Actually, It’s a Messy Melodrama Chapter 30

After a lifetime of struggling in a swamp of misfortune, the price Haeshin paid for dreaming, for a moment, of becoming Cinderella was wandering in a bottomless curse. He was worried that in his greed for excessive kindness to escape this hell, he might end up paying an even greater price.

The luck that had found its way into Haeshin’s life had always brought with it an even greater misfortune. There was no guarantee Han Taejun would be any different. After a long moment of thought, Haeshin spoke.

“First… thank you so much for the offer. I mean that sincerely. But it feels like too much to just accept.”

Taejun furrowed his brow.

“Didn’t you say you’d accept any kind of pity?”

“There’s almost never been pity this great in my life. You might not have any intention of getting something in return now, but that could change over time.”

“Do you see me as that petty?”

Towards Taejun, who was questioning him as if it were absurd, Haeshin replied with that familiar, warm smile.

“I don’t have the power to protect myself. Please understand. Once I go down the wrong path, I can’t go back.”

Even as he said it, Haeshin thought the words were quite laughable. It was a statement that was both true and false.

Haeshin had continuously relived his life, making a different choice each time, but because he couldn’t undo the very first choice he made, he kept walking down the wrong path.

Sincerely hoping that this wouldn’t lead to an even worse path, Haeshin continued.

“Having you clear my private debt… frankly, it’s such an alluring form of pity that I can’t bring myself to refuse. As you know, the interest is truly insane.”

As he spoke, Haeshin felt his heartbeat quicken.

As he repeated his timelines, Haeshin had grown to care less and less about the debt he had to repay. He had already met Jin Youngmin and marriage was inevitable, so it was meaningless to worry about money that Jin Youngmin would pay off anyway. It was similar to how he had stopped caring about his mother’s health.

That same Haeshin was now considering paying off his debt. That also meant his sense of anticipation was growing.

It felt like a future where he might not have to marry Jin Youngmin, a future where Jin Youngmin wouldn’t pay off his debt for him, was drawing noticeably closer. That’s why Haeshin could now feel the weight of the money he would have to steadily pay back.

“However… as I said, no matter how shameless I am, I can’t bring myself to just accept this. From now on, I will repay the debt to you, sir. I would be grateful if you let me pay it back without interest, and even more grateful if you let me pay it back slowly.”

Saying he wasn’t shameless and all that, but the words he added were quite audacious. Taejun let out a dry laugh.

“Seriously. In the end, you’re just telling me to accommodate you however you please.”

“Hey, I’m still paying back the money, aren’t I?”

Cha Haeshin smiled with a very ‘shameless’ face. Staring at that smile, this time, a real laugh, not a dry one, threatened to erupt.

Cha Haeshin’s shameless and audacious face somehow made people feel good. Even while thinking it was absurd, you’d find yourself wanting to give in to that shamelessness.

Is that why he’s so well-liked wherever he goes? Taejun thought to himself before hastily pulling down the corners of his mouth, which were about to turn up.

Just then, Cha Haeshin, who had wiped the smile from his face at some unknown point, looked straight at Taejun and said.

“Thank you, sir.”

It was a sincere voice, unlike any he had used before. As Taejun’s expression turned serious in response, Haeshin continued.

“I know you’re being very good to me. Whether it’s because you feel sorry for me or for some other reason I don’t know, I’m receiving great help. Thanks to you, sir, these days… I’m slowly starting to dream of a future. Thank you so much.”

He was sincere. Because Han Taejun had become a variable, because he had responded to Haeshin’s desperation, because he had shown gentle compassion even without knowing the full extent of Cha Haeshin’s misfortune, Haeshin could, bit by bit, dream of the future he had lost.

“What’s this, all of a sudden…”

Taejun averted his gaze, his face growing hot at the sudden thanks. Haeshin paid him no mind.

“I hope I can be of some small help to you someday, sir.”

At Haeshin’s heartfelt thanks, Taejun bit his lip. Would Cha Haeshin, who had appeared like a thunderbolt in his hell, be able to help him escape this hell? For now, no one could know.

☂️

“Phew…”

As soon as he opened his eyes in the morning, Taejun turned on his phone to check the date and let out a deep sigh of relief. Fortunately, a day had passed normally.

