The Escape
Ten days had passed since the wedding.
After leaving the aftermath to her parents, Kim Yu-ra had been holed up in her room, unable to face the world…
…but she finally decided to accept reality. She didn’t want to run away.
“Still, when I think about it, I didn’t really lose this fight. Dad, Mom.”
“Yu-ra?”
“They agreed to cover the wedding costs, right? The venue fee, the meal expenses, the honeymoon cancellation penalty… and the appliance and furniture package for the new house—they said they’d compensate for that too. Plus, there was talk of alimony, wasn’t there?”
“You’re talking about *them* like that…?”
“We called off the wedding, didn’t we? We’re getting alimony, right?”
Kim Yu-ra’s parents stared blankly for a moment before nodding.
Alimony.
Technically, Kim Yu-ra could have sued for defamation.
That’s why Jung Jae-ho’s parents had promised her fifty million won. It was part of the settlement.
“Yu-ra… we’re sorry. We wanted to end this quickly, so we agreed not to file a lawsuit.”
“Good job, Mom.”
“Huh?”
“The money’s still there, right?”
Whether it was truly enough was another question.
Considering the tangible and intangible costs she’d sunk into wedding preparations over the past year, and the fact she’d quit her job once the marriage talks got serious… it was barely breaking even.
You could argue that breaking even was lucky, given what she’d been through…
“Yu-ra. Are you okay?”
“I’m not okay. But I have to face reality.”
“Uh… um…”
“I’ll pull myself together.”
Her parents looked on helplessly as their daughter clenched her fists and vowed to fight.
Kim Yu-ra seemed genuinely fine.
That was the problem.
“Yu-ra, you can’t look at the internet. I almost fainted.”
“I said I’m fine.”
Her calm return to daily life was what made the situation feel so surreal.
Despite her parents’ objections, Kim Yu-ra insisted on attending church.
7:30 PM. Friday youth group meeting.
Kim Yu-ra entered the church courtyard in a neat dress, holding only a small Bible.
She usually sat in the front row, but today she took a seat in the second row, center aisle.
Given what had happened, it was the realistic thing to do.
A sister sitting next to her recoiled in shock and moved away, but Kim Yu-ra didn’t care.
“The Lord’s love lifts me up—raises me when I fall—within endless grace—”
Praise service.
Then came the youth pastor’s sermon. The theme: trials and restoration.
The pastor stumbled over his words when he saw Kim Yu-ra’s bright face, but he finished without incident.
It went smoother than expected. At least, that’s how Kim Yu-ra felt.
Next was prayer time.
“Lord. Blind the eyes of those who mock me, and rebuild me again.”
Kim Yu-ra knelt and prayed.
A sigh rippled through the congregation, and a sister who’d been close to her briefly placed a hand on her shoulder before pulling back at others’ protests.
Thanks to that, Kim Yu-ra could focus on her prayer. She’d made the effort to attend, and she didn’t want to be disturbed.
The final segment was group discussion.
Smiling gently at the brothers and sisters who kept stealing glances at her, Kim Yu-ra said:
“Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time before God. About what happened… yes, you’re thinking of the right thing. The wedding. It was a great pain for me, but also a grace from God. I believe He pulled me out of a wrong marriage before it was too late.”
“Sister Yu-ra. It must have been hard. Are you okay?”
“Yes. Of course I’m fine.”
“But your expression… no, I’m sorry.”
She was making it clear she was still standing. And since she truly was, it wasn’t a lie.
She didn’t shy away from talking about Jung Jae-ho and his family, who had done such terrible things to her.
“At first glance, it all looked so glamorous, right? The whole family are doctors, the wedding at a luxury hotel… But looking back now, I felt suffocated by the way they looked at me like a sinner in the name of faith. It felt far from the freedom God wants for us. I only agreed to the marriage because I felt sorry for Jae-ho.”
“Sister Yu-ra. I can’t listen to this anymore. Please, stop…”
“Money isn’t everything, right? I believe this way: the road wasn’t blocked—it was just leading to a better path. …Of course I’ll rise again. I believe God will grant me a better relationship, a better family.”
“Hic…!”
Half the people looked at Kim Yu-ra with a mix of helplessness and fear.
Some sighed, crossed their arms, and shifted uncomfortably, even though it wasn’t their problem. Others were in tears.
The only one who seemed completely fine was Kim Yu-ra.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?”
No one answered.
Still, in her eyes, this was a crisis she could overcome.
Now that she’d returned to church life, it was time to explore new paths.
Kim Yu-ra naturally tried to discuss it with her parents, but—
“Yu-ra. How about you take a year off somewhere quiet, like Vancouver? Mom and Dad will figure out the money. Please, let’s go.”
“No. I don’t have time for that. I need to start Pilates and see a dermatologist…”
“The situation is too bad right now. You’re scared to even open your phone.”
“It’ll pass soon. Don’t worry.”
“Yu-ra!! Please, snap out of it!!”
Her parents could only offer unrealistic advice.
A year in Vancouver?
Maybe they were worried about her, but… if she ran away now, wouldn’t that be admitting defeat? In a way, Kim Yu-ra was the victim here. The Jung family should be the ones being condemned. She couldn’t run away now.
As expected, she couldn’t reason with her parents.
Kim Yu-ra felt sorry for them and tried to call her friends, but…
…for some reason, everyone was busy.
