Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Upon hearing the news of the engagement, Anna locked herself in her room, not eating, feeling neither hungry nor wanting to open the curtains. She sat on the sofa, turned on the television, listening to the sound but not paying attention to the images.
She didn't know whether she fell asleep during the day or at night, nor did she know if she woke up at dusk or dawn.
Days passed without her realizing it until Hogga appeared.
"Come on, wash your face. I'm taking you out to eat; I have something to tell you," Hogga said, not asking what had happened, but still speaking in that gentle tone.
Anna nodded and freshened up, noticing in the mirror how much thinner she looked.
What a mess I am, Anna Zheng, she murmured to herself.
Perhaps due to not having eaten for a long time, Anna felt full after just a couple of bites. She put down her chopsticks and stared blankly at the snow outside that had yet to melt.
"Are you full?" Hogga asked.
"Yes," Anna nodded, glancing at Hogga. He seemed to smile but then slightly furrowed his brow as his chopsticks fell to the ground.
"What’s wrong?" Anna asked.
"Nothing," Hogga shook his head and gently lifted the corners of his mouth.
The waiter quickly came over to replace his chopsticks. Hogga's hands were still covered with leather gloves, making it less convenient to use chopsticks.
"Don't you take off your gloves when you eat?" Anna remarked.
"I've gotten used to it," Hogga said.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Park Chan-yeol is getting engaged."
"I know."
"The woman isn't the one he loves."
"I know."
"You’re sad. Go stop him."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"...."
Hogga smiled and handed a folder to Anna.
"What is this?" Anna asked, puzzled.
"Inside, there are reasons for you to stop him from getting engaged."
Anna slowly opened the folder, revealing a series of test results. As she examined them closely, her brow furrowed tighter.
"How do you know all this?" Anna asked. "Why are you helping me with this?"
"That's not important. What matters is what you should do now."
"Are these real? How could she lie like this?" Anna said helplessly.
"He will hold the engagement ceremony at the church in West Seoul at 11:36 AM, attended by close friends and family. There is still one hour until that time. Let's go," Hogga said as he stood up.
"Where to?"
"I'm taking you to where you need to be right now," Hogga replied.
The car drove in that direction, and the surrounding roads grew quieter. Passing through the snow-covered woods, she could vaguely see the top of the church and hear a melody drifting in the air.
Anna clutched what she called 'evidence,' but felt a heavy pressure in her chest as she buried her emotions deep inside.
The car stopped at the church entrance. Anna got out, and Hogga said nothing as he drove away.
Outside the church was a long red carpet. In the cold wind, everyone was dressed elegantly, contrasting sharply with Anna's current appearance. She began to feel flustered, unsure why she felt that this time she was here to take something away from Jang Bo-Yeon. It was a strange feeling.
She looked at herself, feeling like a dirty Cinderella. Fairy tales are always just that—fairy tales. Perhaps Cinderella lost her glass slipper, but did the prince really see her? When he finally met her, would he still take her hand and dance with her despite her calloused hands from years of hard work?
"Anna." The first to notice Anna was Wu Shixun, who approached alone from an unknown direction.
“Sehun?” Anna came back to her senses.
Sehun glanced at Anna's casual attire and asked with a smile, “You’re here for Brother Can-ryeol’s engagement ceremony, right? Isn’t your outfit a bit too casual? I was wondering if there was something going on between you and Chan-yeol, but it seems I was overthinking it.”
“I…” Anna wanted to say something, but it ultimately turned into a meaningless, helpless smile as she replied, “Yeah…”
“Let’s go in together,” Wu Shixun said with a smile. “Today’s ceremony is being held in secret, without any reporters, so it should be a lot of fun.” With that, he started walking toward the church.
However, Anna remained in place, not taking a step forward.
After taking a couple of steps and noticing that Anna hadn’t followed him but was instead standing there with her head down, tightly gripping the file in her hand, Wu Shixun realized something was off.
“Anna, what’s wrong? Aren’t you here for the ceremony?” Wu Shixun asked.
Anna silently shook her head. She looked at Wu Shixun, then at the file in her hand. Some things needed to be decided by Park Chan-yeol; she didn’t have the authority to decide.
“Sehun, this is for you,” Anna handed the file to Wu Shixun.
“What is this?” Wu Shixun asked in confusion. “Is it a gift?” he joked.
“Before the ceremony starts, please make sure to give this to Park Chan-yeol.”
“What exactly is it? Why so mysterious?”
“Please, Sehun, you must give it to Chan-yeol,” Anna insisted.
Wu Shixun, who had originally taken a joking attitude, finally became serious upon seeing Anna's earnestness. He nodded and said, "Alright, I will personally hand it to Chan-yeol."
"Thank you, Sehun," Anna replied.
