Betrayal, Despair, and a Baby's Cry
“Let's break up.”
Those words hit me like a bolt from the blue, as if it were a unilateral declaration of war.
I'd booked a high-end restaurant for tonight and planned 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? We've been great this whole time.”
“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 bringing you to this restaurant today because you always said you wanted to come here...”
“Exactly. That's the problem. You treat me like some cheap girl who gets happy just because you throw money at her.”
I never thought of her that way. I'd simply invested everything I could to make her happy. I figured that effort would lead us to marriage, and seeing how she always lit up at gifts, I assumed she felt the same.
But what the hell? Was everything she'd shown me until now just an act? Unlike my genuine love for her, did she feel absolutely nothing 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 hanging on like some desperate loser? I've already got someone else in mind, so let's end it here.”
“What do you...”
Screeech! The screech of brakes echoed as I chased after her storming out of the restaurant ahead of me. And there it was—the luxury foreign car I'd gifted her before. But the one driving it wasn't her; it was some stranger I'd never seen.
A guy with dark skin, blond hair, and sunglasses, looking like a total delinquent at first glance.
“Whoa~! Did my wifey enjoy her meal? 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 already~”
Did that mean while she was dating me, she'd been seeing this guy and even sharing intimacies she'd never given me? No way. Impossible. After all the money and gifts I'd poured into her, she wouldn't betray me like that.
“Anyway, we're off to have some fun tonight, so don't call her and just slink back home like a good boy.”
But reality was harsh. She'd already turned her back on me. As she paused for a moment and glanced over her shoulder, I noticed her decked out head to toe in the luxury jewelry I'd bought her.
“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 he tries, I'll have to teach him a lesson. Hey, you pathetic loser! Touch my wifey and you're dead meat~!”
“Kyaa~ Bro's the best~”
They hopped into the car, exchanging affections, and with a roar of the engine, they sped off.
I stared blankly after them until the waiter from the restaurant snapped me out of it.
“Um, sir, we need you to settle the bill...”
That day, I ended up paying for her meal 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 like it was going out of style, then sat alone by the river under the overpass, chugging it down.
I'd never touched the stuff before, always too busy managing my health. Naturally, it hit hard—my head spun—but the alcohol slid down without a hitch, soothing my aching heart.
The loneliness of being alone again, the betrayal of having all my kindness thrown back in my face, the hatred, resentment, and self-loathing for even considering marriage with a woman like that...
Okay, think positive. Better to find out she's trash now than after marriage, right? If we'd tied the knot, she'd have blown through my earnings, then divorced me and taken half my assets.
Ending it with just millions in gifts and dinners? Silver lining, I guess.
“Silver lining my ass!!! That bitch took so much and just ditches me like this?!”
Crash! A half-full bottle shatters against the ground.
I didn't even feel bad about wasting it. Money's just money—you earn more. Call it stepping in shit and move on.
But time? That's different. I'd poured my youth into that love, dreamed of a future with her, and now it was all shattered overnight. How do you just shrug that off and stand tall?
“Damn it, I went crazy for you, working my ass off... I did everything you asked. Fed you whatever, bought you everything... And? 'I'm not some cheap girl you can buy'? While dating me, you had someone else on the side?!”
You fucking bitch, mangy mutt. Demon woman. Part of me wanted to shove this broken bottle shard into her gut right then, but a sliver of conscience held me back.
Or maybe more booze would kill even that? Nah, ruining the rest of my life as a criminal over trash like her? Too much.
Fuck, why am I even agonizing? She cheated. She ate my money and ran. And if I chased her with a knife, the law would side with her, not me?
Shitty laws, shitty country. Dating here is insane to begin with.
“Fuck, I really loved you...”
But regretting the past just leaves emptiness. As I stumbled along the riverbank, blowing booze breath to numb it, a pile of books under the bridge caught my eye.
Manga volumes, all in good condition. Some deadbeat parents dump their kid's saved-up comics? Classic drama.
“Parents, my ass. If you love 'em and had kids, give the poor things some breathing room.”
Suddenly pitying the owner, I picked up a romcom about high school crushes.
Who dates who, who likes who, friends cheering them on, dates, happy ending—easy as pie.
Yeah, I used to envy that. After all-boys middle, high school, engineering college, military, and a male-dominated job, romance felt like a fairy tale. So my first girlfriend was precious, worth spoiling. I thought it'd pay off eventually.
But nope.
“Romcoms my ass! Love's never that pure and sweet!!”
Rip! I tore the manga to shreds.
Not satisfied, I stomped the pile flat, and a resolve hardened in my chest: Never fall in love again. Not even if my skull cracks open. No crushes, ever.
“Uwaaaah! Die, all you couples! Solo forever! Low birth rates for eternity!!!”
Screaming my oath, I tripped over my own feet mid-sprint. Dizzy from the booze, I couldn't balance—my body tilted toward the river and splash.
“Glub glub, glub!”
Ah, crap. This suit cost a fortune, now soaked...
Wait, how do you swim again? Like this? No, sinking deeper—am I gonna die?
...Whatever. Head's fuzzy, body's going limp. Sleep first, think later.
Snore.
With that, my consciousness sank below the surface.
*****
That was my last memory. Pitiful end—drowned drunk without a clue.
But when I woke, strange ceiling. Strange man and woman peering down.
“Waaah!”
A baby's wail burst from my lungs, so vivid it chilled me to the bone. They beamed down with bright smiles.
“Oh my, honey, look! Our son's crying!”
“Haha! That's it, son. Cry loud! Plenty of tears ahead—might as well get used to it!”
Our son? Obviously not my old parents, but my pudgy baby hands reached for them instinctively.
“Waaah!”
Wait, did I really reincarnate as a baby?
No other explanation. Amid uncontrollable cries, I pondered pale-faced.
Dead 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 career, ended in betrayal. No room to continue that mess. Now free to start fresh.
Yeah. This life, no love bullshit. Life's lonely but free. I'll live for myself alone. Oath sworn.
“By the way, dear, thought of a name for our boy?”
“Of course.”
As I clenched my tiny fist in resolve, my new parents spoke my name for this life.
“May he grow mingling with many, becoming great... Befriend ten thousand (萬) friends (朋)—Manbung suits him.”
“Ooh, perfect. With your Kim surname, Kim Manbung!”
No, what kind of naming sense is that?