Side Story. Rose's Past and Present in the Original (5)
Rose quickly glanced over the documents she'd gathered from the basement, then tore them up and flung them into the wind. Then, clutching Luna's tears in both hands, she hurried back to the mansion.
If she were to be away for too long, she'd risk arousing suspicion.
Hurriedly, Rose headed to Eric's room in Tercia's mansion.
Alone, Rose tried to calm her pounding heart, but as soon as she opened the door, she was met with a shocking sight.
"Gyaaaaak!"
"...Rose?"
Her husband, Eric, was in bed with another woman. And... stark naked.
Rose froze for three seconds, then immediately turned and fled.
She knew Eric was seeing many women, but this was the first time she'd witnessed it with her own eyes.
"Ugh... My eyes! My eyes!!"
Rose ran without looking back.
Even if you cheat, you should at least lock the door and do it carefully!
The people who had gathered because of the woman's screams unintentionally witnessed Eric's affair. Then, they cast pitiful glances at Rose, who was running into the distance.
"Oh my goodness. I think she saw the affair in full effect."
"Poor thing."
Rose, who had been running endlessly, finally stopped when she reached the lakeside. Rose, clutching the necklace, exhaled heavily.
A faint red light leaked from her clenched fists. Then, Luna's tears began to tremble slightly.
At that moment, someone shouted at Rose with incredible force.
"You filthy thing! What a shameful commotion! If you saw Eric, you should have just quietly closed the door and left!"
The voice belonged to Tercia. She seemed quite ashamed that her son's naked body was exposed to the world.
"Mother!"
Rose, overcome with shock, shouted at Tercia without realizing it.
Tercia furrowed her eyebrows, revealing her discomfort. Then,
“Who’s your mother?”
She shoved Rose’s shoulder hard.
“Uh, uh!”
Rose lost her balance for a moment and fell into the lake.
Tercia didn’t even bother to save Rose from the water, instead giving her a perplexed expression and quickly moving away.
Rose struggled to escape. Despite being a skilled swimmer, she couldn’t. It was as if her feet were chained, unable to move.
The energy from Luna’s tears paralyzed Rose’s body.
The magic was activated because someone it didn’t recognize as its master had tried to bind Luna’s tears.
Luna’s tears seeped into Rose’s body and pushed her soul away.
The world believed that Rose had committed suicide after discovering Eric’s infidelity.
However, that wasn’t the truth.
Eric's affair was accompanied by a basement robbery. One of the soldiers on patrol discovered Rose floating on the lake.
"Madam!!"
He pulled the pale, frightened Rose out of the water and then desperately searched for Eric.
"Count! Madam has attempted suicide!"
Rose's body was reduced to nothing more than an empty shell.
Rose, still breathing but practically dead, had been possessed by the spirit of Byeol-ha, whether by chance or fate.
And with nowhere to go, Rose's spirit wandered around until it finally settled in a distant, otherworldly world.
Beep-.
A loud, mechanical noise echoed.
-Ah, no...! No!!
-Sir. Please, save Byeol-ha! Please. This is what I'm begging.
The sound of sobbing and the loud mechanical noise mingled.
'Shut up. What the hell is that?'
The strange sound she heard for the first time made my head hurt so much. It was a pitch-black space where she couldn't see anything in front of her.
If I got out of here, I wouldn't be able to hear that loud noise anymore, right?
Rose covered both ears and ran with all her might towards the faintly visible ray of light.
And then, beep- beep- beep-.
The piercing mechanical sound in her ears steadily subsided.
“...Ah, baby!!”
“Doctor. Thank you. Thank you so much!”
At the same time, a voice of emotion was heard.
Rose frowned and lifted her eyelids with difficulty.
“Sob... sob! Baby! It's Mom!”
The moment she opened my eyes, she saw a middle-aged man and woman with exotic looks.
A person with black hair and dark eyes embraced her so tightly that her body almost crumbled.
Rose's soul entered Byeol-ha's.
Rose's and Byeol-ha's souls switched.
Byeol-ha's life flashed before her eyes, absorbed into Rose's mind.
Byeol-ha couldn't see into Rose's life, but for some reason, Rose was different. Her mind was filled with Byeol-ha's entire life.
