Roses and Thorns (Jinlia)

Chapter 29: The Day the Moon Turned Away

Jisu paced the length of the quiet room, her steps uneven, restless. The walls seemed to close in with every heartbeat, her thoughts spiraling into a storm of dread. Ryujin had promised to visit todayㅡa promise Jisu clung to like a lifeline. So when the old gate groaned open, its creak slicing through the silence, her heart stuttered, hope rising against the tide of anxiety.

She turned just as the front door burst open.

Ryujin stood in the doorway, wild-eyed, her chest heaving. Their eyes lockedㅡbut there was no comfort in her gaze. No warmth. Only betrayal. Only fury.

“Ryujinㅡ” Jisu’s voice was barely a whisper.

The sound hadn’t finished leaving her lips before Ryujin’s hand flew through the air, striking Jisu’s cheek with a crack that echoed like thunder through the house.

Jisu reeled, the sting hot and immediate. She stumbled back, one hand flying to her face as shock bloomed in her chest, her breath caught somewhere between disbelief and pain.

Ryujin’s voice lashed the air. “How dare you, Choi Jisu!”

Her words were sharp, electrified with rage. The veins in her neck pulsed visibly, her body rigid as though barely containing the storm inside her. She looked nothing like the woman who once held Jisu through her worst nights.

“What the hell did I do?!” Jisu cried, tears burning at the corners of her eyes. Her voice cracked, thick with confusion, with a pain she didn’t yet understand.

Ryujin’s gaze only hardened. The line of her jaw tightened like a steel trap. She stood like judgment incarnate, fists clenched at her sides, fury radiating off her like a furnace.

“Yes, Jisu. What did you do?” she hissed, each word dipped in venom.

Jisu’s lips parted, trembling. Her breath came in shallow gasps. She tried to respond, to explainㅡbut no words came. The silence pressed in like a vice. Her tears clung to her lashes, unspilled, a dam about to burst.

And seeing her like thatㅡvulnerable, breakingㅡonly seemed to enrage Ryujin further.

“I am utterly disgusted,” she spat, the words laced with contempt.

“Let’s talk this over, moon ofㅡ”

“Don’t!” Ryujin screamed, pointing a trembling finger in Jisu’s direction. “Don’t you dare call me that.”

Jisu froze, the familiar pet name hanging in the air like a blade between them. She hadn’t meant to say it. It had slipped past her defenses, a desperate grasp at the love that once lived between them. But now it only deepened the fracture.

Ryujin’s voice dropped, but it lost none of its fury. “How do you find the courage to call me that after betraying me?” Her voice quaked, tears beginning to pool in her eyes. She wiped them away with a sharp swipe, the pain behind them barely concealed.

“What in the...” Jisu faltered, unable to finish the thought. A bitter laugh escaped her lips, hollow and shaking. “You’re being really harsh, Ryujin.”

Ryujin stepped closer, her tone rising. “Did you even stop to think how I’d feel before sneaking around behind my back?”

The accusation struck Jisu like a physical blow. She stared at Ryujin, heart pounding. Her thoughts scrambled for clarity, but the only thing she could grasp was Ryujin’s misunderstanding. This wasn’t betrayal. It never had been.

“It’s not what you think!” she pleaded, voice trembling. “I would never cheat on you!”

“I’m not an idiot, Jisu!” Ryujin shouted. Then, from her pocket, she pulled a folded stack of photographs and threw them with a violent flick of her wrist. “Take a look at these damn pictures, then try to lie to me again!”