Bride 2
**Line 1:** `CHAPTER_TITLE: The Father's Regret`
Young man, "Damn woman! Because of me, I'm living with you! Because of me, I'm supporting you! Understand? What are those eyes? Why are you glaring at a decent man like that! Enough! Shut up! Look at the table! What? The kid is nothing! Damn it! If you're unhappy, say so! You said you'd raise her, didn't you!!"
Tumbling... Yongha immediately collapsed onto his butt. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. His breathing was ragged, his heart pounding as if it would burst. The words coming from his daughter right now weren't just words. Ah... those words, the situation back then, each one started to come back to him. Sweat poured down his forehead. It was then. Suddenly his daughter sprang up. Her eyes flashed open... but there was nothing white in them. They were pitch black, nothing like the eyes of an ordinary person. She blinked a few times, turned her head, and stared straight at Yongha. Then her lips stretched wide in a mocking smile.
"It's because of you that my life is ruined... Understand? It's because of you that it's ruined... Better to die! Die together with that bastard in your belly! Ah! Damn it! Why are you getting pregnant all of a sudden at your age! You bitch! If it weren't for you, I could have been living in Seoul by now! Hah... damn woman..."
"H, Heejin..."
"Ah... honey... don't say that. Please... please... don't say that. The baby is listening. Don't say things like that."
"Heejin... ah... S, stop it..."
"The baby is listening? Hah! What do you want me to do! Damn it! What do you want me to do! Just die! Shouldn't I just die for you? Huh? I'll beg you! Huh? Damn it! If it weren't for you! If it weren't for you! If it weren't for you!!"
The woman shrieked. Scared, Yongha couldn't hold back anymore. He crawled on the floor, trembling pitifully. At that moment, his gaze landed on the open door. And there stood his wife. Her eyes were ice cold. They felt like the stare of someone looking at a bug.
"H, honey..."
"It's like I never should have been born, right? If I hadn't been born, I could have done something with Jeong Madam. Isn't that right? If it weren't for me, I could have gone to Seoul with Jeong Madam... right?"
"H, Heejin... honey... N, no, that's not it. Back then... back then I was drunk... I really... I must have lost my mind..."
His wife turned without a word. Yongha hurriedly tried to stand and follow her. It was then. Bang! The door slammed shut by itself. His heart sank. His whole body shook like a leaf. Then his daughter slowly rose. Creak... creak... each movement made a creepy sound like bones twisting.
Those sounds sent shivers down his spine. Yongha couldn't even turn around. He had never felt this kind of fear. It was the first time he had ever been this terrified. He wanted to run. He couldn't live like this anymore. He couldn't endure it. It was then. Right behind him, beside his ear...
"You ran away with Jeong Madam, didn't you? Why did you come back?"
He whipped his head around with a gasp. His daughter stood right in front of him. She was completely naked. Her body was so emaciated, her skin even dull. Her breasts had shrunk. But her belly stuck out unnaturally. Something inside it wriggled and moved. Ah, the sight was grotesque. But what was more grotesque were her eyes. Two pitch-black eyes that seemed to hold the abyss, as if they could see through everything... even his own sins that he had hidden from himself.
"Why did you come back?"
"I, I..."
"Hehehe... I know. I know everything. You had another man besides me, didn't you? Right? Hehehe... hehehe... in the end, Dad was just a fool. A stupid fool who gave Jeong Madam all the money! Hahaha! You stupid bastard! You had nowhere to go! You can run, but if you go to Seoul alone, you'll just end up a beggar... so you came back! Hahaha!"
"S, stop it! Stop!!!"
Yongha shouted in frustration. He no longer wanted to be here. He grabbed the doorknob and tried to turn it. Click... click... Damn! The door still wouldn't open. He bit his lip hard. Tears or sweat, he didn't know, were dripping down his face. Behind him, his daughter's mocking laughter never stopped.
Click... click... click... No matter how many times he turned the knob, the door wouldn't open. His anxiety grew. "Damn! Damn! Why won't it open!" Nervous, Yongha finally grabbed the door and pulled hard, then kicked it with his foot. But it didn't budge. And his daughter's creepy laughter grew louder.
At some point, the mocking laughter turned into a scream. And that scream... sounded exactly like the scream his wife used to make years ago. "Don't say that! Stop it! My daughter... my daughter... please!!! Please!!!"
Yongha poured out tears and kept pushing the door, pushing it, trying desperately to open it. Somehow... Suddenly the daughter's scream cut off with a thud. A sudden eerie silence fell. Maybe that's why Yongha couldn't move either. It felt like he shouldn't break the current silence. Thump... thump... thump... His heart raced as if it would explode. It felt like it would burst with a bang right now. His body trembled uncontrollably... Just as he cautiously turned his head.
At that moment... behind him was his wife, bleeding. "U, uaaaaak!!"
Yelling, he pushed the door hard again. Koon! The door opened with a sound like it would fall out. At the same time, Yongha fell to the floor in a pathetic heap. "Aaaah!" A scream tore out. His ankle felt twisted a little. But he had no time to feel the pain. He only thought he had to run from here. "Hah... hah! Hah!!" Panting, he ran and ran again. He didn't want to stay in this damned house anymore!
//////
"Hey... you can't sleep here!"
Startled by the sudden voice, Yongha woke up from his nap. A young man was staring at him with concern. "Are you okay?"
The young man asked carefully. Yongha brushed his face with his hand and tried to sit up. The next moment, a piercing headache came. He groaned and closed his eyes tightly. "Grandpa! Should I call an ambulance?"
"N, no! I'm fine. Just... a little dizzy..."
He forced himself to say it was okay. Then he barely stood up. A bottle was rolling on the floor. Yongha was on a bench in a small park in the town center. Suddenly he wondered why he was here. But the memories slowly came back. Terrified, he had run blindly. Ran and ran. He didn't know how far he had run. Just after running for a while and getting tired, he stopped. And surprisingly, he was back in town. He bought alcohol with his money, trying to calm his fear with the alcohol, and then fell asleep. Meanwhile, the young man who was worried about him still couldn't leave. After all, his own appearance must have been terrible. Still pale, his body shaking like a leaf.
Yongha said it was okay again. The weather wasn't too bad anyway. The wind was quite cold. The sky was also cloudy, as if something would fall soon. The young man who was worried went away. Alone on the bench, Yongha let out a long sigh. He rummaged through his pockets and took out a cigarette, putting it in his mouth. He rummaged again, but... damn, where was the lighter? Did he leave it at home?
"Hah..." He sighed. Rolling the cigarette on his tongue, he lowered his head again. Maybe because the alcohol still lingered? His head was throbbing. But what was more painful was that he didn't have the courage to go home. Thinking about today's events still made his body tremble. He wiped his face with his hand. The fatigue that kept coming was like a lump in his throat. And fear, and at the same time, he wondered if all of this really wasn't his karma. How did the ghost who was acting like his daughter know about the old events? Especially before the daughter was even born... What was even more painful was that he couldn't deny it. Those words his daughter said, those cruel words, were all things he had said to Sunja. Yongha didn't like his submissive wife Sunja. He didn't know why he had been so hateful to her back then. So that's why? He had said harsh words to her without hesitation. He even said he wanted a divorce. Even when Heejin was pregnant. And not only that... he had said she should just die, and lived with that in his mouth.