Weekend workshops, cousin’s wedding, studying for certifications, feeling unwell, some vague prior commitment…
And some outright refused, saying seeing her now would remind them of what they saw at the wedding (the big cock) and make them feel sick.
Next, she reached out to relatives.
Most avoided her. Only one aunt, who’d been close to her, shouted:
“Yu-ra! You saw that… ugh! That video of you sucking cock! How can you look at your own face soberly! Your parents must be dying of shame right now—can’t you just lay low for a bit? You’re not really living like this… haa.”
She said it was hard to even meet or talk on the phone due to shock and grief.
So everyone thought this way.
Kim Yu-ra could understand what they meant. After what she’d been through, they were telling her to stay in her room for a while. Until the atmosphere calmed down. Until “that wedding” stopped being a topic in the news, Shorts, Reels, and online communities.
She understood, but she couldn’t agree.
“Isn’t it right to overcome a crisis quickly? If you hide because you’ve fallen, people will talk about you even more… They don’t know anything.”
Just then, one person came to mind.
Unlike the acquaintances who were avoiding her, there was someone who would at least not fear her…
…even if they wouldn’t treat her kindly.
Before and after the wedding, Kim Yu-ra had felt uneasy and wanted to avoid them, but now that she’d decided to face reality, she felt she could meet them openly.
Kim Yu-ra went to find that person.
Immediately after making up her mind.
Kim Yu-ra came to the city hall annex at a time when I was unusually busy. It’s a quiet job, but sometimes work comes up.
I suspected she might be building up for revenge, so I agreed to meet her. Just to get a rough estimate.
But when I actually met Kim Yu-ra…
“Senior. It’s been a while since we saw each other in the bridal suite.”
No estimate came of it. Standing before me was just a shell worn out by extreme fatigue.
“Senior?” (7 / 1,087 / 5 years 8 months ago)
“…….”
“Ah, the wedding invitation. …I misjudged that greatly. I’m sorry, even if it’s late. You’ve lived so quietly for five years that I let my guard down. And about the affair back then… yes. That was my fault too. And what I said at the end. Is that enough now?”
Kim Yu-ra apologized for past wrongs as if brushing them off.
She had no idea what state she was in.
She was smiling with her mouth, but her pupils were fixed and unblinking. It felt like she was looking at me, but then her focus would drift backward, staring into the void.
At first glance, she didn’t look like someone who’d fallen apart, but up close, you could see it in her eyes.
That she was completely broken.
Kim Yu-ra herself seemed to think she was acting normally. The fact that she’d come to see me in the first place was proof she was insane.
“I need some counseling.” (7 / 1,087 / 5 years 8 months ago)
“From me…?”
“As you know, my situation isn’t easy. If you’re not too busy… ah, what were you doing just now?”
Kim Yu-ra treated me casually, as if she’d been in contact with me all along. If I’d had any affection for her, it would have been creepy.
“I was reviewing a job from some rich old guy.”
“Civil servants do that kind of work too?”
“He recently divorced. He’s trying to have a second child through a surrogate. Using his surviving sperm for IVF.”
“Ah.”
Kim Yu-ra just nodded blankly, even when I told her strange things.
She said she wanted counseling, but it didn’t seem like that’s why she’d come. I wasn’t sure yet, so I kept talking.
“What that guy asked me to do… is to find out about the private life of a Southeast Asian woman he’s impregnated. If she has sex with another Korean man before or right after the embryo transfer, he’d be in trouble, right? He doesn’t have many chances anyway. I guess he’s more sensitive because he’s been to Laos for illegal sex tourism himself. So he asked me to do a ‘whore check.’”
“Whore check… yes. That sounds like something you’d do, Senior.”
Kim Yu-ra mechanically agreed, her eyes still blank.
Only then was I sure why she’d come.
To wrap up what I’d done, I decided to just go along with it.
“Yu-ra.”
“Yes, Senior!” (7 / 1,087 / 5 years 8 months ago)
“The groom who played the bride’s ‘thing’ video at the wedding, the shocking big-screen reveal, the most satisfying lesson ever… there are over 2 million views on Shorts alone. By now, everyone you know is probably avoiding you.”
Kim Yu-ra’s lips, which had been holding an awkward smile, trembled slightly. Then her cheeks twitched.
“And Jung Jae-ho… I heard his professor track is finished. But if he uses a good lawyer, he can easily keep his medical license. People around him might see him as a crazy lunatic, but his parents will protect him somehow. He’s their only son, right?”
“…….” (7 / 1,087 / 5 years 8 months ago)
This time, the corners of her mouth dropped, and her gaze fell slightly.
“And… right. If you hadn’t sent me that wedding invitation, the wedding would have gone through fine. You could have lived as the daughter-in-law of a medical family, and soon as the hospital director’s wife. There would have been crises, but if you handled things well, you could have lasted a long time.”
“Hic…”
“You should have submitted a hymen certificate first. Not a wedding invitation.”
Her eyes began to glisten.
Soon, tears started to well up in Kim Yu-ra’s eyes. Compared to just a moment ago, she looked more normal.
As expected, what she wanted was to forcibly…
…to shut down her hope circuit, even if it meant borrowing my power, the one that ruined her wedding.
To accept reality and hide away to rest.
“Senior. Is my life ruined?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Kim Yu-ra let go of her forced smile and tears streamed down her face. She started muttering something, so I quietly stepped away.
And a few days later…
News came that Kim Yu-ra had been admitted to the mental health center at a Christian hospital.
It was voluntary admission.