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Chapter Text

Her bare feet slapping against the slick, cooling pavement. The heavy downpour had faded to a persistent, cold drizzle, and Jaeyi charged right through it. Each stride was fueled by a desperate urgency, a raw need to get there. 

She jostled past the slower, umbrella-clutching crowd, her occasional stumble immediately corrected as she relentlessly pushed on. Her face was a mask of strained defiance, her teeth gritted as her gaze—hot and bloodshot—was fixed on something unseen. 

It was a painful, yet determined expression, a tangled knot of fury and desperate hope.

Tears weren't for her, yet even her strength had a breaking point.

Images of the worst possible scenario flooded her mind. Images of what would happen if she were too late, if her loved ones were hurt, and even worse, if Seulgi didn't survive. And it was all her fault.

Jaeyi hadn't just let Seulgi down by failing to keep her promise—to not let anything bad happen to her, to not leave Seulgi standing alone in the face of a misfortune she couldn't control—but also because she was the cause of the horror Seulgi was experiencing at that time.

Inside the school building, in the messy library. Seulgi lay face down. She was in a state of violent disorientation. Her head swam, breathing coming in ragged, shallow gasps, and her sight reduced to a hazy mess. A weak attempt to stand failed instantly, sending her back down. 

The steady warmth of blood pulsed from a wound on her temple, while her face was visibly pounded, and her whole frame shook violently beneath a network of painful bruises.

And then. 

The muzzle of a rifle was aimed at her, right in the middle of her forehead. She closed her eyes. Tears slowly fell down her cheeks. Her heart whispered a name, someone she hoped would be there and save her. Or at least be with her.

Jaeyi-ah. 

Jaeyi kept running.

Her focus fixed entirely on the school grounds that were rapidly morphing into a scene of official disarray. As she neared, the crowd swelled: stern-faced police were setting up perimeters, hysterical parents demanded information, and a hungry pack of journalists fought for the best angles. 

Every step brought her closer to the heart of the mass shooting tragedy, where fear, grief, and public spectacle violently converged.

Please.

Please.

Don’t take her away from me.

She begged the sky not to take her love away.

*******

Three years before the mass shooting.

TEARS ON THE TROPHY: Yoo Jaeyi Flounders! National Essay Title Secured by Underdog, Sending Shockwaves Through the Yoo Family Dynasty of Excellence.

That headline was Jaeyi's most delicious breakfast in her fifteen years of living with the Yoo surname.

Her father, Yoo Taejoon, had never been so quiet in the morning. Dictation, criticism, and intimidating direction were the appetizers Jaeyi had to swallow every morning. But that morning, it was silent. 

The bland white omelet tasted so savory, and the bitter herbal medicine was so sweet and refreshing. It was her first loss in a competition, yet for Jaeyi, it felt like her first victory.

Jaeyi did not deliberately throw the match. Absolutely not. She had not yet found the nerve to defy her father's decree. She fought with everything she had, as was her nature. Because no matter how simple the challenge, defeat was not an option, and ease was never an excuse for mediocrity.

Yet Jaeyi, with all the academic credentials she had received from her father, failed the competition. She was taken down by an absolute nobody.

Woo Seulgi.

No parents, no stable shelter, and only a dilapidated school in the remote countryside. 

Her entire knowledge base was built on worn, secondhand books. She was fundamentally disadvantaged across all sectors of learning capital: no biological capital (nutritional support), no social capital (mentors or study networks), and critically, no up-to-date cultural capital in the form of current textbooks and cutting-edge research.

Yet Woo Seulgi has won.

And Yoo Taejoon has lost.

Was Yoo Taejoon angry at his daughter? Not at all. Because the failure was never truly hers, but his alone.

He had already read Jaeyi's essay—before the judges even scored it. His influence with the competition organizers made sure of that. And he felt immense satisfaction; the writing was flawless, a perfect piece he was utterly confident would secure the win.

When the scores were announced, he immediately found Seulgi’s essay. Only then did he truly understand: Jaeyi's flawless work simply couldn't compare to it.

​Taejoon ordered a full investigation into Woo Seulgi's history—her poor beginnings, her whole life story. This search revealed the one thing Seulgi had that he believed Jaeyi lacked: the essential gift of desperation. 

Seulgi wrote because she had to survive. The prize wasn't merely money; it was the desperate, vital lifeline she needed to leave the orphanage after high school and carve out a life for herself.

The mystery surrounding Woo Seulgi proved too strong for Jaeyi to resist. Especially after seeing the ghastly white shock on her father's face upon realizing he had been beaten by a mere provincial bumpkin. 

She loves that look on her father's face.

Her investigation began with two risky maneuvers: sneaking into her father's office to find Seulgi's files and making an unsanctioned visit to Seulgi's neighborhood.

It was a moment that sparked her deepening interest.

​To continue her surveillance, Jaeyi utilized her regular trips to her grandfather's. She relied on his trusted driver, Mr. Park, to take her, which allowed her to secretly watch Seulgi from a distance on a reliable basis—at least twice a month. 

Jaeyi skillfully hovered around Seulgi without being noticed. Either Jaeyi was adept at camouflage, or Seulgi simply didn't care about her surroundings.

The innocent thrill of curiosity quickly escalated into a deep, unsettling obsession. Jaeyi became addicted to observing Seulgi and the intriguing insights she continuously gained about her life.

After nearly two years of silent observation, Jaeyi knew Seulgi's schedule by heart. Every weekend, Seulgi rose before dawn to work as a porter and cleaner for the fishermen's haul, then helped sell the fish at the market until at least nine in the morning.

​Her weekdays were no less demanding. From Monday to Friday, immediately after school until past midnight, she took on a barrage of part-time jobs—be it at a convenience store, a small seafood restaurant, or a local gas station.

Despite the relentless schedule, Seulgi clung fiercely to her studies. Textbooks were carried everywhere, and learning was squeezed into every spare moment: memorizing while scrubbing dishes, tackling problems at the cashier's desk, or reading chapter summaries next to crates of ice and fish.

Jaeyi knew the full extent of the cruelty Seulgi faced. She had witnessed her stagger out of the school gates, shaken and covered in bruises, and seen her abandoned in empty alleys, her clothes ripped. 

This intimate knowledge culminated in the heartbreaking sight of Seulgi still wearing that same tattered uniform, the damage crudely mended with her own stitches.

​Seulgi simply wouldn't shatter. No matter how many times she was knocked down and pushed to the ground, she always rose up again. She was so determined that she wouldn't even stop studying at the gas station, even with a gushing nosebleed.

​One day, driven by a need for closer observation, Jaeyi donned a jacket and mask and entered the convenience store where Seulgi worked. Pretend to buy some snacks.

Their eyes locked—a moment instantly shattered by Seulgi, who saw only a person to serve. But for Jaeyi, that quick look was enough. It felt like a silent, powerful pull. She saw the immediate picture of pure goodness and soft grace, yet deep underneath, the truth of Seulgi's spirit: a fierce will to survive.

​It was a quiet proof of a stubborn resolve, a calm inner knowing that the hardships of her life would not break her.

Ah, so that's where it comes from.

Jaeyi has caught Seulgi stealing money at the fish market several times, stealing customers' wallets at restaurants, or stealing food supplies from the convenience store where she works.

She is surviving.

__

After her shift at the fish market, Seulgi found a bench by the beach. She came there to take in the vast, open space of the sea and sky, breathing to ease the stress she always felt.

​A textbook lay open, but extreme tiredness made Seulgi's body slump. Finally, she succumbed, falling asleep with her chin pressed to her chest.

​Wearing a mask and a hat, Jaeyi approached. She settled down beside Seulgi and carefully supported the sleeping girl's head with her shoulder.

Three minutes. Just three minutes. She demanded.

The soft, calming sea air wrapped around them. Having Seulgi so near gave Jaeyi a strange, deep sense of peace—a feeling she couldn't explain or escape. The stillness was addicting, pulling Jaeyi closer in her secret observation.

Unaware, Jaeyi also rested her head on Seulgi's and soon drifted into a deep sleep, too.

