So Yeon came out of the bathroom after finishing her shower.

She roughly put on underwear on her arms and legs, then took out training pants and a shirt from the closet drawer and carelessly put them on as if throwing them over herself. All those actions were slow and sluggish.

She had been lying like a corpse for three days after returning to the country. So her body had recovered to some extent, but her mood was still heavy like water-soaked cotton, sinking deeper into gloom.

However, So Yeon could no longer delay her resolve to return to her solid daily routine.

Hyun Woo would be coming soon, they should live happily together, now she would be able to nuzzle her son’s soft and chewy cheeks like rice cakes every day, so she couldn’t stay this weak.

She needed to become stronger as a mother, and put in several times more effort to make up for the father’s role for this child who only had a mother.

So Yeon’s face, as she suddenly brought the child’s photo from the dresser to her eyes and stared at it for a while, bloomed with a sad yet lovely smile.

“Hyun Woo…”

Mom is sorry.

I’m really sorry for always crying and being in pain.

Mom will cheer up. Mom will live harder so my son can smile more.

Though Hyun Woo is still young, when he mischievously furrows his brow, he looks exactly like his father. Looking at the photo with that expression, that face inevitably comes to mind vividly…

Thinking of Tae Seo Jun, So Yeon’s eyes grew hot again. But it was a dry longing that couldn’t even shed tears.

Seo Jun had taken So Yeon to the Seville airport.

There, So Yeon had turned her back on him, harshly vowing never to look back, never to cry again. But from that day on, her eyes were only cold and dry, as if even her soul could not be felt.

So Yeon put down the round frame she had been looking at back where it was and went to the kitchen. She needed to eat some porridge to recover at least some of her strength that had been depleted from the flu.

The refrigerator was full of all kinds of porridge. Yesterday, Yeo Do Soon had brought a lot, telling her to take out and eat whatever she wanted. But of course she had no appetite for that.

After forcing herself to eat all of some random porridge she had taken out and heated in the microwave, So Yeon moved towards the entrance, thinking of walking on the apartment complex trail.

But then came the sound of the doorbell.

It wouldn’t be Yeo Do Soon, who always just opens the door lock and comes right in. Then who…

So Yeon’s eyes widened as she opened the door without much thought.

“…!”

“Have you been well?”

As the tall man strode into the door, So Yeon stepped back one step, unable to say anything.

Jo In Ha’s expression was quite nonchalant as he took over the living room sofa.

“Is it okay if I sit here?”

“Is there any meaning to that question when you’re already sitting?”

“I’d like you to consider it as sulking because you blocked my phone number.”

He was someone who had never been to this house before. But from barging in rudely without the homeowner’s permission to what he was saying, So Yeon was just dumbfounded. However, even an uninvited guest was still a guest.

“I’ll bring out some tea. You like black tea, right?”

“Well, whatever’s fine.”

The expression that raised the corner of his mouth with a snicker was a sneer.

Eom So Yeon was pretty and beautiful no matter what she did or how she looked, but In Ha became certain that she was nothing more than a passing interest to Tae Seo Jun because of Yoo Jung Hwa’s plausible words when they met in Milan.

‘Even when Mr. Seo Jun was dating me, he was a man who never gave his side. He’s a cold-blooded man who ruthlessly throws away even the sweet nectar he was enjoying the moment he gets tired of it. How will Eom So Yeon handle that man with no affection and whose outside and inside are different? She’ll probably deeply realize he was the wrong man to get involved with only after being abandoned. It’s only because it’s me that I can accept Tae Seo Jun again.’

‘Are you talking about getting back together?’

‘Neither he nor I can talk about that much because of our public positions. Anyway, just watch. Who will be the man I, Yoo Jung Hwa, will soon marry.’

‘Marriage? Then, are you saying Tae Seo Jun was two-timing?’

‘Hmph, you could say that?’

He already didn’t like Tae Seo Jun.

Because of that, Yoo Jung Hwa’s secretly whispered story soon became the truth in In Ha’s mind.

