By Zephyria 
As soon as it dawned, I rushed to get a marriage certificate, and the moment I received it, I checked it with burning intensity. Last night, I simply didn’t have the courage to issue the documents from home. Part of it was that I avoided it because I didn’t want to admit it. Everyone else had spent the night wide awake, and I wanted to delay announcing the truth for as long as possible. But seeing how shocked everyone was anyway, I wondered why I had bothered pushing it back a few more hours.
“This is real….”
The detailed section only showed the marriage date; there was nothing written about our divorce. Joo Min-hyeok was still my spouse. A wave of feeling played felt washed over me. The few years I had spent feeling relieved that I had successfully escaped Joo Min-hyeok were, in fact, spent dancing in the palm of his hand.
“Hyung was right that there would be something. Look.”
I handed the certificate to my brother, who had come with me. Just as he said, Joo Min-hyeok had watched me while holding a powerful card. Being someone’s spouse carries significant legal weight. Since I was still tied to Joo Min-hyeok, there were things I couldn’t do without his consent, and there would be restrictions because we hadn’t divorced. Whatever they were, because I was bound by the framework of the law, I could not be free.
“Hae-joo. I looked into it all night. It wasn’t easy to find because the Imperial side deleted the posts, but someone had uploaded it to a blog.”
Hyung crumpled the paper and tilted his head back. With a deep frown and closed eyes, he seemed very displeased.
“As I remembered, the Imperial family didn’t use the word ‘divorce.’ This was intentional, too. His Majesty probably expected that you, in your surprise, would seek him out first.”
“……But I only just found out. Do you think Joo Min-hyeok’s plan has gone awry?”
“That’s probably why. Why he didn’t touch Father or Seo-joo. He didn’t need to touch the people around you because he has a way to meet you whenever he wants.”
I didn’t know what was going on in that head of his, but that explanation seemed the most plausible. Now that I knew this, what course of action should I take? If I continued to live relying on my father, brother, and Seo-joo as I do now, there would be no discomfort.
Because there was no discomfort in my life, I had been able to live without knowing that I hadn’t divorced. Dad doesn’t regret any material thing he pours into me, but how am I any different from a parasite? Until now, there was at least the justification of being protected because I was physically ill and mentally unstable.
However, I had intended to overcome it and move forward on my own from now on. But Joo Min-hyeok had blocked my future like this. Joo Min-hyeok, exactly what have you done right to be making threats like this? Anger surged within me at his behavior, which was selfish to the very end. Why won’t this tangled ball of thread unravel?
Our reunion won’t be pleasant. A wave of worry swept through my mind—was he trying to make me walk in on my own feet just to kill my brother and me? I had changed my life to be different from the original story while enduring all sorts of wounds. My chest felt tight thinking about what lay ahead.
“Since he’d have to make contact to proceed with a lawsuit or a settlement, he must have been aiming for that. A situation where I have no choice but to contact him. It’s his way of telling me, the one who ran away, to come back myself.”
“He’s tightening the noose around you using realistic methods. Unless you divorce, you can’t be completely free from him. You can’t ignore the rights held by a legal guardian.”
“Ha, really? That’s how he wants to play it? Fine, let’s do it. Let’s see how it goes. Let’s see what the conclusion is.”
Absurded by Joo Min-hyeok’s behavior, I let out a stubborn sneer. Since I will absolutely never be the one to contact him first, let’s see who wins.
“I have nothing to lose. I can just keep living off what Dad provides, like I am now. Rather, isn’t our Emperor His Majesty the one in a hurry, with the Imperial Wedding right around the corner? How can he bring in an Empress when he’s still married to me? I can’t stand to see that either. Let’s both go down together.”
“Hae-joo….”
I was so pissed off yesterday that I looked up all your articles, you crazy brat. Spending happy days with your designated Empress? I wonder who she is that you’re so fond of her. But don’t make me laugh. Why are you the only one happy? If I’m miserable, you should be miserable too. You’re going to make things this difficult for me and then just start a sweet new family of your own? Bullshit. You experience it too, Joo Min-hyeok.
∗ ∗ ∗
However, my bold thought of “you experience it too” changed dozens of times a day. One moment I’d be so angry I’d want to ruin his future of starting a new family, but in the end, I’d conclude that there’s nothing to be gained from provoking his temper. Joo Min-hyeok is just a lunatic. A human being who brings no benefit when provoked.
So, if I live quietly as if I were dead, can I avoid him? It would be better to avoid him, right? There is a reason why I, who had boldly flared up saying I’d overturn everything regardless of the cost, was now shrinking back in fear. It’s because I am exactly twenty-five years old.
