Chapter 20: The Priest Bleeding Everyone's Ears
After five seconds of bowing to the Lord, the audience sat down as the old priest began to speak, delivering the words he had been paid for:
"At this time, I will share a passage from the Bible that speaks of love and marriage, reminding us of the beauty and strength that comes from a union rooted in love and faith.
From 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
Hearing this passage again after so long, Soo-jin felt the truth of these words deeply.
Joon-ho was always patient, always kind with me. He never envied, never boasted, never disrespected me.
I've never seen him angry, not once did he hold my mistakes against me.
Her thoughts raced as she reflected on the man standing beside her. The things I said were always true to him.
He never denied me, not even once. Heck, I bet if I stabbed someone, he would have cheered me on, telling me I did great.
Ha, what am I even thinking? she thought with a bittersweet smile. He always protected me, trusted me, hoped, and persevered in his love... so selflessly, so one-sidedly.
Tightly shutting her eyes, she thought, I was so foolish back then, blindly believing everything Tae-hyun told me.
Like a puppet, I obeyed him, wagging my tail like some loyal dog. Thinking about that now enrages me to the point where I... I... don't know what to do.
As Soo-jin's thoughts reached this point, her nails on her clenched fists started digging into her flesh.
How is this possible? I.., I..., I should hurt him too. I should strangle him to death, throw him from the stairs like he wanted to do to me.
Thinking like that, her body shook slightly, as if in protest to her own thoughts.
But I can't, I can't, I can't. Even the thought of hurting Tae-hyun makes my heart ache.
How is this possible? Do I still have feelings for him? that's impossible As this thought crept into her mind, her body trembled more violently.
Do I still love him? No, no, no—this can't be. This is impossible! Even after seeing with my own eyes how he treated me, how he betrayed me, how he wanted me dead? How he confessed his true feelings, holding my throat, strangling me, wanting to push me from the stairs.
His eyes, looking at me, were full of disgust and loathing, as if everything was a play for him and now the play is over.
Tae-hyun's last confession still echoed in her head, even now.
"From the start, I never loved you. I hated you more than anyone. Because of Joon-ho, I pretended to be in love with you and made you fall for me.
Joon-ho was happy when you entered his life, and I wanted to snatch that happiness away. I wanted to see him broken, heartbroken, begging in despair—and thanks to you, I achieved that effortlessly.
Do you honestly believe Joon-ho didn't know you were cheating on him? He knew from the start. I loved watching his face fill with despair every time. Now, are you satisfied? Then goodbye, sweetheart."
Soo-jin remembering Tae-hyun's confession, remembering his disgust filled eyes, her heart shattered.
But... but the love we shared, the care we showed, the affection we had—was that all a lie? Was that all a pretense?
More than that, opening her eyes violently and looking towards Joon-ho's happy smile, she thought with shaking pupils, Each time I betrayed Joon-ho, I was driving the knife deeper and deeper into his heart.
How must he have felt, knowing his own beloved was with another man? At that time, when I found out Tae-hyun had betrayed me, I had no words to express how I felt.
How must he have felt, knowing I was betraying him for many, many years? Why didn't he break up with me or get a divorce? Why, after finding out, did he not throw this filthy body away?
How can you love someone so much, Joon-ho?'"
Back then, Tae-hyun would smile so wide when I ran to him, but now I understand why.
It wasn't love... it was the satisfaction he felt seeing Joon-ho in misery. He smiled because every time he held me, he knew it shattered Joon-ho's heart.
How could I have been so blind? The man destiny had chosen for me, the one who stood by me through everything... was always Joon-ho and i betrayed him.
The past... I... I regret it so much.
Beside Soo-jin, standing on the podium, Joon-ho noticed her tightly shut eyes and trembling body.
He clenched his fists, the light in his eyes dimming as his own thoughts spiraled.
Why do you hate me so much, Soo-jin? Why? Just why? What have I done wrong? he thought bitterly.
Was this the day you started to hate me? Should I have stopped this wedding back then? If you weren't married to me, would you have been happier?
As they both struggled with their contrasting emotions, the old priest spoke once again:
"This passage teaches us that love is more than a feeling..."
As the priest's voice droned on, filling the hall with a sermon that seemed endless. He spoke for over five minutes until everyone's ears began to bleed, echoing his words repeatedly.
Joon-ho, seeing Soo-jin trembling before, thought she couldn't bear this marriage anymore, unwilling to look at her trembling figure. He got angry at the priest for making this so long and hard for Soo-jin.
Sighing, Joon-ho silently thought of cutting this church's donation in half.
The old priest enjoyed seeing everyone's souls leave their bodies and had a pleasing smile on his face, not knowing soon his church was going to have a big crisis.