chapter 1
#1. Third divorce
It’s been a long time since I’ve been to court.
“Your document submission has been completed, sir.”
I thought he would look a little embarrassed, but the staff seems to have gotten used to this job already. It went on to the next task without any major difference.
I pushed the glass door with a timid gait and left the entrance.
“Are you done?”
“Yes.”
She asked me as she opened her mouth from the coffee she was drinking.
“Then, are we all alone now?”
“That’s right.”
It’s really over.
It’s the end of a few times… But when will I get used to it? This feeling.
“Live well. And a woman like me. Don’t make more…”
The woman who was my wife until just ten minutes ago had her tail curled.
“Just live alone.”
After saying those words, she made a noise and walked away from me.
It was a strangely sunny day.
This was my third divorce as an S-class hunter.
* *
[This is breaking news. The strongest S-class hunter representing Korea. Choi In-wook’s divorce rumors have been confirmed!]
[After all, the saying that heroes have many beauties is not to say for nothing! Obviously, if you have that level of wealth and power, even if you get married 10 more times, it’s not a problem at all!]
[Surprisingly, did you know that his marriage partners were all academy classmates!]
[Then, a special feature of all-time star hunters who were his wives! Let’s start now!]
Wajang Chang.
I picked up the remote control and threw it as hard as I could toward the screen where the news was flowing.
The screen was smashed and pieces of glass were scattered on the floor.
Talking without knowing anything.
He flopped on the sofa and grabbed his head.
Ha…
I picked up the jacket I had taken off at random, took out a cigarette and lit it.
The fact that it’s okay to smoke in the house felt even more painful.
It was really the last time…
It was the first time.
The woman who married me even though I knew I was infertile.
But I lost her gear because I repeated her mistakes like her nerd.
What do S-class hunters do?
I can’t protect a single person of mine.
The various decorations and plaques hung on the wall just seemed ridiculous.
I brushed the cigarette ashes on the floor without ashes.
I inhaled until my lungs hurt, but I didn’t feel any better, so I picked up the liquor from the cupboard and drank the whole bottle.
It feels like your throat is burning.
Suddenly rising drunkenness.
I walked up to the top floor terrace with a bottle of liquor.
Super luxury officetel. Among them, the scenery allowed only to the most expensive top floor seemed meaningless.
I don’t have anyone to see with, so what’s important?
It was so high up that I couldn’t even see people walking around the street.
But I wasn’t afraid at all, knowing that I had nothing more to lose.
Yes. Let’s die
It doesn’t have to be S-class, so in the next life…
I wish you a healthy and happy married life.
* *
“Inwook-ah! You have to get up!”
Mom…?
It was a familiar voice.
“Hey, Inwook. No, if you say you’re going to school today, is it okay to wake up so late?”
Mouth… Crane…?
It didn’t take long for me to have a gut feeling that something was wrong.
The three-bedroom apartment where I lived with my parents before I properly became a hunter.
I woke up there.
Are you still dreaming? Or maybe it was the afterlife, so I slapped my cheeks as hard as I could, but nothing happened.
My cheeks are dear. Even when he was young, his plump cheeks before he became brittle were red and swollen.
I looked in the mirror and couldn’t help but admit it.
For some reason, I went back to before entering the academy.
“Inwook-ah! Why didn’t you come out to eat… Oh!”
It was nice to see my mother who had become much younger.
“Why is your cheek that shape! Who hit you?”
I got up silently and hugged her mother tightly.
When I turned 30, her mother’s illness rapidly deteriorated.
I’ve tried to improve my mother’s illness somehow because money doesn’t matter, but I just got the answer that the technology of modern medicine is not enough.
In the end, the mother spent 10 years in the hospital as her vegetative state.
“No, really, what’s going on…?”
Worried about her voice.
“No. Nothing happened… I’m just happy.”
I was in tears.
“Mom. What day is it today?”
“Isn’t it March 1st? No matter how much sleep you wake up, it’s like that. After singing a song saying that you’re going to school like that… Is it really okay, son?”
I started to remember little by little.
If my memory is correct, I am today. It was going to be the first time I met them.
Wives from previous lives.
Ha… Should I run away…
To be honest, I didn’t have the confidence to face them again casually.
But at the same time, admission to the academy was essential for this cadet to live as a hunter.
