Chapter 5

"… Are you serious?"

"I'm not joking. I want a divorce."

"Are you sure you won't regret it?"

"What do you mean by regret? You're crazy, if you were me… no, if you were Jeongwoo, would you want to live in this situation?"

"No. Honestly, even if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't want to live together."

"Right? Still, you're not being shameless."

"How can I live with a woman who goes around outside with her husband?"

"… What? What do you mean by that! Are you saying I'm cheating on you right now!"

Annoyed, she raised her voice even louder.

"Well, you should know better than anyone."

"… Damn, I can't believe this."

"Anyway, I'll consider it a divorce. Do you need help with your suitcase?"

"… Are you really going to divorce me?"

Seeing Jeongwoo accept the divorce so calmly, Anyeol was speechless again.

"Then, are you going to sleep here again? I don't mind."

"Still, we're married. How… Ah, forget it. I'll leave on my own."

"I won't go far."

Feeling utterly speechless, Anyeol stood there as Jeongwoo buried his head in his laptop.

After staring at the back of his head for a moment, she stomped into the bedroom, looking furious.

"I must have been crazy to marry a guy like you!"

She stuffed her belongings into the suitcase and headed for the closet.

No matter what, she couldn't leave behind her beloved Hermès bag.

But when she opened the closet, the bag she was looking for was nowhere to be found.

"… What a lunatic!"

Realizing instinctively that Jeongwoo had done it, Anyeol stormed out of the room, ready to kill.

"You lunatic! Where's my bag! Where is it!"

"That? I sold it on a second-hand site."

"What? Are you really crazy! Hey! Why did you sell it! Do you know how hard I worked to buy it!"

"You said it was a fake."

"… It's not a fake!"

"I know. It's an Hermès."

"Even knowing that, you sold it? Are you in your right mind!"

"It's my money, so why can't I sell it?"

"What?"

"Didn't you buy it with the money from the salary account I gave you?"

"……"

Anyeol was speechless at Jeongwoo's words.

"There's nothing more to say. If you've packed everything, leave. I can't carry your suitcase."

"… What a petty guy. Do you think you'll find a woman like me out there?"

"Meeting a woman like you might be a curse."

"… Are you really crazy? We'll see how well you eat and live without me! Hmph!"

She stormed out with her suitcase, slamming the front door as if to advertise her anger.

But Jeongwoo didn't even blink.

Instead, he smiled at the chart on his laptop screen.

The reason for his smile was simple.

──

──

As Jeongwoo had predicted, the return on Ethereum, which had hit rock bottom and rebounded, was a staggering 160%.

This return gave him confidence.

Honestly, there was a slight unease that the future might not unfold as he had imagined, but the 160% return swept away even that tiny doubt.

He reaffirmed that he had regressed and that the information about the future he possessed was real.

This gave him confidence and certainty.

Now, all that was left was to become rich.

"… I definitely gave you a chance."

She was the one who kicked it away.

The last chance to be his companion on the golden path.

* * *

The first day of the new year, which was like a war, passed, and the next day dawned.

Jeongwoo, who had fallen into a deep sleep, woke up with a start when he absentmindedly felt the empty space beside him.

The first thing he did upon waking, out of habit, was to check the date on his smartphone.

'It wasn't a dream.'

His regression, which felt like a miracle,

the fact that his wife had left the house,

and most importantly, that the coin he had bought had skyrocketed, were all real.

Thinking about the coin, he quickly checked his position on his smartphone.

──

──

The current value of his position was approximately $270,000.

It seemed as if the sharp drop of the previous day was a whale's manipulation of retail investors, and Ethereum, which had hit rock bottom, had successfully rebounded in a V-shape, recovering to the $800 price range.

As a result, Jeongwoo's assets had grown to $270,000. In just one day, he had earned nearly $240,000. Although the return was only about 8%, it was due to the 100x leverage, and his current balance was almost 300 million won.

It was mind-boggling to have earned the equivalent of a mortgage payment with just a few clicks, but he felt good.

No wonder he hadn't slept all night, watching the coin. Even as the value of his position increased dramatically and the leverage, which had been 100x, dropped to about 10x, reducing the risk of liquidation, he felt good.

"Hmm… Still, I need to stay focused."

Because the real war was about to begin. The war of 'divorce.'

Jeongwoo called Anyeol as casually as he would call a friend.

After a few rings, the call connected.

-… What is it?

"Why do you think I called?"

-… Don't even think about apologizing. Even if you come and beg on your knees, I won't forgive you….

"You watch too many dramas. There's no point in talking nonsense. Let's get to the point."

-… Then why did you call!

"Obviously, to discuss how we'll handle the divorce."

-… Are you really serious? Are you really going to divorce me!

"Anyeol, you know better than anyone. Do I look like someone who would joke about this?"

-……

Silence filled the line.

She knew that Jeongwoo, once he made up his mind, never backed down.

"Let's not talk over the phone. Let's meet in person. I'll come to you."

-… Come to Gangnam Station in 2 hours.

"2 hours? I can be there in an hour, so be ready…."