He felt sorry and pathetic for Eom So Yeon, who was only fooled by Tae Seo Jun’s flashy exterior. So, he wanted to reveal Tae Seo Jun’s true nature in detail.

But the moment Eom So Yeon fell into a coma and was taken away by Tae Seo Jun, he left Spain and flew to Korea. Though he was furious, he was able to do so because he had promised himself today.

In Ha carefully observed the space he was entering for the first time.

Then, thinking of that bastard who would have proudly entered here, unlike himself who had only wandered around this area on the day Eom So Yeon left for Spain, he became enraged.

“I thought you’d stay longer in Spain, but I guess you came right back? Why, did that bastard find it bothersome because you were sick?”

“…”

So Yeon’s brow automatically furrowed as harsh words referring to Tae Seo Jun came out of In Ha’s mouth. She didn’t want to hear even a little of talk slandering him.

“It doesn’t seem like that’s what you came here to ask. What brings you here?”

“Why do you think it’s not? That’s why I came.”

The slender fingertips placing the teacup on the table visibly trembled. Conscious of her weak body, So Yeon deliberately straightened her back and neck and said:

“Stop saying strange things and leave after you finish drinking this.”

“You’re the one avoiding. You know why I’m doing this.”

“Hah… Fine. I knew your feelings that night long ago when we had drinks with fellow students. But how long ago was that? I said no, and you clearly apologized to me. I thought that tied up the complicated emotions between us, but was that not the case?”

“When I confessed, you said you already had another man. No, did you say you broke up? Anyway, you had that man’s child alone. When you said you were taking a leave of absence, something seemed off, but things only clicked when you publicly announced you had a child. But still, I never gave up on you, and I still haven’t. So how can you say it’s tied up when I’m like this!”

So Yeon disappeared without a trace one day, taking a leave of absence with just one semester left until graduation. After passing a year like that, she reappeared and devoted herself to her studies and acting as before.

Those years of watching Eom So Yeon from one step behind. For him, it was a long time that couldn’t be easily folded away.

But even now, Eom So Yeon was looking at another man. Just thinking about that made In Ha’s blood boil backwards, and he continued speaking while diluting his bitter feelings with a self-deprecating laugh.

“I kept waiting. Until you liked me as a man, expecting you to only look at me. But is it really not me?”

In Ha snorted and leaned back, burying his body in the sofa backrest. So Yeon, feeling threatened by that posture, moved her body sitting on the floor slightly backwards.

“…”

As noon came, the flower scent that touched So Yeon’s nose became thicker than in the morning. It was the scent of acacia flowing in through the narrow gap of the slightly open window.

In winter, the windows are tightly closed because of the cold wind blowing into the house, but in summer, they are opened because the scorching sunlight is unbearably hot. Though it seems the same, the actions that naturally come out each season are so different. How much more so for people.

That’s me, but what should I do? Even I can’t get a grip on my own heart and am wandering, so how should I tell Jo In Ha to give up his feelings?

What should I say to convey my heart?

The thirst burning with possessiveness doesn’t disappear even if you drink water. Like weeds that spread widely and grow lushly even if you pull them out and cut them off, unless you get what you want, such stubborn love won’t be soothed by any words.

So Yeon, fully understanding In Ha’s feelings, didn’t want to carelessly handle their relationship.

So even though she knew he hadn’t given up on her, she pretended not to know. But finally, such a day has come. The day that is finally the end, though I had forcibly tried to connect it hoping it wouldn’t be the end.

“I thought of you as a colleague walking the same path, as a good friend with many things to learn from. But if you expect more than that from me, I don’t think I can treat you like before.”

“Ha… This is really harsh.”

In Ha, who had been silent for a moment, got up from the sofa and approached So Yeon. In sync with that movement, So Yeon also got up from the floor.

“Even after experiencing that hell, while you’re still crossing that hell road now.”

In Ha concluded that Eom So Yeon had been abandoned by her child’s father. He really couldn’t understand how she could still be like this after being treated that way by a man, and even giving birth to that man’s child and deliberately making it public, bringing difficulties upon herself.

