✓ UNLIKELY MATCH | HEESEUNG

15 - Nobody Knows

SENA'S POV

"Sena, this way please." The photographers call and I look their way, giving them my best smile so bright and genuine that it almost hurts. It's another day of photo shoots, interviews, and events, but my mind is still back at Heeseung's apartment, replaying our conversation over and over again. I'm dressed in a stunning gown, the fabric flowing elegantly around me as I move, but inside, I feel anything but elegant. There's a knot in my stomach whenever I think about Heeseung, Ujin, or just everything that's happening in my life right now. 

"Sena, could you please look this way?" I tear my gaze away from the distant horizon, focusing on the photographer in front of me. With a practiced smile, I turn towards the camera, trying to push aside the thoughts of Heeseung that threaten to consume me. But no matter how hard I try to distract myself, his presence lingers in the back of my mind, like a persistent whisper that refuses to be ignored. "Can you say anything about your relationship with Lee Heeseung? Any comments about it?"

"I... uh..." I stutter, feeling a flush of embarrassment creeping up my cheeks. Without saying a word, I raise my hand to show the ring sitting on my finger and the flash of cameras intensifies. I smile a little, like a shy bride-to-be so it doesn't look fake. By now, everyone is convinced Heeseung and I are real after we posted our engagement pictures and I posted a picture of Raven, his cat, in his place. But the fact that Ujin knows the truth, that he could just expose everything with a single word, hangs over me like a dark cloud.

He hadn't texted me or called me since that night, and I know he's waiting for me to call him, to explain what happened and apologize like I always do. But I'm too tired of that, of always being the one to reach out and make things right. I'm tired of constantly apologizing for his behavior, for making excuses for him, for pretending that everything is okay when it's not. But despite my exhaustion, despite my frustration, there's a part of me that still feels guilty, that still wonders if I'm doing the right thing by staying silent.

"Senny, come on, we need to get going," Steph calls from a distance and I excuse myself, walking away from the red carpet and the photographers who are, most probably, more interested in my relationship with Heeseung than my actual career. I plaster on a smile as I make my way over to Steph who's waiting for me inside the place. So many influencers were invited tonight, along with some celebrities who have graced the event with their presence.

The way people are staring at me makes me so self-conscious I can feel their eyes boring into me, dissecting every move I make, every word I utter. I know this is what comes with being associated with Heeseung who has more public attention than I ever did. I smile at everyone who stares at me so there's no mean girl stories about me later on, and then I see her, Hana, staring at me with a smirk playing on her lips that quickly changes into the fakest smile I've ever seen when she notices that I've caught her gaze. My heart sinks at the sight of her, the perfume incident still fresh in my mind. I try to ignore her, focusing on Steph's conversation instead, but I can feel Hana's eyes on me, judging me, mocking me.

"I would have grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the ground if hundreds of cameras weren't trained on us," Steph mutters under her breath and I notice the way she's glaring at Hana. "She's the most petty and immature person I've ever met. Why would she wear the same heels as you? There are millions of black heels and she chooses to wear the same ones as you? The managers discuss these issues before events so that things like this don't happen, and yet here we are."

I know it's not just a coincidence that Hana chose to wear the same heels as me to this event. She's deliberately trying to provoke me. But if I say she's copying me or trying to start a fight, I'll be labeled as paranoid or petty. So, I choose to ignore her, to pretend like her actions don't bother me, even though they do. I smile at Steph and pat her back. "The fact that she's wearing the same heels doesn't mean they look good on her. She can still copy my style, but she'll never have my taste."