The marketplace was quite busy during the day. It was sprawling with people buying groceries and sellers were selling things ranging from vegetables to freshly caught fish from the rivers. Buyers were mostly middle aged women haggling for the prices while the vendors were arguing to keep the market price.
"Ten dollars for five fish is too much!" one buyer complained. "I bought each piece for one dollar! Give me half off!"
Another seller was proudly showing off her fresh haul of chicken meat. "I butchered them on my farm!" she was boasting. "Fed them the best seeds and grains. You won't find any better than these."
The market was buzzed with people. One girl, Goo Saki, was wandering around on her own. She was a bright college student in her early twenties. Being a newbie in Seoul, she was excited to start her new life in her university. It was a surreal experience to have left her hometown Daegu and move to the big city all on her own. Her parents were a little skeptical but she managed to convince them.
In the big city, she was in awe of the busy life people led. Everyone was so engrossed in their worlds that no one even gave a second glance at others. She felt a little lonely yet empowered to think that she is on her own now.
"Your luck will run out."
A voice came out of nowhere, startling her. Saki looked around to see an old woman sitting nearby.
The woman was draped in red clothes. Her hair was snowy white and there were strange markings on her face. Those looked like some sort of ancient symbols. Her neck was adorned with a shell necklace while her eyes were a pale brown color. She looked...ancient.
"Your luck will run out," the woman claimed. Saki felt uncomfortable at those words.
"What are you implying, grandmother?" Saki asked politely.
"The things you are expecting won't come to you," the old woman said. She took out a pair of dice and rolled them on the ground. The dice stopped at the number 6.
Saki was very curious. From the looks of it, the woman was a shaman. Even though Saki did not believe in fortune telling, there was something about the woman which attracted her attention.
"Very soon, you will meet a man in blue clothings," the old woman predicted. "He will be everything you want in a man. Good looking, rich, loyal and attentive."
Saki could not help but beam in happiness. A man? Saki had always dreamt of a happy life with someone she loved. Was the old lady telling the truth?
"I will fall in love?" she asked happily.
"Yes," the old woman replied.
"Will he love me a lot?"
"Yes."
Saki could not help but be excited. It sounded too good to be true but nevertheless, she felt like living in the dream.
"You have to stay away from him," the old woman's words broke through her reverie.
"What?" Saki asked in confusion.
"That man will love you," she stated. "But he will be the end of you."
Saki stood up. "What are you babbling about?" she scoffed. "I'm gonna meet a rich and kind man but I have to stay away from him? What nonsense! All this is a hoax!"
With that, she walked off, leaving the old woman behind. What a bunch of dumb words, Saki fumed. I shouldn't have listened to her.
The old woman watched her go and sighed. "Don't blame me for not warning you," she muttered as she took out a red book and crossed off a name from it. "Another bust."
Very soon, Saki removed the encounter from her mind. She did not remember the old woman's words at all. A few days later, her friend set her up on a blind date with Kwon Shiyoon, a second generation chaebol.
Saki entered the cafe to see Shiyoon sitting there, waiting for her. He was wearing a blue suit which complimented his handsome features. Saki felt very conscious of her own looks. She was short and her face was a bit plump. The guy in front of her had jet black hair and dazzling blue eyes. He's gorgeous, she thought.
"Hello, I am Shiyoon," he bowed his head slightly. "I am highly disappointed though."
Saki stiffened at those words but Shiyoon smiled and remarked, "Your friend Cece did not mention how beautiful you are."
His compliment brought a smile to her face.They chatted there for hours and very soon, were dating each other. Shiyoon was the perfect gentleman. He treated her very well and always bought expensive gifts for her.
"You don't need to buy these!" Saki exclaimed one night when he gifted her a rare ruby necklace.
"Anything for my princess," he said, leaning over to kiss her. "I want to spoil you."
After six months of dating, he proposed to her and she immediately said yes. Everything was going perfectly for her and very soon, she was walking down the aisle to marry the man of her dreams. His face gleamed up in happiness as he saw his bride approaching him in the beautiful white gown. Saki's happiness knew no limit. They were together forever.
