CHAPTER 2: MARRIAGE OVER DEATH

Between life and death, there is only two choices you can choose, it is either wishing for another second to live with, to see your love ones go to the path of succession or second, an everlasting sleep that no one can stop nonetheless that you were accidentally resurrected by an unknown entity which we all know would be impossible to happen.

Just like the others, all of us chose to live a life carelessly since that is how we supposedly be using it. We never choose to live this life yet our parents were the first culprit who made us to live this not so meaningful world. We never choose to be born after all.

"Aren't you going to ask me about your ex-lover's sudden death, Irene?"

Love, death, two words with finite meaning, for the first years in our lives, we thought it was something that we aren't prepared for, especially death.

"Love, Soul."

"It's not on my hold, Mr. Wang." The prosecutor bowed her head before she left him inside the room. Lover, something that everyone were interested of, it was something we thought we should be looking for but some also believed that love would eventually exist at the very right time and in the most unexpected moment.

Just like how the prosecutor had thought before.

"Do you want some coffee, Prosecutor?"

"Hyun-ah, want some milk?"

The woman shook the voice inside her head off as she walked past the officers in front of her. For five years, the woman remained faithful and loyal towards her husband despite of the drastic changes in their relationship, the woman kept the promise she made in front of the altar at the same time she knew she had already surrendered herself to the love of her life, that she always thought to be the right choice.

But now, she was already awaken by the fact that love was never been a choice.

For five consecutive years, it was just around him and her yet they still haven't done any move to take it to the top.

To have a child.

Everyone were expecting for them to have such a wonderful child that the prosecutor could bear but the two had both agreed that there would be such a good time for that, which Irene knew to herself that it would no longer be there. She knew to herself that she's not getting any younger anymore and the risk of bearing a child in such an age would kill her or worst the child she was bringing.

It would be much better if she would just focus to her job for now since she had already knew that nursing home would also be there to take care of her when she gets old

But what was the purpose of marriage when the only thing she does inside it is to be a good martyr wife that only few of her friends know, right?

"I don't have the chance to ask someone to call you out there, prosecutor but your husband called." Her officer said as she opened the door of her office while the woman followed her inside. Even though she wouldn't try to guess it, Irene knew that her husband just dropped by to tell her that he wasn't be able to go home tonight and to the following weeks, that he have workloads to do or he had went home to pick up some things he needed for his flight tonight with his boss for a "controversial" meeting.

It always run just like that, Irene knew too much that she had already gotten used to it.

"Can I stay in your house tonight?" Irene asked, not on her monotone voice, not the strict one, just her, hoping for everyone to understand what she was feeling inside this manipulative marital relationship she hopped.

"Yeah, sure, Jennie's joining us also." Shon Wendy stood up as she saluted to leave the prosecutor's office when the woman called her by her name. She looked towards her friend and asked what's going on, Irene kept her face serious when she spoke.

"You're in charge in holding the case of Soul, right?" The officer nodded her head as she waited for the woman to continue what she was about to order to her case. Wendy first thought it would be about her asking for any updates but instead, a strange question had escaped towards the prosecutor's mouth. "Did you know anything about any columbaries or cemetery she was buried?" Irene asked without her eyes leaving the woman.

"Soul was buried in Gyeonggi-do, after we contacted some of her near relatives, they chose not to do a funeral. Her aunt just asked the forensic team to bring her body to a private columbarium. Why asking?" She asked, her head wondering why did the prosecutor got to be curious with someone's private matter. Wendy got to be friend with the prosecutor, the woman had been her mentor just short after her arrival on her work, Shon admired how dedicated the woman was to her work to the point that even though behind the curtains of her not so healthy relationship with her husband the woman remained strong and had done her best to have her position in this day, Irene might be a silent type of person but she literally judge you silently from where you are.

"Unnie, is there something wrong?" Something was off, Wendy had thought there was something really odd happening to the woman, she had never been like that, the Prosecutor Bae Irene she knew was someone defined as a walking time bomb, an optimistic and ferocious woman, she's silent but hell of a venomous type of a person that every wild criminals were known to be afraid of, but this one? It was something she had never seen before, something that was so lost and hurt, Shon had seen how devastated the woman was on her marriage but she never been like that to every person she had talked to, she's a diligent and smart woman who never showed this side of hers.

"Prosecutor?" The officer called her attention making the woman to wake herself out of her trance, Irene turned around as if nothing had happened, looking back to her co-worker with her face obviously showed a sign of worry from what did just happen towards the older. The woman shook her hand to dismiss the subject as she fixed her posture as she stood up to get herself a cup of water hoping to wash away all of her thoughts.

"Are you okay, unnie? I've been calling you yet you seemed to be lost, are you okay?" The woman nodded her head as she emptied her cup in a slow gulp making the officer to sigh in confirmation that the woman was okay despite of the weird emotion she had shown a while ago. "I have to go now, prosecutor." Shon did a snappy salute before the woman silently answered her dismissal to leave her office.

