TCE 03

Chapter 03

The plane we boarded was a direct flight to Honolulu, Hawaii.

There were quite a few passengers, but she was in first class, sitting down without having to brush against anyone.

“So tacky.”

It was her evaluation of the ring still in her hand.

We had always loved beautiful things, always adorning ourselves only with luxurious and precious items.

So, of course, a plain ring with nothing but a single gemstone stuck on it was never going to be to our taste.

She smirked and was about to put the ring back into her bag.

Tap.

“Ah!”

Someone bumped hard into her shoulder, and the sting made her eyes flash.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

It seemed to be another passenger trying to take the seat beside her.

Normally, we would have scolded them to “be more careful,” but today was different.

She smiled sweetly.

“It’s fine. Have a pleasant trip.”

Right now, we were on the brink of complete liberation; even if a bee stung us on the way, we could laugh it off.

“What brings you to Hawaii?”

Maybe it was thanks to that kindness, but the man who had sat down next to her asked.

She crossed her legs, placed the in-flight magazine on top of them, and replied,

“Emigrating.”

“To Hawaii?”

“Maybe.”

We weren’t planning to stay there for good, but there was no need to explain in detail.

Even though her answers started to get bland, the man leaned over the armrest toward her and kept talking.

“I’m going for business. Been busy lately.”

“You must be working hard.”

“Hard work is just part of life. That’s what business is like.”

We glanced up at him, his demeanor a little smug.

Late twenties, early thirties at most. A young businessman. If he was in first class, he must have been successful enough to be swollen with a sense of superiority.

‘A young Go Kyung-chul.’

A man who reminded her of her father. She shrugged her shoulders and turned her eyes back to the magazine.

But the man was persistent.

“What do you do?”

“Ah… I used to work at a company. I quit, and I don’t plan to work again.”

“You seem used to first class. Must have been a pretty good job.”

Despite her vague answers, the man kept trying to keep the conversation going.

And the way his eyes swept her from bottom to top seemed to be evaluating her.

Accessories, outfit, first-class seat.

Having read everything he could see, he didn’t stop talking from then on.

‘Damn, I shouldn’t have been so nice.’

It was a stupid thing to do in the heat of the moment.

But with eight hours still ahead, it was hard to just blatantly ignore him.

“Yes, well.”

Meanwhile, more people boarded the plane. Even though their seats were spread out, the noise was inevitable.

After a short lull, the unwelcome neighbor tapped her seat again.

“A lot of people on board, huh?”

Not wanting to engage, we only nodded slightly. But the man pressed further.

“It’ll be a problem if the departure’s delayed. I’ve got a lot of business to handle.”

She ignored him and picked up another magazine, but the man sighed.

“It’s going to get noisy. I just don’t get it. What’s so great about sitting cramped like ants in economy class, chatting away like that?”

Even though we weren’t the ones being insulted, it was irritating.

“Even without people, planes are noisy. And they’re probably happier than we are, paying a fortune to sit here for a bit more legroom.”

Maybe it was because she was in an unusually good mood today. She ended up doing something very uncharacteristic—speaking up.

And she regretted it immediately.

“If you’re too sharp, men don’t like it. Well, someone like me could put up with it, I guess.”

“Ha…”

“So, what do you think of me?”

It was nothing new. She knew she was attractive, but advances like this were always unpleasant.

We didn’t answer, but the man didn’t give up.

“Hey, are you listening to me? Hey.”

His persistence was dizzying. It seemed like he’d keep bothering her for the rest of the flight. As always, we decided to deal with this pest confidently—if a little arrogantly.

“Why would you—”

That was when we noticed the ring on the seat shelf beside us. That was it. She quietly slipped it onto her left ring finger.

‘Huh.’

It fit perfectly, strangely enough. It had slipped off so easily earlier; perhaps it wasn’t meant for Ae-jung after all.

Clicking her tongue, she deliberately brushed her hair back with the hand wearing the ring and replied,

“I have a husband.”

“…”

“I’d like to rest now.”

The man was left speechless, and she regained her peace.

We really were tired, so we closed our eyes and took a deep breath. We didn’t care about the in-flight meal; we just wanted to open our eyes and be at our destination.

We heard him mumbling something beside us, but ignored it.

Somehow, sleep came.

“Ma’am, the plane will be departing shortly. Please fasten your seatbelt.”

“…”

“Ma’am? Why are you standing—Ma’am!”

Even as some unknown commotion broke out, we were drifting deeper into sleep.

“Gasp!”

A brutal grip closed around our neck.

