Chapter 4 …

It’s not like having little dating experience meant she was oblivious.

The voice on the other end was clearly not a man. Anyone could tell from the high-pitched tone laced with irritation.

—Seriously, this is so annoying.

—Be quiet and shut your mouth first.

Wasn’t this basically proof that, while pretending to worry about her over the phone, he was calmly spending time with another woman?

“Just now… whose voice was that?”

Instinctively gripping her phone tighter, Jeonghee asked as if she hadn’t noticed anything.

—It’s nothing. My cousin stopped by for a bit.

“…Really? You must be close with your cousin.”

Was that woman, who called him by name so casually, really his cousin?

A few days ago, she would have accepted the explanation without question.

Now, suspicion came first.

Once a seed of doubt was planted, it grew quickly.

Jeonghee narrowed her eyes, her nerves sharpened as she focused on the unknown woman’s voice coming through the speaker.

—Get some more rest. If you need anything, tell Secretary Jeong.

—How many more minutes do I have to—

—You’re too noisy. I’ll call you back later. Get some rest.

The moment the woman’s complaints leaked through the speaker again, he ended the call before Jeonghee even had the chance to question him.

“…Ha…”

Staring down at the abruptly disconnected screen, Jeonghee bit down on her lower lip.

The suspicion that had naturally grown became an opportunity to reevaluate her entire relationship with Seohun.

She wanted to end everything immediately.

But the years they had spent together created an attachment she didn’t want.

Their relationship had begun in their awkward teenage years and continued all the way into adulthood.

It had already been over ten years.

Ten years was long enough for mountains and rivers to change.

The emotions accumulated over that time ran too deep to cut away cleanly, no matter how much she wanted to.

For now, yes.

Jeonghee needed time to sort through this relationship as well.

Time to empty out the feelings she had built up over the past several years.

“I guess… it’s time to end it.”

That was where it all began.

* * *

From that day on, whenever Seohun contacted her, Jeonghee acted as she always had.

Without letting him notice anything, she avoided meeting him, coming up with one excuse after another.

However, she couldn’t ignore calls from her best friend Seoyoon just because she was trying to cut Seohun out of her life.

“Isn’t it getting ridiculously hard to see your face these days?”

“Sorry. I’ve just been busy with a lot of things.”

“Like everyone else isn’t busy?”

“Sorry, sorry. It’s all my fault.”

No matter what, Seoyoon was one of the few friends Jeonghee had.

To appease the openly sulking Seoyoon, Jeonghee accompanied her around a department store and became her shopping partner for the day.

Since childhood, Jeonghee had never been particularly materialistic.

Shopping wasn’t something she enjoyed.

On the other hand, Seoyoon, who was about to get married, claimed she was relieving stress and showed no signs of tiring despite circling the enormous department store multiple times.

“Haa… Ji Seoyoon, are you still not done?”

“Of course not. We’ve still got a long way to go if we want to see everything.”

“Seriously, your stamina is incredible.”

Just shopping alone had already taken well over two hours.

Right as Jeonghee’s energy was nearly depleted, Seoyoon, who was walking ahead, suddenly spotted someone and stopped in her tracks.

“Huh? Why is Unni Shina here…?”

“Oh my, Seoyoon? Did you come shopping with a friend?”

“Yes. When did you come back to Korea, Unni?”

“A little while ago. Didn’t Seohun tell you about me?”

“Not at all. I’ve been too busy preparing for the wedding lately.”

The moment Jeonghee heard the name Shina naturally flow from Seoyoon’s lips, her breath caught.

Her mind took a moment to catch up before the memory surfaced.

“Shina and I were close enough that marriage was discussed between us since childhood.”

Shina.

Ji Seohun’s fiancée.

“Ah.”

It was the name his friends had repeatedly shouted outside the bar on his birthday.

She had never imagined she would meet his fiancée in person like this.

And now that she thought about it, she was certain she had heard that voice just a few days ago.

It sounded very similar to the irritated woman’s voice that had slipped through during her call with Seohun.

Jeonghee had already made up her mind to end things with him.

Even so, being confronted directly with Seohun’s deception still hurt.

“I can’t believe you’re already getting married, Seoyoon.”

“It’s pretty fast, right? Even Oppa hasn’t gotten married yet.”

“Well, he could do it whenever he feels like it.”

“Meanwhile, I’m the one getting pressured.”

With her shoulder-length wavy hair and elegant two-piece outfit, Shina looked exactly like the kind of person who belonged in Seohun’s world.

Even after spending more than ten years by his side, Jeonghee suddenly felt as though she was seeing the miserable place she occupied beyond an invisible line she had never been allowed to cross.

Trying desperately to keep her expression from twisting, she bit the tender flesh inside her mouth where no one could see.

It was miserable.

And feeling that misery made her feel pathetic.

At the very least, in front of this woman, she didn’t want anyone to discover that she was Seohun’s hidden lover.

Unfortunately, that wish would not come true.

As Jeonghee quietly waited for their conversation to end, Shina’s gaze naturally shifted toward her.

“By the way, aren’t you going to introduce your friend?”

“Oh, right. Look at me, completely forgetting.”

Only then did Seoyoon turn around as if she had just remembered.

Apologizing, she linked arms with Jeonghee.

Then she introduced her as her best friend.

Meeting her lover’s official fiancée was never going to feel pleasant.

Jeonghee forced a smile, desperately searching for an excuse to leave.

Then—

“Oh? It’s Minhoon. Hold on, I need to take this call.”

Seoyoon checked the caller ID on her phone and hurried away to a quiet corner, leaving Jeonghee alone with Shina.

Without Seoyoon, the two of them were complete strangers.

Unable to follow after her, Jeonghee’s discomfort was obvious.

Shina spoke first.

“Hmm, right. You were Jeonghee, weren’t you?”

“Huh? What do you mean all of a sudden…?”

“You’re Ji Seohun’s secret lover.”

Shina smiled brightly as she finished speaking.

She even crossed her arms, looking as though she were enjoying Jeonghee’s shocked reaction.

“Ah… um, I…”

“Judging by your reaction, I was right.”

A secret lover.

Should she be grateful that Shina wasn’t mocking her by calling her a toy instead?

Unable to deny it or admit it, Jeonghee stiffened awkwardly.

“Why didn’t you come with him that day?”

“Sorry, but I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Didn’t you hear my voice that day?”

“Ah, so that voice really was…”

At Jeonghee’s unconscious murmur, Shina nodded as though confirming it.

“That’s right. We were all supposed to gather together that day.”

“…Were we? I wasn’t feeling well…”

Jeonghee repeated the same excuse she had given Seohun.

Although she only realized it now, she didn’t want to admit out loud that no one had told her a single thing about that gathering.

“That’s a shame. It would have been nice if we’d met then.”

“I’m not really close with any of those people.”

“But Seohun was looking for you a lot after he got drunk.”

“Ah… yes…”

“Sorry. From your perspective, that might have been uncomfortable.”

We’ve all known each other since we were kids, so I didn’t really think that far ahead. I feel terrible now.

Pretending she had made an innocent mistake, Shina hurriedly explained herself and told Jeonghee not to misunderstand.

Jeonghee hadn’t shown any sign of being upset.

She hadn’t even mentioned the incident once.

Yet Shina’s exaggerated behavior was so dramatic that an outsider might think Jeonghee was the one bullying her.

Faced with that mockery disguised as consideration, Jeonghee couldn’t say a single word.

In Seohun’s world, she was nothing more than a light topic of conversation—a person who could be mentioned casually by mistake.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

The feeling was devastating, as though the ground beneath her feet was collapsing.