Jaeyi woke to find a jacket spread over her chest and shoulder. It was Seulgi’s.

​But Seulgi had vanished.

Was she aware of Jaeyi watching her? Did she feel Jaeyi's presence? Or was this pure human kindness, feeling concern for Jaeyi, who lay in the harsh sun and strong sea breeze with only a thin, sleeveless top?

​A moment of surprise passed. Then Jaeyi drew the jacket close and inhaled the lingering scent of Seulgi.

She smiled.

​This one, she thought. She was keeping it.

__

Jaeyi slept in Seulgi's jacket every night. The subtle, familiar scent was like a charm, chasing away her insomnia and guiding her into lovely dreams. She woke each morning feeling completely recharged.

​Later, as the jacket's fragrance began to fade, Jaeyi made a small, secret theft. While Seulgi was busy with customers at the restaurant, Jaeyi slipped her hand into Seulgi’s shabby bag and took her cheap perfume. It was a gentle way to mend the fading memory, allowing her to keep the comforting scent alive.

__

With her grandfather abroad for a stretch of two months, Jaeyi had lost her singular reason to seek out Seulgi.

​The next sixty days felt like an endless torment. The deep, quiet ache of her longing for Seulgi surpassed the pain of being unable to defy her father.

To soothe the constant yearning, Jaeyi wore Seulgi's jacket day and night. It was during art class that the accident happened: Hyemin—a scholarship student often picked on—stumbled and spilled paint all over it. Seulgi’s jacket was ruined.

The room fell into a paralyzing hush. Hyemin instantly dropped to her knees, begging Jaeyi for mercy over and over.

Hassshh...shibal.

​Jaeyi let out a tight, muffled curse.

​She never raised her voice or her hand to Hyemin. Her eyes, instead, were burning coals; her jaw was rigid. The curses she whispered were strained, as if she were desperately holding back a blazing fury that threatened to reduce Hyemin to ashes.

​As Hyemin reached to wipe the stain, Jaeyi slapped her hand aside.

​Then, she simply turned and departed, implicitly giving the other students permission to carry out the punishment.

Jaeyi never needed to bully directly. Her chilling gaze was enough to trigger action from the rest of the school.

Jaeyi immediately abandoned the remaining classes and rushed to her usual dry cleaner. She offered the owner a generous, almost outrageous fee to remove the paint without causing the slightest harm to the fabric.

The cleaner paused. He noted that the jacket Jaeyi cherished was already quite faded and worn, even more so than the clothes he saw in his working-class neighborhood of Seoul. But there was no time for questions. Especially not when Jaeyi arrived with such a cold, blazing look of anger on her face.

__

Jaeyi's grandfather finally returned to Korea. Jaeyi immediately seized the chance to rush back to Seulgi's neighborhood. But Seulgi had vanished. She wasn't at the orphanage, the school, the shops, the petrol station—she was simply gone.

The torment of her longing was so overwhelming that it clouded her brilliant mind, preventing her from thinking clearly enough to ask the locals.

​It was Mr. Park who took the initiative. He went into the orphanage and inquired about Seulgi's whereabouts. After learning the truth, he found Jaeyi sitting on the beach bench where she and Seulgi once slept side-by-side.

​Jaeyi looked utterly devastated, chewing on her lower lip in frustration.

​"Miss Jaeyi. Woo Seulgi has moved to Seoul."

*******

Nine months before the mass shooting.

To maintain its reputation, Chaehwa Girls' High School consistently selects at least two scholarship students for each academic year, generally from orphanages.

This year, the third-grade scholarship quota was assigned to Seulgi and Sujin. Yet, their arrival only highlighted the unsettling absence of the two students who previously held those positions and have since left the school. 

One of those was Hyemin. 

One of those departures, in particular, has become a source of dark speculation: a student who vanished without a trace some weeks ago. 

The halls now whisper two sinister possibilities: that the missing girl succumbed to the relentless bullying she faced and tragically took her own life, or, more chillingly, that she was murdered by other students during a brutal episode of harassment.

Seulgi and Sujin, each carrying a backpack and a worn suitcase, arrived at the dormitory in the late evening.

The dormitory is only intended for scholarship students and lower-class employees at Chaehwa High School, such as cleaners, security guards, canteen staff, and others.

They barely spoke during the trip to Seoul. Both were anxious and nervous about what would happen at school.

Everyone knows the drill at Chaehwa: the scholarship students are the default punching bags for the elite students. They serve as convenient scapegoats, an easy outlet for the stress of constant academic pressure and the exhausting pretense of perfection the elite students must maintain.

However, this doesn't dampen some of the orphanage children's desire to study hard and achieve top grades in their previous schools - a prerequisite for admission to Chaehwa. 

Because a Chaehwa diploma can take them anywhere they want. There's always a place for Chaehwa graduates in society. It's a ticket to freedom. They just have to endure a little while facing their teenage peers experiencing hormonal changes during puberty.

Seulgi and Sujin were fortunate enough to be chosen to fill the third-year quota. It was a shorter time for them to be plunged into hell before enjoying the freedom of heaven.

​Sujin spoke as they stood in the hallway, right in front of their separate room doors.

"Let's not interfere in each other's business at school." 

Sujin told Seulgi to set aside social norms when they experience bullying. To not help each other or get involved, which would make the situation even more miserable. 

__

Upon entering the school, Jaeyi wore a look of pure, luminous joy. It was an anomaly that drew stares from the other students—an emotional openness never before seen on her.

​Her mouth curved into an expansive smile, her eyes radiating a feeling as bright and pure as sunlight.

​This radiance intensified the moment she spotted Seulgi walking in the distance.

​This felt like their real beginning, and Jaeyi suddenly felt a profound tremor of anxiety, fearing her initial impression on Seulgi.

​She eased her pace, deliberately drawing nearer to Seulgi, who was approaching from the other side. The closer their paths converged, the more her nerves tightened. She held Seulgi's image steady in her eyes.

​She waited. She longed for a reaction, a shift in Seulgi's face as she took Jaeyi in.

​Jaeyi knew Seulgi had never really seen her face, and that she likely wouldn't recognize her. She knew this, yet she clung to a thin, stubborn hope—anything small—perhaps a subtle sense of déjà vu, a feeling that Seulgi's eyes found her figure vaguely familiar.

​But when they passed each other, Seulgi didn't spare her a single glance.

​Jaeyi stopped moving, turning to watch Seulgi's back as she walked away beside Sujin.

​A small sigh escaped her.

​Of course.

__

​In class, Jaeyi gazed out the window, resting her chin on her palm, silently plotting various ways to enter Seulgi's world.

​She barely registered the teacher entering the room with a new scholarship student.

​It was only when she heard a familiar, resonant voice from the front of the class that she lifted her head.

​Seulgi was introducing herself. Jaeyi found herself smiling, completely unaware of it. And when Seulgi’s eyes briefly flickered toward hers, Jaeyi felt an overwhelming wave of warmth spread through her body.

​With a smile that refused to fade, Jaeyi watched Seulgi from her introduction all the way until she walked toward the desks.

​Jaeyi had fully expected Seulgi to sit beside her, and the thought made her face truly glow with happiness.

​In the classroom, Jaeyi was the only one sitting alone. Yet, Seulgi seemed to lack the courage to occupy that empty spot.

​When Seulgi instead chose to sit at the next empty table over, separated from Jaeyi, the smile vanished. Her expression was suddenly filled with confusion.

Jaeyi sighed.

​A few seconds after Seulgi settled, Jaeyi immediately scooped up her things and stood, moving to the empty seat right next to Seulgi.

​"I'm Jaeyi. Nice to meet you," Her voice was genuinely friendly. For a moment, Jaeyi wondered if Seulgi recognized her voice.

​The entire class was stunned into silence, unable to believe the bold action they were witnessing.

Seulgi too, was startled by the attention Jaeyi’s move brought. She immediately felt suffocated by the unexpected spotlight. Her strategy was strict: keep a low profile, survive unnoticed, and never give the elite students a single reason to single her out.

