Armed with incriminating evidence, Wonbin faces a devastating moral dilemma. He must decide whether to expose the twisted truth behind Wonyoung’s double life or become an accomplice to her destruction.
I couldn’t take it anymore. My chest was splitting open and my heart was aching so violently I thought it was going to burst right through my ribs. The stall beside me opened and shut, footsteps echoing against the tiles, but I barely noticed or cared.
A part of me wanted to hurl her phone at the wall, let it shatter it into a thousand pieces and end the nightmare right there. But what good would that do? The truth was inside this device. If I destroyed it, I’d lose everything—the clues, the answers, the evidence that might explain who the black heart was.
No matter how much it burned me alive to see it, I had to keep digging. I wanted to know, regardless of how much it broke me—and how much more it would break me.
The bathroom started feeling like a prison, its pearly white tiles somehow closed in like cell bars. The overhead light flickered faintly, and every sound, from the drip of the faucet to the echo of footsteps, stabbed at my nerves like little needles.
I’m running out of time. If I don’t head back now, she’s going to realize her phone is missing. I need to save this video somehow.
My hands shook so badly it was hard to even swipe straight. I fumbled through the settings, desperately trying to figure out how to even transfer the video from an Android to my iPhone.
The thought of keeping it on my own phone made me sick, but I needed it. I needed proof. I needed to find out more. I needed to know whether she had already forsaken me—or if there was still something left of us to save.
As predicted, Wonyoung went straight for her Galaxy the moment the girls walked through the curtains. The smile on her face had faded again, and even though the others were cheery and celebrating, she seemed more exhausted than she’d been all week.
“Thanks for all your help, Wonbin,” Manager Kim said, clapping a hand onto my shoulder. His face was calm and proud, as if none of the chaos had touched him. “Couldn’t have gone so smoothly without you.”
“Thank you for letting me tag along,” I said, bowing. My voice may have sounded steady, but inside it was cracking. “I learned a lot these last few weeks.”
So much more than I ever wanted to know.
“The semester is starting for you soon, right? You’re welcome to come hang out whenever you have some free time. I’m sure the girls wouldn’t mind it one bit.”
“Yeah, come visit us often, oppa!” Leeseo said, bouncing with an innocent excitement. “But make sure you bring chocolate!”
“As long as our Wonyoung is there, I’m sure Manager Park will be too,” Liz teased, a sly grin pulling at her lips.
I forced a smile. “I’ll do my best to stop by once in a while.”
“We could always use an extra pair of hands around here,” Manager Kim said, warmly. “These young ladies can be hard to deal with sometimes.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, Manager-nim?” Rei huffed, putting her hands on her hips. “We never cause trouble, we just want to have fun sometimes!”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, have your fun tonight, because once we’re back in Korea, it’s straight to work again. The comeback’s only a month away.”
The girls groaned in unison, collapsing into laughter, but Wonyoung wasn’t amused. She finally set her phone down, her face about as unreadable as the locked notifications on her screen.
She looked at me for a moment with tired eyes and said nothing, as if struggling to read my face. I didn’t know if she was able to tell, but I couldn’t see her the same way anymore. My heart used to flutter every time her eyes met mine, and yet all I could feel were knives twisting into my chest.
“You don’t look too happy,” she said softly, taking a few steps closer. “Did something happen?”
Her perfume drifted with every movement—once so sweet, but now almost suffocating.
“I’m just really tired,” I lied.
“Me too.” She smiled faintly, and brushed a stray hair from her face. “I can’t wait to get back to the hotel.”
A knot formed in my stomach. “Yeah.”
I know you can’t wait. Can’t wait to show your master how much you miss him. Whatever that even means.
We stood in silence for a bit longer as our eyes continued having a conversation of their own.
“Is everything okay?” she finally asked.
“I was just going to ask you that.”
She tilted her head slightly. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve been texting someone non-stop,” I said, trying to keep my tone even. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” she said casually.
“Who is it?” I asked, my heart racing almost immediately.
Her brows furrowed ever so slightly.“What?”
“Who’s that person you keep texting?”
There was a brief pause.
Her expression didn’t even flicker. Not even a blink. “Park Wonbin.”
I swallowed.
She stepped closer, lowering her voice enough that the others wouldn’t hear. “Are you keeping tabs on me now?”
“No,” I said quickly. “I just want to—”
“Play detective?”
“I’m just worried about you,” I nervously corrected.
She exhaled through her nose. “Whatever you’re doing, stop.”
“It feels like you’re keeping things from me lately.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why won’t you—”
“Even if I really were keeping things from you, what makes you think you’ll find out by asking me?” she said, her voice as cold as ice.
“I just thought we were—”
“Tired? I thought so, too.” She turned. “Let’s go, they’re waiting for us.”
“No more tours for two whole months!” Rei squealed, nearly spilling her beer across the hotel carpet.
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