Episode 31
Hwaran found Jihoon’s flustered expression, fearing she had seen the ring, rather adorable. She had never seen him so startled before.
‘Of course, he must be embarrassed. It was supposed to be a surprise event after ten years.’
She couldn’t help but hum with joy. Even during breakfast, the thought lingered in her mind.
‘Wait, do I have something to wear for our date? I should go shopping later.’
Her family looked at Hwaran with puzzled expressions. It had been a long time since they’d seen her this cheerful.
Unbothered by their reactions, Hwaran waited until Chairman Seo and Ihyun left for work, then took her car and headed to the luxury boutique to prepare for her date with Jihoon. The store staff, noticing her radiant smile, asked if something good had happened.
Hwaran, who usually wore a blank expression and barely looked at the items before purchasing them, was now holding up dresses against herself and carefully choosing what to buy. This unfamiliar sight confirmed to the staff that something joyful must have occurred.
But that night, everything changed—right after she saw that same ring again at an accident site.
As she drove home past S Group headquarters, she suddenly spotted Jihoon’s car exiting the parking lot.
‘Still at work?’ she thought. But behind the wheel wasn’t his usual assistant, Secretary Jung. Jihoon himself was driving, wearing a smile she had never seen before—completely unaware that her car was just in front of his.
Jihoon always had his assistant accompany him on official errands. If he wasn’t, that meant one of two things: either he was unaware of Hwaran’s car, or he simply didn’t care enough to recognize it.
But today, Jihoon was alone, driving himself somewhere with an uncharacteristically happy expression.
A deep unease crept over Hwaran. She began tailing his car from a distance.
Eventually, Jihoon’s car arrived at the edge of a run-down neighborhood, the kind often referred to as a “moon village.”
This only heightened her suspicion.
What kind of connection could Jihoon possibly have in a place like this?
Her heart pounded anxiously, but she forced herself to stay calm. Parking nearby, she decided to observe him from her car.
Jihoon stepped out and took something from his jacket pocket, as if waiting for someone.
About ten minutes later, a woman holding the hand of a boy around ten years old appeared near the entrance of the neighborhood. Unlike the cramped inside, the entrance was wide open, making their movements visible.
The child jumped up and down excitedly. At the sight of them, Jihoon quickly ducked behind a wall.
Hwaran couldn’t believe her eyes.
Han Soo-jung. That woman.
The very same woman she had erased from Jihoon’s life ten years ago—the one she never wanted to see again, even in her dreams.
Soo-jung had claimed she would disappear for Jihoon’s sake. Yet she was here, not far at all.
And Jihoon… knew where she was.
Fury surged through Hwaran. She felt like a complete fool.
‘It wasn’t enough to steal someone else’s man, she even got pregnant? They’ve been meeting behind my back all these years?!’
Blood boiled in her veins. Seeing Jihoon secretly meeting her again made her body tremble.
Soo-jung and the child disappeared down a path, but Jihoon remained hidden behind the wall, still watching.
Just then—
Boom—
It began to pour. The drizzle that had loomed all day turned into heavy rain.
After Soo-jung vanished from sight, Jihoon finally emerged. He stood still in the downpour, unmoving.
He fidgeted with something in his pocket, seemingly hesitant.
He took a few steps forward, then back, as if debating. Finally, he made up his mind and threw what he was holding into the yard of the villa and walked away.
From her car, Hwaran couldn’t clearly see what it was. But once Jihoon left, she quickly got out and went to inspect it.
She desperately hoped it wasn’t what she feared.
But it was.
The same ring case she had seen that morning in the study.
Now soaked and stained with mud, it was unmistakably the same one.
It wasn’t for her.
Jihoon still hadn’t forgotten Han Soo-jung.
Soo-jung probably had no idea Jihoon had come, but Hwaran now knew the truth—Jihoon still cared for her, and he could return to her any time he wished.
Hwaran trembled with rage in the rain. Her anger had grown into hatred. She saw nothing—nothing but that ring he had prepared for Soo-jung.