__

After the previous third-year scholarship students vanished, the atmosphere at Chaehwa settled into a deceptive calm. There was no more severe hazing. The abuse was subtle now: cruel whispers and simple taunts, coupled with small, deliberate pushes that caused the scholarship girls to stumble and fall.

​Seulgi's initial weeks were surprisingly serene, thanks mostly to Jaeyi. Jaeyi became her ever-present companion, a protective anchor that placed Seulgi beyond the reach of the others.

​"My Seulgi," she would murmur, or softly, "Seulgi-ah."

​Jaeyi had used that intimate name since Seulgi's very first day. Their connection was constant and tender: Jaeyi always held her hand during their walks, her arm was a steady weight across Seulgi's back, and her voice always carried a melodic, sweet resonance.

Seulgi rarely offered a true response. She often waved away Jaeyi's offers of help, or her gentle invitations to simply spend time together after classes—the usual, casual gatherings of high school students, whether for fun or for studying.

​Yet, Jaeyi seemed utterly untouched by the distance Seulgi carefully maintained. Jaeyi kept stubbornly scaling the wall Seulgi had built between them, refusing to be pushed away.

She maintained her passive silence, right up until the moment Yoo Taejoon approached them.

Jaeyi was escorting Seulgi toward the dormitory, her hand a secure anchor holding Seulgi's the whole way. Jaeyi filled the quiet with chatter, pouring out her thoughts, desperately trying to weave a connection between them.

Seulgi offered little in return, mostly nodding or murmuring brief replies. Yet, she didn't pull her hand free or physically move away from Jaeyi's side.

​"Jaeyi-ah."

The voice of Yoo Taejoon cut through the air, approaching them.

Jaeyi went instantly rigid. Seulgi watched Jaeyi, who had become a sudden statue, then glanced at Taejoon, and back again. Jaeyi's face was a mask of control, but in her eyes, Seulgi caught a fleeting shadow of fear. She felt Jaeyi's grip tighten sharply, only to loosen and disappear completely a moment later.

​"Appa," Jaeyi spoke.

Upon hearing the word, Seulgi quickly offered a low, formal bow of greeting.

The days that followed settled into a deeper silence. Jaeyi never pushed Seulgi away, yet she grew noticeably less talkative. Seulgi frequently caught Jaeyi lost in thought, her hand still clasped in hers—clearly preoccupied, perhaps planning something.

​This silent tension might have been why Seulgi found herself standing outside Jaeyi's house at two in the morning. Dressed in a hoodie, the hood pulled low over her head, hands tucked into her pockets, Seulgi gazed up at Jaeyi's bedroom window. She remained there for a long moment.

The light in Jaeyi's room was still on. Finally, Seulgi sent a quick text before turning toward her own dorm.

[​Seulgi : Sleep well.]

​Jaeyi was stunned to read the message. She rushed to the window and peered out into the darkness, but the street below was completely empty.

__

Jaeyi was deeply focused on her studies in her private room at the hospital when her phone buzzed, Seulgi's name lighting up the screen.

​She answered, only to hear not just Seulgi, but the resonant voice of her father, Yoo Taejoon. Jaeyi's entire body tightened, a rush of panic and dread washing over her.

​"You slightly lost your hold on Yoo Jena, so she ruined her own life to bring you down." Seulgi said.

​"You were aware of Jaeyi's attempt to break free. That's why you allowed her to observe me in Pohang."

​Jaeyi's eyes flew open, her breath held in sheer astonishment at her knowledge.

​"You gave her a small time to play. To grant her a little space to breathe. To provide her with a flicker of reason to live."

​"You are watching Jaeyi, who is watching me. But, you are also watching me."

​"Like Jaeyi, you are captivated by my life. By the hardships I've endured, and by my academic brilliance."

​"Despite all my disadvantages, I still stand equal to Jaeyi's gifts."

​"I am the only one who can match her level."

​"You know this to be true." Seulgi continue

​"And?" Taejoon shifted slightly, his elbows finding the table in a posture of keen interest.

​Seulgi, her voice unwavering and filled with both confidence and conviction, pressed on.

​"I assume you wish for me to be Yoo Jena's replacement. This explains your assistant's contact with the head of my Pohang orphanage."

​Jaeyi gasped, a sound barely audible.

​Yoo Taejoon allowed himself a slow smile.

​"You aimed to spark Jaeyi's competitive fire. But then you realize that Jaeyi will never fight against me. Instead, Jaeyi will fight for me.”

“So?”

​"So. Offer me a bright future under the Yoo family's protection."

Jaeyi's chest felt heavy, her breathing ragged, the phone still glued to her ear.

​"But not as an adopted daughter like Yoo Jena, but as Yoo Jaeyi's partner."

Taejoon raised one eyebrow in surprise.

​"Allow me to accompany your youngest child, Yoo Jaeyi."

​"To keep her on the path you desire."

​"I promise you two top surgeons in the future who will surpass your achievements, all under your family name."

“You want to use my daughter to get your bright future?”

Jaeyi clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.

“I want a bright future with your daughter,” Seulgi answered without wavering.

“I'm in love with your daughter, Sir.”

__

Seulgi quietly closed the door to Taejoon's office. As she walked down the grand stairs, she retrieved her phone from her pocket; the line was still connected to Jaeyi.

​"Jaeyi-ah," Seulgi called quietly.

​"I cannot grant you freedom from your father's cage, but I can join you inside it.”

“We can map our escape, side by side later.”

Jaeyi remained silent on the other end.

​"...I'm sorry.” Seulgii continued, her voice heavy.

Seulgi's shoulders sank with a heavy sigh. She felt, briefly, like a failure who had ruined everything. Then, she heard a stirring—a noise from the room next to the stairs, Jaeyi's study, and also echoing faintly through the phone.

​Jaeyi stumbled out. Upon seeing Seulgi a few steps away, she launched herself forward.

​She embraced her fiercely.

​"I thought you were mad." Seulgi's arms wrapped around her with equal intensity.

​"I'm madly in love with you." Jaeyi confessed.

Chapter Text

​A nurse placed a scalpel in Yoo Taejoon's hand. Taejoon began the surgical procedure.

​From behind the glass of the observation room, Seulgi and Jaeyi stood, watching Taejoon intently. Seulgi's eyes were glued to the LCD screen, which displayed a close-up of the patient's exposed abdomen. Jaeyi, meanwhile, had her gaze fixed on her father below.

​"How many times have you learned this way?" Seulgi asked, her hand still holding Jaeyi's, their arms intertwined.

​"I don't know. I haven't counted. Appa started putting me in this room since I was little. Maybe when I was five." Jaeyi said flatly, her eyes still fixed on her father.

​Seulgi immediately turned to Jaeyi. "Five?"

​Jaeyi turned to Seulgi. "Scary, huh?" She chuckled slightly at Seulgi's incredulous expression.

​"I even learned to suture wounds when I was a freshman in junior high school. Appa taught me about human anatomy directly using real bodies. Using cadavers."

"Is that permissible?" Seulgi questioned. 

Jaeyi gave a slight, knowing smile at Seulgi's question, which seemed ridiculous considering the topic was Yoo Taejoon. “Does it matter?”

Their gaze settled once more on Yoo Taejoon, who was still operating intently, his hands stained with blood.

​Seulgi had to internalize the new definition of ‘forbidden’, an abstract notion that seemed to dissolve in the harsh light of money and influence.

______________

A month had passed since they officially started sharing their personal space. With it, Seulgi's world began to revolve more brightly around Jaeyi. School hours and the quiet time after were now threaded together by her presence. She was quickly adopted into the familiar, comfortable rhythm of Jaeyi, Kyung, and Yeri’s study group. 

On top of their regular curriculum, both Jaeyi and Seulgi were now taking basic medical training, learning the fundamentals directly under the practiced guidance of Yoo Taejoon.

​The most anticipated part of their week was the weekend, when Seulgi would stay over at Jaeyi's house. Yet, even this sweet ritual had been born from a fierce, whispered debate. Jaeyi, utterly smitten, wanted Seulgi to curl up beside her every single night. Seulgi, however, held a delicate boundary, fearing the beautiful distraction might bloom too large and jeopardize their focus on studies.

