AOA 6

Still, I didn’t worry too much.

Just like before the regression, all I had to do was go through a distant, indifferent marriage with Baek Mugyeong and eventually get divorced.

Letting out a long breath helped clear my head a little.

What mattered right now wasn’t Baek Mugyeong, but crafting the perfect plan for divorce.

I rubbed my face with both hands, then lay down on the bed.

Step by step, I went over what I needed to do.

First, I needed money.

Marriage would partially solve that.

The chairman of the Daesong Group would deposit a nine-digit sum into my account as a wedding gift.

I had to grow that money.

Running away or disappearing without a word would be a last resort.

Ideally, I’d use the excuse of not manifesting as an omega to get divorced.

A year seemed like the right amount of time.

My biological father would be furious, but that wasn’t my concern.

Once divorced, I’d cut ties and walk away.

Whether my father would let me go peacefully was uncertain.

But I knew his weaknesses—maybe that would be enough.

If not, leaving Korea altogether was another option.

Of course, that would take a lot of money.

Still, with knowledge of the future, I could manage.

I didn’t remember the winning lottery numbers, but I did know the stock market trends.

There were a few company names I recalled that would spike in the short term.

Honestly, I didn’t know a thing about stocks.

I’d been an ordinary office worker; stocks, crypto, and futures were things I only ever saw in the news.

But if I studied, I figured I could at least learn to buy and sell.

There were plenty of apps for that these days.

Or I could just pick the right stocks and hand them to a professional investor.

Once I got married, my father’s surveillance would ease up, and I’d have a lot more freedom.

As long as I didn’t report my every move to him, it would be fine.

There were other things I needed to do too.

One of them was to get back at Jeong Guhyeon.

I had agreed to this political marriage because I needed money.

Half of the mess that was our marriage had been my fault.

But I could never forgive Jeong Guhyeon.

My so-called family had been worse than strangers.

My father used me, my stepmother looked at me like I was a bug, and my half-brother bullied me.

Every time I saw him, he’d go after my shins.

And he actually killed me.

Somehow, I had to return the favor. Only then would I feel better.

I didn’t have a concrete plan yet.

Still, imagining Jeong Guhyeon getting beaten up by someone made me feel a little better.

After staying tense all day, my body finally started to relax.

The big bed was soft, the room air was dry and warm.

I felt myself drifting off, but I didn’t force my eyes open.

If I slept just a bit, I’d wake up with a clearer mind.

Slowly, I slipped into sleep.

It felt eerily similar to the moment I had died.

At some point, Jeong Guhyeon was strangling me.

His face was twisted with malice as he sneered, telling me to die.

Alcohol poured into my mouth.

The stench of liquor made my head spin.

I couldn’t breathe properly.

It felt like I’d die again, just as helplessly as before.

Get away, save me, I don’t want to die, no, no, no, I’ll get revenge, Mom—

I screamed, crushed by fear.

I struggled to shake him off, but my body wouldn’t move.

It was unfair. It drove me mad.

I was terrified. It was horrible. I couldn’t breathe.

“…Hey! Jeong Minchae!”

Someone shouted my name loudly.

My body was shaking violently.

Only when I was half lifted off the bed did my vision change.

Jeong Guhyeon was gone.

But I didn’t know where I was.

“Jeong Minchae. Are you awake?”

Baek Mugyeong stood over me, backlit by a bright light.

I didn’t understand why someone who should be dead was here.

I wanted to ask what he meant earlier, what exactly I’d done to make him so angry.

Had I wronged him in some way? Had I done something terrible to him?

“Why are you…?”

My voice trembled terribly, barely more than a whisper.

“You seemed to be having a nightmare, so I woke you.”

“Ah…”

Only then did my senses return.

Just like he said, it had been a nightmare.

A terrible one.

I was soaked in sweat.

Then I remembered why Baek Mugyeong was here.

I’d gone back in time.

We’d had a non-date arranged meeting earlier today.

I hadn’t died.

I was still alive.

Relieved, I squeezed my eyes shut.

They felt hot, maybe I’d cried in my sleep.

“Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m fine. Thank you for waking me, Baek Mugyeong.”

I rubbed my eyes with both hands and slowly sat up.