Even though days had passed since she'd woken up, Rose still felt like a dream.
'The world I... lived in was all a novel?'
Her mind was in utter confusion.
The worn-out novel this woman had been reading. It was definitely her own story.
Rose picked up a small hand mirror on the table and checked her face.
Black hair peeking out from her fair, beautiful face.
Her reflection in the mirror felt incredibly unfamiliar.
"Kim... Byeol-ha."
Rose muttered the awkward name in a low voice.
Despite the complex situation, she felt strangely calm.
She didn't know why she'd entered this woman's body.
However, the fact that she hadn't been able to exact revenge until the very end tormented Rose's heart.
'I should have destroyed Count Wence... with my own hands.'
The fact that she'd entered this woman's body meant that the Rose in that world was dead.
At the hands of Tercia, she met a miserable death.
A bitter smile escaped her lips.
She'd boastfully vowed to catch a tiger, but in the end, it had eaten her.
"..."
Rose, staring into space with a bitter expression, suddenly glanced at the smartphone next to her pillow.
'If I search on that, won't I be able to find out what happens after I die?'
Rose, seeing this smartphone for the first time in her life, operated it with familiarity.
Countess in a thorny path.
She quickly searched the green window, without any typos.
Rose's eyes, once filled with anticipation, were soon filled with disappointment.
"...What? It's not showing up."
It felt strange.
The title of the book Rose was reading was definitely correct, but why wasn't it showing up when she searched?
After staring at her phone for a while, Rose sighed.
Lying on her bed, she stared at the pure white ceiling.
This was Byeol-ha's house.
More precisely, Byeol-ha's parents' house.
After waking up in the hospital that day, she had been led here by her parents.
She had accepted that being thrown into this strange, unknown world was her fate, but her emotions were tangled.
Then, a knock was heard.
"Byeol-ha, can I come in?"
Rose stared at the door without saying a word.
Although they had lived in the same house, they hadn't spoken before.
Rose, too, was quite distressed by being in an unfamiliar place.
Byeol-ha's parents waited quietly for their daughter, who remained silent.
And today, as always, they knocked on the door.
Byeol-ha's mother, standing outside, smiled bitterly when her daughter remained silent. After lingering for a while, she was about to turn around when she heard her daughter's voice.
"...Come in."
"!"
Rose quickly glanced over the documents she'd gathered from the basement, then tore them up and flung them into the wind. Then, clutching Luna's tears in both hands, she hurried back to the mansion.
If she were to be away for too long, she'd risk arousing suspicion.
Hurriedly, Rose headed to Eric's room in Tercia's mansion.
Alone, Rose tried to calm her pounding heart, but as soon as she opened the door, she was met with a shocking sight.
"Gyaaaaak!"
"...Rose?"
Her husband, Eric, was in bed with another woman. And... stark naked.
Rose froze for three seconds, then immediately turned and fled.
She knew Eric was seeing many women, but this was the first time she'd witnessed it with her own eyes.
"Ugh... My eyes! My eyes!!"
Rose ran without looking back.
Even if you cheat, you should at least lock the door and do it carefully!
The people who had gathered because of the woman's screams unintentionally witnessed Eric's affair. Then, they cast pitiful glances at Rose, who was running into the distance.
"Oh my goodness. I think she saw the affair in full effect."
"Poor thing."
Rose, who had been running endlessly, finally stopped when she reached the lakeside. Rose, clutching the necklace, exhaled heavily.
A faint red light leaked from her clenched fists. Then, Luna's tears began to tremble slightly.
At that moment, someone shouted at Rose with incredible force.
"You filthy thing! What a shameful commotion! If you saw Eric, you should have just quietly closed the door and left!"
The voice belonged to Tercia. She seemed quite ashamed that her son's naked body was exposed to the world.
"Mother!"
Rose, overcome with shock, shouted at Tercia without realizing it.
Tercia furrowed her eyebrows, revealing her discomfort. Then,
“Who’s your mother?”
She shoved Rose’s shoulder hard.
“Uh, uh!”
Rose lost her balance for a moment and fell into the lake.
Tercia didn’t even bother to save Rose from the water, instead giving her a perplexed expression and quickly moving away.
