Chapter 4

Ju-ha came home looking incredibly excited, clenching his fists with enthusiasm. That day, he had met the top star Hyena at the salon Raine had been sending him to.

“Hyena came to the salon! And the director said he was really close to her, so he introduced me to her. Wow, I can’t believe I actually know a top star. It’s unbelievable. And there’s more….”

Ju-ha told Raine everything that had happened that afternoon.

“The male supporting actor who was playing the handsome chaebol role got into an accident and had to drop out of filming.”

The production team had urgently needed to find a replacement actor. Since Ju-ha happened to be right there and everything about him was ready, they had cast him as the replacement.

Thrilled, Ju-ha kissed Raine’s hand.

“This is a miracle. It’s all thanks to you. I have a really good feeling about this.”

“I’m really happy for you, Ju-ha.”

Raine was delighted that an opportunity had come his way and supported him in every way she could.

Not long afterward, Ju-ha did an excellent job playing the handsome chaebol and was offered a substantial supporting role in his next project as well. After catching the attention of influential people in the entertainment industry, Ju-ha gradually became busier and busier. He gave his work everything he had, and whenever he came home, he would collapse into bed and fall completely asleep.

Raine, meanwhile, worked herself to the bone to earn money and take care of him.

As a result, the two of them seeing each other face-to-face while both were actually awake dwindled to about once a week.

But Raine was fine with it.

She could see him growing.

That gave her even more hope and allowed her to work even harder to support him. Ju-ha, too, used Raine’s blood and sweat as fuel, focusing solely on his dream and running toward it with everything he had.

And then, when it had been eight years since Ju-ha and Raine had left the orphanage together—

Ju-ha achieved his dream.

Except for one thing.

He did not share the glory of the Grand Bell Awards with Lee Raine.

When Ju-ha gave an outstanding performance opposite actress Hyena and the movie became a huge success, Raine was overjoyed.

But perhaps because Hyena was such a top actress, a problem arose.

Around the time the film was about to leave theaters, rumors that Hyena and Ju-ha were dating began appearing every single day.

Of course, every time Raine saw such articles, she thought they were ridiculous.

Ju-ha’s girlfriend was her, after all.

Then, one autumn day in October—

It was the first time in two weeks that Raine had seen Ju-ha in their officetel, and that was the day she laughed as she brought up the dating rumors about him.

“Ju-ha, you’re here with me right now, so how could people say you’re dating Hyena? People really have such wild imaginations, don’t they?”

“……”

Normally, Ju-ha would have nodded and agreed with her.

But for some reason, Raine felt that he was forcing the corners of his mouth upward.

Is this what they mean by a woman’s intuition?

Raine suddenly had an ominous feeling.

“Ju-ha, did something happen?”

Ju-ha stared at her for a while before speaking in a subdued voice.

“Give me your phone.”

“My phone?”

Without giving it much thought, Raine handed him her phone.

Ju-ha fiddled with it for a long time, as though he were thinking about something, before letting out a sigh.

“Haa… Honestly, I’ve put up with this for eight years. But don’t you think you’re being a little too much?”

“……?”

Raine was bewildered.

He gave her a cynical smile, one corner of his mouth twisting upward.

“Of course, I wanted to keep being with you, too.”

His suddenly cold tone made Raine wonder if she had heard him correctly.

“Ju-ha?”

“You know… If word got around that I was dating a fat woman who was completely different from the image I have, do you think you’ve ever once considered how I’d feel?”

“…What?”

“The world sees me as the romantic male lead from those stories about third-generation chaebol heirs.”

Without lowering his mocking smile, he moved the full-length mirror from one side of the officetel and placed it in front of Raine.

Her entire figure was reflected in the mirror.

Lee Raine was no longer merely plump.

She was fat.

Her hair was hastily tied up with a black hair tie. She wore a clean but obviously cheap T-shirt and sweatpants. Her eyes were hollow from not eating properly, and her skin was rough from lack of sleep.

