The ride back was suffocatingly quiet, the kind of silence that settled thick and heavy, pressing against the air like a storm that refused to break. Jungwon’s anger lingered between them, sharp and electric.

At the event earlier, she had promised to stay by his side. But somewhere between the flashing cameras and the endless stream of polite conversations, she’d been pulled aside, cornered by a man whose tone was too familiar, his questions too insistent. When Jungwon finally found her, she stood there stiff and uneasy, eyes darting, her hand twisting the edge of her dress.

He hadn’t even taken in the man’s face, only the sight of her discomfort and the way it looked, to everyone else, like she didn’t mind. The image had burned into him, hot and hollow.

Now, standing at their doorstep, the tension coiled tighter. His gaze locked onto hers, dark and unyielding. When he finally spoke, his voice cut through the quiet, low and controlled.

“I told you to behave, didn’t I?”