Guilty As Sin ► Y.JH

13

It had been a week since the confrontation in the studio, and Soleil felt like she was walking through a haze. The days had bled into each other, indistinguishable, like a constant, heavy fog that surrounded her and refused to lift. The world outside seemed distant, as if it were happening in a place she no longer belonged. She could barely bring herself to face anyone, let alone the people she had once considered her closest friends.

Minho had barely spoken to her since that night. There was a coldness between them now, an unbearable distance that stretched further and further with each passing day. Every time they shared a room, it felt like a battle of wills, neither of them knowing how to navigate the new dynamic between them. There was no warmth in his eyes anymore, no comfort in his presence. He was distant, not just physically but emotionally-hurt, angry, and shattered.

Soleil had tried to talk to him once, to explain herself, but he had shut her down. The look he had given her in the studio that night was still burned in her mind-the pain and betrayal so clear that it had stopped her words in their tracks. She couldn't fix it, no matter how hard she tried. No matter how many times she whispered "I'm sorry" in the quiet of her room, the weight of her actions felt like it was crushing her from every angle.

And Jeonghan-oh, Jeonghan. He was gone again, just like he had promised. He hadn't returned any of her messages, hadn't even acknowledged her existence since that night. Soleil had tried to reach out, trying to at least find some sort of closure, but there was nothing. His absence was like a gaping wound that she couldn't stop bleeding from. He had left her, just like he had before, and the worst part was that she knew she had no right to stop him. Not after what they had done. The kiss, the betrayal-it had destroyed everything, and now Jeonghan was gone, and with him, any hope of salvaging the fragile relationships she had left.

It felt like her entire world had come crashing down, like the ground beneath her had given way, leaving her to fall into an abyss that was impossible to escape.

Soleil stood in front of the window in her small apartment, staring out at the city that felt so far away from the reality she had once known. The streets were alive with motion, with people going about their daily lives, but here, in her quiet solitude, she felt as though she were suffocating. She could hear the distant hum of cars, the occasional footsteps of pedestrians, but it all felt disconnected-like she was a ghost, trapped in a world she no longer recognized.

She had tried to keep herself busy. She threw herself into her photography, taking long walks around the city, trying to lose herself in the beauty of the world around her. But nothing worked. No matter how many pictures she took, no matter how much she immersed herself in her work, she couldn't escape the gnawing guilt that clung to her like a shadow.

She had betrayed Minho's trust, his brother's trust. . She had crossed a line with Jeonghan. And now, she was left with nothing but the wreckage of the relationships she had broken.

Her phone buzzed on the coffee table, and she sighed, not even bothering to look at the screen. It had been a few days since anyone had reached out to her. Joshua had sent a few texts, asking if she was okay, but she hadn't replied. She didn't have the strength to pretend she was fine, not when everything felt like it was falling apart.

But as she picked up the phone, her eyes landed on a message from an unknown number. Her heart skipped a beat as she opened it, her fingers trembling as she read the short, cold message that was waiting for her.

"Meet me at the studio. Now."

It was from Jeonghan.