“…….”

Suji, who had been blankly listening to the disconnected signal, suddenly stood up.

She then hurriedly took clothes out of the wardrobe, put them on, and looked in the mirror.

After quickly combing her hair, she applied pink lip gloss to her lips.

Suji went to the entrance and put the access card she had placed on top of the shoe rack into her pocket.

As she opened the front door, her hand trembled for no reason.

After their breakup, Juwon had never once come to visit her.

For three years, she had longed for Juwon while resenting him, but only after going to his house yesterday did he come like this…….

No, to be precise, only after facing that woman again did he come like this, and so early in the morning…….

As she pressed the button for the first floor in the elevator, she remembered the words that woman had thrown at her yesterday.

That small woman with a cute face who had thrown not-so-cute words at her…….

She couldn’t sleep last night, fuming over those arrogant words the woman had spat out.

That mere woman who only looked cute, what was so good about her that Lee Juwon…….

As she thought about it again, her blood began to boil, and the elevator arrived at the first floor.

As she walked out of the villa’s main entrance, she saw Juwon leaning against his car in the distance.

Suji walked slowly towards Juwon with a trembling heart.

When we were dating, Juwon always waited for me like that…….

When was the last time I saw him standing there like that…….

Suji felt a slight flutter in her heart as she nostalgically recalled those old memories.

Suji walked up to Juwon and said with a smile.

“Juwon. Why did you come so early in the morning? If you have something to say, we could meet leisurely in the evening…….”

Juwon looked down at Suji, who was speaking in a welcoming voice, with an expressionless face.

“Why would I?”

Suji’s expression, which had been blushing slightly at those cold words implying ‘Why would I meet you in the evening?’, hardened.

Juwon extended his hand to Suji and said.

“Card.”

At those short words, Suji handed over the card with an unpleasant expression.

“Just…… You came early in the morning just to get this card? So suddenly?”

“It was because of this mere card that yesterday’s incident happened.”

Juwon said, looking at Suji with sharp eyes.

As Suji let out a deep sigh, Juwon snatched the card from Suji’s hand and said.

“Was the lowliness you showed at the wedding hall not enough?”

“……What?”

Suji asked back, furrowing her brow.

“The reason I didn’t bother to take back the access card from you was because I believed in your minimum decency. But…… I didn’t know you’d show the bottom of your character over this one card.”

“Wh-What?”

Suji bit her lip and then glared at Juwon as she spoke.

“You really…… Aren’t you going too far? After not contacting me for 3 years, you come just for this measly card, and what? Something about character?”

“I clearly…….”

Juwon opened his mouth, looking at Suji with cold eyes.

“I must have told you not to cross the line anymore, didn’t I?”

The access card on Juwon’s hand was mercilessly crumpled.

Seeing this, Suji’s eyes widened in surprise.

Looking at the crumpled card, Suji spoke with trembling lips.

“Juwon, you’re really going too far. I…… I haven’t forgotten you for a single day in these 3 years…….”

“Who told you not to forget?”

At Juwon’s piercingly cold words, Suji looked at him with eyes full of sorrow.

“Don’t act so messily over a relationship that’s already over. There’s a limit to my patience.”

Suji bit her lip and shot a resentful look at Juwon.

“You really…… are cruel. We were once people who loved each other…… How can you say such harsh things?”

Juwon brushed his bangs back with a smirk.

“Harsh? This is harsh? Isn’t it you who’s being harsh, making a melodrama out of a relationship that ended 3 years ago?”

Suji gritted her teeth in disbelief as her eyes began to redden.

Juwon took a step closer to Suji and said.

“I’ll say this only once, so listen carefully. During the year and a half we dated, I gave you the maximum affection I could give and did my best. But you still complained it wasn’t enough and suffocated me. When your obsession crossed the line and turned into madness…… I could have ended it first, but I wanted to preserve your last bit of self-esteem, so I waited politely until you said let’s end it. So you too, stop here and step back politely. Don’t show any more unsightly behavior.”

Tears began to well up in Suji’s eyes as her lips trembled slightly.

“Lee Juwon, how…… How can you do this to me? Do you have to…… make a person this miserable?”

Tears rolled down Suji’s eyes.

But Juwon’s gaze watching Suji’s falling tears was unbearably cold.

At that gaze, Suji bit her lip as if indignant, then glared at Juwon and spoke almost shouting.

“Just what! What did that damn girlfriend of yours say to you yesterday! For you to treat me so coldly like this? Huh?”

Juwon’s face hardened and a cold chill began to set in.

“You! You’re being completely fooled by that precious girlfriend of yours! You know? That damn girl might have a cute face, but do you know how vicious she is inside? She’s a complete snake of a woman!”

At Suji’s words, which were almost screamed out, Juwon’s gaze turned chillingly cold.

Black pupils filled with unrestrained anger glared at Suji as if to devour her.