What does my age have to do with this? It has everything to do with it. Because that’s the age the Grand Imperial Concubine died in the novel. The Grand Imperial Concubine died at twenty-five. Although my situation now is completely different from then, I can’t help but feel uneasy. Why do I keep getting entangled like this? And at the unlucky age of twenty-five, no less.
I had tried my best to avoid this age. My mindset was that I must absolutely get past twenty-five first. But it’s not like this is some kind of destiny that must be fulfilled, right? It’s unsettling that things were quiet until now, only for me to find out about the lack of divorce at this age. Am I going to get unlucky and die like the Grand Imperial Concubine in the novel? After everything I endured to survive. I truly can’t die, if only out of sheer unfairness.
“What are you muttering about? Is twenty-five the boss’s age? See, you’re my age.”
Fuck. Why am I hearing this voice again? There’s another annoying thing. Isn’t one lunatic around me enough?
“……I’m not in the mood to deal with customers, so if you didn’t follow me, why don’t you just go on your way?”
Surely he didn’t follow me all the way to the beach? Why bother? I don’t know how he knew to show up here. This is a place where hardly anyone goes, so it’s where I come to rest whenever my head is cluttered. It’s the perfect place to sit without thinking, with only the sound of waves and wind, but Jin-sang appeared, dragging along the friend who always sticks to him. Glancing at Jin-sang as he looked down at me, I buried my head between my knees again.
“Follow you? What do you mean follow you? This path is close to my grandmother’s raw fish restaurant, so I’ve walked it for years since I was a kid. Long before you settled here.”
A raw fish restaurant? Ah, he’s the grandson of that place? I see. But I had neither the will nor the energy to respond.
“Since we’ve met like this, I’m asking because I’m genuinely curious.”
What is he curious about now? And why does this brat keep speaking informally? It’s been bothering me since last time. He has no manners. I’ll let the acting out at the cafe slide. But isn’t it completely lacking in common sense to suddenly use informal speech outside when we aren’t even well-acquainted?
“You and your family. What on earth is your purpose for coming to this island?”
……Purpose? What is he talking about now? At the unexpected question, I lifted my buried face and looked up at Jin-sang.
“Around the time your family came to this island, a large number of Alphas on our island moved to the mainland. You don’t even see any young Alphas. Even among my friends, they all moved to the city. If there was an Alpha in the house, the whole family left.”
“What does that have to do with my family? If people come in, people also leave. You seem to want to find fault, but isn’t this situation too forced?”
“It’s not forced! I’m asking because it’s really strange! This island still has many clean places untouched by people. We intentionally limit the number of tourists to prevent trash and damage. That’s how much we cherish and love this place.”
“Right. I respect your heart full of love. But what does that have to do with us? What exactly are you trying to say?”
Hearing such nonsense, irritation surged. It wasn’t even a wordplay; there’s nothing more forced than this. It seems he wants to act territorial because he’s a native of this island.
“That’s why you’re trying to buy up the island, right? Because you covet it. Even if I’m young, I know what’s what. Clearly, around the time you guys arrived, people sold all their land and left under better conditions than before. It’s redevelopment, right? That’s your purpose.”
Redevelopment? Looking at Jin-sang, who was pouring out his words as if venting indignation, I tilted my head. I had never heard any talk of redevelopment here. Come to think of it, it is strange. An island where only Beta elderly remain.
Forget Alphas, you can’t even see an Omega. It’s not strange for young Alphas and Omegas to move to the mainland. But selling land all at once under good conditions? Even I would be suspicious. The timing is a bit odd.
“There have been people like that before, but this is the first time the islanders have been migrated so systematically. What on earth is here that makes you want to redevelop it?”
Ah, he must have misunderstood me all this time. He mistakenly thought I was connected to the person buying the land, which is why he watched me and picked fights at the cafe. Isn’t that unfair?
“How would I know what redevelopment is? And if I had bought land, I would have bought it and left then; why would I stay here? It’s not like that.”
“…It’s not?”
Seeing me wave my hand and speak flatly, Jin-sang did not remove his suspicious gaze.
“Where would I have the money! Do you know how much it costs to buy land here! I don’t have that kind of money. You’re just misunderstanding and digging a hole for yourself.”
“You look very wealthy, though….”
“I’m a total pauper, okay? But did people really all leave around the time we came?”
Wanting to hear the details, I asked Jin-sang about the events of that time, and he scrutinized me, still not letting go of his suspicious look.
“Yeah. That’s why I thought you guys were the ones who bought the land and pushed people out.”
I felt a slight interest in the news I was hearing for the first time.