break me with pretence
"Bloody bastard! I told you to get the stocks out of that basement but y'all are worthy of nothing", Hana scolded the workers under her supervision, infuriated at the foolish plan execution.
She was a prominent figure in the underground, renowned for the millions she made throughout her business of dealings. She was a meticulous planner and was known to have the maximum successes in her specific field – and while something illegal like this shouldn't be seen as an accomplishment, people there idolized her and yearned to become like her.
Hana held pride in this fact. She knew her worth and the significance she held. And nothing surprising to know, but she had often taken advantage of this.
But today, after all these years, she was on the edge because of a failure in her mission. Due to one wrong decision made by her team, she was in immense danger. Also, the panic might have let them leave traces they shouldn't have left. And this panic was frustrating Hana. Amidst all this, she felt something she hadn't felt in years – fear.
In the desperation to get a solution, she groaned and almost pulled her hair, letting out an exasperated sigh. After all these years of hardwork and determination, she couldn't let this all crumble down to nothing. She had to do something to save this, to save herself.
And so she left for her apartment, to get some peace of mind and ponder upon her next actions. In the hurry to leave, she bumped into someone at the parking. In order to balance herself, she reached out for him and immediately held his arm, trying to be steady.
"I'm sorry", she loosened her grip,"I wasn't paying attention."
The stranger smiled and gently shook his head saying "it's alright" and with that the conversation ended...well, it wasn't really a conversation to begin with.
But both of them stayed oblivious to the identities of each other, and maybe, it was for their own good.
Entering her apartment, Hana slammed the door and dropped on her couch, letting out a sigh of relief. The situation she was stuck in was critical for her and she had no idea on how she should act next. Veiling her conscience from all the complications, she closed her eyes and moments later fell asleep, hoping to calm her mind down to some extent.
She should have know that the next morning won't be any peaceful. She reached the basement and couldn't help but feel dizzy seeing the situation there. A fear had crept up everyone's minds and this was further infuriating Hana. Yet, not letting it all show, she continued with her underground business, pretending to be indifferent to it all. Towards the end of the day, Hana might have expected anything but not what happened next. She bumped into the same man, whom she saw the day before.
"Oh...we meet again. And, sorry, this time, I wasn't looking."
"It's absolutely fine", she managed to say, preparing to leave but the man had other plans.
"Well, by the way, myself Yuta. I wouldn't have introduced myself it weren't the universe yelling its signs on me, 'cause, we met again. It's definitely not a coincidence, don't you think so?"
Hana understood that this man was interested in her because why would he begin talking out of nowhere.
"It's just the second time Mr. Yuta. You shouldn't be thinking this much over a random meeting", she stated blankly.
"Well, maybe. But I see this differently. Just in case you are interested, here's my card – my number is in the corner. I'm looking forward to it", he smiled while handing over his card and stepped back to leave.
The moment Hana saw the card, she froze.
Yuta was a sub-inspector. One moment her heart began throbbing erratically, in fear, at the thought of being in touch with someone from the police. But the next moment, an idea hit her.
If she'd grow close to someone from the administration, her chances of being caught would decline as he would tell her everything about his job and it would keep her business safe. Yes, she was going to use Yuta but she had never cared for anyone other than herself – the world was the same. Nobody cared.
Later that night, she called on Yuta's number and he picked it up on the third ring.
"Hello?", a questioning voice answered from the other side.
"It's me Mr. Yuta, the girl from the parking...Hana."
"Didn't know you'd be so quick to call", she could hear the sudden joy in his voice. How does one be in love after just two encounters?
And the conversation that happened next carried the hope of something new for the both of them. Yuta saw a chance of finally being in love and having someone while Hana didn't even see love from her perspective.
Hana should've seen it coming but maybe, the human in her couldn't hide for too long. And so when Yuta asked her out, confessing his heart out to her, her heart softened.
"It's been just a month since we met and yet...I feel something so tangible within me each time I think of you. I don't want to force it upon you but, if I could see it right, there's a part of me that thinks...that you might be feeling the same. I really like you Hana, I really do."
The confession felt so sincere and heartwarming to Hana, she almost teared up. She didn't know how she had become so emotionally vulnerable within a month. She had meant to use Yuta for her advantage and yet, she could feel the guilt within her grappling her conscience, making her realize of her actions.
"I like you too Yuta."
She was unaware of the side of her that let it out but for once, she was willing to not be indifferent to something in life and let her emotions show...not to the world but to the one who genuinely looked like he cared, to Yuta.
Without realizing she had begun trusting him more than herself and once their relationship got official, she began sharing a part of her life with him. All the older motives forgotten and she just went with the flow. She let Yuta know everything about herself except one.
She felt bad for hiding something so crucial in her life from Yuta, the man she had surprisingly lent her heart to. But she didn't want to ruin things and so, she let it be and never thought anything of it when she spent time with him. He made her forget about all sorts of atrocities of the world and she was more than to grateful to him. She never thought she'd need to feel this but now that she did, she didn't want to let it go.
And when one of these days, Yuta showed up at her basement with his team, she was shocked but more than anything, she felt heartbroken. Yuta looked stoic, carrying a blank expression while looking at Hana and simply letting his team arrest her group. When she approached him in an attempt to talk to him, she was stopped by the police and taken into their custody.
She turned around to let her teary eyes meet Yuta's, only to find a bitter smirk plastered across his face. From how much she had know him, she could easily make out what his expression wanted to give away.
He always knew, even before she thought of using him. The first encounter – he already knew. He took advantage of this before she could even think of it. And she had actually fallen in love but maybe, he never did.
It was all pretence.
