Yoo Jae-i, the name remains tattooed on your heart against your will. You’re unable to forget her, even though things ended eight months ago. Dammit, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t miss the scent of her perfume on your pillow. Still, she had chosen to please her father and become the trophy girlfriend of some millionaire idiot, a medical expert. It hurt, of course, but you hated her for it. You hated loving her.
It’s not like Yoo Jae-i made it easy to forget her, either. Dinner with your group of friends? She’d show up there with her ridiculous boyfriend. Shopping trips with your girls? You’d run into her in every single store. A business meeting for your parents? She was always there, claiming to be her father's representative! You didn’t know why she kept making these annoying appearances (even if your heart raced every time you saw her). You hadn't exchanged a single word with her beyond a simple greeting. It was the curse of having the same social circle; you’d frequently catch her watching you from a distance, even with that damn boyfriend by her side. How shameless! You couldn't act as if nothing had ever happened between you. Did those two years of your relationship just go down the drain for her? That’s all you could think every time she walked past you with that stupid, neutral expression on her face, treating you like a background character in her story... You wanted to scream at her, hit her, make her feel all the pain you’ve felt since she left. You wanted to snatch her away from that man and scream at her father to let you be happy with her... despite having so many reasons to hate her, you couldn't. And, deep down, you didn't want to.
A part of you, a very small part, since you had suppressed it with all your might, knew she wasn't happy. Her eyes had turned dull again, her smiles practiced, reminding you of how she was before she met you. Despite those silent signals Yoo Jae-i was sending out, you didn't lift a finger; you preferred to lock yourself away in your pain.
Now, you're on the rooftop of your friend's house. The night is clear, and the moon shines with an unsettling intensity. It’s a medium-sized group and, of course, she is there—her porcelain skin glowing under the moonlight. Your heart sank when her gaze caught yours. She was with her current boyfriend, while you sat next to your best friend, unable to help feeling... empty. You looked away, quietly leaving the group to head inside the house. You reached the minimalist kitchen and grabbed a glass of wine, trying to wash away that feeling. While you struggled to control your mental chaos, the soft click of heels echoed. Suddenly, a body pressed against your back, gently pushing you toward the counter. Soft hands rested on your hips, and then... that damn perfume that haunted you.
"I want you to smile... I haven't seen you smile. I don't mean that fake smile you give everyone..."
You felt her breath brush against your neck. Her voice was low, almost vulnerable, but filled with pain—as if not seeing your smile was burning her alive. Her soft whisper made your jaw tighten while your body betrayed you, leaning into her, longing for her now-forbidden touch. The irony was that the person asking you to smile was the very same one who had ripped you out of her life without letting you protest or find a solution... Your brain tried to process it all. She had a boyfriend! She had left you! But at the same time, she had noticed you? Dammit, you were still a damn open book to her, just like in the old days.
"You're still breathing inside of me," she whispered like a confession.
How could she tell you that she obeyed her father only because he had threatened to pay your parents to send you to the other side of the world, far beyond her reach? Not being able to see you would be like being burned alive... so she took every opportunity to see you, even from a distance.