Rose struggled to escape. Despite being a skilled swimmer, she couldn’t. It was as if her feet were chained, unable to move.
The energy from Luna’s tears paralyzed Rose’s body.
The magic was activated because someone it didn’t recognize as its master had tried to bind Luna’s tears.
Luna’s tears seeped into Rose’s body and pushed her soul away.
The world believed that Rose had committed suicide after discovering Eric’s infidelity.
However, that wasn’t the truth.
Eric's affair was accompanied by a basement robbery. One of the soldiers on patrol discovered Rose floating on the lake.
"Madam!!"
He pulled the pale, frightened Rose out of the water and then desperately searched for Eric.
"Count! Madam has attempted suicide!"
Rose's body was reduced to nothing more than an empty shell.
Rose, still breathing but practically dead, had been possessed by the spirit of Byeol-ha, whether by chance or fate.
And with nowhere to go, Rose's spirit wandered around until it finally settled in a distant, otherworldly world.
***
Beep-.
A loud, mechanical noise echoed.
-Ah, no...! No!!
-Sir. Please, save Byeol-ha! Please. This is what I'm begging.
The sound of sobbing and the loud mechanical noise mingled.
'Shut up. What the hell is that?'
The strange sound she heard for the first time made my head hurt so much. It was a pitch-black space where she couldn't see anything in front of her.
If I got out of here, I wouldn't be able to hear that loud noise anymore, right?
Rose covered both ears and ran with all her might towards the faintly visible ray of light.
And then, beep- beep- beep-.
The piercing mechanical sound in her ears steadily subsided.
“...Ah, baby!!”
“Doctor. Thank you. Thank you so much!”
At the same time, a voice of emotion was heard.
Rose frowned and lifted her eyelids with difficulty.
“Sob... sob! Baby! It's Mom!”
The moment she opened my eyes, she saw a middle-aged man and woman with exotic looks.
A person with black hair and dark eyes embraced her so tightly that her body almost crumbled.
Rose's soul entered Byeol-ha's.
Rose's and Byeol-ha's souls switched.
***
Byeol-ha's life flashed before her eyes, absorbed into Rose's mind.
Byeol-ha couldn't see into Rose's life, but for some reason, Rose was different. Her mind was filled with Byeol-ha's entire life.
Even though days had passed since she'd woken up, Rose still felt like a dream.
'The world I... lived in was all a novel?'
Her mind was in utter confusion.
The worn-out novel this woman had been reading. It was definitely her own story.
Rose picked up a small hand mirror on the table and checked her face.
Black hair peeking out from her fair, beautiful face.
Her reflection in the mirror felt incredibly unfamiliar.
"Kim... Byeol-ha."
Rose muttered the awkward name in a low voice.
Despite the complex situation, she felt strangely calm.
She didn't know why she'd entered this woman's body.
However, the fact that she hadn't been able to exact revenge until the very end tormented Rose's heart.
'I should have destroyed Count Wence... with my own hands.'
The fact that she'd entered this woman's body meant that the Rose in that world was dead.
At the hands of Tercia, she met a miserable death.
A bitter smile escaped her lips.
She'd boastfully vowed to catch a tiger, but in the end, it had eaten her.
"..."
Rose, staring into space with a bitter expression, suddenly glanced at the smartphone next to her pillow.
'If I search on that, won't I be able to find out what happens after I die?'
Rose, seeing this smartphone for the first time in her life, operated it with familiarity.
Countess in a thorny path.
She quickly searched the green window, without any typos.
Rose's eyes, once filled with anticipation, were soon filled with disappointment.
"...What? It's not showing up."
It felt strange.
The title of the book Rose was reading was definitely correct, but why wasn't it showing up when she searched?
After staring at her phone for a while, Rose sighed.
Lying on her bed, she stared at the pure white ceiling.
This was Byeol-ha's house.
More precisely, Byeol-ha's parents' house.
After waking up in the hospital that day, she had been led here by her parents.
She had accepted that being thrown into this strange, unknown world was her fate, but her emotions were tangled.
Then, a knock was heard.
"Byeol-ha, can I come in?"
Rose stared at the door without saying a word.
Although they had lived in the same house, they hadn't spoken before.
Rose, too, was quite distressed by being in an unfamiliar place.