Click-

Before he could finish, the call was abruptly ended.

"… What a rude person."

Holding the disconnected phone, Jeongwoo smiled bitterly.

He felt sorry for himself for once loving such a villain.

* * *

A quiet café.

A woman sitting by the window, busy retouching her makeup, stood out. Her appearance was striking, with lustrous wavy hair and a form-fitting dress that caught the attention of passing customers.

At that moment, a man approached her and offered a slice of cake.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful you are. If it's okay, would you like this?"

"Oh, it's fine. You don't have to give me anything."

"I'll pay for it. Don't feel obligated, just enjoy it."

"Really, it's fine… Thank you. I'll enjoy it."

"Ha ha, by the way, are you here alone? If it's not too much trouble, would you mind if I joined you…?"

"I'm sorry, but I have plans."

"Oh, I see. Well, can I contact you next time?"

"… Sure, I can give you my number. Here, take my phone."

"Sure, just a moment. Here it is."

"… Here you go."

"What name should I save it under?"

"Anyeol."

"Anyeol? What a pretty name. I'll definitely contact you next time!"

As she gave him her number, the man left with a look as if he had conquered the world.

Seeing the back of the man who had taken her number, she felt her self-esteem, which had been low, rise again.

'Right, I'm Anyeol. The one and only Anyeol!'

A woman who had never failed to get what she wanted.

Even Seong Jae-min, the head of Seongun Innovation, couldn't resist her beauty.

But why did that Jeongwoo treat her like trash?

"… What's the problem?"

Just as she was angrily stabbing the slice of cake left by the man, a man appeared in front of her.

An ordinary-looking but not unattractive face. It was her husband, Jeongwoo.

When her husband sat down in front of her, Anyeol's heart sank as if she had been caught in the act.

"… When did you get here?"

"Just a while ago."

"… You didn't see anything, did you?"

"What? You putting on makeup or the guy who took your number?"

"… You saw, didn't you."

"Yeah."

Jeongwoo casually talked about his wife being hit on while sipping fruit juice.

"It's good here."

"How can you… Are you not bothered at all?"

"About what?"

"My wife being hit on by another man and you're not bothered at all!"

"Not at all. More importantly, why did you give him your number?"

"I was just trying to get rid of him quickly…!"

"Enough. Since we're getting divorced anyway, there's no point in making excuses."

"……"

She was speechless.

'… He really doesn't love me anymore.'

Honestly, she had threatened to divorce him in a fit of anger, but she hadn't really intended to. It was more out of embarrassment. After all, if they divorced after less than a year of marriage, it would surely be a topic of gossip.

She wanted to change his mind. That's why she had deliberately set the meeting for two hours later, went to a Cheongdam shop to get her hair done, and put on her favorite designer dress.

'I'm Anyeol. I'm this beautiful and amazing woman! I wanted to show him that. A naive fool like Jeongwoo would surely be swayed by my charm.'

But her husband no longer looked at her beauty or complimented her.

His cold, indifferent eyes said it all. He was going to leave.

'… This is ridiculous.'

What right does he have to dump me? To leave me, Anyeol?

He'll regret it.

Deep in her heart, anger boiled over. Jeongwoo's face, however, looked calm, even amused.

"Let's get straight to the point. How do you want to handle the divorce?"

"… How do you want to handle it? If you want it, it's happening."

No matter how curtly she answered, her husband didn't get angry.

"I've heard that there are two ways: mutual consent divorce and divorce mediation. Let's do it cleanly with mutual consent."

"What's divorce mediation?"

"That's when the court mediates if the parties can't reach an agreement. If we can reach an agreement, we don't need to go that far."

"Agreement means negotiating things like custody and property division, right?"

"Right."

"Then I get half the property. No deal if I don't get half!"

What was the point of pretending to be nice when it was all over? She intended to take everything she could, and the recent news of a Hollywood star giving half his property to his wife in a divorce settlement gave her the confidence to demand it.

But Jeongwoo looked incredulous.

"Anyeol, are you joking?"

"I'm not joking. Are you regretting giving me half your property now?"

"It's not that. We've been married for less than a year, and what contribution have you made to my property? To get a share, you need to clearly prove that you contributed to the formation of my property. What did you do? I did most of the housework, like dishes and laundry."

"… I cooked, too, you know?"

"Did you order takeout? You spent my salary. And I didn't want to be petty, but I drove you to work every morning and paid for the gas. You only brought a fridge for the wedding, and I bought everything else. I even paid for the wedding venue."

"……"

"Still, we split the engagement gifts and honeymoon costs, so I won't bring that up. Anyway, if you spent my salary and caused me a loss, you can't get anything in property division. Remember that."

"… I want half, no matter what!"

"If you don't believe me, go to a law firm for a consultation. They'll say the same thing."

"… You think I won't go?"

"Fine. Then I'll consider it a divorce mediation. But."

Jeongwoo's indifferent eyes turned cold.

"If we go to divorce mediation, I won't go easy on you."

"… What do you mean by that?"

"Do you think I didn't know about you and Seong Jae-min?"

"… What?"

Oh.