​In the end, it was Jaeyi who finally gave ground, tempered by a profound, future promise. Seulgi agreed that once college began, they would share a space, just the two of them, building a quiet, private world of their own. 

Jaeyi, whose days typically unfolded in a monotonous, robotic rhythm of school, tutoring, and grueling training with her father, now carried a distinct, vibrant pulse.

Between moments of deep concentration, her face would inexplicably soften and bloom, her eyes taking on a bright, mischievous sheen.

The usual burden of lessons and practice, once a source of sheer, unrelenting pressure, had become a surprising delight. 

This transformation was especially true during the medical discussions and spirited debates she shared with her father and Seulgi. Taejoon  would lay out a complex case, and Jaeyi and Seulgi would launch into a theoretical diagnosis and treatment battle. 

At that table, they were formidable opponents. Their arguments laced with a stream of sweet, whispered insults and private jokes that only they truly understood. The rush of adrenaline they felt wasn't merely the desire to scientifically triumph; it was the thrill of trying to personally outmaneuver the one across from them.

In the aftermath, the tension would dissolve into an easy grin, and their reconciliation was always sealed with a kiss.

That was the loveliest war zone of all, where every loss and every win was crowned in the shelter of the bed and sheets.

​“Jaeyi-ah.” 

The name was a silken thread of warning, a soft stop to the hands that had begun the dangerous undoing of Seulgi’s uniform.

​"I want you," Jaeyi breathed against her lips, the words blurring into a kiss.

​“You say that every single time the clock tells me to leave.” Seulgi tried to wriggle free from the embrace of Jaeyi, who was perched lightly on her thigh.

​"Fine." A slight, heartbreaking pout touched Jaeyi's lips. Seulgi’s resistance melted instantly, and she pressed several quick kisses to the curve of Jaeyi's lip.

​"You proposed to me through my own father. It feels absurd for two people so entwined to reside in separate houses in the same neighborhood.”

​"Uh huh. Are we starting this conversation again?"

​Seulgi gently stroked the side of Jaeyi’s head. "We agreed, Jaeyi," she murmured, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Jaeyi released a dramatic sigh.

Seulgi laughed, a sweet sound, and leaned in for another lingering kiss.

​"Be patient. Just one more day until the weekend," Seulgi whispered.

Seulgi’s gesture dissolved Jaeyi’s edges. A soft smile broke over her face.

​"Ah! The midterm results come out tomorrow. Appa said we could go on a trip if we got first place. Is there anywhere you’d like to go?"

​“Mmm. I’ve held a quiet wish to visit an amusement park since I was a child. I’ve never seen a place like that before.” 

​“An amusement park?”

​“Uhm-hm.”

​"Consider it done. We’ll go this weekend."

​Seulgi raised a playful eyebrow. "Considering how desperately clingy you've been lately, I thought your plan was to tie me to the bed all weekend."

​"Oh? You want to be tied to the bed this weekend? I didn't realize you harbored such wild fantasies."

Seulgi blinked. She hadn't meant for the topic to go there.

Jaeyi leaned in, lips brushing the shell of Seulgi’s ear. “Don’t worry. We have two days. I shall reserve the handcuffs for the second day,” Jaeyi announced with a sighing breath that made Seulgi’s cheeks burn.

__

Seulgi floated through the dormitory hall, her steps light, until the sight ahead brought her up short. Sujin stumbled, hands clutching her stomach, before her body gave way entirely.

​"Eonni!" Seulgi dropped to her knees, immediately checking her friend.

​The shock was instant. Fresh bruises bloomed dark on Sujin’s skin; her uniform, ripped and stained, testified to a struggle. 

A cold clarity settled over Seulgi. Those wounds, those weak, muffled sounds of pain—this was no accident. Someone - or some students - had brutalized her. Chaehwa students, no doubt. But where could it have happened? She had never witnessed an attack.

​Sujin, groaning softly, tried to shrug free. "Go away," she whispered, weakly pushing Seulgi's hands. "Stay out of this."

​She tried to stand, but her legs buckled. Seulgi caught her swift and firm.

​"Think of this as payment," Seulgi murmured, looping Sujin's arm around her neck. 

"For every time you helped me at the orphanage." With a steadying arm around Sujin's waist, she began the slow, measured walk toward her room. 

That night, the scene felt like an old tape being played in reverse. The story had flipped. It wasn't Sujin helping Seulgi wash away the grime, it was the other way around. It wasn't Sujin dressing Seulgi, it was the other way around. It wasn't Sujin kneeling by the bedside, gently tending to Seulgi's wounds, it was the other way around.

​"I thought they stopped doing things like this," Seulgi said softly, blowing a cool breath onto the faint scratch on Sujin's knee.

​"Just because it didn't touch your world doesn't mean the world changed for everyone else," Sujin replied, her voice bone-dry.

​Seulgi lifted her gaze to meet Sujin's eyes.

​Sujin let out a short, bitter laugh. 

"Congratulations," she said. 

The word was laced with sarcasm, yet her eyes were hollowed out by pure exhaustion.

​"For winning the biggest lottery this century."

​Seulgi's attention returned to the scrape she was cleaning. She truly hated discussing her romantic life in terms of 'acquisitions' or 'advantages'. Even if she knew her relationship with Jaeyi had opened many doors for her, the underlying ridicule about it always chafed.

Two years stretched between them, defined only by her eye and her distant presence. ​Her feelings for Jaeyi were real. Jaeyi's background was merely an incidental gift.

__

Four hours had passed since Seulgi left for the dorm. Jaeyi’s messages went unanswered, and her calls, silent.

​Normally, Seulgi would signal her arrival immediately. She would even video call during their late-night study, a quiet gesture of presence—they needed only to know the other was there.

A quiet tension of worry and longing led Jaeyi into the dormitory.

​She stopped at Seulgi's door. But a moment before knocking, she heard Seulgi’s low voice drifting from the slightly ajar door next door: Sujin's room.

​Jaeyi did not conceal herself. She simply stood outside the half-open door and watched Seulgi feeding Sujin on the bed.

​The air inside was gentle. Their shared glances were heavy with a silent history of understanding and care. A bond forged not in friendship, but in the thick dust of survival. Shared fate. Shared pain.

Jaeyi knew Sujin.  She came onto her radar when she observed Seulgi in Pohang. The orphanage child Seulgi was closest to, and the one Seulgi liked the most.

Sujin immediately recoiled, crawling backward from Seulgi the moment she spotted Jaeyi in the doorway.

​Annoying the school's queen bee by sitting too close to her girlfriend would certainly complicate her struggle against the bullies.

​"I can feed myself now." Sujin took the bowl from Seulgi's hands, her eyes flicking nervously toward the door.

The fear in Sujin’s movements instantly alerted Seulgi. She turned, meeting Jaeyi’s gaze—a stare so perfectly blank it was chilling.

​"Get some rest, Eonni," Seulgi said, rising and leaving the room. She approached Jaeyi, whose intense gaze never wavered.

​"It’s late. Why are you here?" Seulgi asked, gently pulling Jaeyi inside her own room and closing the door. She didn’t want their confrontation audible in the hallway.

​"You left my texts unanswered. My calls," Jaeyi said, her tone void of emotion. 

​But beneath the stillness of her face, Seulgi saw the venomous bite of jealousy.

Seulgi rummaged through her bag on the desk. "I left my phone here. I'm sorry."

Jaeyi was still staring. She said nothing, did nothing. But the silence itself was a powerful accusation.

​No hug. No kisses. Jaeyi was mad.

​Seulgi sighed, slowly closing the distance between them, her gaze holding Jaeyi's.

​"Ask me," Seulgi whispered when only half a step separated them.

​"Ask me why I was in Sujin Eonni’s room. Ask me what I was doing there."

Jaeyi was fiercely possessive. She despised others touching what was hers. Yet, over the last month, Seulgi had witnessed her struggling—cautious, holding back the full scope of her possessiveness, as if afraid the leash might snap and Seulgi might choose to walk away.

Jaeyi played it safe around Seulgi.