Byeol-ha's parents waited quietly for their daughter, who remained silent.
And today, as always, they knocked on the door.
Byeol-ha's mother, standing outside, smiled bitterly when her daughter remained silent. After lingering for a while, she was about to turn around when she heard her daughter's voice.
"...Come in."
"!"
Byeol-ha's mother suddenly opened the door and entered. The moment Rose saw Byeol-ha's mother, her breath caught in her throat. For some reason, her heart ached at the sight of her shedding tears. Rose looked at Byeol-ha's parents, who were weeping in front of her.
"Byeol-ha... my child... how have you been?"
She approached Rose with a trembling voice.
"Why are you so thin? Did you... Did you eat well?"
Byeol-ha's mother approached Rose and gently stroked her face.
"Why did you suffer alone all this time... I was so worried."
Byeol-ha's mother sobbed, repeatedly wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.
'This person... is it the first time... that she's seen her daughter?'
Rose hadn't seen her mother in three years... and yet... Seeing Byeol-ha's mother sob made her heart swell strangely. The image of her own mother, Rivera, overlapped on her face. Tears welled up in Rose's eyes as she ran forward, her eyes focused on revenge.
"I missed you, baby."
In truth, she, too, had missed her mother.
There were more than a few times she wanted to give up everything and return to her mother's embrace.
One reason was the regret of all the time she spent gritting her teeth and running towards revenge... She couldn't do that.
Byeol-ha's mother clutched her chest and wept at the sight of her daughter weeping as she looked at her.
"My dear... You must have suffered so much alone."
Every word she spoke broke Rose's heart.
Her warm embrace... was incredibly comforting.
For Rose, who had run so hard that her body was about to break, this warmth was something she hadn't felt in a long time.
The tears she'd been holding back poured out at the touch of her warm hand.
If only I had loved the present instead of dwelling on the past...
If only I had... could we have lived a little happier?
If only I had... wouldn't we have had more days to laugh together?
She regretted not cherishing the preciousness of everyday life and the happiness she shared with her remaining family.
She realized too late that living solely for revenge wasn't the right thing to do.
Rose burst into tears like a child in her mother's arms.
"Sigh, I'm sorry... for running away like an idiot."
"You tried to shoulder everything alone... I'm so sorry."
"Actually... I missed you so much, too. Sigh... sob. Mother... and Father, I missed you so much."
"Baby, you are my everything. Thank you for coming back now. Thank you so much for being alive."
Rose cried in her mother's arms and vowed to herself that
Byeol-ha's life, unlike her own, would be lived without regrets.
The first thing Rose did with that firm resolve was to attend the funeral of Lee Gyeo-ru, the friend who stole her husband.
Rose wore a tight-fitting white dress and headed to the funeral.
In this place filled with black tears, Rose stood out in her white dress.
Paying no attention to the people whispering and staring at her, Rose headed to Lee Gyeo-ru's funeral. As soon as Rose appeared, everyone in the funeral home turned to look at her.
Byeol-ha's first love, Lee Do-hyun, who had been standing by the whole time, also turned his gaze to Rose. Rose passed by Lee Do-hyun, who was looking at her, and stood in front of Gyeo-ru's memorial photo. Next to Gyeo-ru was a photo of a child not even three years old.
This child seemed to have died with Gyeo-ru the day she died.
Lee Do-hyun, who looked very tired as if he hadn't slept at all all night, urgently grabbed Rose.
"...If you're going to ask me to come back, then just go. I... can't go to you yet, Byeol-ha."
Everyone in the funeral hall focused their gaze on Rose and Lee Do-hyun.
Rose looked at Lee Do-hyun with eyes devoid of emotion, then calmly spoke.
"Lee Do-hyun, don't get me wrong. Do you think I still like a dirty brat like you?"
"...What?"
Rose pulled out the documents from her bag and threw them at Lee Do-hyun's face. With a thud, his face turned away.
“I’ve come to clear away all the complaints I couldn’t file all at once.”
Adultery lawsuit, property division lawsuit, alimony payment...
Countless complaints plopped down on Lee Do-hyun’s head.
“...Kim Byeol-ha, do you really have to be like this at a funeral?”
“Shut up, Lee Do-hyun.”
“!”