In an instant, our airway was blocked, and we couldn’t breathe through our open mouth.

“Ugh—hah!”

Barely opening our eyes, we saw the man we’d been talking to just moments ago.

His face had twisted into something monstrous as he shouted,

“You bitch! You think you can toy with me?”

“Ugh—ugh!”

“S-someone help! Aah!”

A flight attendant screamed, trying to stop him, but was shoved aside.

And the man squeezed our throat harder.

“Die! Die!”

Wait, no way. Die? Am I really going to die?

After everything I went through? No, this can’t be happening. I have to live. I don’t want to die.

‘I don’t want to die!’

The wedding was ruined when the bride collapsed, but most people understood—something truly shocking had happened.

Go Woo-ri was dead.

Among those at the wedding, no one didn’t know that Ha Yoon-jae’s ex-fiancée had been Go Woo-ri.

Go Woo-ri, the eldest daughter of Ha Sung Apparel, and Ha Yoon-jae, the eldest son of Yeongdo Group.

At least on the surface, their union had seemed perfect.

[I heard she was stabbed to death?]
[No, they say she went into anaphylactic shock from the in-flight meal.]
[I heard she’d been drinking.]
[No, some say she did it herself after being dumped…]
[The news said there was a suspect. Wasn’t it some businessman?]

The death of a chaebol family’s daughter shook South Korea for a long time. The fact that the cause of death was never clearly revealed only fueled public interest.

Perhaps that was why.

Ju Ae-jung, who had been accused of stealing the fiancé and taking her place, shut herself in her room and didn’t come out.

She could do nothing, weighed down by depression and sorrow.

“I died?”

…Or so everyone thought.

Curled up, pressing a pillow to the back of her head, we kept muttering like someone possessed.

“Did I really die? That lunatic killed me? No way. This is real? Possession? Am I a ghost now? But why here? Why in Ju Ae-jung’s body? Did I envy her or something?”

We thought all night, but no answer came.

It didn’t feel real. We weren’t religious, but even believers wouldn’t have bought this story.

She was too much of a realist to accept it easily.

‘Is this some kind of punishment?’

But what sin had she committed to deserve punishment?

She was the one who’d lost her fiancé—why this? No matter how many times she denied it, the dream wouldn’t end.

“…”

She steadied her breathing.

In truth, she hadn’t slept at all, just kept thinking over her situation and how to move forward.

Unbelievable as it was, she was beginning to accept it, bit by bit.

“Ju Ae-jung.”

She slowly looked down at her wrist—no, Ju Ae-jung’s wrist.

“What did you do to me?”

Several scars crossed it. They seemed old, the marks faded.

Thunk.

She flung her glasses aside.

“You’d have to be crazy… how am I supposed to accept—ah.”

Her outburst ended abruptly.

A sudden pain like her insides were being torn made her double over.

“Agh…”

The sharp pain drove out all other thoughts. She clutched the blanket—then froze.

‘Wait a minute.’

Her hands, wrapped around her stomach.

That was definitely…

And then she felt the dampness from her lower body, making her whole body stiffen.

“…”

Pulling back the blanket slowly, she saw the clear stain of blood.

“Executive Director…!”

It was Mrs. Kim, the housekeeper at Yoon-jae’s home, rushing into the study in a panic.

Because of the issues between Ju Ae-jung and Go Woo-ri, he had been at home. Seeing Mrs. Kim’s pale face, he stood up.

“What’s the matter?”

“Madam—oh, she’s not Madam yet, but still! She’s… bleeding!”

She stammered badly, clearly shaken, but Yoon-jae quickly understood.

‘Don’t tell me… again? What a nuisance.’

Recalling something Ae-jung had done a long time ago, he headed straight for her room.

She was a frail woman, plagued by severe depression—nothing she did would surprise him.

Bang.

Without knocking, he opened the door.

Ae-jung was sitting on the bed.

Her body was so thin that even her loosely worn clothes seemed heavy on her.

“Ju Ae-jung.”

He approached her slowly, careful not to provoke her.

“Calm down. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but—”

“…Miscarriage.”

Ae-jung, who had been quiet as if broken, muttered something. It was too soft to hear clearly.

“What?”

When he asked again and stepped closer, her head, which had been bowed low, slowly lifted.

Her hair was a mess, her face haggard from lack of sleep.

With that unsightly face, she said,

“I think I had a miscarriage.”

Her voice and gaze were strangely calm and composed.

Something about this “different” Ae-jung’s eyes caught his attention, but he couldn’t help asking,

“Are you a hermaphrodite?”