….
And then it started. A never ending nightmare which defined her life. At first, Saki had ignored it. But later, it became too unbearable. Shiyoon kept on getting calls from different girls especially at night.
"They're my business partners," he assured her. "You know how things are. I have to keep good relations with them."
"Alright," Saki had said. "But why do you have to talk with them late into the night?"
"They live in other countries so the time differences are a pain," Shiyoon said.
And Saki believed his words like a naive idiot. But the calls continued until one evening, Saki walked into the house after finishing work off early. She was feeling sick, so she took half the day off.
As soon as she entered the house, she heard giggling sounds coming from upstairs. Is it a thief? She wondered in fear. Quietly picking up a poker stick from the chimney, she headed towards the sound. It was coming from her bedroom. She slowly opened the door only to receive a great shock.
Her husband was lying on the bed naked while a blonde woman was giving him a blowjob.
"What the hell?" she shrieked. Immediately, the two of them scrambled up.
"S-saki…" Shiyoon stuttered but Saki was not listening. She was beyond herself and began to hit the woman. The woman screamed as Saki beat her with the stick.
"HOW DARE YOU?" she screamed like a mad woman. "HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HIM?"
But the woman grabbed the stick and they struggled. Both of the women were beating each other now and rolled off outside while Shiyoon tried to separate them. He pulled Saki apart but she began to pounce on him as well.
"LET ME GO!" Saki shrieked.
"Calm down!" Shiyoon begged but Saki kept on clawing at him. In his desperation, he pushed her only for Saki to stumble and lose her balance. She fell off the stairs and landed on the lower floor with a thud. Her head was bleeding profusely.
"What do we do now?" the woman asked in fear.
"Don't worry," Shiyoon said. "No one knows we're inside the house since we used the back door and there's no security cameras there. We'll clean up here, go back to the office and pretend nothing happened. Let her bleed out and die here! I'll return later and pretend that she fell off the stairs. She was a nag anyway. Good riddance."
Saki was still conscious when she heard those words but she was losing so much blood that she could not even lift a finger. She watched on as her husband and his mistress dressed up and left her there. She lost track of the minutes as her consciousness kept on slipping away.
As she was about to close her eyes, she dimly registered the clanking of boots. Someone was approaching her. Was it Shiyoon?
A red figure stooped over her. It was a woman.
"Pity," Cherry commented as she flicked her red hair. Her brown eyes scrutinised the dying girl.
"Are...you a grim reaper…" Saki managed to whisper.
"No," Cherry replied. "I'm simply a person who was tasked to change your fate. Do you want another chance to change it?"
Cherry leaned in closer. "I can give you the chance of a lifetime. Either choose to die or reverse time to relive your life differently and avoid this fate. Make your choice."
Saki could not fathom what was going on. All she wanted to do was to live. If she could reverse time, she would never meet that man again. The man who ruined her...she would destroy him!
"I...want...to...live…" she breathed. Cherry stood up.
"Then go and live," she said, snapping her fingers. A flash of bright light engulfed them. The hands of the clock reversed as Saki felt herself being pulled from every direction until she found herself standing inside a cafe.
"What the-"
She glanced around to see a handsome man, wearing a blue suit, sitting at one of the tables. Shiyoon, she realized. But how? Was it all a dream?
Saki did not wait to find out. She slowly backed out of the cafe and walked away, leaving the clueless asshole behind. Unbeknownst to her, a woman in her late twenties was quietly observing her from afar. She wore a red dress and her red hair was tied in a loose bun. She carried a cane in her hand and her brown eyes watched the girl leave the cafe.
"Another fate changed," Cherry said as she sipped her coffee. She then turned to the cashier. "Can I have three tiramisu, two hot chocolate fudge cakes, two cheesecakes and a cup of sweet latte please?" she ordered.
The cashier stared at her in disbelief. It was hard to imagine such an elegant and shapely woman to be a consuming so much carbs.
"Oh and add two lemon cakes with it," Cherry smiled.