Chapter 255
Gu Sojeong couldn't sleep a wink. Her bloodshot eyes wide open, she boarded a bus heading to the hospital. Ever since meeting Cha Juhan, she hadn't eaten a single meal, holing up in her room all day long, her mind consumed by thoughts of Kim Seongwoo.
At first, she'd planned to call Kim Seongwoo right away, relay what Cha Juhan had told her, and demand to know if it was all true. But she soon set her phone down. She lacked the courage to face the truth. What if he admitted it? What then?
Her mind replayed his bored expression throughout the dress fitting—the dull face that had floated there the whole time. He'd chimed in with "You look pretty" and "That's nice," so she'd dismissed it as her imagination, chalked it up to wedding jitters. But she'd probably seen it right. Even the fitting assistants had seemed embarrassed by his apparent disinterest.
Looking back now, she wondered why she'd ignored all the suspicious signs about Kim Seongwoo. She must have been in denial. No way. And even if there were issues, marriage would free her from this suffocating poverty—she could just endure it. That flimsy logic might have even led her to agree when he told her to inject Seol Hyeongseok with cephalosporin.
Doing something this monstrous together would give her leverage over him, ensuring the wedding went ahead no matter what. Such naive thinking.
Maybe I should just skip work...
Stepping off at the stop in front of the hospital, Gu Sojeong gazed up at the towering building. Dizziness washed over her. An impulse surged to climb to the rooftop and hurl herself off. If things continued like this, she might truly become a murderer... or at least an attempted one.
If only Seongwoo would assure me it's me he wants to marry, not that woman... then it would all be fine...
Maybe she never should have gotten involved in the first place. It had all started with a drunken mistake after a company dinner. Two young people, wasted and already harboring mutual attraction—it wasn't so strange. Afterward, their relationship turned ambiguous. After a few more nights together, Gu Sojeong suggested they make it official. Kim Seongwoo accepted, saying he should have confessed first.
They were your average couple. Dates on days off, celebrating anniversaries. But as the son of the hospital director, he insisted on keeping their relationship secret to avoid trouble with his father if word got out he was dating a nurse from the same ward. Gu Sojeong didn't mind. She was thrilled to be with the director's son—a promising young doctor with a bright future ahead.
And indeed, dating him brought the happiness she'd hoped for. Unlike her, who pinched every penny, he swiped his card without hesitation. Unlike her exes, he naturally covered all date expenses. With him, money worries vanished—no skimping on outings for lack of funds, no fretting over what "valuable enough" gift to buy.
Of course, there were flaws. Minor ones. At the hospital, he'd call her "Nurse" sharply even when alone, showing no cracks in his facade. But outside, he was affectionate enough, and he'd warned her it was because of his director father. She didn't see it as a problem.
As months turned into half a year, Gu Sojeong naturally began envisioning a future with him. He was at prime marriageable age, and since he was dating her in that context, maybe he was thinking the same. When she casually broached the topic, he wasn't some die-hard bachelor. Given his age, if he planned to marry some girl from a good family, he'd have broken up with her already and started meeting prospects.
So obviously, I'm the one he'll marry. We're so compatible.
Still, it nagged her that he'd never once brought up marriage himself or delved deep into the subject. He oddly preferred motel or hotel meetups over outdoor dates. Was he really serious about her? As doubts swirled, their belated New Year's trip on January 2nd shattered them. There, Kim Seongwoo proposed.
A week later came his request: Could she inject Seol Hyeongseok with cephalosporin?
"......"
Lost in these swirling thoughts, she wandered the hospital grounds until her shift start time had passed. Dragging her reluctant feet, Gu Sojeong entered the ward.
"Why are you so late?"
"Sorry."
Her senior nurse, who always seemed stressed just seeing her, snapped. Gu Sojeong felt nothing. She mumbled a reply and started work when suddenly her arm was grabbed.
"Dr. Kim Seongwoo is looking for you. Go see him first."
"Dr. Kim Seongwoo?"
"Yeah. Sounded urgent. He was asking why you weren't picking up."
"......Okay."
She'd left her phone off, so of course no calls got through. What does he want to say so