“Yes, I ended up using the stay voucher we got before. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I’m the one who should be sorry for monopolizing Do Han on a golden weekend like this. I called everyone for a gathering today since a business trip got canceled.”

Ji Woo turned to Sa Rang, startled.

How could this man be with Do Han? Wasn’t he supposed to be in the U.S.?

“Hasn’t Do Han oppa gone to the U.S. yet?”

Sa Rang asked Soo Ho, her face a mix of confusion and hope.

The thought that Do Han might be somewhere here made her heart race.

“The U.S.? Is Ji Do Han going on a trip to America?”

“…Yes?”

“He tells me to quit my job and start a business with him, and now he’s planning a solo trip? Ah, seriously, what a ruthless guy.”

Sa Rang stood there, dumbfounded.

Her heart sank.

She couldn’t comprehend Soo Ho’s words as her mind buzzed noisily.

“The elevator’s here.”

Soo Ho stepped into the arriving elevator.

Ji Woo quickly pulled Sa Rang along, her mind still reeling.
Suho and Ji Woo pressed the floor buttons for their respective hotel rooms when Sa Rang suddenly spoke up.

“Can I just see Do Han oppa for a moment?”

“What?”

“Just for a moment. Just 10 minutes. No, just 5 minutes, please.”

Suho sensed something was off.

Sa Rang’s desperate look and her friend’s attempt to dissuade her seemed odd.

“Ah, okay.”

Was there some problem between them?

Suho felt uneasy but never imagined that they had broken up, so he got off the elevator with Sa Rang.

“What are you trying to do, Sa Rang?”

Ji Woo whispered quietly, pressing the open button.

He looked helpless, unsure whether to bring her along or follow.

“It won’t take long. Just go to the room.”

Ji Woo tried to hold her back, but Sa Rang moved away quickly.

Her footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.

Following Suho, not even knowing the room number, Sa Rang felt her heart drop when he stopped walking.

Do Han was behind the door in front of her, a fact still hard to believe.

How could he be here, after saying he was going abroad and breaking up with her?

Why didn’t Suho know about his departure?

She wanted to see Do Han and confirm everything herself. Her heart wouldn’t calm down, and she took deep breaths to steady herself.

Suho, standing by the door, rang the bell.

Soon, the door opened.

“Why are you……”

Do Han, who was frowning at Suho for being late to the gathering he organized, suddenly stopped talking.

Impossibly, Sa Rang had appeared before his eyes.

As their gazes locked, both of their faces stiffened, and Suho realized his mistake.

“Um, I met Sa Rang in the lobby, and…”

He hesitated to explain the situation, and Do Han shifted his gaze to him.

“Go inside. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“Uh? Oh, okay.”

Suho, sensing he should make space, slightly bowed to Sa Rang and entered the room.

As the door closed with a click, Do Han faced Sa Rang again.

He was as surprised as she was to meet her so soon.

Since leaving school and losing the chance to see her, Do Han’s days felt endlessly long.

From the moment he woke up to the time he fell asleep, and even in his dreams, he thought of her.

It felt like a month of longing, but only a day had passed; a year of missing her, but just a week went by.

Eating was tasteless, and sleep felt restless.

He was fully paying the price for hurting her.

‘Should I just see her from afar and leave?’

Just earlier, Do Han, like a man out of his mind, left his house on impulse.

Getting into his car, he received a message from Suho about gathering with classmates.

Thinking it was a group text, Do Han was jolted back to reality, realizing where he was headed.

It would be troublesome if others, thinking he left for the U.S., saw him at school.

So, he drove to the hotel Suho mentioned.

He decided to stay with his classmates, fearing he might end up seeking Sa Rang if he drank alone.

But why was Sa Rang right in front of him?
Do Han couldn’t take his eyes off her, as if he was seeing an apparition.

“You didn’t go to America.”

As soon as Sa Rang saw him, tears threatened to spill.

It was really Do Han.

The one she couldn’t reach despite countless calls was right in front of her.

Sa Rang clenched her fists tight, trying not to cry, but there was no response.

“Haven’t you left yet? Or did you never plan to go?”

Sa Rang guessed some answers from Do Han’s silence.

Was she just a nuisance?

Was she so tiresome that he lied just to get rid of her?

Disheartened, Sa Rang hung her head.

And how bothersome she must have been, calling him incessantly.

As she was about to turn away, something caught her eye.

A ring was on Do Han’s left ring finger.

Without thinking, she stared at the ring, her legs weakening.

It looked like a couple ring.

Realizing why they had to break up, she let out a hollow laugh.

“Why didn’t you just tell me the truth? That you had someone else.”

“What are you talking about…”

Do Han, still not understanding the situation, followed Sa Rang’s gaze.

Then he realized it was about the ring.

“A couple ring, right?”

Receiving no answer again, tears welled up in Sa Rang’s eyes.

Overwhelmed with misery, she couldn’t face him anymore and turned to leave, but Do Han stopped her.

He forcefully turned her around, and at that moment, Sa Rang slapped his cheek.

She couldn’t forgive him for touching her with the hand that shared a ring with another woman.

Losing all patience, she trembled all over.

Tears streamed down her face. She bit her lip hard to hold back the sobs, tasting blood but feeling no pain.

Her heart was already shattered; this minor pain was nothing.

“Thank you. For making me able to forget.”

He had been the face she thought of day and night.

The voice she longed to hear even in her dreams.

But now, she wouldn’t pine for him anymore.

It felt like a real farewell.

Sa Rang quickly left the corridor.

As her footsteps faded, Do Han leaned against the wall.

His left cheek turned red, but it was less painful than watching her cry.

Do Han looked at the ring on his left hand.

Unable to respond to Sa Rang’s question about the couple ring.

He had ordered it the day after they broke up.

A couple ring engraved with their names.

He couldn’t forget her wish to receive a couple ring for her next birthday.

So he recklessly ordered it and wore it alone.

He might seem crazy, but that didn’t matter to him.

It made him feel as if she was with him all day, helping him to endure.
So, he had the ring made recklessly and wore it alone.

Anyone seeing it would think he was crazy, but he didn’t care.

Feeling as if she was with him all day made each day bearable.

Do Han caressed the name engraved on the ring.

Love.

It was the inscription suggested by the clerk when he wrote his girlfriend’s name as ‘Sa Rang’ on the order form.

“Sa Rang.”

He murmured softly, looking towards the end of the corridor.

She probably doesn’t like me anymore.

I’m no longer everything in Sa Rang’s world.

It pained Do Han more to be erased from her memory than to become a despicable person in her eyes.