Betrayed After a Lifetime of All-Boys Hell
"Let's break up."
Those words hit me like a bolt from the blue, too one-sided to be a mere declaration.
I'd booked a fancy restaurant for tonight, planning to propose on the bridge with the perfect view of the fireworks, diamond ring at the ready.
"W-what? Why say something like that out of nowhere? Things have been great between us, haven't they?"
"That's just what you think. What's the point of making good money if you don't understand a woman's heart at all?"
"Don't understand? I've bought you everything you've ever asked for. I've let you eat whatever you wanted, and oh, even coming to this restaurant today was because you always said you wanted to..."
"Exactly. That's the problem. You treat me like some cheap girl who gets happy just because you throw money at her."
I'd never thought of her that way. I'd simply invested everything I could to make her smile. I figured that effort would carry us to marriage, and her constant joy at my gifts meant she felt the same.
But what the hell? Was all that happiness she'd shown me just fake? Unlike my genuine love for her, had she never felt even a shred of affection for me?
"P-please, think it over. I'll do better. Whatever I'm lacking, I'll fix it all...!"
"Forget it. My heart's already gone cold—what's the point of dragging this out like some desperate loser? I've already got someone else in mind, so let's end it here."
"What do you...?"
Screeech! The brake screech echoed as I chased her out of the restaurant ahead of me. And there it was—the luxury foreign car I'd gifted her, but driven by a total stranger, not her.
A black guy with blonde hair and sunglasses, looking like a total thug at first glance.
"Whoa~! Did my wifey enjoy her dinner? Just like I promised, I'm here to pick you up~"
"Kyaa~ You're so cool, honey~!"
And just like that, she was fawning over him with a cutesy act I'd never seen her pull on me.
As I stood there dumbfounded, unable to process it, the guy wrapped his arms around her and flashed me a mocking grin.
"Well, well, I heard about you, but damn, you look like a total beanpole. No wonder my wifey got disappointed and left."
"W-what...? Who the hell are you? What's your relationship with her?!"
"Relationship? We've been sucking and fucking behind your back~"
Did that mean while we were dating, she'd been seeing this guy and even sharing intimacy she'd never given me?
Impossible. After all the gifts and money I'd poured into her, there was no way she'd betray me like that.
"Anyway, we're off to enjoy the night, so don't call her and just slink back home like a good boy."
But reality was merciless. She'd already turned her back on me. As she paused and glanced over her shoulder one last time, I noticed the expensive jewelry I'd bought her dangling all over her body.
"Oh, right. You're not gonna ask for all those gifts back, are you? A real man wouldn't stoop that low—it'd be such a letdown~"
"Hah, if you try that crap, I'll have to teach you a lesson. Hey, you pathetic loser! Touch my wifey and you're dead meat~!"
"Kyaa~ Bro's the best~"
They piled into the car, exchanging affections, then roared off with a vroom.
I stared blankly after them until the restaurant server snapped me out of it.
"Sir, we need to settle the bill..."
That night, I had to pay for her dinner too.
"Welcome."
"Ten bottles of soju, please."
"P-pardon?"
"I'll pay, so hurry up. Need ID?"
"N-no, you're good."
I grabbed soju from the convenience store willy-nilly, then sat alone by the river under the overpass, chugging it straight from the bottles.
Until now, I'd never touched the stuff for health reasons. It hit hard, my head spinning, but the alcohol slid down without a hitch, soothing my aching heart.
The loneliness of being alone again, the betrayal of all my kindness denied, hatred, resentment, self-loathing for even considering marriage to her...
Okay, think positive. Better to learn she's trash now than after marriage, right? If we'd tied the knot, she'd have blown every penny I earned, then divorced me and taken half my assets.
Ending it with just millions in gifts and dinners? Silver lining, maybe.
"Silver lining my ass!!! That bitch took a fortune and this is how she repays me?!"
Crash! A half-full bottle shatters against the ground.
No regrets there. Money's replaceable—just step in shit and move on. But time?
I'd poured my youth into that love and dreams of our future, all turned to crap overnight. Easy to shrug off and stand tall?
"Damn it, I went crazy for you, worked my ass off... Did everything you asked. Fed you whatever, bought whatever. And? 'I'm not some cheap girl you can buy'? While dating me, you had a side piece?!"
Fucking bitch, dog bitch. Demon woman. Part of me wanted to shove this broken bottle into her gut, but a sliver of conscience held me back.
Or would more booze kill even that? Nah, ruining my life over trash like her by becoming a criminal? Too much.
Why the hell am I even agonizing? She cheated. She ate my money and bolted. Yet if I chased her with a knife, the law would side with her?
Fucking law, fucking country. Dating here is insanity.
"Damn it, I loved you for real..."
Regrets over spilled milk just left emptiness. I stumbled along the riverbank, blowing into another bottle, when a pile of comics under the bridge caught my eye.
Manga, all in good shape. Some deadbeat parents dump their kid's saved-up stash?
"Parents my ass. If you love 'em and had kids, at least give the poor things some breathing room."
Suddenly pitying the owner, my hand reached for a rom-com about high school sweethearts.
Who likes who, friends cheering them on, dating, happy ending—easy as pie.
Yeah, I used to envy that. After all-boys middle and high, engineering college, army—love was a fairy tale to studious me. My first girlfriend felt like a dream.
So I gave her everything, expecting our efforts to pay off... but no.
"Rom-coms my ass! Love's never that pure and sweet!!"
Rip! The book shreds in my hands. Still fuming, I stomped the pages flat, a resolve hardening inside me.
Never date again. Not even if my skull cracks. No falling for anyone.
"Raaagh! Die, all you couples! Solo forever! Low birth rates fooooorever!!!"
Screaming my oath, I tripped mid-sprint. Head spinning, no balance—splash, into the river.
"Glub, glub!"
Shit. This suit cost a fortune, now soaked... How do you swim again? Arms like this? Wait, sinking deeper—am I dying?
Screw it. Head fuzzy, strength fading—sleep first, think later.
Snore.
With that, consciousness sank below the surface.
Yeah, that's my last memory from that life. Pitiful, drowning drunk without a clue.
But waking up, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling and strangers peering down.
"Waaah!"
A baby's cry burst from my wide-open mouth, so vivid it chilled me to the bone. The pair smiled brightly.
"Oh honey, look! Our boy's crying!"
"Haha! That's it, son. Cry loud! Plenty more tears in life—might as well get used to it now!"
Our son? Obviously not my birth parents from before, but my chubby little hands reached for them like a newborn's...
"Waaah!"
Wait, did I reincarnate as a baby?
No other explanation. Amid uncontrollable wails, I pondered in shock.
Died and reborn from infancy? No clue why this fantasy crap happened, but if real, it's the ultimate do-over.
First life: obsessed with studies and success, ending in betrayal. No room for more of that mess—now free to start fresh.
Right. This life, no love bullshit. Life's lonely but free. I'll live for myself alone. Oath sworn.
"Speaking of, honey, thought of a name for our boy?"
"Of course."
As I clenched my tiny fists in resolve, my new parents spoke my name for this life.
"Like refined metal, forge yourself strong... Seohyeon of iron—Cheolsu fits perfectly."
"Ooh, nice. With your surname Kim, it'll be Kim Cheolsu!!"
No, the name's way too ordinary.