Lately, Taejun had developed a habit of checking the date as soon as he woke up every morning. It was to make sure he hadn’t regressed without realizing it.

He couldn’t mistake it since there was always a short premonition like tinnitus or dizziness when he regressed, yet he couldn’t help but feel anxious. He worried that this timeline might become null and void overnight, without any time to react.

What if all of Cha Haeshin’s memories with him disappeared? And what if he had to repeat this moment infinitely again?

After getting Haeshin’s consent, Taejun didn’t hesitate and immediately took care of all his debts. The principal wasn’t even that large. Cha Haeshin’s father was a pathetic man who couldn’t even borrow a large sum of money from loan sharks.

However, his mother, whose body was not in good shape after being beaten by that father, was in a position where she couldn’t work properly, and the interest, which grew rapidly while the still-young Haeshin was growing old enough to earn proper money, was a large sum for Cha Haeshin.

But what was it to Han Taejun? That debt, which held Cha Haeshin’s entire life in its grip, was, of course, nothing to Han Taejun. What’s more, they were pathetic trash who bowed their heads the moment they heard the name Myungjin and backed off, saying they would only take the principal.

For such a paltry sum of money, for such a person, Cha Haeshin had to work while sleeping only two or three hours a day and cater to the whims of drunk jerks. All while being grateful for the pity someone threw his way.

“What a life.”

Thinking of Cha Haeshin, a sigh escaped him automatically. Was that the only tragic life story? A few days ago, Taejun had heard from Secretary Choi about Cha Haeshin’s mother’s cancer diagnosis. At the same time, a memory popped into Taejun’s mind.

Taejun didn’t know what kind of time Jin Youngmin and Cha Haeshin had spent together until their marriage. However, one thing was certain: it had taken quite a long time for the two to get married. Youngmin had said that Haeshin had rejected him for a long time due to practical problems. At the time, no one had believed him, though.

In this timeline, Taejun was almost certain that Cha Haeshin had been forced into an unwanted marriage. He thought the probability of Haeshin, who saw his trashy father in Jin Youngmin, falling in love with him was slim.

But even if it wasn’t love, there were countless reasons to decide on marriage. Just looking at the people of Myungjin Group, there were plenty who had married without love for their own goals, for the interests of their family.

Wasn’t it possible that Cha Haeshin had made a similar choice? The endless debt that never seemed to get paid off, the medical bills he couldn’t handle on his own, and a person who appeared just in time like a knight in shining armor.

Even if he hadn’t deliberately seduced Jin Youngmin as the rumors suggested, his conditions could have very well played a huge role in his decision to go through with the marriage he had so desperately avoided.

When his thoughts reached that point, Taejun’s chest felt tight and his mind was a mess, leading to a restless night. Was it a relief that the marriage wasn’t entirely brought about by threats and the like? But then again, the thought that he had to make such a decision of his own free will was even more sorrowful, leaving him with a heavy heart.

“What am I even doing…”

Then, suddenly, the thought that this was all pointless made him let out a hollow laugh.

No matter how much Cha Haeshin struggled, no matter how hard he tried to change fate, if he suddenly regressed today, all his efforts would be for nothing. There was no guarantee that such a thing wouldn’t happen today.

It was the same even if it wasn’t now. Let’s say he prevented the marriage of Jin Youngmin and Cha Haeshin and faced a different future. What if he regressed again on July 7, 2023? A familiar sense of depression slowly revealed itself at his feet. But unlike before, Taejun’s eyes were not consumed by those emotions.

Before meeting Cha Haeshin, Taejun had realized that all efforts were meaningless in the face of the sudden regressions and had given up all hope for the future. Because he had no expectations, he was no longer disappointed or surprised. He was already too exhausted to be frustrated by every foreseen misfortune.

But it was different now. Taejun was afraid of the regression that could come at any time. He desperately longed for each day that passed without going back. He wanted to save Cha Haeshin. Han Taejun, a man who couldn’t even handle his own misfortune, wanted to pull Cha Haeshin out of his.

It was a will to live he hadn’t felt in a very long time. It was all thanks to Cha Haeshin.