𝖬𝗒 𝖠𝗆𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗂𝖺 𝖦𝗂𝗋𝗅 | 𝖸𝗎𝖸𝖾𝗈𝗇

𝗠𝗔𝗚 - 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑

🇸 🇴 🇾 🇪 🇴 🇳

I sat alone in my office, flipping through the shots from earlier. The lighting, the smiles, the angles-they all came out great. As always.

But no matter how flawless the photos were, I couldn't stop thinking about her.

Yuqi.

She looked exactly the same. Beautiful, effortlessly so. Seeing her again after two years felt like getting hit by a wave I didn't see coming. One second I was standing there with my camera, and the next, memories I'd buried deep started clawing their way back up-our laughter, the fights, the plans we made, the way she used to look at me.

And just like that, I was overwhelmed. Not from anger. Not even from the pain I thought I'd put behind me. It was the ache. The undeniable realization of how much I had missed her. And I hated how easily that vulnerability crept in, how exposed I felt just from looking at her.

Part of me wanted to yell, to demand answers. Why? What did I do to deserve the way you left me? I wanted to be strong, guarded. I had promised myself I would be. But the truth is, Yuqi has always had a way of disarming me-pulling out the parts I tried so hard to hide.

Those first few months after she left? Hell. I barely slept. My thoughts spiraled constantly-replaying the day, questioning every word, every action. The trauma of being left like that, on a day that was supposed to be the happiest of our lives... it carved something deep and raw inside me.

And it shook my confidence-not just in love, but in myself. I gave everything to that relationship. Everything. And yet, in the end, I was still the one left behind. No explanations. Just... silence. It felt like losing a game I'd trained my whole life to win.

Eventually, I picked myself up. I didn't have a choice. I told myself it was over and that I had to move on. I believed it. At least, I thought I did.

But now?

Now I don't know anymore.

Youngji's voice crackled through the intercom, snapping me out of my thoughts. She was welcoming a new customer at the front desk. I closed the photo folder in my hands, telling myself I'd sort it all later.

I was just about to ask Youngji to take over the next shoot so I could take a breather when I heard something that made my stomach drop.

"We're friends of Soyeon."

That voice-Meiqi.

What the hell was going on? First Shuhua, and now Meiqi? Were they all showing up one by one?

"We'd like to have our picture taken, of course." Xuanyi. Which meant...

If they were here, Yuqi couldn't be far behind.

I nearly lost it. I started seriously considering escape options-hiding under my desk, pretending to be sick, maybe even slipping out the window. Anything to avoid the confrontation I wasn't ready for.

Thankfully, Youngji jumped in, cool, and professional as always. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but Miss Jeon is extremely busy right now."

Bless her.

I slumped back in my chair, trying to calm my breathing.

And then-

"Soyeon's over here!"

The door burst open, and everything around me just... exploded.

Chaos had arrived.

And it had Yuqi's name written all over it.