Back at the mansion, I packed my belongings slowly. Every folded shirt felt heavier than it should. Every zip of the suitcase echoed like a goodbye I wasn't ready for. But I had to do this.
As instructed, I pretended. When Mr. Kim found me by the front door with my bags, I forced a smile.
"You're... leaving?" he asked, clearly shocked.
"I've been thinking about it for a while," I lied. "It's time."
"You're welcome here, you know. You don't have to go just because winter break is ending."
"I appreciate that, sir. But this feels right."
He hesitated, concern lining his features. "At least stay on at the company. You're good at what you do."
I nodded, grateful for the kindness. "Of course. I'd like that."
And just like that, I was out of the Kim mansion. Out of Hyunjin's life.
The calls came almost immediately.
One. Two. Five. Fifteen.
All from him.
I didn't answer a single one.
Then came Minho — relentless and furious. One night, he showed up uninvited, voice raised the second I opened the door.
"What the hell, Wendy?!"
I didn't answer. I couldn't.
He stormed in anyway, ignoring Jessie's startled look. "You just cut him off? After everything?"
"I had to," I murmured, voice weak.
"No. You chose to. And don't give me that noble crap."
I stared at the floor, ashamed.
"He thinks you left him for Seojun."
My eyes snapped to his. "What?"
"Yeah. That's what his mother told him. And Seoyeon? She backed it up."
"No. I would never—"
"But you didn't deny it, did you? You just disappeared. And now he thinks he meant nothing to you."
I swallowed hard, every word cutting deep.
"I'm sorry, Minho. I'm doing what's best for him."
"No, you're doing what's safest for you." He stepped back. "I don't know who you are anymore."
And he left.
Jessie was the only one who knew everything. The truth. The blackmail. The heartbreak.
We moved into a small apartment off-campus. I buried myself in work and school, but every hallway, every passing stranger, every echo of a laugh made me ache for him.
He eventually stopped calling.
I guess... he hated me now.
And then we crossed paths again.
I was in the office printing out documents.
I turned, feeling his presence before I saw him.
Hyunjin.
Healthy, tall, elegant in a navy coat, but his expression—cold. Sharp. Nothing like the boy I held in a hospital bed.
My heart jumped. "Hyun—"
He walked past me.
Didn't even glance in my direction.
As if I never existed.
