· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ ·

· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ ·

The heavy weight of the moment settled over her like a storm cloud, and Iseul stepped out of the bathroom, her heart beating with a frantic urgency. Every step felt like a battle against the crushing grief that threatened to pull her under. She needed answers. She needed to understand what had happened.

Her feet carried her through the sterile halls of the office, the sound of her heels echoing in the empty space like a constant reminder of the emptiness inside her. She reached the top floor and spotted Shuhua, still smiling, oblivious to the storm raging inside Iseul.

"Where's Mr. Park?" Iseul asked, her voice shaking, but she didn't care to hide it. Not anymore.

"At his apartment. Do you need me to deliver something for him?"

"No," Iseul replied quickly, her words clipped. "I'll do it myself."

Without another glance, Iseul stormed to the elevator, the steel doors closing with a sharp clang as her heart pounded louder with every passing floor. The ride seemed to last forever, each second stretching longer than the last, as though the universe itself was slowing her down, making her wait.

Finally, the elevator came to a halt. The doors opened, and she stepped out with one single purpose—find Sunghoon, confront him, and make sense of this chaos.

She arrived at his apartment door, her hand trembling as she knocked sharply. Once. Twice. The sound rang out, unsettling in the silence. The door opened, and there he was—standing in the doorway, his familiar gaze meeting hers.

But what caught him off guard was the look in Iseul's eyes. Red-rimmed, swollen from the tears she had barely held back, they burned with a mixture of hurt and confusion.

Sunghoon's heart skipped a beat, a painful jolt running through him as he saw the agony in her eyes. The sight almost shattered him—almost. He stood frozen for a moment, unable to process the overwhelming emotions swirling in his chest.

He wanted to reach out, to apologize, to explain everything, but the words caught in his throat.

"Why are you here?"his words cut through the silence, his tone so cold it froze the air between them. Iseul stared at him, her chest tightening. It was as if the man she once knew, the one who had whispered sweet promises in her ear, had completely disappeared.

She didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence. Without thinking, she stormed forward, shoving him, feeling the shock of her palms against his chest as she pushed him harder, trying to make him see, make him feel something—anything. Her voice was frantic, breaking.

"Why?!" she demanded, her hands trembling with fury. "Why are you doing this to me? Have you lost your mind?!" She shoved him again, her breath ragged, desperate for an answer. "I don't understand! Why would you—"

Her words faltered, the weight of the truth crashing down on her like a wave. She stopped pushing him, her body trembling as she clutched her head, her fingers digging into her hair as though holding on to whatever sanity was left.

"This can't be real. This is a nightmare, right?" Her voice was barely a whisper now, the last shred of hope clinging to her. "I'm going to wake up, I have to be—"

But when she lifted her head, his eyes met hers. Cold. Empty. His gaze sliced through her like a blade, each moment more painful than the last. Her breath caught in her throat, her mind screaming for something—anything—to explain the look in his eyes, but there was nothing there.

"It's real," Sunghoon said, his voice low, detached, and the words struck her like a slap to the face. "I'm marrying Rena."

Iseul's heart stopped. No, this wasn't happening. It couldn't be. She shook her head, her entire body trembling as the tears began to fall.

"You... you can't. You can't do this to me," she whispered, as though saying it aloud would somehow make it stop.

His eyes didn't soften. His face didn't waver. Sunghoon just scoffed, the sound bitter and sharp, like he was mocking her pain.

She took a step forward, her chest heaving, the sting of betrayal rising like a fire inside her. "How? How can you do this to me? After everything we've been through?" She shook her head, the words tumbling out of her mouth, desperate and frantic. "How can you talk about moving in, about the future... kiss me like you meant it, then just go off and marry another woman?"

Her voice broke with each word, but he remained silent, his cold indifference twisting the knife deeper into her chest.

"Sunghoon, please... please say something." Her voice cracked as she pushed at him again, but this time, it wasn't out of anger—it was because her soul was breaking, and she needed him to break too, to feel something, to make it stop.

But he didn't. Instead, he grabbed her arms, pulling her so close that she could feel the heat of his body, but it wasn't the warmth she craved. There was nothing left in his touch. His eyes were hard, unflinching as he stared at her, and his words fell from his lips like a curse.

"How does it feel now, Iseul? Hmm?" His voice was low, venomous, each word deliberate, like he wanted to make her feel every ounce of pain he was causing her. "Falling in love, then getting abandoned? Now you get to taste your own medicine."

Iseul froze. The words hit her like a tidal wave, drowning her in guilt, in shame. Her own medicine. Her heart twisted painfully, every part of her screaming that this wasn't right—that she didn't deserve this.

But there was no denying it. He wasn't the same Sunghoon anymore. He wasn't the man who had kissed her in the moonlight or promised a future with her. This man, this cold shell, was someone entirely different. And it shattered her.

