SS - 45

The sunlight streaming through the window was blinding, and Joo-hyuk furrowed his brow in discomfort.

Every day, the sun rises, sets, and rises again—unchanging.

For someone who had never once found life tiresome, Joo-hyuk now felt an overwhelming sense of weariness.

The alcohol from the previous night left his stomach burning and his head throbbing, making it difficult to fully open his eyes. He staggered out of bed, his feet finally touching the floor as he forced himself upright.

Only then did he realize that Sena wasn’t lying beside him.

“Stop making excuses—it’s disgusting.”

Had her cold expression last night been real, not just a dream?

“Enough. I thought at least you, above everyone else, would believe in me. I almost fell for your sweet talk of love.”

The sharp ache in his chest returning as he recalled turning away confirmed that this was no nightmare—it was reality.

“Sena?”

With unsteady steps, he stumbled out of the bedroom.

No matter where he looked in the vast house, there was no trace of her. It was as if she had never existed here at all—the very air felt different.

Suddenly, his heart clenched painfully, pounding loudly in his chest.

Calm down.

He made his way to the kitchen, grabbed a cold bottle of water from the fridge, and gulped it down greedily. The icy liquid coursing through his body jolted him awake.

He staggered into the living room where she had waited for him the night before and collapsed onto the sofa where she had sat.

Even though he didn’t want to see it, the yellow envelope lay unmistakably in the center of the table.

“What are you trying to do, Kang Sena?”

The meaning behind the envelope was clear without even opening it. Instead of checking its contents, Joo-hyuk got up, retrieved his phone from the bedroom, and returned to the living room.

There were three missed calls from Sena during the time he had been at the drinking session the previous night. Each call came at a different time, but it was undeniable—she had tried to reach him.

With a heavy heart, he dialed her number.

[The number you have dialed does not exist. Please check…]

Frowning, Joo-hyuk hung up.

A number that had worked just yesterday was now invalid. This deliberate act stirred a deep sense of betrayal within him.

Of all people, he had trusted Sena the most. Even when others pointed fingers at him, he believed she would stand by his side.

He picked up the envelope from the table and roughly pulled out its contents. As expected, it was a mutual divorce agreement, already signed and stamped by her.

At the end of her neatly written name, there was a faint smudge—likely from tears—but to him, it reeked of hypocrisy.

How dare she whisper words of love one moment and cry while running away when he needed her most? What a hypocrite.

Joo-hyuk twisted his lips into a bitter smile.

“Ha! Who gave you the right!”

Holding the divorce papers in both hands, he tore them apart with fierce determination.

His father, who started all of this, Reporter Seo, KO News, Kang-un, and now Sena—all those he blamed surged into his mind. With each shred of paper, he imagined tearing them apart.

As the torn pieces fluttered to the floor, his anger still wasn’t quelled. Sweeping his arm across the table, he sent everything crashing to the ground.

The dull thuds of the phone, remote control, and the small cactus pot Sena had decorated falling echoed through the room.

“In the end, you’re no different from the other media companies—bowing to power and money, indifferent to the truth.”

Because it came from Sena’s lips, her accusation pierced a gaping hole in his heart.

After witnessing all his struggles, after comforting him with promises of love and support, she had turned her back on him in an instant.

“Stop making excuses—it’s disgusting.”

In the darkness, she hadn’t even looked at him, as if his very presence repulsed her.

Even the bright streetlights outside couldn’t illuminate her face as she sat in the middle of the living room.

Though he wanted nothing more than to hold her and cry, she felt utterly devoid of warmth.

“You’re just as disgusting.”

As if she were still there, Joo-hyuk muttered under his breath.

He could never forgive her.

What did it matter if she had stamped the divorce papers and left? He would make her stamp them again right in front of him—and then tear them up over and over.

Each time, he vowed to tell her how selfish, cowardly, and repulsive she truly was.

The strength fueled by his anger over her betrayal was unexpectedly powerful, giving him energy despite having lost everything. His hangover headache and burning stomach no longer registered.

Changing into workout clothes, he put on a hat and mask and stepped outside. Breathing in the crisp air, he ran along the Han River Park for a long while.