I’d fallen asleep in a suit and dreamed of being murdered.

It was embarrassing that Baek Mugyeong had seen me like that.

Still, I was grateful.

He’d saved me from the nightmare.

“Do you remember what you dreamed about?”

“No. Just… it was scary.”

I was going to say I didn’t remember at all, but I gave a vague answer.

If he’d come into the room from the living room, I must’ve been screaming a lot.

I probably shouted things like “save me” or “I don’t want to die.”

Even that much was enough, Baek Mugyeong didn’t seem like he’d pry further.

As I stared at him, his expression tightened slightly before he stood up.

“I’ll get you some water.”

“…It’s okay.”

He left the room without even finishing listening to me.

Soon he returned with a bottle of water.

Trying to gather myself, I rubbed my face again and thanked him.

I took the bottle from him.

Only after drinking the cool water did I realize how thirsty I was.

I drank nearly the whole thing in one go.

Baek Mugyeong stayed nearby the entire time.

Looking again, he was dressed more comfortably now.

He’d taken off his suit jacket and vest, and was only wearing a shirt and slacks, no tie.

It was a look I’d barely seen even after two years of marriage.

Strangely, he looked more intimidating like this than in a full three-piece suit.

When I first met him, I’d been more envious of his broad, strong build than his handsome face.

Even now, after regression, I still felt the same.

If I had been that big, I could’ve easily beaten someone like Jeong Guhyeon.

Shoving the envy aside, I capped the bottle.

Then I looked at Baek Mugyeong with a gaze that asked if he had anything more to say.

“Jeong Minchae.”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever been threatened with murder?”

“…No.”

My heart sank.

I hadn’t expected that question.

And it was true, I’d never been threatened in this timeline.

Jeong Guhyeon had only tried to kill me before the regression.

But Baek Mugyeong didn’t seem to believe me.

His stiff expression didn’t relax.

“Do you remember what you were screaming?”

“I think I was yelling ‘no’ and ‘save me.’”

“And?”

“I don’t remember anything else.”

I feigned ignorance.

People scream all sorts of nonsense in nightmares, so I thought I could pass it off.

But as I stared into Baek Mugyeong’s sharply focused eyes, I realized that bluffing wasn’t for everyone.

Even though I wasn’t lying, my heart pounded hard.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed.

He was by the door.

Thankfully, the distance was too far for him to hear my racing heartbeat.

We stared at each other.

This time, he was the one who broke the silence again.

“Let’s go with that.”

“…?”

“As promised, I won’t interfere.”

“Yes.”

He was saying, You’re clearly hiding something, but I’ll leave it alone.

I nodded slightly, signaling to end the conversation here.

“If you have another nightmare, I’ll wake you again. Good night.”

With a polite nod, Baek Mugyeong turned and left the room.

I was alone again, but the tension didn’t ease easily.

I forced myself to take a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut.

My eyelids were warm. My head throbbed.

I was glad Baek Mugyeong wasn’t the type to meddle.

If he had kept pressing me about what happened, I wouldn’t have been able to keep a straight face.

“Haah…”

A sigh escaped me.

I hadn’t been in my right mind all day since opening my eyes this morning.

All I’d focused on was planning how to safely divorce and escape.

The fact that Jeong Guhyeon had murdered me didn’t even register as that important.

I was alive now, and that was enough, for now.

I only vaguely thought I’d get revenge someday.

My body had been sending me warning signs since the morning, but I dismissed it.

I thought the pounding heart and short breath were just side effects of regression.

In the end, the moment of my murder had come back to me in a nightmare.

Even in my dreams, I thought I’d die.

It was proof I wasn’t okay.

I hadn’t had any drug side effects, but my mind was still fraying.

I probably needed therapy.

But now wasn’t the time.

If I went to a hospital, my father would find out immediately.

And he was the kind of man who believed therapy was for the weak-willed.

Just hold on a bit longer.

Once I got married, I’d have the time to go to a hospital.

Since we’d agreed not to interfere in each other’s lives, Baek Mugyeong wouldn’t say anything.

I came to that conclusion and scrubbed my face with both hands.

Maybe because I cried during the nightmare, my eyes were badly swollen.