Sehun watched Anna slowly walk away, filled with confusion. Ever since that night at the bar when Anna got drunk for reasons unknown and Chan-yeol took her to the hospital, Sehun felt there was something between them.
Park Chan-yeol, who had always been carefree, was behaving differently. Wu Shixun had never seen him like this. While waiting for Anna to finish her stomach pumping, he sat quietly in the hallway chair, head down, not saying a word.
There was also the secret that Anna had entrusted to Park Chan-yeol before she passed out, which must have been extremely important.
Could this be the kind of concern and trust that ordinary friends could achieve?
With these doubts in mind, now Park Chan-yeol had left the group and gotten engaged to someone Wu Shixun never expected. The plot twist was too sudden; he was completely bewildered.
"Sehun oppa," Jang Bo-Yeon's voice suddenly came through.
"Oh, Miss Baoyan," Wu Shixun replied awkwardly with a smile.
"Wasn't that Anna unnie just now? Isn't she here for the ceremony? Why didn't she come in?"
"Ah, she probably had something to do and left early. But what about you? The ceremony is about to start; why did you run out?"
"I saw Anna unnie arrive and wanted to say hello, but I didn't expect she would leave first," Jang Bo-Yeon said with a smile. She glanced at the folder Wu Shixun was holding and asked, "What's this?"
"Oh, this is something Miss Anna asked me to give to Chan-yeol. I was just about to ask you where he is."
Jang Bo-Yeon’s expression stiffened slightly as she asked, “What is it?”
Wu Shixun shook his head in confusion and replied, “I don’t know either.”
“Then give it to me, and I’ll help you deliver it to Brother Canlie.”
Jang Bo-Yeon extended her hand, and just as Wu Shixun was about to hand over the folder, he remembered his promise to Anna to personally deliver the item to Park Chan-yeol. He retracted his hand, smiled, and said, “Never mind, I promised Miss Anna that I would hand it to Chan-yeol myself.” Sehun glanced at the time; there was less than half an hour until the ceremony began. “Let’s go inside; it’s too cold out here,” he said, tightening his coat around him while quickly heading toward the church with the folder.
Jang Bo-Yeon’s smile gradually faded, her eyes filled with a sinister look.
“Did Anna give you this?” Park Chan-yeol asked as he examined the test results, gripping Wu Shixun’s shoulders tightly.
“Yes,” Wu Shixun nodded blankly.
“What happened? What is this?” KAI had also heard and approached them.
Park Chan-yeol didn’t show them the documents. His expression shifted from shock to relief to gratitude as he looked at the people inside the church waiting for the ceremony to begin. He slowly quickened his pace toward the entrance.
“Chan-yeol, where are you going? It’s about to start,” KAI shouted, trying to stop Chan-yeol.
“Yeah, Chan-yeol, where are you going?” Park Anqing suddenly spoke up from her wheelchair.
Chan-yeol stopped in his tracks, and the church fell silent in an instant.
“If you want me to live a few more days, then stay here obediently,” Park Anqing said, clutching her chest and coughing painfully a couple of times.
The previously warm and harmonious atmosphere was suddenly shattered, and everyone began to look at each other in confusion, unsure of what had happened.
It was extremely quiet, as if the only sound that could be heard was the wind blowing through the trees surrounding the university.
"Oh no, oh no, Jiang Baoyan has driven away!" Jiang Bo-Yeon's mother rushed in, panicked.
"What?!" Park Anqing exclaimed in surprise.
"What on earth happened? Why did Jiang Baoyan leave?" Han Yoon-soo also became flustered. Concerned for Park Anqing's well-being, he quickly tried to calm her down.
This engagement ceremony, although not attended by many people, was still filled with close acquaintances, and it had turned into quite a farce.
KAI nudged Sehun's shoulder and asked, "What did you do? Spill it."
Sehun looked innocent. "What could I do? Anna just asked me to hand something over to Chan-yeol. After Chan-yeol looked at it, this happened. How would I know what went wrong?"
"What thing? What are you talking about?"
"I don't know! Why do you keep asking me?"
"Ugh, how can you be like this..." KAI sighed helplessly.
"Since that's the case, can I leave now?" Chan-yeol said.
"Are you going to find that woman again?" Park Anqing asked.
"That woman? Who is she?" Wu Shixun asked KAI in surprise. "Could it be that Chan-yeol has another woman outside, which is why Miss Baoyan couldn't stand her sudden departure? The evidence of his infidelity that was just handed to Chan-yeol couldn't have been found by Miss Anna, could it?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? What are you thinking about all day?" KAI shot him a glare.
At that moment, the church's main door was suddenly slammed shut, the heavy sound startling everyone and causing them to stand up in fear. The light suddenly dimmed.
Some of the more timid ladies let out screams.
"What’s going on?" Park Anqing remained calm, showing no signs of being disturbed.
