Creak. Creak.
The old swing made a sound.
It was a relief for Jo Sung hyun.
It covered his sobbing.
"Chae Yoon-ah... Dad is sorry."
He muttered.
His life had been hell, but it was nothing compared to this huge sorrow.
He had been doing nothing for over a month.
His life was full of regrets.
He liked the starry entertainment industry, and he made his wife suffer by working at a planning company.
He was busy, and there were many days when he couldn't go home.
The housework was all his wife's responsibility.
It must have been too hard for her, who had poor health after giving birth to their daughter.
He only made her suffer.
When his wife died, he wanted to die with her.
But the reason he couldn't do that was one.
The last words his wife left behind.
'Honey... our daughter, our daughter Chae-yoon, please take good care of her.'
So he endured.
He lived a day at a time.
He kept going to work at the company he worked for, and he made money.
He got his wife's death insurance, but he didn't spend a penny.
It was the price of his wife's life.
He couldn't use it.
He worked to death, and his daughter grew up well.
He wasn't sad when he was busy with work.
So he focused more on his work.
He was recognized, and he was promoted.
A year passed, and two years passed.
When Chae-yoon was 7 years old, he started music at the suggestion of his senior at work.
At first, it was a light arrangement.
It didn't take long for that to become composition.
That's when I realized.
My company saw me as nothing but a tool.
And they only cared about my success in music.
When he demanded profits from the song he composed that hit number one, the company turned its back on him.
But the song was a huge hit and made a lot of money.
He never had the copyright to begin with.
A male singer who ranked first.
His name was registered for copyright, and he appeared on numerous broadcasts as a singer-songwriter.
A sacrificial lamb for the smooth success of the singer.
That was Jo Sung hyun.
When he was in despair after being betrayed.
Chaeyoon died.
It was a traffic accident.
Every moment he had lived up until now was filled with regret.
He blamed himself.
After his wife died, he regretted why he couldn't have treated her better before she died.
Even though his wife left a will asking him to take care of their daughter... he did something stupid.
"You bastard."
He blurted out the curse.
Just a bastard.
How could he talk nonsense about not feeling sad when leaving a seven-year-old daughter behind to focus on work and music?
Is that what a parent should do?
"You son of a bitch."
Jo Sung hyun cursed and raised his hand, hitting his own head.
He thought his daughter would not be unhappy.
More precisely, he had rationalized that making music was the path for his daughter, justifying it to himself.
He tried to console himself by believing that his daughter could be happy if he succeeded in music.
Deep down, he knew it was all nonsense.
Since he started making music, he grew distant from Chaeyoon.
His daughter started avoiding him, and he couldn't pay proper attention to Chaeyoon.
When he heard that Chaeyoon had been in a car accident, his mind went blank, and he rushed to the hospital.
Seeing his daughter lying there, Jo Sung hyun shed tears.
The daughter who had a strained relationship with him, through tears, told her crying father not to cry.
"Don't cry, Dad."
Why did it have to be like this?
What did that mean?
Was it that he didn't deserve to cry when he saw his daughter lying like that, or...
*sigh*
He hit his head and clutched it, sobbing.
It had been 12 years since his wife died.
His daughter was also gone.
The music that had filled the void left by his wife now felt resentful.
Music was what made him distant from his daughter.
What was so great about music?
Why did he love it so much, and why did he want to succeed in music so badly?
He felt empty and regretful.
He had no reason to live anymore.
Jo Sung hyun got up from the swing and walked with a limp.
He drove aimlessly.
He was halfway across the big bridge.
He suddenly stepped on the brake.
Screech!
A sharp sound and a skid mark were left.
It was a dark night, and there was no car behind him, so he avoided an accident.
Thud.
A small sound and the driver's seat door closed.
He leaned on the railing as if he was drawn by instinct.
He saw the black waves swaying.
They seemed to invite him, to tempt him.
If he fell from here, could he meet his wife and daughter?
He held his smartphone in his hand, and his daughter's picture came up.
He looked at it for a while, and his body slowly tilted forward.
He felt the cold wind blowing, and he closed his eyes.
The last picture of his daughter remained like an afterimage.
Her clear eyes seemed to stare at him quietly.
His daughter's face passed by his eyes.
Her bright face turned dark.
Gradually, he became farther away from Chae-yoon.
She slowly turned her body.
Soon, he could only see her back, and at some point, Chae-yoon disappeared from his sight.
If he had another chance...
Drip.
A tear fell into the air.
Soon, the water embraced him.
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