Broken Chains     Woohyun couldn’t bring himself to understand Jieun. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t. She was finally free from the monster. Free. But what exactly did she feel? Joy? Relief?   No. It wasn’t. To him, it seemed like she was regretful.   Jieun sat all day on a seat next to the window, staring out at it like as if she had lost her mind. What exactly did she want?   Deciding that he couldn’t take it anymore, Woohyun clenched his fists and said, “Jieun.”   She turned to face him. “Oh, you’re back. How long were you there?”   “I haven’t asked much from you,” he began, completely ignoring her questions. “I haven’t. I didn’t ask you to love me or even see me as a person of the opposite from you. All I want from you… All I want to do is to be by your side, Jieun. That’s it. Can’t you afford me just that?”   Quietly, Jieun soaked in all of his rupturing emotions. She knew that she was being cruel – it just couldn’t be helped. She hoped that it would be the best for the both of them; he deserved better, and she wasn’t the ‘better’, nor could she return his feelings in the first place. “I’m sorry,” she said, an apologetic smile forming on her face, “But Woohyun, don’t give me your heart. You and I both know that I can’t give you one back…”   By averting her eyes, he had hoped to avert the truth, too. “I don’t know what happened during that mountain trip last month, Jieun, but I do know that your relationship with Myungsoo is just beyond repair. Just… Just give up already. Don’t cling on to the past.”   “I’m not,” she replied. “I’m trying to leave everything as a memory… He was a part of my life at one point, so I want to keep him to reminisce and look back in the future as a part of me. I don’t expect you to understand—”   Suddenly, there were two loud rasps on the front door of the house. As he turned to open the door, Woohyun glanced at Jieun and said, “We can continue this later.”   Standing in front of the door was a young man – probably in his early twenties – in a clean, formal suit with a thick, black suitcase in his left hand. He looked up and greeted, “Hello. Is this Mr. Nam Woohyun’s residence?”   “Yes. How may I help you?”   The man flashed a cheeky smile. “Oh, great! I was worried that you won’t be here. That would complicate things a lot. You see, this is an urgent matter, and my client had strongly insisted for a swift close in this business, and—”   Nam Woohyun forced a smile to feign his annoyance and interrupted, “Sir?”   In embarrassment, the man faked a cough. “Yes, sorry, that was a bit off-topic. Anyhow, why don’t we step inside to talk further about things?”   Without the house owner’s permission, he stepped inside Woohyun’s residence. Upon entrance, he saw Jieun sitting in her usual place by the window and clapped his hands in what appeared to be joy. “Oh, this is amazing! Are you Ms. Lee Jieun?”   “Yes,” she replied, curiosity growing at the sudden entrance of a stranger. “Are you looking for me?”   The stranger fixed his tie before taking a seat on the couch in the living room. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Nam and Ms. Lee. My name is Lee Howon, a lawyer from the L&L Law Firm.”   “A law firm?” asked Woohyun, raising his eyebrows and taking a seat. “What for?”   Lee Howon set his suitcase in front of him and pulled out several envelopes of documents. As he shuffled to pull them out, he glanced at Jieun and said, “Ms. Lee, please do take a seat. This is for you.” He handed her a folder.   She blinked a couple of times before complying to his request. She opened the folder that she received, and without opening it, asked, “What is this?”   “Yes, well, everything is stated in the documents – as you will read with further detail in a little bit, I am here today to transfer all of Mr. Kim Myungsoo’s properties to you. Everything’s all set up, and all you will need to do today is sign.”   Both Woohyun and Jieun stared at Howon in shock, but Woohyun was the first to open his mouth. “What? What are you going to do?”   “I told you. I’m transferring all of my client’s properties, including but not limited to his residence, funding, bank accounts, stock investments over to Ms. Lee Jieun here.”   Jieun gulped. “So… Mr. Lee. Who’s your…client?”   The lawyer appeared a little annoyed, but with his best effort, replied, “Mr. Kim Myungsoo.”   Woohyun grabbed Jieun by the wrist and pulled her towards him. Part of this was to help her from the shock, but for the most part, he didn’t want her running away. To his surprise, she didn’t resist. “And why are you doing this?”   Flustered, the man replied, “I’m just doing this on behalf of my client. If you ask me of his purpose, I just don’t know what to say to you…”   Silence filled the room. Woohyun was intensely glaring at the lawyer while the lawyer, knowing this, acted as if he was busy scanning important documents in front of him. On the other hand, Jieun appeared pale and to be on the verge of collapse.   Lee Howon coughed. “Anyhow. Mr. Nam, if you can please sign this agreement form and the liability contract…”   “Why are you asking me to sign it?”   “Mr. Kim had asked me to get your signature. I don’t know the reason why, myself. I mean, everything goes to Ms. Lee here, but…”   Swiftly, Woohyun snatched the papers from the lawyer’s hand and signed them. “Here you go. That’s it, right?”   Howon nodded and packed his belongings in his suitcase. “I’m glad everything worked out quick and easy. Mr. Kim said that—”   “All right, if you’re done, I’d like you to leave. I have urgent matters to deal with – but it was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Lee Howon.” Woohyun stood and showed the lawyer to the door.   Though the lawyer seemed to be offended at the rude actions, he stepped out without a word, closing the door around them.   “He wanted it, Jieun,” Woohyun said in a calm voice. “I guess he felt sorry.”   “You know that’s not the case, Nam Woohyun! Why… Why the hell did you sign it?”