“Actually, I was waiting for you to change on your own because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. But you’re really too much.”

Ju-ha spoke slowly and clearly in an icy voice.

“If I had a body like yours, I’d rather die. How can you live like that?”

The words Ju-ha was saying out loud now were things Raine had never once imagined hearing from him.

She couldn’t believe it.

No—she simply couldn’t believe it.

She stared blankly at him, her expression saying that she couldn’t tell whether this was reality.

Ju-ha showed no intention of stopping and continued hurling abuse at her.

“To be brutally honest, are you a pig or a woman?”

It felt as though someone had struck the back of her head with a hammer.

Her heart began beating irregularly.

She was utterly shocked.

“J-Ju-ha. Th-that’s—!”

Whenever Raine hurriedly tried to make some sort of excuse, Ju-ha only cut her off even more coldly.

“Don’t make excuses.”

“……”

“You worked so damn hard to make money, yet I can’t understand why you’re living so miserably.”

Raine countered his mocking remark.

“That’s because I spent all the money I earned on you.”

Raine worked for a good company where her abilities were recognized. But there was a limit to what she could do alone when it came to meeting all of Ju-ha’s needs.

And in that situation, taking care of herself and making herself look good?

It was practically impossible.

Besides, Raine wasn’t going to become a celebrity herself, so she didn’t think there was any reason for her to obsess over her appearance.

Of course, it would be nice to be pretty.

Still, Raine believed that once Ju-ha became successful and had enough income to spare, she would be able to take better care of herself too.

She had planned to start properly looking after herself then.

But apparently, that had only been a misunderstanding on Raine’s part.

Ju-ha abruptly stood up and put on his suit jacket.

“Actually, success in the entertainment industry comes down to talent, doesn’t it? Having money makes things easier, but it’s not the reason someone succeeds.”

It was true.

But every word coming out of Ju-ha’s mouth sounded utterly absurd to Raine.

“Ju-ha, haven’t you been able to live without worrying about money all this time because I worked? Isn’t that why you were able to focus on acting? Talent is important, yes. But maintaining a certain standard of appearance was important too. You always said you needed new designer goods.”

“Maintaining a certain standard?”

Ju-ha looked utterly incredulous and began pointing accusingly at Raine.

“Ha! I was fooled by a pig like you and actually thought I was tied down for some noble reason.”

Raine’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

Countless things she wanted to say in response came to mind, but she couldn’t figure out which one to say first.

At the same time, she was afraid.

If she said everything she wanted to say, it felt as though she might never be able to repair her relationship with Ju-ha.

Raine had grown up in an orphanage after being left alone as a child.

And Ju-ha was the person who had grown up alongside her in that same orphanage.

They had spent so many years together.

They had countless memories, and her feelings for him ran incredibly deep.

In other words, Raine wasn’t prepared to let Kim Ju-ha go at all.

More than anything, she hated the thought of being left alone again.

Ju-ha looked down at Raine as she stared up at him in a daze, continuing to pour out words as sharp as blades.

“…Of course, I don’t intend to blame you for tying me down. The truth is, I did live off you, so there’s a part of me that is grateful.”

“……”

“But I was the one who made the mistake of undervaluing myself and staying with you. I never needed to be with you in the first place.”

“……”

Raine bit her lips repeatedly at Ju-ha’s ridiculous reasoning.

Whether she said what she wanted to say or not, she had the feeling that Ju-ha was going to leave her for good.

Is it really over? Is there even a chance that I can restore our relationship if I try hard enough?

She wished there were some way to resolve this, but no solution came to mind.

Although Raine was confused, she desperately hoped that this wasn’t really the moment when she would have to say goodbye to him.

What Ju-ha was doing now was hateful, but if even he left her, Raine would truly be alone in this world.

Ju-ha seemed to realize that she was quietly searching for some way to fix things.

“Lee Raine, you’re not planning to pull some pathetic media stunt, are you?”

