Jiyeon was grateful that she'd brought a bunch of napkins with her, but even those weren't enough to clean up all the mess from the floor. It was still wet, and she'd need to go to the kitchen to get more. The idea of leaving the room and seeing Heeseung again filled her with dread.  

She reached for the broken pieces of the plates and cups and started placing them on the tray. 

The food was wasted. She'd broken more of their things. This was a disaster. 

Why did she even agree to come here in the first place? She knew that Heeseung hated her. She didn't like him either. So why was it so hard to admit that to her parents? Why was she desperate to earn their approval? 

She felt more tears falling down her cheeks, and stayed there on the floor for a few minutes, just crying. 

She looked down when she started to feel a burning sensation in her hand. 

One of her hands was bleeding. 

Both of her hands had been balled in fists, but one hand had still been holding a piece of the shattered cup. She laughed humorlessly, watching the blood drip out of her hand and onto the cup. 

"What are you doing!" 

Jiyeon looked up, meeting K's eyes. He looked panicked as he saw her hand bleeding and he immediately crouched down beside her, gently taking the piece of china away from her. He'd come with napkins, and he pressed one into her palm. 

"You're always coming to save me," she whispered, smiling at him. 

"No matter how bad things are with Heeseung, you shouldn't hurt yourself because of him," he told her, his gaze intense as he stared at her. "Understand?" 

"I wasn't trying to hurt myself," she said softly. "I just blanked out for a second..." 

"Get up," K said, not waiting for a reply as he pulled her off the floor. "Go bandage this before you get an infection or something." 

"I have to finish cleaning this up," she whispered.

"Why?" K snapped. "Heeseung made this mess, so we should let him do the cleaning." 

Jiyeon couldn't help laughing, though there was no humor in her situation. "He already hates me. If I leave this mess in his room, it'll just make things worse." 

"Can I ask you a question?" K said tentatively. 

"You just did," she pointed out, a genuine smile coming to her face. "But yes. Go ahead."

"Why do you try so hard with Heeseung? Ever since you got here you've been trying to get close to him, only to get hurt by him pushing you away. So why do you keep trying? Aren't you only hurting yourself more?" 

Jiyeon stared at the floor, frowning at her shoes. "If I'm being forced to marry him, I think it would be nice if we loved each other," she said. 

"Do you love him?" K asked after a moment, his voice almost nervous. When she looked up at him, he wouldn't meet her eyes anymore. 

"No," she said, laughing a little. "With the way he acts? No, not at all." 

Maybe she was imagining it, but she thought K looked a tiny bit relieved when she said that. 

***

A/N 

👀👀