Yeonwoo exerted strength to her weak, wobbly legs and bit her lip while trying to stand straight.

Everything between her and Junhwi, the conflicts, big and small, experienced so far, felt different now.

The temperature of the air surrounding them, the gaze they exchanged, and even his breath – none of it was the same as before.

It felt like the ground disappeared beneath her feet. She simply couldn’t bear being in his space any longer. Yeonwoo bowed slightly, greeted him, and quickly left his room.

“Uh…”

Yeonwoo, who had hastily run to the women’s restroom, leaned on the sink, taking a moment to catch her breath. In the mirror, she looked disheveled, appearing pathetically desperate for the attention of her ex-lover.

There was no sense of self-praise for dealing with it without shedding tears or handling it with composure.

What did you expect, after all?

Did you hope to hold onto him with desperate words?

Did you want to whisper that you wanted to be held tight and see him again?

The feeling of wanting to cling to the lingering scent of his presence on the approval document was also dispelled.

Once turned away, he would never come back.

“······Enough now.”

It was time to wake up from the dream.

She forced herself to straighten her back while looking in the mirror, slightly lifting her chin. However, Yeonwoo’s chest crumbled beyond any effort, leaving her helpless.

“Why was Kwon Junhwi in such a mood today? He kept accepting the drinks I offered.”

Early year-end dinner with Roan Yul, who was just now filling Junhwi’s empty glass, jokingly threw a comment with a hearty laugh.

“You’ve been through a lot this year. Working with Attorney Kwon on a big project.”

“I appreciate your consideration.”

Junhwi, who responded briefly, turned his body, emptying the glass again.

“Anyway, Attorney Kwon and others have been drinking a lot today. Thank you for your hard work this year.”

Kim Seung-ho, who was slicing a thick piece of raw fish onto Junhwi’s plate, asked with a sly smile.

“Are you okay? It looks like you’ve had a lot.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“If you’re uncomfortable, please let me know. I’ll secretly refill your glass with water instead of alcohol.”

However, Junhwi couldn’t properly hear the words of his clever junior.

Since being tormented by the auditory hallucination that has been bothering him since he and Yeonwoo separated, one side of his head was throbbing as if it would split apart in pain.

After losing his father and brother in front of his eyes, he was constantly tormented by the auditory hallucination that had haunted him. He had forgotten about it for a while, but lately, the auditory hallucination has been tormenting Junhwi again.

Beep The faint high-tone ringing tightened his breath, giving Junhwi a pain that felt like a sharp knife cutting through his head. It ended with a sharp pain, pinching his heart.

It all started right after he turned away from Yeonwoo.
Bang, bang! He couldn’t hear the nervous honks of other cars or the sound of tires rubbing against the brakes, all he felt was the intense pain of the insane auditory hallucination scratching at him.

It was natural. He had turned away coldly from Kim Yeonwoo, so of course, something in Kwon Junhwi had to break.

Even if he knew the cause, there was no way to resolve it. He just had to endure it. Junhwi clenched his ears, wrapped his head, and endured it for a long time.

Since then, he became much more absorbed in his work.

It was a behavior he had done since childhood to forget painful memories, and naturally, he thought it would work this time too.

However, this time, not even the only method Junhwi knew worked. No matter how much he tortured his body and mind, he couldn’t shake off Yeonwoo.

The excruciating pain of the auditory hallucination attacking Junhwi continued to worsen. Wherever he was and whatever he did, a sharp knife was freely wandering through his mind.

“······Damn.”

Each time he breathed, trying to calm his throbbing head, his heart would start pounding unpleasantly with irregular beats, thump, thump, and the faint sound of the high-tone auditory hallucination that squeezed people.

With each repetition, if he endured, not concentration but Yeonwoo’s smiling face, which used to laugh heartily, came vividly to his mind.

She said she was tired. She wanted to stop everything. There was no justification to hold onto her.

At first, he was angry. He didn’t understand why Yeonwoo kept focusing on external factors he couldn’t control.

It felt like even his efforts for Kim Yeonwoo were being denied.

Junhwi, who considered the realm of emotions the most unnecessary in life, poured energy into it unreservedly.

He laughed, enjoyed, worried, and felt sad solely because of Yeonwoo. And those efforts had become utterly futile.

······Raging like that for a while, resignation came in the place where the flames had subsided.

Did she struggle because of his greed, not wanting to miss ordinary happiness like others?