With every step, his anger toward Sena crystallized further. Perhaps her entire charade of falling in love with him and marrying him had been orchestrated because she and her father were cut from the same cloth.

His father’s words from the previous night rang true:

“Don’t be fooled by a woman’s sweet talk of love. A woman’s heart can turn on you in an instant.”

Suddenly, he stopped running, bent over, and braced his hands on his knees.

An inexplicable wave of sorrow and hurt brought tears to his eyes.

“I’ve never thought about anyone else since before we met. My beginning and end will always be you, Joo-hyuk. I’m glad it’s you.”

She had shyly yet clearly expressed her feelings, saying she was glad he would be the one to take her first—and her last.

And yet…

“Damn it!”

Joo-hyuk cursed harshly, rubbing his face with his hands. Pulling his hood over his cap, he sprinted forward like an arrow, increasing his speed to shake off the tangled thoughts in his mind.

He reassured himself: with mountains of problems ahead, Sena was but a speck of dust.

The immediate priority was reclaiming KMS. The issue with Sena could wait—until later, much later.

After all, once KMS was back on track, she’d come crawling back, filled with regret.

---

Grrr.

The sound of her growling stomach caused Sena to slightly open her swollen eyes. Her vision blurred, she could barely make out the silhouette of the room she was in.

The dim blackout curtains slanted across the room, the tacky wallpaper, the flickering LED clock, and once again, the growling sound from her stomach echoed in the silence.

Even in this situation, she was hungry.

Slowly raising herself up, the thick blanket rustled noisily.

In the large mirror facing her, she saw her disheveled hair, puffy eyes, and gaunt face staring back at her.

“You look great, Kang Sena.”

She tried to sneer at herself, but her lips only trembled, unable to form a proper smile.

Another loud growl emanated from her stomach. With no other choice, she picked up her wallet and keys from the table and stepped outside.

Though she had left the house, it wasn’t exactly running away—she had left the divorce papers behind with full confidence, so there was no reason to hide in some shabby place.

But neither could she brazenly check into a hotel, not after Kang-un’s warning never to let Joo-hyuk find her.

So, she withdrew some of her savings and decided to stay at a motel for a few days. She planned to look for a small studio apartment once she regained her strength—but that was the problem: she felt utterly drained.

Entering a convenience store, she bought a triangular rice ball and a cup of instant noodles and headed to the register.

The part-time student who had been working there for several days rang up her items with an expressionless face and placed them in a bag.

“Excuse me.”

As she turned to leave with her purchases, the student suddenly spoke, causing Sena to turn back with a puzzled look.

“If you need any help or anything...”

Unlike her usual emotionless demeanor, the student trailed off with a serious expression.

“Ah... Thank you, but it’s nothing like that.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then I’m glad...”

As Sena left the convenience store, a bitter laugh escaped her lips.

It seemed the marks from Kang-un’s assault were still visible on her face. After seeing those wounds for several days, it was no wonder the student had misunderstood.

Standing in front of the convenience store, staring at the tips of her shoes, she thought about it when suddenly a black dot appeared on the ground.

Huh?

Looking up, white snowflakes drifted down.

“It’s snowing...”

She held out her hand and watched as the snowflake dissolved on her palm.

“Doesn’t it look like cotton candy?”

She remembered the day they went to the mountain lodge, and the first snow had fallen. When she asked Joo-hyuk, who loved snow, why he liked it, that was his answer.

Cotton candy, indeed.

“It’s light like cotton, looks similar, and even melts in a similar way.”

“So... does that mean you also like cotton candy, Mr. Joo-hyuk?”

“That’s right.”

He had smiled mischievously, like a playful child.

They hadn’t even gotten around to eating cotton candy together yet.

And now, it was over.

Their marriage, their love—all of it had disappeared like a lie. Everything was gone.

But who could she blame? It was all her fault for prioritizing her own safety and running away.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Stop it.”

Words of self-reproach slipped through her trembling lips.

It was the right thing to do, she told herself. A good choice for both of them. That comfort and reassurance had lasted only until the first day she left home.

From the second day onward, regret began to weigh heavily upon her.