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The door clicked shut behind her as she stepped out of the meeting room, her nerves still rattled. The interview had gone terribly—worse than she could've imagined—and Sunghoon's cold demeanor had only made it worse.

She walked briskly to the café downstairs, her mind already spiraling. A coffee macchiato sounded like just what she needed to calm her nerves.

She barely glanced at the barista as she ordered, almost too lost in thought to notice the quiet hum of the café around her.

Sitting by the window, she wrapped her fingers around the warm cup, hoping for some relief. The bitter edge of her failure lingered on her tongue, and she took a long sip to wash it down.

As she lowered the cup, she looked up. And there he was. Sunghoon. Of course. Her ex-husband—her nemesis. The man who had made everything so much worse.

Iseul rolled her eyes and looked away, irritation rising in her chest. She didn't have the energy for this, not now.

Her phone buzzed on the table, and she knew, without even checking, that it was him. A notification. She could already hear his scolding in her mind.

Iseul walked briskly to the park near the company, trying to shake off the mess of the interview and the weight of her own frustration.

She was tempted to just turn around and leave—let him wait. He didn't deserve the courtesy. But when she rounded the corner, there he was.

Sunghoon stood by a bench, arms crossed, waiting. And when he saw her, he didn't even bother to hide his smirk.

"Well, well, Miss Iseul," he called out with a slow clap, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Wow, good job. I'm impressed."

Iseul's lips curled into a sneer. She was about to turn on her heel, but his eyes bored into hers, and she couldn't help but bite back. "Oh, please. Stop overreacting. It's not that serious."

"Out of all the places in the world, you chose here? Really?"

"What? needed a job, so I saw the ad, threw in my resume. Done. Easy."

He scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You? At my company? Your resume is filled with lies."

"I didn't lie on my resume, I just didn't waste space. It's called strategic omission."

Sunghoon let out a loud laugh, shaking his head. "Strategic omission, huh? What's next, you're going to tell me you invented the company's entire concept too?"

"Well, if we're being honest, the idea is mine."

she added "Remember when you were searching for a way to organize all your random side jobs and couldn't find anything that worked? You were stressing out about managing all your clients and deadlines, so I told you to create an app that helps freelancers track multiple projects and clients in one place. Now look at you, acting like you built it all on your own."

Sunghoon's face darkened instantly, his eyes flashing with anger. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, his jaw grinding as the frustration took over.

"Why did you have to remind me of the bad days?" His voice was low, almost bitter, as he glared at her.

Iseul stood there, a smug smile curling on her lips, watching Sunghoon's back as he turned away.

The satisfaction of finally hitting a nerve was clear in her eyes. She couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in how much she had gotten under his skin.

But Sunghoon, without sparing her another glance, brushed past her and walked away, leaving her standing there, her anger bubbling beneath the surface.

Iseul's voice shot out before she could stop it. "You've changed."

Sunghoon paused for a moment, his shoulders stiffening, but he didn't turn around. His voice was cold, distant. "I said what I had to say."

The silence between them was thick, but Iseul's fury only grew. She took a step forward, her voice rising with each word. "What do you want me to do, huh? Apologize? Kneel?"

Sunghoon's gaze darkened in an instant. Before she could even blink, he was right in front of her, the air between them thick with tension.

He leaned in, his voice low and chilling. "Kneel."

Iseul's eyebrows shot up, disbelief flashing across her face. She let out a sharp laugh, as though the suggestion was absurd.

His expression remained stone cold, and his eyes locked onto hers with a piercing intensity. "I said kneel."

For a split second, Iseul considered it. She bent down, but before her knees could touch the ground, she pushed herself back up with a glare that could pierce steel. "These knees aren't made for falling down, Park Sunghoon," she snapped, her voice filled with defiance. "They're made for standing up proudly. So, piss off!

His jaw tightened, but his eyes stayed fixed on her. "Watch that mouth. I might just end up being your boss."

Iseul blinked, and then—almost gleefully—her eyes lit up with excitement. "So you are gonna hire me?" She grinned like she'd just won a victory.

Sunghoon's disgust was immediate. He looked at her as if she were beneath him and turned, leaving her standing there with a cloud of dust swirling in his wake.

