward him and had always asked him to take good care of Jaewoo, then quickly erased it from his mind.
If Jaewoo knew he was having other thoughts, he would only get an earful.

Eunsung answered in a deliberately calm voice.

“Since there’s still a lot of attention on you, wouldn’t it be better to just let it go this time…?”

“That’s true. It’s not just about me; it would be troublesome if he got caught up in unnecessary gossip too.”

Jaewoo was worried about Yoojun.
It seemed he didn’t have a single thought for Yoon Sayoung, who would be hurt if a scandal broke out right after their divorce.

Eunsung, too, put on an expression as if he couldn’t even remember those three syllables of his name and nodded.

‘Why Sayoung, who had endured such clearly unfair treatment until now, had suddenly asked for a divorce, and what kind of change of heart he had had?’
Even Eunsung was curious, but it seemed to hold no meaning for Han Jaewoo.

Then again, if he had thought about Yoon Sayoung even a little, he would have done something at this point, when the media and the majority of people were looking for the cause of the divorce in Yoon Sayoung.

But Jaewoo was merely silent, as if all those rumors were true, but as if he were holding his tongue for Sayoung’s sake out of some final affection.

As if he didn’t know that some silences become active endorsements.

In front of Eunsung, who was struggling not to say anything presumptuous and upset his celebrity, Jaewoo spoke again.

“That movie deal is going well, right?”

“What? Oh, yes, yes! We’re in the final stages of coordinating the specific conditions, so we’ll be signing the contract soon.”

“Tell them again to be careful not to let it reach Kim Yoojun’s ears before then.”

“Yes!”

A faint smile appeared on Han Jaewoo’s lips as he turned his gaze away from Eunsung, who was answering enthusiastically.