Seeing the atmosphere turn serious, KAI quickly smiled to stabilize everyone's emotions and said, "Everyone, don't panic. It was probably just the wind that closed the door. Come on, Sehun, let's open it."
Sehun was still shaken. KAI tugged at his shirt, and he finally snapped back to reality, smiling as he said, "Oh, Haha, yeah, the wind is really strong."
With that, the two of them went to the door, intending to push it open. However, no matter how hard they tried, the door wouldn't budge at all.
This is bad...
Meanwhile, Anna was slowly walking along the path in the woods, seemingly still some distance away from reaching the road and finding a car. Checking the time, there was less than ten minutes until the ceremony began. She turned around but still saw no sign of Park Chan-yeol behind her.
When she heard the sound of a vehicle approaching from behind, Anna felt a heavy heart suddenly lighten, and she smiled. Turning around, she indeed saw a car coming toward her at high speed, getting closer without any intention of slowing down.
It wasn't until she caught sight of Jang Bo-Yeon's face through the rear window that Anna realized this car wasn't sent by Park Chan-yeol to find her; it was Jang Bo-Yeon coming to send Anna to her demise.
"Die!!" Jang Bo-Yeon screamed. Although her voice was muffled inside the car, Anna clearly saw her curse.
Anna instinctively ran towards the forest, but a car sped by and knocked her to the ground. Anna lost her balance, feeling a sharp pain in her arm as she fell heavily into the snow by the roadside.
A sudden screech of brakes echoed as the car reversed back to Anna's location. She hurriedly struggled to get up, but her arm was likely dislocated, causing unbearable pain.
Jang Bo-Yeon stepped out of the car and walked up to Anna, sneering, her red lips appearing particularly eerie against the white snow.
“Anna Zheng! Why, why are you fixated on my things?! Why! You clearly know that I am engaged to Brother Canlie! Why do you come out to ruin it! You’ve left me with nothing, lost everything!”
“Jang Bo-Yeon, are you really planning to bind him for life with lies?”
“As long as we are together, even for a little longer, I will find a way to make Brother Canlie love me. He will, he will.”
Anna forced a smile and said, “Actually, you don’t need to be so aggressive. Look, he hasn’t come looking for me, which proves he has made a new choice. Why bother coming to find me? The file I gave him does indeed prove that you are not pregnant, but I think his lack of pursuit shows that he has already chosen anew.”
It seemed that Anna's words slightly eased Jang Bo-Yeon's heart. She smiled and said, “If you dare cling to Brother Canlie like this again in the future, I will not let you go.”
Anna smiled bitterly; she herself knew that after today’s farce, she truly had no reason to cling to Park Chan-yeol anymore.
Jang Bo-Yeon returned to her car and drove away, leaving Anna in a state of disarray. Holding her dislocated arm with one hand, Anna slowly made her way toward the flowing traffic.
She admitted that this outcome thoroughly proved that everything had unknowingly passed during this time; she had truly brought humiliation upon herself. Everything was changing—small as the melting of a snowflake or grand as the shifting of day and night and the cosmos—quietly transforming; how much more so the human heart after such great turmoil?
Parting ways, life’s journey continued without pause, with no knowledge of what awaited at the next intersection.
Days passed—one day, two days—yet Anna still did not see Park Chan-yeol.
He has truly made a new choice.
The last remnants of his thoughts have finally worn away. Anna looked at herself in the mirror; her hair had grown a bit longer, she washed her face, put on a cotton coat, and went to the barber to get a haircut.
She wandered aimlessly, took the subway, and arrived at the SBS building. Watching the busy people coming in and out, and not far away, the 24-hour convenience store by the street, through the clean glass window, it seemed she could vaguely see that smiling face from when she had opened her eyes in a daze.
Everything started here, and now it should completely end here as well.
There was no moment of silence, no mourning. Letting go was enough.
"Anna, Park Chan-yeol's father has died." KAI called.
Although Anna knew he had been seriously ill, this news still came as a surprise. "What?"
"Anna, do you know about that incident?"
"What incident?"
There seemed to be a commotion on the other end of the line. Just as Anna was feeling puzzled, the call ended. When she tried to call back, it was turned off.
But Anna felt a flicker of hope inside her; perhaps it was because of Park Anqing's passing that Park Chan-yeol had yet to come looking for her. Could it be because of that?
If so, shouldn't there have been at least one phone call?
All hopeful speculations are ultimately easily overturned.
Anna felt exhausted, an unprecedented kind of tiredness. She really didn't want to participate in those matters anymore; she just wanted to throw everything aside and live a bland and uneventful life like before.
However, when she saw Han Yoon-soo appear before her in dull black and white clothing, Anna could sense from the weariness on her face the sorrow that Park Anqing's death had brought her. What about Park Chan-yeol? How was he doing now?
