Chapter 1: The Divorce Papers
The divorce papers were white. That was the first thing Lee Joon-ho noticed. White paper, black ink, red seal. His wife’s name was written neatly on the line. Han Ji-woo. She had signed it already.
He looked up at her. She stood on the other side of the marble dining table, her hands clasped in front of her. She was wearing the soft blue sweater he had bought her for their second anniversary. He remembered that day. He had been late. He was always late.
“Joon-ho,” she said. Her voice was quiet but steady. “Please sign.”
He wanted to say something. Anything. But the words stuck in his throat like stones. He had never been good at saying the right thing. That was the problem, wasn’t it? He loved her. He had always loved her. But love meant nothing when you showed up at midnight every night. When you ate dinner alone while your wife slept. When you missed anniversaries and birthdays and the small moments that made a marriage real.
“You’re not going to say anything?” she asked.
He picked up the pen. His hand did not tremble. He was a businessman. He had signed hundreds of contracts. This was just another paper.
“Joon-ho.”
He signed.
Her face crumpled for just a second. Then she fixed it. She was strong, his wife. Stronger than him.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Then she picked up her purse and walked to the door.
He watched her go. She paused with her hand on the handle.
“I loved you,” she said. “I still love you. But I cannot live like this anymore.”
The door closed.
Joon-ho sat alone in the dining room. The soup she had made for him was cold. The rice was untouched. He had come home late again. She had waited. She always waited.
Not anymore.
He stood up. He walked to the window. The Seoul skyline glittered below. He had given her everything. A penthouse. A car. A credit card with no limit. But he had not given her time. And time was the only thing she had ever asked for.
He grabbed his car keys.
He drove too fast. The city lights blurred into streaks of gold and red. His phone buzzed. A work email. He reached for it.
He did not see the truck.
The impact was deafening. Glass shattered. Metal screamed. The world spun and then went dark.
When he opened his eyes, he was lying on a thin mattress in a small room. The ceiling was white and cracked. A desk stood in the corner with a cheap lamp and a stack of textbooks. Posters of old movies were taped to the walls.
He knew this room.
This was his college dorm. He had lived here when he was nineteen.
He sat up. His body felt younger. Lighter. He touched his face. No stubble. No lines. He ran to the small bathroom and looked in the mirror.
A boy looked back. Nineteen years old. Dark hair falling over his forehead. No shadows under his eyes. No exhaustion.
He stumbled back to the bed and sat down. His phone was on the nightstand. An old smartphone from ten years ago. He picked it up. The date glowed on the screen.
March 15, 2016.
He was nineteen. His father was alive. His mother was alive. And Ji-woo? He had not met her yet.
But he remembered.
He remembered everything. The marriage. The loneliness. The divorce papers were signed in anger. The way her voice broke when she said goodbye.
He put his head in his hands. He could change it. He could avoid her. Never meet her. Never fall in love. Never hurt her.
Yes. That was what he would do.
A memory hit him without warning. The first time he saw her. Original timeline. He was twenty-two. She was twenty. She dropped a stack of books in the library. He knelt to help her. She looked up and smiled.
“Thank you,” she said.
That smile had destroyed him. He had fallen in love in three seconds. He had chased her for weeks. He had married her a year later. He had promised to make her happy.
And he had broken that promise.
Now he had a second chance. He would not make the same mistake. He would stay away. He would let her find someone better. Someone who would come home on time. Someone who would hold her hand. Someone who was not him.
He dressed and walked out of the dorm. The campus was the same. Trees lined the pathways. Students laughed and talked. The sun was warm.
He turned a corner.
And there she was.
Han Ji-woo. Seventeen years old. High school uniform. Long hair. Bright eyes. A pile of books in her arms.
She was standing outside the university library. She looked lost. Confused. Beautiful.
She saw him. She smiled.
“Excuse me,” she said. “Can you help me find the admissions office?”
His heart stopped.
This was the moment. The moment that started everything. In the original timeline, he had smiled. He had walked her to the office. He had asked her name. He had fallen in love.
Not this time.
He looked at her for one long second. Then he shook his head and walked past her.
“Sir?” she called after him.
He did not look back.
Behind him, Ji-woo stood frozen. She watched the tall boy in the black jacket disappear around the corner. His face had been cold. But his eyes had been sad. So sad.
She did not know why, but she could not stop thinking about him.
Joon-ho walked until his legs burned. He found a bench near the river and sat down. The water moved slowly. Gray and calm.
He had done it. He had walked away. She was safe now. She would marry someone else. She would be happy.
Then why did he feel like he was drowning?
He closed his eyes. Another memory came. The first time she said I love you. Original timeline. They were sitting on a rooftop, looking at the stars. She had taken his hand.
“Joon-ho, I love you,” she had said.
He had been too proud to say it back. He had just squeezed her hand. But inside, his heart had exploded.
He had loved her. He had always loved her. But love without action was just a word.
He opened his eyes. The river was still gray. The sky was still blue. And he was alone.
He had made his choice.
But as he walked back to his dorm, something whispered in his chest. You cannot avoid fate. You cannot avoid her. You will meet her again.
And next time, you might not be strong enough to walk away.
He shoved the thought down and went inside.
But that night, he dreamed of her. Seventeen years old. Smiling at him. Holding out her hand.
He woke up with tears on his face.
And he knew. This was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done.
Not because avoiding her was easy.
But because every part of him wanted to run to her.
End of Chapter 1