“With that background, now you’re blinded by Tae Seo Jun? So I have to be pushed aside again? What’s wrong with your mind, how much do you want to regret!”

“Don’t say it like that. I’ve never thought of it as hell, and I don’t regret it at all! And Director Tae and I are nothing!”

In Ha’s intense gaze poured down on So Yeon as he took one more step forward. So Yeon, feeling threatened, tried to move sideways to avoid his gaze. But In Ha’s movement, pushing So Yeon against the wall with a dull sound, was a little faster.

“Then, think about me properly now! Who knows? Your thoughts might change.”

“Wh-what are you doing!”

The smooth conversation was now over. In Ha frantically pressed So Yeon, whom he had trapped in his arms. So Yeon, raising her voice, pushed In Ha’s chest that was pressing down on her, but he strongly gripped her delicate wrists. So Yeon’s body, deprived of the freedom of both arms, trembled violently.

“Please don’t do this! Let go right now!”

“Why not me! The unknown first man? That precious Tae Seo Jun? Those bastards just played with you! Everyone makes mistakes. In this day and age, having a past isn’t a flaw!”

“So, what are you trying to do! Why should I hear such words from you!”

So Yeon’s eyes, filled with astonishment, fiercely glared at In Ha with venom.

“I’m saying that if you’re hesitating to live as my woman because of the child, I can solve that. It’s simple to put the child in a good private school, right? Seeing that you don’t even live with the child after leaving it with your parents, you don’t really like that child that much! Then isn’t it enough to just look in on it occasionally?”

“Wh-what did you say?”

So Yeon’s expression, which turned serious at the nonsensical gibberish, looked quite painful.

It was.

Her heart was throbbing and so painful.

Above all, the time she couldn’t spend with her child was extremely painful.

“Why is my child coming out of your mouth! I would never choose you, even if I died!”

“You like men but didn’t want the child, right! You seem to be very picky about men while pretending to be in a coma, but since you’re sticking with Tae Seo Jun, someone like me doesn’t matter, is that it!”

“Ugh…!”

Suddenly grabbing So Yeon’s shoulders tightly with both hands, he said:

“I like you! I like you to death! But how do you think I feel when you keep acting like this? It’s infuriating!”

In Ha’s eyes were red.

“…!”

This person is not normal!

He was clearly out of his mind!

So Yeon swung her hand with all her might and slapped In Ha’s cheek hard.

Slap!

A sharp sound rang out loudly.

“You even know how to hit people. Eom So Yeon, you’ve become quite feisty…”

In Ha, who licked the inside of his cheek with his tongue, smiled eerily.

“Since it’s come to this, shall we go all the way?”

“You crazy bastard! Just try to touch me, I’ll definitely kill you!”

Even after hearing the warning filled with anger, In Ha grabbed So Yeon’s shoulders with hands full of brutal strength, as if to crush them.

“You, you like men. No, do you enjoy it more? What’s the problem with doing it with me too?”

So Yeon, grinding her molars, advised sharply and harshly.

“You want to break me and possess me? If I can’t be yours alive, you’ll kill me to have me? Don’t be ridiculous! You can’t do that! If you can’t control your desires, you’ll lose everything you’ve built up in an instant! The shining actor Jo In Ha will disappear, and only a destroyer, a criminal will remain forever!”

“That’s your thought. I’m going to have you now. And I won’t lose anything. Because you just need to accept me. I’ll definitely make it that way.”

“…”

It was a moment. Her hair felt like it would be pulled out in clumps as the man’s hand yanked it back. Despite the unfavorable situation, So Yeon glared at Jo In Ha as if to kill him with unyielding eyes.

Without shedding a single tear or screaming once.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be gentler than my dirty mood.”

In Ha whispered in So Yeon’s ear with a gloomy voice.

“!”

The rude lips moving down from her earlobe reminded her that it was a moment that could no longer be avoided. So Yeon, her eyelashes trembling, groped the top of the display cabinet with her outstretched arm. And soon, a heavy gold trophy was in her hand.

Thud!

The terrible thing happened in an instant.