His gaze pierced through her, harder than the words he'd thrown at her, colder than the air between them. Iseul felt her legs give out, the weight of the betrayal dragging her down. But she couldn't escape it, couldn't escape him. She was drowning in a sea of confusion, anger, and pain, and all she wanted was for him to reach out, to say that this wasn't real, that he didn't mean it. But he didn't.

His gaze remained fixed, unflinching. And with each passing second, she realized that this was it. This was the end.

Her heart, shattered into a thousand pieces, felt like it was bleeding out onto the floor. And Sunghoon—he didn't care.

He mumbled, almost too softly to hear, but it felt like a slap. "It hurts, doesn't it?" His words slithered through the air like venom, twisting the knife deeper into her heart.

"At least now you know what I've been going through," he added with a hollow laugh, his voice laced with bitterness. "Now we're even."

Iseul stood frozen, her body trembling, but her mind was a swirling storm. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. All she could do was watch as he turned to leave, each step he took feeling like the final fracture of something she couldn't fix.

But then, a desperate impulse surged within her. She lunged forward, grabbing his hand, clutching it with all the strength she had left. "This isn't real," she gasped, her voice cracking under the weight of her emotions.

She cupped his face in her hands, trembling as if the very act might undo the reality she couldn't bear. "Sunghoon... you're lying. You wouldn't do this to me. You're in love with me."

For a moment, she saw it—the flicker of doubt in his eyes. A fleeting softness, like a part of him wanted to believe her. She clung to that hope like a lifeline, her hands caressing his jaw, trying to pull him back into the warmth of what they had.

But he jerked away sharply, as if her touch was a searing burn.

"It was all a game, okay? Now the game's over," Sunghoon's voice was cold, final, like a door slamming shut between them. He stepped back, putting distance between them, but Iseul wasn't done. She couldn't let him go, not like this.

Tears streamed down her face, but the words spilled out with a raw intensity. "You're a disgusting man," she hiccuped between sobs. "You're not even a man."

Sunghoon's face twisted with something between anger and disbelief. He spun around, storming back to her with a fire in his eyes that made her flinch. His glare was razor-sharp, and his words felt like daggers.

"I'm disgusting because I acted before you? Didn't you do that to me, Iseul? Wasn't this your plan all along? To make this naive man fall for you, then hurt him? Toy with his feelings?"

The weight of his words hit her like a punch to the gut. He was right. In a way, he was right. But she couldn't let him turn this around on her. Her heart was shattering, but she shook her head vehemently, tears blurring her vision.

"No!" she screamed, her voice breaking. "I never wanted to hurt you. I wouldn't do that, not to anyone. I wouldn't hurt you like that... you know me."

But Sunghoon's laugh was hollow, cruel. He stood there, letting each of her desperate pleas fall on deaf ears. With each strike of her hands against his chest, he laughed harder, his breath sharp and bitter, until the laughter died and he looked at her with an expression so void of emotion, it made her blood run cold.

"Get out," he spat, the words sharp and final. "You know where the exit is."

It was the coldest dismissal she'd ever felt. And with that, he turned his back on her completely, as if she never meant anything at all.

Iseul stood there for a moment, staring at his retreating back, her chest heaving with ragged breaths. The pain in her chest was suffocating. She had nothing left to give, nothing left to say.

Her world had just crumbled around her. The man she loved, the man who had promised her the world, was gone. He was no longer the Sunghoon she knew. And with that brutal command, he tore her world apart.

She didn't look back as she stumbled out of the door, the heavy weight of his rejection pressing down on her shoulders like a physical burden. The pain was unbearable, but she walked away, her heart shattered, knowing that there was no coming back from this.

Iseul wiped away the tears that blurred her vision, her face pale but resolute. Sunghoon had just declared war on her, and now, more than ever, she knew exactly what needed to be done.

She wouldn't cry over him, not anymore.

Without another thought, she wiped her face, the remnants of her grief quickly replaced by the cold determination that had always lurked beneath her vulnerability. She couldn't afford to be weak, not now. The pain of his words, the cruel finality of his rejection, would never be forgotten—but it would not break her.

She stormed through the halls of the company, ignoring the stares and whispers, her footsteps echoing with purpose. She didn't stop to make small talk, didn't spare a glance for anyone else. She had a mission now. The offer Sunghchan had made weeks ago? It was time to cash it in.

Bursting into his office without knocking, her breath ragged from the rush, she cut straight to the point. "Is your offer still up?"

Sunghchan, looking up from his papers, blinked in surprise but quickly composed himself. "Yeah..." he answered, clearly thrown off by her sudden appearance but sensing the tension in her voice.

Without hesitation, she pulled the contract from his desk drawer before he even had a chance to process her words. Her hands moved like lightning, signing her name with a cold precision. This was it. No more games. No more being the victim of someone else's cruelty.

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.

· · ─ ·𖥸