The door was finally shut close leaving her and the tons of file she had on her office desk. Loosing some of her buttons, the prosecutor relaxed her back to her swivel chair as she took something from her table's drawer, a small recorder gifted from someone close to her heart. Irene turned it on and a voice of a woman started talking.

"Hahaha, I know it's random how you've been? Do you remember 'bout this band you said you listened to?" Another laugh coming from the woman can be heard again followed by sobs as she continued to ask a question.

"When we were younger,"

"When we were softer,"

"When we were all about each other, hope life is treating you better,"

"Better." The woman's voice cracked and breakdown into tears before as she finally tell something that made the prosecutor shut her eyes close.

"Better than me."

--

SKYCASTLE MEMORIAL PARK, GYEONGGI-DO, SOUTH KOREA

Amidst of the bad weather, a black sedan was parked on the side of the columbarium, tapping her fingers to the steering wheel while contemplating to her sudden life decision, her eyes were lost again to the middle of nowhere, the engine car were turned off, the rising atmosphere inside her car made her sweat in cold thinking that she might have chosen the wrong idea of visiting her, she might probably ended up hurting herself in guilt just to appear after a few years of disappearing in front of her to choose a much better person that she thought to be wonderful to be with when in fact today, it was all too wrong for her. Everything was all wrong from the day she decided to end everything with her.

Irene sighed as she took her umbrella and the flower she bought on the way earlier, the woman stepped out of her car just to feel the heavy rain already soaking her slocks just before she could even stepped out completely off of her sedan. "Nice." She said sarcastically as she put back the umbrella inside her car leaving with choice to soak her body to the rain just to go to the columbarium's entrance.

The woman had made sure to protect the flower at all cost despite of the raindrops and the roaring thunders around her, she made sure to protect the petals and not to break an inch of it. Despite of being soak to her bones, Irene made sure to get to her appointment. To see her.

"Hello." She said as the guards helped her with the flower she brought. "It's my first time in here, do you perhaps know someone named, Kang Seul-Gi." The man politely answered with a nod to her.

"Too sad to know that this was your first and final reunion with her." He said out of nowhere as they walked side to side to the second floor making the woman to turn her head towards the middle aged man who seemed to look a bit of familiar for her.

"Mr. Lee?" She blurted out of nowhere, the guard nodded her head stopped in front of a glass cabinet.

"The cashier, yes." He nodded his head. "I was really rooting for you two." He said as he remembered that the two used to meet each other at the convenience store he used to work back in Daegu, since then, he saw the two grew closer to each other until one day that thing had happened causing them to part ways and he swore that it was the most heart breaking scene he had ever saw in his whole life. "And I knew that you would come here to see her."

Irene timidly smiled as she put the flower at the top of the cabinet as she felt nostalgic on what did the man had just said to her. "Thank you for waiting, Mr. Lee. I'm going to catch up with you after this." She said politely dismissing the topic about her past making the man leave her there all alone with the person she loved.

The atmosphere around the area abruptly fell leaving the woman dead cold with the wetness of her clothes. There were no words to form inside her, it was all mixed up to the point that she was agitated just like how she felt for the first time the two of them had met. The wind blew hard making Irene be alerted that she wasn't alone while standing there looking after her.

If only a cold wind can talk to her, Irene would.

"I'm sorry." It was not the easiest word she could utter behind those years of stone cold features she had and to the battered relationship she was experiencing, she was trained not to be sorry on everything she had done but here she was, standing to the same person who told her to be herself and not to forget about her, the person who taught her the word love and sorry. "I guess marriage wasn't the happiest thing that had happened to me, at first, I thought that it would bring me to solace that I believed that I haven't found on you but I was wrong." She chuckled as she played with her wedding ring. Flashbacks about the promises that her husband did in front of the altar came rushing to her not until it reached to the time were he started beating her, it hurt her a lot but the only thing she can do is to accept her fate, the fate of her being wrong.

"You were the best person I've ever met, I wished I didn't let myself fallen to someone so coward to the point that I'm starting to get used to it, I chose it right? I have chosen it... over you." A silence fell between the two of them, the room became colder especially to the part where the prosecutor was standing, Irene did feel that she isn't alone and there was a presence standing on her side. The prosecutor smiled as she fell to her knees and breakdown to cry followed by the word of feeling sorry towards her had escaped to .

"I'm sorry for leaving you, that was the dumbest decision I've ever made in life, please help me and I would give the proper justice for you, I will do anything to put that person who killed you mercilessly no matter what it takes, just please help me, don't every leave my side, I'm here with you now." Crying wasn't enough but that was the only thing that the woman could do for the grief and hurt she was feeling right now.

"You might have thought I don't need you anymore, baby, please, just don't leave me."