"Ji-eun, if you dare to say another word about my husband, I will gouge out your throat," the words spoken by Soo-jin were cold and emotionless.
Grabbing Ji-eun's throat with a vice-like grip and pulling her hair with the other hand, Soo-jin looked Ji-eun in the eyes and spoke each word through gritted teeth.
"Trust me, trust me when I say this, if you dare to do that again, I will forget the fact that at some point we were friends and rip you to shreds right here, right now."
Ji-eun was in pain, unable to breathe. She desperately tapped on Soo-jin's hand, which was not loosening even a little. Looking at Soo-jin's murderous eyes, she thought that at this rate, she would definitely die.
Wanting to breathe, to keep her dear life, she mustered every last breath she had left to utter the words in hopes that Soo-jin would forgive her, saying with a cracked and broken voice, "S-sorry..."
As Soo-jin was choking Ji-eun, forgetting that mere moments ago she had felt fortunate to have a friend like her, right now Soo-jin was not in her right mind.
Ji-eun felt like she was dying. Even after muttering the apology with her last breath, Soo-jin's hand was not loosening. Looking at the emotionless Soo-jin standing in front of her, until this moment, she had never seen this side of her friend. She had never seen Soo-jin this angry before. With her ruined makeup, Soo-jin, in Ji-eun's eyes, looked like a demon from hell.
"Soo-jin, what are you doing?"
As the voice fell, Soo-jin felt an uncontrollable anger fill her head, and the atmosphere around her became even more chilling. Looking ahead to where the voice came from, seeing her own mother standing there, she felt like she could burst and take her life at any moment.
Subconsciously releasing Ji-eun from her grip, making eye contact with her mother, Soo-jin wanted to rip apart her own mother.
"Cough, cough, cough."
"Cough, cough, cough."
"As Ji-eun was coughing and gasping for air, Yoon Hye-rin, Soo-jin's mother, shivered in fear. Looking into Soo-jin's eyes, seeing her staring without blinking, she felt a sense of danger, as if taking even a single step forward would lead to her death without question.
Shaking her head and thinking, What am I thinking? Why would Soo-jin kill me? she glanced at Ji-eun's pitiful state. Putting her worries aside, she approached Ji-eun and began patting her back gently, trying to comfort her."
"Are you okay, Ji-eun? What happened here? Why were you fighting?"
Looking at Soo-jin not moving to help Ji-eun, she scolded her.
"Why were you grabbing Ji-eun's throat? Go and bring some water for Ji-eun."
"..."
Yoon Hye-rin, seeing Soo-jin not moving a bit and hearing no response from her, said again, "Don't you know everyone is waiting for you?"
Seeing her ruined makeup, she added, "What have you done to your face? What would Mrs. Choi Ji-young and your husband think of you?"
As their eyes met yet again, Yoon Hye-rin shivered in fear, seeing Soo-jin's bloodshot eyes, without blinking, staring at her with clenched fists.
As Soo-jin was staring at her mother, she wanted to burn Yoon Hye-rin alive, give her the most miserable death possible. Hearing the same name she hated the most in the past, Choi Ji-young, from her mother again, she muttered,
"Choi Ji-young, huh..."
Soo-jin, hearing the name Choi Ji-young, this time felt no anger, unlike her past self, when just hearing that name would trigger her.
But now, instead, she felt thankful—thankful to Mrs. Choi for forcing this marriage, thankful to Mrs. Choi for giving her the best husband in this world.
Unclutching her hand as she calmed down, remembering Joon-ho was still waiting for her, Soo-jin ran inside.
Avoiding her mother, she hurried back to the room. Amidst this, Yoon Hye-rin helped Ji-eun. Inside, Soo-jin washed her face, and looking at the mirror, even without makeup, she looked stunning.
Confirming that she looked okay, she ran toward the wedding hall as soon as possible.
While Soo-jin was running, feeling her hands empty, she recalled she had forgotten to take the flowers from the desk.
In a hurry, seeing the flowers in the vase ahead, not knowing if they were real or fake, she grabbed them without hesitation.
Without stopping for a moment, she ran towards Joon-ho, who was waiting for her. As Soo-jin ran, both Ji-eun and Hye-rin followed behind her.
Donning the veil outside and opening the hall's door, looking straight ahead, she saw Joon-ho standing and looking at the door, waiting for her to arrive, it seemed.
As their eyes met, there were countless emotions swirling in their gazes.
Soo-jin, looking through the veil, locking eyes with Joon-ho, could hear Joon-ho's voice in her head saying,
"You look stunning as always."
While Soo-jin thought she was imagining it, she responded in her mind with a smile visible to Joon-ho, saying,
"You too."
As Joon-ho heard Soo-jin's voice in his head replying, "You too," he also thought he was hallucinating it—hallucinating the fact that Soo-jin was smiling right now.
Seeing Soo-jin's smile, Joon-ho was stunned momentarily, awestruck by her beauty, opposite him as Soo-jin walked without blinking, gazing into Joon-ho's eyes, she thought:
"If this turns out to be reality and if God has given me a second chance, then this time I will make everything right, everything perfect, a happy ending for both of us.
But if this is just a memory, then I am thankful to God from the bottom of my heart for showing me and letting me live the best moment of my life again."
Opposite her, Joon-ho, seeing Soo-jin's dazzling smile, thought the same thing:
"If this turns out to be reality and if God has given me a second chance, then this time I will make everything right, everything perfect, a happy ending for both of us.
But if this is just a memory, then I am thankful to God from the bottom of my heart for showing me and letting me live the best moment of my life again."