I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 140

6. Dream

I’ve been sleeping more since I got pregnant, and I dream a lot.

But even so, I rarely remember them, until one day when I was nearing my due date, I had a really vivid dream.

‘Huh? This smell……’

It was a smell I’d long forgotten, but couldn’t quite put out of my mind.

It was the dank, damp smell of the stairs of an old multi-family house.

“Fuck, ahhh, really, shit!”

Someone was muttering.

And somehow I thought I knew who it was.

“Is she really dead? Oh, I’m going crazy!”

As expected, it was my brother.

His breath reeked of alcohol every time he opened his mouth.

He ran down the stairs and put his hand under my nose on the floor, then ran back up the stairs and paced around.

“Calm down, calm down. For now, I have to…… run.”

My brother’s eyes scanned the area to make sure there were no witnesses, and his gaze fell on my bag on the floor.

‘You can’t just run away.’

I watched from above as he rummaged through my bag.

Despite his shaking, he found my wallet, shoved it into his arms, and ran off.

I didn’t feel the slightest bit of affection for him.

But as expected, he was quickly caught.

He’d made cash withdrawals using my card at various places, so there was no way his tail wasn’t going to be traced. He was caught on CCTV at every convenience store he went to.

He even used my card to buy cigarettes at a local convenience store at dawn after a night of gambling……

‘Ugh, that idiot.’

My brother ran away from the police, but when he was caught, he was dragged away obediently as if he had given up on everything.

The scene changed and I saw a familiar place in front of me. It was the company I used to work for.

“What the hell is going on? This is the first time in my life that I know the person involved in an incident that made the news.”

One coworker whispered to another, but the expressions on their faces were more of interest and curiosity than pity or sadness.

If anything, the complexions of Ahn Young-eun, who had hit me in the back of the head, and Manager Park, who had shown his annoyance at me, were worse.

– I feel so bad. I was really mean to Soo-na the day she died.

– What? What did you do?

– Something mean. I didn’t realize it would be the last time I would see her.

– Hey, it’s already in the past, and regretting it won’t change anything. Just get over it.

Ahn Young-eun sighed as she was talking to someone in the company via internal messenger.

Just then, Manager Park got off the phone with someone and slowly stood up from his seat.

He looked around and said, 

“Attention. After work today, I want two or three of us to go to Soo-na’s funeral as a representative…… Anyone want to go?”

Then Ahn Young-eun raised her hand.

“I’ll go.”

“Okay, Young-eun. Then, Young-eun and I will go…… Anyone else want to go?”

But everyone looked at each other and didn’t raise their hands.

Eventually, a newcomer who didn’t know me very well raised her hand.

‘This is funny. None of the people I thought I was closest to came.’

I half-expected it, but seeing it with my own eyes was devastating.

They didn’t say anything the whole way to my funeral.

Then Manager Park spoke up, his voice heavy.

“Why was I so annoyed that day?”

“Yes? Manager? When?”

The newcomer, who had no idea, seemed to be trying to look good in the manager’s eyes.

“The day Choi Soo-na died…… I got really mad at her over something really insignificant. I could tell that I hurt her, but at the time, I was just annoyed……”

“Manager……”

Sitting next to him, Ahn Young-eun was chewing on her lip.

“Who could have thought it would be like this…… haa…… and that was the last thing I said to someone who has worked so hard since joining the company…… I feel terrible.”

Manager Park’s face looked really grim. At that moment, a sobbing sound was heard from the side.

Ahn Young-eun was about to burst into tears.

“I feel terrible too…… I feel so sorry for Soo-na…… sob……”

Manager Park nodded in understanding and patted Ahn Young-eun on the shoulder a couple of times, while the newcomer, who had no idea what they were talking about, remained silent with a confused expression.

As expected, my funeral had few mourners. I didn’t have many friends, so the mourners were mostly relatives.

My dad was puffing away on his cigarette, my mom was whimpering to my aunt with tears in her eyes.

“I don’t know why my fate is like this. I only have two children, one is sick since childhood, and the other is a troublemaker…… Oh, what should I do, sister?”

“Soo-na is already gone, but what will happen to Soo-chan?”

“If the family pleads for leniency, the sentence will be reduced, but I don’t know how much……”

No one mentioned the fact that my brother had killed me; they were just concerned for him as he awaited trial.

‘I wasn’t expecting much, but…… this still hurts.’

I sighed, and the scene before me blurred to reveal another familiar place. It was my room.

The funeral was already over, and my mom and dad were packing up my things.