“That’s not something you should be saying, having entered into a double marriage with my friend. You should be grateful I'm not causing a scene.”
Rose glared at Lee Do-hyun with a cold gaze and whispered one more thing.
“You... but is it true that the dead Lee Jin-i is your son? I heard there was another man next to her on the day of the fighting accident?”
“...!”
“Poor guy.”
Rose snickered and left the funeral home with a mocking laugh.
It wasn’t long before she heard from Lee Do-hyun again.
Rose, who had stepped out of the house to pursue Byeol-ha’s lifelong dream, ran into Lee Do-hyun outside the door.
“Please talk to me.”
There were more than a few times she wanted to give up everything and return to her mother's embrace.
One reason was the regret of all the time she spent gritting her teeth and running towards revenge... She couldn't do that.
Byeol-ha's mother clutched her chest and wept at the sight of her daughter weeping as she looked at her.
"My dear... You must have suffered so much alone."
Every word she spoke broke Rose's heart.
Her warm embrace... was incredibly comforting.
For Rose, who had run so hard that her body was about to break, this warmth was something she hadn't felt in a long time.
The tears she'd been holding back poured out at the touch of her warm hand.
If only I had loved the present instead of dwelling on the past...
If only I had... could we have lived a little happier?
If only I had... wouldn't we have had more days to laugh together?
She regretted not cherishing the preciousness of everyday life and the happiness she shared with her remaining family.
She realized too late that living solely for revenge wasn't the right thing to do.
Rose burst into tears like a child in her mother's arms.
"Sigh, I'm sorry... for running away like an idiot."
"You tried to shoulder everything alone... I'm so sorry."
"Actually... I missed you so much, too. Sigh... sob. Mother... and Father, I missed you so much."
"Baby, you are my everything. Thank you for coming back now. Thank you so much for being alive."
Rose cried in her mother's arms and vowed to herself that
Byeol-ha's life, unlike her own, would be lived without regrets.
The first thing Rose did with that firm resolve was to attend the funeral of Lee Gyeo-ru, the friend who stole her husband.
Rose wore a tight-fitting white dress and headed to the funeral.
In this place filled with black tears, Rose stood out in her white dress.
Paying no attention to the people whispering and staring at her, Rose headed to Lee Gyeo-ru's funeral. As soon as Rose appeared, everyone in the funeral home turned to look at her.
Byeol-ha's first love, Lee Do-hyun, who had been standing by the whole time, also turned his gaze to Rose. Rose passed by Lee Do-hyun, who was looking at her, and stood in front of Gyeo-ru's memorial photo. Next to Gyeo-ru was a photo of a child not even three years old.
This child seemed to have died with Gyeo-ru the day she died.
Lee Do-hyun, who looked very tired as if he hadn't slept at all all night, urgently grabbed Rose.
"...If you're going to ask me to come back, then just go. I... can't go to you yet, Byeol-ha."
Everyone in the funeral hall focused their gaze on Rose and Lee Do-hyun.
Rose looked at Lee Do-hyun with eyes devoid of emotion, then calmly spoke.
"Lee Do-hyun, don't get me wrong. Do you think I still like a dirty brat like you?"
"...What?"
Rose pulled out the documents from her bag and threw them at Lee Do-hyun's face. With a thud, his face turned away.
“I’ve come to clear away all the complaints I couldn’t file all at once.”
Adultery lawsuit, property division lawsuit, alimony payment...
Countless complaints plopped down on Lee Do-hyun’s head.
“...Kim Byeol-ha, do you really have to be like this at a funeral?”
“Shut up, Lee Do-hyun.”
“!”
“That’s not something you should be saying, having entered into a double marriage with my friend. You should be grateful I'm not causing a scene.”
Rose glared at Lee Do-hyun with a cold gaze and whispered one more thing.
“You... but is it true that the dead Lee Jin-i is your son? I heard there was another man next to her on the day of the fighting accident?”
“...!”
“Poor guy.”
Rose snickered and left the funeral home with a mocking laugh.
It wasn’t long before she heard from Lee Do-hyun again.
Rose, who had stepped out of the house to pursue Byeol-ha’s lifelong dream, ran into Lee Do-hyun outside the door.
“Please talk to me.”
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