​Jaeyi’s stare remained locked, unbroken, until the sudden shrill of her phone cut through the tension. It was Mr. Park, her driver.

​Seulgi took the phone from Jaeyi’s hand and answered curtly.

​"We’re sorry, Mr. Park. Jaeyi will be staying at the dorm tonight." Then she hung up.

"I won't let you go to sleep upset."

​Without breaking eye contact, Seulgi slowly undid the buttons of her shirt, one by one.

​"Take me," Seulgi surrendered.

​"Claim what is yours."

__

After their breathless urgency had subsided, they lay together, skin-to-skin, entangled beneath the cool linen sheets. Jaeyi was the solid anchor, curled against Seulgi's back, her arm draped possessively over her waist.

​Jaeyi's fingers idly traced the topography of the skin beneath them, a silent, intimate exploration. Her touch didn't falter as she encountered them—a constellation of fine, silvery lines, faint white welts, and angry, puckered tissue scattered across Seulgi's shoulder blades and lower back, the stark, silent testament to years of endured pain and suffering.

​Jaeyi didn't flinch. Instead, she moved her lips, pressing soft, reverent kisses onto the cold, raised evidence of each trauma.

​"You don't flinch when you touch them anymore," Seulgi murmured, her voice a low, husky thread against the pillow. "It's different from our first time"

​Seulgi remembered those earlier nights. She had preferred the forgiving shroud of darkness, or the pale, filtered light of the moon. She'd been consumed by the shame of her body—damaged, poorly maintained, a stark contrast to Jaeyi's. Jaeyi's skin was luminous, impossibly soft, firm, and radiant. Next to her, Seulgi felt like rough, broken porcelain.

​That deep-seated feeling of being unworthy was a cold, recurring knot in her stomach. She often felt like a poorly matched antique next to a flawless masterpiece, perpetually far below Jaeyi’s level. 

In all things—in love, in life—Seulgi craved equality, a sense of walking with her partner, not perpetually trailing behind.

Seulgi gave a small, forced chuckle. "It's repetition. You get used to seeing it, the impact changes." Her voice suddenly went cold and hard. "The shock wears off for those looking on, I mean."

​"But for those of us who carry the marks, every single time they catch sight of one, every door to their worst memory flies open. The pain is the same, renewed, repeated, and sharp as ever."

​"Then I will make sure every door is locked and sealed," Jaeyi vowed fiercely, her fingers moving again, meticulously caressing the length of every scar, working like a protective balm.

​Jaeyi shifted, crawling slightly up the bed until she was hovering over Seulgi. Her gaze settled on a particularly vivid, star-shaped cigarette burn near Seulgi's collarbone. She tracked its edges with her index finger, then lowered her head, the warmth of her breath preceding the contact. She gently leaned in and kissed it, a deep, lingering press of her lips.

​“From now on, every time your eyes fall upon a mark on your body, I want you to remember…”

​"Remember how I touch it." Jaeyi's lips, warm and tender, lingered on the first scar, a reverent press, before moving fluidly to the mark on Seulgi's shoulder. "How I wash it with love." Her mouth then traveled down Seulgi's arm, finding a pale, whitening scar there, and she kissed it with delicate precision. "Remember this new feeling."

​Gently, Jaeyi guided Seulgi's body, tilting her slightly to expose the wrinkled, textured scar tissue tracing her lower back. Jaeyi's lips followed the lines like a benediction. "My absolute devotion and unyielding love."

​Finally, Jaeyi returned to Seulgi's face. Tears, silent and swift, were tracking down Seulgi's cheeks, and Jaeyi kissed them away, absorbing the salty confession of pain and release. "Etched into your skin with every kiss, every suckle, every caress."

​Her journey ended where it always began, in Seulgi's mouth.

​They kissed softly, a slow, profound meeting. It was a declaration of fierce care that Jaeyi echoed through the deep, steady rhythm of her kiss. And it was a vow of safety, a shield against the past, that Seulgi gratefully received and silently accepted.

When their lips finally parted, their breath mingled in the narrow space between their faces. Seulgi's eyes, glistening with unshed tears, searched the depths of Jaeyi's gaze.

​"Thank you," Seulgi managed, her voice fracturing with the weight of emotion. "Thank you for finding your way into my life."

​Jaeyi gently lowered her head until their foreheads met, a tender collision. They both closed their eyes, sinking into the profound warmth that settled between them.

​"No," Jaeyi murmured back, her voice deep and resonant as they opened their eyes. "Thank you for having the courage to let me in."

______________

Jaeyi was utterly captivated, completely spellbound by Seulgi. She found the thought of being physically separated from her, even for a moment, unbearable. When they were together, Jaeyi ensured their bodies were constantly in contact, be it a subtle brush of their shoulders or simply their pinky fingers intertwining.

​Their hands were almost permanently clasped. Even in class, Jaeyi used her non-dominant left hand for writing, her right hand clamped tightly around Seulgi’s left in an act of silent, absolute possession.

It was a phenomenon at Chaehwa. No one had ever thought Jaeyi would be capable of falling so deeply. Frankly, most students couldn't even picture Jaeyi having the emotional depth required to fall in love in the first place.

​“What the fu—,” Jaeyi snapped, the word cutting off mid-air as Yeri executed a perfect, sudden maneuver, shoving her way through the narrow gap between Jaeyi and Seulgi and successfully shattering Jaeyi's protective grip.

​“See?” Yeri dramatically gestured toward Kyung. “That's how you poke the bear.”

​Kyung chuckled.

​“Ha ha, so funny, Yeri,” Jaeyi scoffed, her annoyance evident as she immediately reclaimed Seulgi’s hand, lacing their fingers back together with unnecessary force.

​Seulgi simply smothered a laugh at Jaeyi’s adorably irate expression.

​“Right, let’s try something a bit more… high-stakes,” Yeri announced. 

Before anyone could react, she lunged forward and planted a loud, smacking kiss right on Seulgi’s cheek.

​“YA!!” Jaeyi’s shriek of outrage was so sudden and loud it managed to startle at least three unsuspecting students waiting nearby.

​Seulgi blinked slowly, caught completely off guard by Yeri's audacity. Her cheeks instantly flushed a vibrant, alarming red.

​Yeri cackled triumphantly as she grabbed Kyung’s arm and bolted away.

​“Ya! Why are you dragging me?! She's going to think we were in cahoots!” Kyung protested, struggling to match Yeri’s escape speed.

“I need a partner for eternal Uno!” Yeri shouted back, disappearing around the corner, her laughter echoing.

Jaeyi muttered several colorful curses under her breath, then vigorously swiped at Seulgi’s cheek, scrubbing off the faint residue of Yeri's lipstick.

​“Why is your face red?” Jaeyi demanded, glaring at Seulgi. Her annoyance had officially tipped over into full-blown possessive jealousy.

​“Huh?” Seulgi was still mentally processing the cheek-kiss and the subsequent sprint.

​“Did she make your heart do a little happy dance?” Jaeyi’s eyes narrowed, demanding an immediate explanation.

​That’s when the danger registered in Seulgi’s mind. Oh. I'm in trouble.

​“I—I didn’t even—” Seulgi stammered, unable to form a coherent defense.

​Jaeyi snorted, a sound of supreme offense, then abruptly released Seulgi’s hand and marched off toward the cafeteria.

​Seulgi stared after her, dumbfounded.

​Fuck! 

She literally just stood there. Blameless, yet blamed.

​“Jaeyi-ah! Wait!” Seulgi called, scrambling to chase after her possessive girlfriend.

_

The four of them settled at a lunch table. Jaeyi’s arm was possessively wrapped around Seulgi’s waist, even while she navigated her chopsticks with her free hand.

​Yeri, taking a large bite of rice and gesturing with her fork towards Jaeyi’s clamped arm.

"I swear, you two need to be medically untangled. How do you even eat, Jaeyi? You look like you're trying to prevent Seulgi from floating away."

​Jaeyi ignoring Yeri, she nips a piece of seaweed from Seulgi’s tray.

​Then Yeri leaned toward Seulgi conspiratorially.