“Oh, Soo-na…… Soo-na……”

“Poor girl……!”

My mom was crying as she looked at my expense book, and my dad was opening my closet, his eyes reddening.

I wrote down when and how much my brother stole from me and how I spent my money. On the occasional days when I couldn’t resist myself and ordered something, I’d highlighted it with an asterisk because I felt so guilty……

“Sob…… you’ve only eaten out once a month and it was a 10,000 won pizza……!”

My mom sobbed, wiping her face with her handkerchief.

A few of my clothes hung in my closet, which my dad was opening.

“Soo-na…… when did you last buy clothes……”

My dad cried as he looked at the coat he bought me for my middle school graduation.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve been wearing that for over a decade……’

The khaki coat, which I purposely chose in an extra-large size because I knew I’d grow, was something I took great care of and wore sparingly.

It was the first and last expensive thing my dad bought me back then.

It was a plain design that I found still wearable, but it did look a little unflattering on me, especially with the puffy sleeves and hips.

“Oh, Soo-na! I’m sorry! I’m sorry I’m not a good mother, Soo-na!”

My mom hit the floor and cried bitterly, and my dad turned away, covering his eyes with his hands.

My parents seemed to finally feel my absence.

I felt rather relieved at the sight of them.

‘Thank God, at least……my existence means something to them.’

I felt sorry for my parents, but I felt like I had finally gotten over my previous life.

As I smiled in satisfaction, the scene before me changed again.

‘Huh?’

It was my ex-boyfriend, who broke up with me right before I died.

He was sitting dazedly in his room, looking distraught.

His phone kept beeping incoming message notifications.

– Hey! I heard that Ms. C, who lives in Building X, died. Isn’t your girlfriend also in Building X? She’s not your girlfriend, is she?

– She was killed by her brother. But doesn’t your girlfriend have a brother too? It’s a little creepy.

– Hey, what are you doing today? I heard you quit your job.

His friends joked about the story of “Ms. C killed by her brother” that had spread across the internet.

It never occurred to them that Ms. C could be me.

But my ex-boyfriend seemed to be slowly realizing that it was me.

“Soo-na…… please pick up your phone, please……”

He grabbed his phone again and dialed me.

At first glance, the screen read “Choi Soo-na (42)”. He must have called me about 42 times.

[The phone you are calling is out of range, you will be connected to voicemail……]

He hung up after hearing an automated notification he must have heard many times, and then opened the last message I’d sent him.

– Baby~ I got the weekend shift and will be working overtime today. I’m sorry ㅠㅗㅠ See you next week. I’ll buy you something tasty ♡ (6:08 PM)

– PrettySoona♥: Hmm, okay, I’m fine, don’t push yourself too hard. (6:09 PM)

– Mhm! Thank you for your understanding. (6:09 PM)

– PrettySoona♥: Speaking of working overtime, the woman you’re holding hands with must be your boss at work. You two look like you’re really working hard. Just bury your bones at work and don’t contact me in the future! (7:42 PM)

Tears dripped on his phone.

“Soo-na, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…… I was really wrong…… Soo-na…… sob, what should I do, what should I do, sob, Soo-na……”

He clutched the phone tightly, shaking and sobbing.

I had never seen him cry like this before.

Admittedly, if I had gone on my date with him that day as planned, I might have temporarily escaped my fate at the hands of my brother. He seemed to think that my death was his fault.

But it could have always happened at any time unless my brother came to his senses.

I stood there for a long time, listening to him apologize over and over again.

‘Thank you for being sorry. I’m doing fine, so you can move on and forget about me.’

For some reason, tears welled up in my eyes.

But I know, these people will eventually get over the sadness of this moment and move on.

Just as I am doing.

When I woke up and opened my wet eyes, Killian was asleep next to me.

He massaged my limbs and legs until I fell asleep, which was not easy to do after a long, tiring day.

But Killian never missed a day of massage.

‘Yes. This is the man I’ve got.’

Perhaps if it weren’t for my previous life experiences and memories, I would have missed this man.

I never dreamed of this kind of ecstatic love in my previous life.

Now that I have received this kind of love, I have no regrets left over from my previous life.

I kissed Killian’s cheek lightly.

“Um……? Edith……?”

I loved the way he called my name in his deep voice.

“I love you, Killian.”

“I love you, too, Edith.”

Without waking up, Killian said he loved me and hugged me warmly.

‘I’m really going to live this life with no regrets, not even a hint of Choi Soo-na’s regrets from my previous life.’

I vowed, feeling a wave of exhilaration wash over me.