“Huh?”

Ju-ha dropped to one knee so that he was at eye level with Raine.

“You know, going around saying things like, ‘I supported you all those years, so how could you do this to me?’ Blah, blah, blah.”

“…What?”

“But I do trust you enough not to do something like that….”

Perhaps because she was desperate enough to grasp at even the thinnest straw, Raine’s ears caught on to his words about trusting her more than anything else he had said.

Ju-ha deliberately leaned his face even closer to hers.

“Right? You’re not the kind of wicked woman who would try to get revenge, are you? You’re a good woman, aren’t you?”

Raine quickly answered him, clinging to the possibility that there might still be hope.

“Yes, Ju-ha. I’m not that kind of woman. I’m a good person. I-I couldn’t possibly do something like that. Ju-ha. So… can’t we keep seeing each other?”

But the cold look in Ju-ha’s eyes did not change.

“Good. Then I hope we never see each other again.”

At the words never see each other again, Raine’s heart sank.

She had desperately hoped he wouldn’t say the one thing that would leave her completely alone in this world.

“J-Ju-ha. Wait! If you leave, I’ll be alone.”

“Come on. You’re not a child. Are you going to die just because you’re left alone?”

Ju-ha dusted off his clothes and stood up.

“Let’s end this now. You should meet a man who’s on your level and live well.”

Desperate, Raine blurted out whatever came to mind.

“Ju-ha! You can date Hyena.”

“What?”

“I won’t get between the two of you. Can’t you just stay? Ju-ha, you were practically family to me.”

Raine knew perfectly well how ridiculous what she was saying sounded.

But she didn’t want to be left alone.

Her fear was greater than anything else.

Ju-ha looked down at her with an expression of utter disbelief.

“Hey, how are you and I family? Did we register our marriage or something? Or did we at least fill out a marriage certificate?”

Raine hurriedly stood up and grabbed his arm.

“I’ll lose weight starting now! I-I’ll take care of myself so I won’t embarrass you, Ju-ha! I can become pretty if I dress up too. You said yourself that I had a pretty decent face underneath it all.”

“Hey, what are you talking about? That’s ancient history. Do you think you look the same now as you did in high school?”

Ju-ha let out a deep sigh, unable to hide his irritation.

Even so, Raine clung to him.

“Ju-ha…!”

“Why are you being so pathetic?!”

Smack!

A loud sound rang out, and Raine saw stars.

Ju-ha shook the right hand he had just used to slap her.

“Wow. You’re so heavy you don’t even fall over.”

“……”

Raine touched her cheek in a daze.

“Oof, you fat bitch. Don’t you have eyes? Don’t even put those pot-lid-sized hands anywhere near me. It’s disgusting.”

Without batting an eye, Ju-ha continued spewing venomous insults.

“Do I really have to go this far for you to understand? Are you really that clueless and stupid?”

“……”

Raine had never imagined that he would actually hit her.

As her cheek burned and throbbed, reality finally sank in.

Ju-ha is really leaving me.

Her heart hurt far more than the cheek he had slapped.

Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Raine cried out at Ju-ha.

“Why are you doing this?! Ju-ha! We dreamed together! I was the one who supported you through all those difficult years! So how can you betray me like this?”

For the first time, Lee Raine poured out the painful past she had endured for him and burst into tears.

But Ju-ha didn’t even blink.

He merely gave her a contemptuous sneer.

“If you’re so wronged, then come back looking like Hyena. Though, that’s obviously impossible.”

Having said that, Ju-ha continued as though he had done everything he could for her.

“You were receiving support from me, and in exchange, you had my body tied to your side too, didn’t you? Isn’t that enough?”

“W-What kind of thing is that to say? Ju-ha, even if you’ve changed now, didn’t you love me before?”

Ju-ha frowned deeply and turned away.

“Ah, this is so damn annoying!”

He strode toward the entrance.

Raine cried out after his retreating back.