"Seulgi, how do you manage? We all know Jaeyi’s reputation is... intense. A little on the psycho side, right? Do you ever feel suffocated by the CEO of Obsession over here?"

​Seulgi shifts slightly, resting her back comfortably against Jaeyi's arm. She sounds completely unbothered.

"I don't mind. Honestly, I find it quite comforting. And very safe. It’s nice knowing exactly where I stand."

Jaeyi smirked after hearing that.

​Suddenly Kyung interrupts, pointing across the room with her eyes.

"Hey, isn’t that Beomsu? I thought she’d switched to homeschooling or dropped out entirely after... you know."

​Seulgi turns her head to follow Kyung's gaze, locating Beomsu sitting alone, barely touching her food.

"Her girlfriend was Park Hyemin, the scholarship kid before you who was always getting messed with. I heard she went missing." Kyung explained to Seulgi.

Yeri scoffs, her previous teasing tone hardening with genuine distaste.

"She deserves to look miserable. She was such a coward. She let them pick on Hyemin every single day. And now that she's gone—probably threw herself off a bridge because of the bullying—now she's all depressed and moping around."

Yeri then turns to Seulgi, a mischievous glint back in her eye.

"Hey, Seulgi. Did Jaeyi ever mention her?"

​Jaeyi snaps her gaze toward Yeri, a silent, lethal glare in her dark eyes.

​Seulgi frowning slightly, genuinely confused.

"Beomsu? No. Why would she?"

​Yeri leans forward, dropping the bombshell carelessly, as if revealing the plot of a TV show.

"Oh! She's Jaeyi’s ex-girlfriend. They dated, like, two years ago?. And when Jaeyi dumped her, she apparently lost it. Became a total drug addict for a while."

​She lowered her voice conspiratorially, but made sure Jaeyi could hear.

"So, just watch your back, Seulgi. You're dating someone with a history of making people go bonkers."

​Seulgi slowly turns her head, her gaze shifting from Yeri to Jaeyi. She says nothing, simply waiting for an explanation.

​The chatter was suddenly fractured by a heavy clatter, the sound of metal meeting tile, followed by splashing.

​Every head at their table, and indeed most of the room, turned.

​Sujin was kneeling, hurriedly trying to gather the mess that had been her lunch. Next to her, Kim Nari and her entourage were enjoying a cold, loud laugh at Sujin's expense.

​Jaeyi’s possessive focus momentarily broke as she tracked Seulgi’s face. She saw the familiar, tightening line of compassion—and anger—in Seulgi's features as she registered the scene.

​It was clear to everyone that Kim Nari had meant to collide with Sujin, ensuring the tray's catastrophic spill.

​Sujin’s hands shook visibly as she tried to scoop the food from the floor. The heat from the spilled soup was already staining her palms red.

​She eventually gave up, placing the damaged tray onto the edge of the buffet line before spinning away and rushing tearfully out of the chaos.

​Seulgi let out a barely audible sigh, her mind already racing with calculations about how she could most effectively intervene and offer Sujin a path away from the relentless torment.

​She gently put down her chopsticks and gripped Jaeyi’s hand, giving it a private, meaningful squeeze. "Jaeyi-ah, quick pit stop," Seulgi stated, lifting Jaeyi's knuckles to her lips for a swift, affectionate kiss and smiling sweetly before standing up. "Be right back." Seulgi even patted Jaeyi's shoulder gently.

​Jaeyi offered a small, understanding nod and a subtle smirk in return. She watched Seulgi head toward the exit, fully aware that the designated "pit stop" was not the restroom, but the distressed girl fleeing the hall. Sujin.

__

Seulgi found Sujin exactly where she expected, tucked away on a hidden staircase behind the main school building.

​Seulgi approached quietly, sat down beside her, and pulled a clean handkerchief from her uniform pocket. She dampened it with mineral water from a bottle she carried, then gently reached for Sujin's hand, which was visibly reddened from the scalding soup. Seulgi carefully applied the cool compress to the burn.

​"Seulgi-ah," Sujin mumbled blankly, her face a mask of utter exhaustion worn down by the perpetual misfortune that seemed to follow her.

​For a moment, Sujin struggled for words. She tried to muster the strength to keep her voice steady, desperate not to sound pathetic, but the effort failed.

​"I'm sorry, but can you please help me? I'm tired," she confessed, the last sentence breaking into a choked sob. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably as the pain spilled out.

​She knew she should have asked Seulgi for help weeks ago. She should have leveraged her connection to the school's queen bee's girlfriend to gain some protection from the relentless abuse.

​But for some reason, she never did. Maybe she was afraid of dragging Seulgi into her mess, or perhaps it was a form of silent self-punishment. Although Sujin had often tended to Seulgi's injuries after she was bullied at their previous school, Sujin had never actually stood up for her. She had simply watched as Seulgi lay beaten and trampled by their tormentors.

​Seulgi met her gaze with warm, steady eyes. Offering a soft, slight smile, she nodded, murmuring a quiet affirmation of support.

​Across the small yard, peeking around the edge of a brick wall, Jaeyi watched them. Her expression was carefully blank, but the intense fire burning deep inside her dark eyes subtly betrayed her emotion.

​It wasn't jealousy she felt, but a growing sense of calculation. How long would this continue, and how much longer would Seulgi have to direct her attention and worry toward Sujin because of this relentless bullying?

​Above all, Jaeyi hated seeing Seulgi sad.

__

Jaeyi found Nari alone in the restroom. 

“Jaeyi-ah” Nari's greeting was bright and oblivious to the poison behind Jaeyi's eyes. 

Jaeyi approaches Nari slowly. A fake genuine smile playing on her lips. She leans in just enough to make Nari feel the need to step back.

"Nari-ya. You look so lovely today. That shade of lipstick really suits you."

The compliment felt foreign and cold, and alarm bells instantly began to clang in the back of Nari's head. Jaeyi never offered flattery without a specific, often unpleasant, motive. Analyzing Jaeyi's character, this kind of praise was a definite sign of impending trouble.

​Nari tried to appear casual, offering a small, forced laugh in response to the compliment. Yet, her nervousness was clearly visible, her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

​"Thanks, Jaeyi. Is there something urgent that brought you here?"

​Jaeyi's smile remains fixed, but her eyes are cold. She raises a hand, and with a disturbingly gentle touch, she brushes a stray strand of hair from Nari's cheek, then lets her fingers briefly rest on Nari's head, stroking her hair once.

"I just needed a moment of your undivided attention. It's about Sujin. Your little lunchtime performances are getting a bit messy, don't you think?"

​Nari stiffening, visibly intimidated by the touch.

"I don't know what you're talking about. She tripped."

​Jaeyi's hand slides from Nari's hair, her voice dropping to a low, smooth purr—it’s sweet, yet deeply menacing.

"Oh, I think you do. You see, I have a very simple, very small world, Nari. And in that world, there is Seulgi. And when Seulgi is happy, the weather is perfect, the birds sing, and everyone gets to keep breathing easily."

​Nari swallowed hard.

​Jaeyi takes a small, precise step closer, forcing Nari to tilt her head back slightly. The smile widens, becoming utterly toxic.

"And when Seulgi gets that little worried frown because she’s constantly upset about Sujin’s little accidents... Well, it casts a shadow over my perfect weather. And I truly hate shadows, Nari. They make me feel very... uninspired."

"You wouldn't dare interfere." Nari whispered.

​Tilting her head, a soft, amused chuckle escaped Jaeyi's lips.

"Interfere? Heavens, no. I'm just offering a friendly suggestion. You are a clever girl, Nari. You understand cause and effect. I need Seulgi to be calm, smiling, and focused entirely on me. And if Sujin remains a persistent source of her worry, I won't be dealing with Sujin, Nari. I'll be dealing with the source of the distraction."

​She reaches out and very delicately straightens the collar on Nari's uniform, her touch feeling heavy and suffocating despite its lightness.

"So, let's agree on this. Sujin will stop having those unfortunate accidents. She'll stop being a topic of concern. If she continues to look sad, I will have no choice but to permanently remove everything that caused her sadness in the first place. And trust me, Nari, that process will be far less gentle than this conversation. Do we understand each other?"