What…
The current time is 8:30. The entrance ceremony starts at 11 am.
The time allotted to me was about two hours.
Okay.
Let’s check one thing first.
After wearing the academy uniform for the first time in decades, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.
It’s a pure white blazer now, but by the time I graduate, I’m the president of the student council, the chief and so on. I graduated with a bunch of brooches.
Hurriedly, after finishing the meal my mother had made, I left the word that I would go and ran out into the street.
Even though I ran a little bit, I could feel my breathing slowing down, probably because my body hadn’t done any physical training yet.
And this is where I arrived after running like crazy.
Urology.
Even though the hospital was not yet open, I went first and stood at the entrance.
Both the nurses and doctors on the way to work looked at me with puzzled eyes.
I thought it could be.
Well, how many cases do young people who still have a bright future see a urology department, sweating profusely from 9:00 in the morning?
At least in my previous life I had never seen it.
Ding Dong.
“Choi In-wook. Please come in.”
I heard the doctor’s voice.
The middle-aged doctor looked at my questionnaire and tilted his head.
“Mr. Inwook Choi. I’m 20 years old. Did you come to see me because of something urgent or something?”
The doctor seemed curious as to why I came.
“That’s it…”
* *
This life was different.
I was… Not infertile.
After receiving the test results, I asked the question again and again.
[Teacher! Can I have a real child?]
[Heh heh. No, young people have a lot to worry about. Don’t worry, you’re healthy.]
[Really? It’s really possible, right?]
[Are you doubting my history now? Even if I look like this, urology career…]
My heart was beating fast.
As a top-notch hunter, I felt like I could achieve the only dream I could not achieve this time.
Eel, oysters, and garlic, which I used to eat so tediously, were now goodbye.
Is it possible for me? A normal marriage…?
And thoughts that follow naturally.
I remembered a fact I had forgotten for a while.
If you’re getting married… The person you’re talking about is…
Three women passed through my head.
Two people divorced due to infertility.
One person lost just because of my mistake.
Surprisingly, the problem was that all of them were in the academy I was going to attend from today.
* *
The entrance to the academy was crowded with students.
Like other students, I was looking at the bulletin board to find my class.
Sir… How many classes were there?
It must have been like the 5th or 7th class.
I can’t remember properly because I’m old.
After scanning the list with my eyes, I finally found my name.
[Choi Inwook. Class 7]
I thought it was class 5, but it’s a pity. 🥺
I followed the crowd to the classroom.
As in the beginning of every semester, people in groups and lonely people caught my eye.
Anyway, the fact that I can’t remember seeing their faces now is a story that these people don’t need to know in the future.
It was clear that he died somewhere or was a low-ranking hunter.
But. As expected, the person I will never forget caught my eye.
Harin Yoon.
The woman who was my first wife.
She, who was sitting by her window, turned her head and looked at me.
Did I stare blankly for too long?
It seemed that he was conscious of my gaze.
When I looked back at my ex-wife when I was young, the feeling was subtle.
Yeah… I was distracted by that black hair and cute looks.
I turned my head and sat down at any remaining seat.
After a while, a person named the homeroom teacher came in.
“Come on. Everyone has prepared a self-introduction letter. Did you bring it?”
Huh? Did i get it
Actually, I just came out with a bag, but I didn’t check what was in it at all.
Once I rummaged through my bag, I found a self-introduction letter in the folder.
In the field where I write my aspirations, I laughed out loud saying [I will become the strongest hunter on earth and travel the world].
I went to something similar.
After being drenched in memories for a while, the person in the back seat started to roll up the cover letter.
Clearly, a student passed in front of me, but for some reason, my cover letter remained in my seat.
What did you bring? I was going to grab it
The homeroom teacher called and checked each person’s name to see if they had all paid for it correctly.
“Bomi Choi. Hyesun Yoon. Jungmin Park. Ummm? What is this?”
He took out a piece of paper as if puzzled.
“Choi In-wook.”
“Yes?”
I was checking what paper I had taken, and he asked me.
“Hey. At what age did you go through tests like this~ little boy.”
It seems that the previous student accidentally took my test result sheet.
“He’s still healthy! You don’t have to worry about the baby, hehe.”
It was that moment.
Patter.
The sound of a pencil case falling from the seat by the window was heard loudly.
…For some reason, Yun Ha-rin was looking at me with trembling eyes.