Just then, someone called her.
“Ma’am…?”
It was Soo-jung, holding a large trash bag under an umbrella. She seemed startled to see Hwaran there in the rain.
“What… what are you doing here, ma’am?”
Hwaran approached her, trembling with fury, and shouted.
“Don’t pretend! What the hell is this?!”
Though the pounding rain muffled their voices, Soo-jung could clearly see Hwaran’s crazed expression.
“You still say it’s nothing?! Even after seeing this?!”
Hwaran screamed and hurled the ring case toward Soo-jung. It landed with a thud at her feet.
From the impact, the ring popped out and rolled on the wet ground.
Soo-jung stared in confusion. But Hwaran wasn’t done.
“I told you… if you ever showed your face again, I’d kill you. I said I’d kill you! So why are you here?! Why are you back in front of my husband?! I’ll kill you!!”
“Wh-what?”
Ignoring her, Hwaran stormed back to her car.
Soo-jung could only watch, dumbfounded.
Hwaran started the engine and stepped on the gas. Her mind was already gone.
The road was narrow, but still wide enough for one car to drive through. As she approached Soo-jung, she made no effort to slow down.
“Ma’am!! What are you doing?! Stop! You’re going to hit me!!”
Soo-jung screamed and dodged to the side, but Hwaran swerved the wheel toward her direction on purpose.
And then—
Soo-jung’s body flew into the air, hit the hood of the car, then crashed to the ground.
SPLAT—
THUD—
The impact was loud. After hitting her, Hwaran slumped over the steering wheel, catching her breath.
Then she got out and approached.
Soo-jung’s face was covered in blood—unrecognizable. Blood streamed from her head and body, mixing with the rain, flowing away quickly.
A single tear—whether from pain, fear, or grief—fell from Soo-jung’s half-closed eyes, and then her eyes shut completely.
“AAAHHH!”
Hwaran screamed and kicked her already wrecked car, but the anger didn’t subside. Then, fear crept in.
Seeing Soo-jung lifeless and bleeding before her terrified her.
“I told you to stay away! I said I’d kill you if you ever came back! Why did you come back to him?! This is your fault—not mine!”
She desperately tried to justify herself.
Grabbing the ring and case, she jumped into the car and sped away—leaving Soo-jung behind.
Dead or alive, she didn’t care.
All she knew was that she needed to get rid of everything fast. On her way home, she flung the ring into the woods, not wanting to see it ever again.
At home, she ordered the servants:
“Scrap the car. Immediately.”
“But ma’am—”
“Didn’t you hear me?! Crash into a tree—say that’s what happened! Just get rid of it!”
No one argued. They knew Hwaran’s temper too well.
Soon, the car was sent to the junkyard, and any traces of the incident disappeared.
Her mother tried asking what was going on, but Hwaran just shut herself in her room.
Lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, the reality of what she had done slowly crept in.
‘What if someone saw? What if I go to prison?’
But she convinced herself—no one was there. No CCTV, no witnesses. The crash and screams were buried under the storm and thunder.
Even if Soo-jung’s blood had stained the car, it was gone now.
And Soo-jung… she wasn’t likely to wake up.
She thought: this must be Soo-jung’s punishment. There was no guilt.
‘She’s just a homewrecker. If anyone deserved to die, it was her.’
She had stolen Hwaran’s life, her love. So she had to suffer.
‘I can’t be the only one miserable. You should be too. That’s justice, isn’t it?’
Just in case, she would discuss the aftermath with her mother and clean up everything. Her father’s past connections would be helpful.
And so, for over twenty years, she lived forgetting that woman.
The woman Jihoon had once loved was gone from this world.
He would miss her, yes. But there was no way to meet again.
Sometimes, around the time of Soo-jung’s death, she felt a twinge of guilt—but that was it.
Just thinking she no longer existed made her feel lighter.
But twenty years later… as if the ghost of the dead had returned… the shadow of Soo-jung came back—tightening its grip around her neck.