​Unable to speak, Nari just gives a tiny, shaky nod.

​Jaeyi’s smile finally softens into something genuinely pleased.

"Wonderful. Have a fantastic afternoon, Nari-ya. Let's keep things bright, shall we?"

​As Jaeyi finally pivoted to leave, she paused, slightly caught off guard. Seulgi was standing silently in the restroom doorway. She had been there the whole time, a motionless observer and listener to the entire conversation.

​Seulgi’s expression was a perfect blank slate—unreadable. Her gaze was fixed entirely on Jaeyi.

​Nari, seeing Seulgi’s presence and realizing her humiliation had been witnessed, felt her fear intensify immediately. She stammered a quick, shaky excuse to both Jaeyi and Seulgi, then practically fled down the hall.

​After briefly tracking Nari’s escape with her eyes, Seulgi returned her unflinching gaze to Jaeyi.

​Jaeyi, recovering quickly, broke into a charming grin and walked towards her. "My Seulgi, you're here."

​She nudged Seulgi lightly. "Did you catch our little discussion? I’m a good girlfriend, aren't I?" Jaeyi asked, her tone light and mischievous.

​Seulgi’s face remained impassive. For a flicker of a second, beneath her own confident facade, Jaeyi worried that her calculated threat to Nari might have truly angered Seulgi.

​Seulgi then reached out, taking Jaeyi's hand. She began deliberately stroking the inside of Jaeyi's palm, a slow, methodical motion, as if attempting to scrub away any invisible taint or residue from the encounter.

​"Next time, don't touch her hair. I don't like you stroking other people's heads," Seulgi stated flatly.

​Jaeyi's worry evaporated instantly, replaced by a delighted, wide smile.

​"Oh? You don't like it?"

​"I don't like it," Seulgi repeated, the statement a possessive boundary drawn in the air.

______________

Their names were side by side at the top, a perfect match in the midterm rankings. Jaeyi had kept her promise: the prize was an amusement park trip with Seulgi.

​"It’s rather hot out," Jaeyi commented, her fingers brushing Seulgi’s hair as she gently placed her own navy-blue baseball cap—identical to the one she was wearing—onto Seulgi's head.

​"Let’s go." Jaeyi's hand found Seulgi’s, lacing their fingers together.

​Seulgi followed her lead, her step light and brimming with delight.

​From the dizzying heights of the rollercoasters to the bright lights of the arcades, from one thrilling ride to the next photo opportunity, they dove into every facet of the park. With a pure, shared sense of joy, they explored every hidden path and prominent attraction.

​They roared with laughter on the chaotic bumper cars, gasped dramatically in the 4D theater, wandered through the whimsical, enchanting dollhouse, swayed sweetly on the merry-go-round, and finally settled in for a romantic moment on the slow, ascending Ferris wheel. They chased every rush of adrenaline and dopamine together.

​Jaeyi’s sole focus was on ensuring Seulgi’s happiness. She kept her camera ready, meticulously capturing every single smile that blossomed on Seulgi’s face.

​Both girls felt an incredible lightness; the pressure of studies and the weariness of the week melted away, replaced by the sound of their shared, carefree laughter.

​They paused their exploration, finding a shaded bench where they could savor melting ice cream cones.

​"I am so ridiculously happy today," Seulgi sighed contentedly, her eyes crinkling. "My cheeks actually ache from laughing so much."

​"Really? That's wonderful," Jaeyi said softly, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Seulgi’s ear. "If you're happy, then I'm happy."

​In that moment, Seulgi felt as though Jaeyi was meticulously healing every past trauma, tenderly replacing every painful memory with bright, new ones.

​With Jaeyi by her side, the suffering Seulgi had endured seemed to vanish. She felt newly minted, as if every chapter of her life from this day forward would be filled only with goodness.

​Suddenly, Jaeyi leaned in, surprising Seulgi by gently licking a smear of ice cream from the corner of her mouth. Seulgi’s face flushed a deep crimson; they were in a public place, and the boldness of Jaeyi's action left her utterly flustered and wonderfully embarrassed.

​"You’re very cute when you blush," Jaeyi noted, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

​"I need to use the restroom for just a moment," Jaeyi said, rising. "Don’t wander off, okay?"

“And if anyone gives you trouble," she added, leaning down, "just tell them you have a possessive, slightly crazy girlfriend. Warn them not to mess around."

​Seulgi couldn’t help but let out a helpless, endearing chuckle as Jaeyi turned and headed toward the building.

Seulgi savored her ice cream, her gaze distant and blissful. She was smiling involuntarily, running through the joyous montage of the day’s activities with Jaeyi, feeling completely safe and restored.

​Then, a sound cut through the park’s cheerful clamor: a small child crying.

​Seulgi turned her head. A girl, perhaps six years old, stood a few yards away, weeping inconsolably, her small voice calling out for her parents.

​The sight was a trigger. A lock in Seulgi's mind snapped, and the painful memories she had believed to be permanently overwritten came flooding back, the old tape spooling in a horrific instant replay.

​Seulgi. Six years old. Crying alone on a vast, indifferent beach, screaming for her mother and father.

​Her breath hitched—a sharp, ragged failure to inhale. Her chest constricted, a vice-like pain squeezing the air from her lungs. Her eyes stung, hot and dry.

​The ice cream slipped from her numb fingers, hitting the ground with a soft, irrelevant splat.

​Seulgi’s body began to tremble violently. She grasped the edges of the wooden bench, her knuckles bleaching white against the wood, fighting a desperate, internal battle against total collapse.

​Across the busy thoroughfare, Jaeyi had just exited the restroom. Her eyes immediately locked onto Seulgi’s rigid, shaking form. Recognition of distress flashed across Jaeyi's face, and she sprinted toward the bench.

​"Seulgi-ah!" Jaeyi reached her, catching Seulgi's suddenly heavy, limp weight before she could slide to the ground. "Hey. Hey, look at me. Breathe."

​Jaeyi cupped Seulgi's cheek, forcing their eyes to meet, searching her panicked, faraway gaze.

​"Seulgi-ah. Breathe with me. Deep breath."

​Slowly, agonizingly, Seulgi’s vision sharpened, pulling her back from the suffocating memory. Her breathing remained shallow and jagged.

​Weakly, she lifted a hand to clutch Jaeyi's, which was still anchoring her face. "Jaeyi?"

​Tears, thick and unstoppable, began to stream down her cheeks.

​"Shhh... it's okay. I'm right here," Jaeyi murmured, pulling Seulgi tightly into her chest. She wrapped her arms around her, rocking gently, smoothing her hand soothingly up and down Seulgi’s back.

​"It’s okay, love. I’m here."

​"Don’t go. Please. Don’t leave me alone," Seulgi choked out, the words ripped from her deepest fear. "I don’t want to be alone anymore."

​"Never. I am not going anywhere," Jaeyi vowed fiercely, holding her tighter. "I promise, I will not take a single step without you."

​Jaeyi continued to hold her, sheltering Seulgi until the tremors slowly began to subside.

Seulgi wasn't a lost child.

She wasn't lost.

She was neglected 

She was abandoned.

More brutally, she was deliberately forsaken. Her parents had consciously, coldly, left her stranded on that wide, echoing beach. Seulgi’s very existence was a rejected thing. Nobody wanted her. Not until Jaeyi.

______________

The fluorescent lights of the anatomy lab hummed with a sterile indifference, reflecting off the polished stainless steel and cold instruments. This was Seulgi’s first encounter with human anatomy, not from a textbook, but from a cadaver.

She stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Jaeyi, facing a gurney draped with a pristine white sheet. Across from them, Taejoon stood, a silent, imposing figure, ready to guide and oversee.

​Jaeyi, ever perceptive, nudged Seulgi gently. "Nervous?" she whispered, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Seulgi was nervous. Her heart thrummed a frantic rhythm against her ribs, a stark contrast to the quiet solemnity of the room. The scent of formaldehyde, sharp and clinical, pricked at her nostrils.