Having aimlessly wandered outside for an entire day, Anna's movements were slow even when searching for her keys. She opened the door and said to Han Yoon-soo, who was standing by the door, "Come in and sit down."
Han Yoon-soo sat on the sofa without saying a word. There was no makeup on her face, and she looked slightly aged. She kept staring at Anna as if confirming something.
Anna brought a glass of water and placed it in front of her. Han Yoon-soo took a sip and held it in her hands.
"You must have already heard about my husband's death, Anna," Han Yoon-soo asked.
"Yes," Anna nodded. "I already know."
"Chan-yeol and Jiang Baoyan were not engaged."
Anna remained silent.
Han Yoon-soo looked at Anna and said, "Anna, I don't know what happened between you two. Clearly, Chan-yeol said on the day of the ceremony that he would cancel it to find you, but now, no matter what I say, he refuses to see you."
Anna's heart sank.
"What on earth happened?" Tears streamed down Han Yoon-soo's face. "Anqing is dead, and you two have ended up like this."
"Who knows? He doesn't want to see me; he has his reasons. He has made his choice," Anna said bitterly, raising the corners of her mouth but reddening her eyes.
"Anna, Chan-yeol is really upset right now, he's on the verge of breaking down. He hasn't cried a single tear; I know he's holding it in, battling with himself inside. I'm scared, scared that he might collapse," Han Yoon-soo said, crying. "Anqing is gone, Chan-yeol can't fall apart now. If he does, the entire Park Group will collapse."
"What can I do?" She wondered what identity she could possibly present to Park Chan-yeol. She didn't even understand why she had inexplicably become someone he despised.
"Will you come with me to see him? As long as he can say something, even if he can cry a little, that would be good. Anqing treated me so well when he was alive; now that he's gone, I absolutely cannot let Chan-yeol get into trouble."
Anna looked at Han Yoon-soo. "If I go, will Park Chan-yeol be okay? If he wanted to see me, he would have come to find me already. Do you know? He has already given up on me; do you understand?"
"Anna, I'm asking you as a favor. Go see Chan-yeol; if this continues, something terrible will really happen," Han Yoon-soo pleaded.
Anna admitted that she did want to see Park Chan-yeol, even just to confirm that he was alright. However, she knew that there were things changing in his heart regarding this situation. What those things were and why they existed, Anna did not know, nor did she understand what the outcome of continuing like this would be.
After a long silence, Anna stood up and walked to the window. "Alright, I'll go with you to see him."
The car drove in silence, completely different from the joyful atmosphere before. Each person was lost in their own thoughts, carrying their own regrets and sadness.
They arrived at the courtyard again, facing the closed gate once more.
Walking along the path in the courtyard, they reached the closed wooden sliding door.
"Why are you here again?!" The silent atmosphere was shattered by a sharp voice filled with hatred. Looking in the direction of the voice, Jang Bo-Yeon approached quickly. Before Anna could turn around, she felt a slap across her face.
Han Yoon-soo wanted to step in to protect Anna but didn't have time to react.
Anna felt a ringing in her ears from the slap; her face burned red and hot.
“Jiang Baoyan, what are you doing?” Han Yoon-soo quickly stepped in front of Anna to stop Jang Bo-Yeon from rushing forward.
“Auntie, why did you let her come? Why, why?” Jang Bo-Yeon cried out, completely dropping any pretense. “It’s all because of this woman that everyone is suffering like this. Why do you still let her come?”
“Jiang Baoyan, Anna hasn’t done anything…”
“Who says she hasn’t!” Jang Bo-Yeon interrupted Han Yoon-soo. “I saw everything. It was her; she colluded with others to do all of this. It’s all her fault!”
“No, it must be a misunderstanding,” Han Yoon-soo said. She turned to Anna and urged, “You should go in quickly; he’s inside.”
Anna nodded blankly, ignoring Jang Bo-Yeon’s curses outside as she pushed the door open. The dim light illuminated a figure briefly before disappearing as the door closed.
“You’re here,” Park Chan-yeol’s voice was low and hoarse.
Anna nodded and slowly walked over to Park Chan-yeol’s side. The light was dim, making it hard to see each other’s expressions.
“How have you been?” Anna asked.
Park Chan-yeol smirked and replied, “How could I not be good? As long as I’m alive, that’s enough.” He stood up to face Anna directly, and they locked eyes for a long moment before Chan-yeol said, “Anna, I thought you were beautiful the first time I saw you, and you’re still just as beautiful now.”
Anna calmly responded, “I understood why so many girls like you the first time I met you.”
Park Chan-yeol opened his arms and gently pulled Anna into an embrace. At first, it was light, but then his strong grip made Anna feel like her bones might break. Tears streamed down her face instantly, but there was no sound. This was a hug she had waited so long for.
Comment 0 Comment Count