She let out a frustrated sigh, trying to shake off the lingering tension. Reaching into her bag, she grabbed a pack of crackers and popped one into her mouth, the simple task helping to calm her nerves as she walked down the familiar street.

As she chewed, she felt the tension slowly ease, her mind shifting away from the confrontation. Just then, Chaeryoung jumped out in front of her, they walked home, and they quickly fell into their usual back-and-forth banter.

But as Iseul turned the corner toward her apartment, something caught her eye. A truck was parked nearby, an unfamiliar presence in her otherwise quiet neighborhood

Chaeryoung, looking confused, asked, "Who's moving in?"

Iseul turned around, squinting at the truck, her thoughts racing. She clenched Chaeryoung's hand tightly and muttered, "Chaer, I haven't eaten anything since this morning. I think I'm seeing hallucinations... is that Sunghoon's mom?"

Chaeryoung's eyes widened in disbelief. "No way. Why is Auntie Yejin moving to the house next to you?"

Iseul almost had a heart attack as the memories rushed back. Her mind flashed to the days her mother-in-law had tormented her—starting with the photoshoot where Yejin had pushed her aside, positioning herself between Iseul and Sunghoon in the picture, making sure Iseul was out of the frame entirely.

Then came the weeks after their marriage, the endless petty arguments over who got to sit in the front seat. Yejin always won, her dominance clear in every small victory.

Iseul's chest tightened with anger. She hated her mother-in-law—still did. In fact, she hated Yejin more than she hated her own son.

Breaking out of her reverie, Iseul's eyes locked with her ex-mother-in-law's.

Yejin giggled, eyes gleaming with mockery. "Wow, look at that—she's actually gotten uglier."

Her sister, ever the peacemaker, chimed in, "Sister, stop it, she's still pretty as ever. May she be protected from the evil eye."

Yejin rolled her eyes. "The only thing she needs protection from is the mirror."

Sunghoon's aunt greeted the two girls, her tone trying to mask the obvious awkwardness. "So, how have you two been? Same old, I assume."

They heard Yejin's latest ridiculous request from a distance.

With an exaggerated pout, sunghoon's mom demanded, "Give me 15 kilograms of bananas."

Her sister raised an eyebrow. "Three kilograms should be enough. We're not monkeys."

Yejin shot back quickly, "Oh, don't worry. We'll donate the rest to the poor." as she delivered the last line she looked Iseul up and down.

After buying her bannanas Yejin first greeted Chaeryoung with a bright, almost sickly sweet smile, her tone dripping with fake warmth. She then turned her gaze toward Iseul, who was still standing there, trying to keep her composure.

"How are you, Iseul?" she asked, her voice laced with a false sweetness that made Iseul's stomach churn.

Iseul was about to reply, her mind racing to keep her cool, but Yejin's next words came out faster than expected.

"I mean, how would you feel after your ex-husband became a millionaire?"

Iseul froze for a second, the mention of Sunghoon making her clench her fists. She could feel her blood begin to boil, but Yejin wasn't done yet.

Leaning in, she lowered her voice to a whisper, though it was loud enough for Iseul to hear clearly. "Do you cry at night?

Iseul smiled, her eyes cold as she met Yejin's gaze. "Why would I cry? I'm good. But it seems that money isn't doing too well, considering you're back here."

Yejin's eyes narrowed into a sharp glare, but she didn't back down. Instead, she ran her fingers through her bangs with exaggerated care, the sound of her gold bracelets clinking loudly, almost obnoxiously.

"This has nothing to do with money, gold, or properties. I just missed my street," she said, each word dripping with an air of superiority.

As if to punctuate her statement, she flaunted her bracelets again, the noise so loud it almost drowned out everything else.

Iseul said "Very true. You know what they say, you can't forget your roots. No matter how much you try to climb."

After delivering the sharp retort, Iseul couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction, her confidence swelling as she turned on her heel and walked away.

She could practically feel the weight of Yejin's glare burning into her back, but it only fueled her self-assurance.

A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she walked, her head held high. That's right, she thought to herself. Walk away like the diva you are.

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