“I thought you had just become lowly…… but you’ve become vulgar too?”

At Juwon’s insulting words, Suji’s pupils shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

“I tried to maintain minimum courtesy out of consideration for our past…… but you don’t need such courtesy.”

Juwon muttered lowly, then took a step closer to Suji and looked down at her with a frightening gaze.

“Hey.”

At Juwon’s irritated low voice rising from the bottom, Suji flinched.

“How dare you…… attach the word ‘bitch’ to whom?”

Suji took a step back with a frightened expression.

“Our Ina…….”

Juwon stopped speaking as if struggling to hold back, then let out a big sigh.

Then he brushed up his bangs and continued speaking.

“Don’t dare mention our Ina with that filthy mouth of yours. It feels like our Ina is being tainted.”

“What? Fi-Filthy?”

Suji’s mouth fell open in shock, and then tears began to fall as if her tear ducts had malfunctioned.

“What have you been doing for 3 years to become this lowly? Because of your vulgar remarks just now, even the year and a half I dated you has now become a filthy memory to me.”

Suji’s pupils widened, and she began to cry, her shoulders trembling.

Covering her face with both hands as she cried, Suji looked up at Juwon with pitiful eyes.

“Juwon. Sob. Why are you…… treating me so harshly? Isn’t this too much, even for you? I…… It feels like my heart is being torn to shreds. It hurts so much here. Sob.”

Suji pointed to her chest with her hand and cried again, trembling.

If another man had seen Suji crying with her slender shoulders shaking, he would have rushed to hug her, but Juwon just looked down at Suji with anger-filled eyes and smirked.

“Hey.”

Then he called out to Suji with a look of contempt.

“Your crocodile tears mean nothing to me.”

At Juwon’s emotionless voice, Suji’s heart sank to her feet.

As she clutched her chest and cried at the pain that felt like being torn to shreds, Juwon spoke in a sharp voice.

“But, if by any chance tears come from our Ina’s eyes because of you, then I’ll show you what the end of humanity looks like.”

Juwon threw the access card, crumpled beyond recognition, at Suji’s feet as she trembled and cried.

Then he got into his car without hesitation and drove off.

After the car had left, Suji collapsed onto the ground, covering her face with both hands and crying endlessly.

* * *

Just as Ina returned to her seat after getting approval from Manager Park, her phone rang.

It was Juwon.

Ina smiled and quickly answered the phone.

“Hello?”

−You’re not working overtime today, right?

“No. I don’t think I will.”

−Then I’ll come pick you up at 7. Come down on time.

“Okay. Got it.”

−Think about what you want to eat.

“Alright. I will. See you later then.”

Just as she was about to hang up, Juwon called out to Ina from the other end.

−Ina.

“Yes?”

−I miss you.

At those words, spoken almost in a whisper, Ina’s face turned bright red.

Come on, we fell asleep together last night and he even dropped me off this morning…….

Oh, this man, like a rising star in the world of love.

Ina looked around the office like a meerkat, then quickly put the phone close to her mouth and whispered ‘Me too’.

Juwon’s laughter could be heard through the phone.

−See you later then.

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Ina’s heart pounded as she sat down at her desk.

Ah, really, what should I do with this man who’s like an onion, revealing more charm with each layer peeled?

This is, should I publish a book called “If You Want to Love, Be Like Teacher Lee Juwon!”? As this silly thought occurred to her, Ina giggled to herself.

Time passed and it became 6:30 PM. People started getting up from their seats one by one to go home.

Ina told Sena and Eun Jeong to go ahead, then took out a mirror to look at her face.

Although they were already dating, the sweet confession Ina heard from Juwon last night made her heart swell, and it was also an opportunity for Ina to realize once again how much she liked Juwon.

This morning before leaving home, Ina had carefully applied makeup and curled her hair with a sense of excitement as if going on a first date.

She wore a light pink knit that slightly revealed her collarbone line, with a cream-colored H-line skirt, and adorable heart-shaped rose gold earrings.

After finishing all her preparations and arriving at work, Ina’s heart had been pounding for no reason all day, and she had been waiting for the end of the workday to come quickly.

And finally, as the clock pointed to 6:50 PM, she slowly got up from her seat and put on her coat.

With an excited heart, she got off the elevator and walked out the main entrance, where she saw the tall figure of Juwon standing next to his parked car in the distance.

Ah, really…… He shines even from afar, as someone’s boyfriend. He shines.

Ina walked slowly towards Juwon with a broad smile.

But unlike Ina who was smiling, Juwon’s eyes narrowed as Ina approached closer and closer.

And when Ina came right in front, smiling happily and saying “Juwon”, Juwon’s pupils dilated.

Juwon looked down at Ina’s lower body with observant eyes.

Below the cream-colored skirt, Ina’s thighs were exposed.

Although she was wearing thin stockings, Juwon’s eyes narrowed again as he saw Ina’s cute knees peeking through.