​Before they began, Taejoon's voice cut through the silence, calm and professional. "This cadaver," he gestured vaguely towards the shrouded form, "is an eighteen-year-old female. Unidentified at the time of discovery several months ago."

​Seulgi frowned inwardly. She wondered, briefly, how easily Taejoon seemed to procure such a specimen, bypassing the labyrinthine legalities that usually accompanied unidentified remains. But she swallowed the question before it could form. It was irrelevant. For a man of Taejoon's influence and power, such details were undoubtedly trivial obstacles, easily overcome.

​With a practiced, fluid motion, Taejoon reached out and pulled back the white sheet.

​Jaeyi gasped, a sharp, involuntary intake of breath that she instantly tried to suppress. Her carefully constructed composure fractured. Staring back at her, eerily still beneath the harsh lights, was the face of Park Hyemin. The scholarship student who had vanished months ago, whose disappearance had been a quiet scandal whispered in the corridors of their school.

​Jaeyi’s knuckles whitened as she clenched her gloved hands, forcing herself to maintain a neutral expression for Seulgi’s sake. She couldn't let Seulgi see the terror that suddenly gripped her, couldn't let her get entangled in this dark, twisted revelation.

​Her gaze, cold and furious, locked onto her father’s. Beneath the surface, a chilling suspicion began to solidify: Park Hyemin’s death. It had to be connected to him. Her father.

Chapter Text

Seulgi was buried in her books at a large table in the library, accompanied by Yeri and Kyung who were studying across from her.

​A chair scraped harshly against the polished floor, the sudden, loud noise making Seulgi flinch. Beomsu had materialized, pulling up the empty seat right beside her and settling in.

​Seulgi's surprise mixing with instant unease. 

Her new relationship with Jaeyi carried a strict decree, she was off-limits. Outside of Kyung and Yeri, no soul dared to cross the boundary without Jaeyi's direct consent.

Plus, the fact that she was the one who got messed up after Jaeyi dumped her was a bit of a wake-up call.

This brazen move by Beomsu, therefore, carried a heavy implication. She was either suicidally reckless, or perhaps she had become a darker force entirely.

Across the table, Yeri and Kyung exchanged looks of utter disbelief. Beomsu had just committed sacrilege, she had brazenly occupied Jaeyi's territory.

​Yeri couldn't stifle a snicker of incredulous amusement. "Oh, my God. Seriously?" she muttered, shaking her head.

​She leaned forward, her tone dripping with annoyance. "Yah. Kim Beomsu. What in the hell do you think you’re doing?"

​"I'm sitting." Beomsu replied flatly, her eyes not leaving Seulgi’s face.

​"Sitting where? In Jaeyi's throne?" Yeri shot back, her voice laced with heavy sarcasm.

The sheer audacity of the move was breathtaking. If Jaeyi caught wind of this invasion, hell would break loose.

​Seulgi shifted uncomfortably, feeling the sudden spike in tension. Kyung adjusted her wire-rimmed glasses, her stare fixed on Beomsu, silently demanding an explanation.

​"Jaeyi isn't here." Beomsu stated, her gaze still locked onto Seulgi, unnervingly steady. "Family gathering. Seven days. Grandfather's estate. Am I wrong?"

​Seulgi's eyebrows are knitted together. Yeri and Kyung shared a wide-eyed glance. The fact that Beomsu knew Jaeyi's precise schedule was unsettling.

​A flicker of genuine discomfort crossed Seulgi's expression. She blinked, feeling unnerved by her cool, possessive manner.

​"Still a coward, then," Kyung drawled, breaking the silence with a mocking tone. "Only brave enough to approach when the dog isn't home."

​Beomsu didn't even twitch. She completely ignored Kyung's taunt, her calm eyes drilling into Seulgi. Her face was unnervingly placid, unlike the volatile, uncontrolled girl she used to be.

​A sudden, sharp thud and a suppressed yelp drew their attention. Over by the distant bookshelves, a scene of harassment was unfolding.

​Seulgi turned instinctively toward the noise. All the students at the neighboring tables turned their heads as well—all except Beomsu, whose eyes never left Seulgi.

​She recognized the victim, a scholarship student, just like her, only she is a freshman.

​Seulgi glanced toward the librarian's desk. The woman briefly looked up, made eye contact with the scene, and then immediately returned to her paperwork, acting as if the corner of the room was completely empty.

​Beomsu, still watching Seulgi's reaction, allowed herself a thin, chilling smile.

​"Be careful." She warned, her voice low, pulling Seulgi's attention back to her.

“Like ​her, you might find yourself in trouble while Jaeyi is... unavailable."

​With that cryptic warning, Beomsu stood up smoothly and walked away, leaving Seulgi stunned into silence.

​"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Yeri clucked her tongue. "That bitch is genuinely insane."

​Seulgi remained lost in a haze of disturbed thoughts.

​"You okay?" Yeri asked, noticing her friend's vacant stare.

​"Y-yeah," Seulgi mumbled, snapping back to the present. 

"But, Yeri... is she really Jaeyi’s ex? She doesn't seem like.. I don't know, Jaeyi's type?."

"Oh really? What criteria are we talking about here?” ​Yeri chuckled mischievously.

​"Beomsu wasn't Jaeyi's girlfriend." Kyung clarified. "She was the last trinket Jaeyi chose to call a pet."

​"Every year, Jaeyi used to select someone to manipulate, to parade around like a trophy on a leash."

​Seulgi’s brow furrowed in distaste.

​"Beomsu was the final one." Kyung mused. "That was two years ago, though. I don't know why she hasn't picked a new one since."

​Two years ago. 

Seulgi understood the missing piece. That was precisely when Jaeyi's silent obsession with her had begun.

​So, she's Jaeyi's next pet? A different kind, perhaps. One she didn't torment, but just watched from the shadows.

​"I actually think you're her first real girlfriend. I mean maybe her first love." Kyung continued, returning to her reading. 

Love.

"Though I seriously doubt you're the first person she's slept with."

​"But it definitely looks like you're the first who's allowed to taste her." Yeri added, winking playfully.

__

It was well past midnight. Before going to bed, Seulgi stood under the showerhead, letting the cascade of warm water sluice away the day's accumulated anxiety and exhaustion.

​A single day without Jaeyi had been surprisingly disorienting. She was so accustomed to the constant, possessive presence of Jaeyi—the clinging, the hovering—that the sudden absence felt like losing her center of gravity, a temporary abandonment from her strange, self-appointed home.

​Seulgi closed her eyes, focusing entirely on the rhythmic percussion of the water against the porcelain, savoring the clean, washing sensation. She never heard the door to her room creak open. She never heard the soft, calculated footsteps of someone slipping inside.

​The running water was a perfect, sound-drowning shield for the intruder.

​Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the bathroom door swung inward.

​A hand reached out toward Seulgi.

​"JESUS!!" Seulgi shrieked, whipping her head around and fumbling for the shower knob, shutting off the water. "Jaeyi?!"

​"Surprise." Jaeyi said, a low, pleased laugh escaping her as she watched Seulgi’s panicked, shaking form. Seulgi’s breath was still ragged, her adrenaline spiking.

​"How—" Seulgi stammered, still reeling from the shock. "You said the event was for seven days."

​Jaeyi took a nearby towel, deftly wrapped it around Seulgi’s slick body, and pulled her into a tight, possessive embrace. She rested her chin on the damp curve of Seulgi’s shoulder.

​"I missed you," Jaeyi breathed against her skin. "And I was worried."

​Just that afternoon, minutes after Beomsu had made her move, Seulgi's phone rang—it was Jaeyi, asking pointedly about Beomsu. Yeri, clearly, had been quick to inform her.

​Jaeyi had sounded profoundly distressed, and Seulgi still wasn't sure why. Beomsu had been intense, yes, but she hadn't physically harmed her.

​Perhaps it was simply the territorial violation that had triggered Jaeyi’s rage, a surge of possessiveness that only intensified her sudden, desperate longing.

__

Seulgi sat on the edge of the bed, bare-shouldered in a soft tank top and shorts, facing Jaeyi. The air around them felt thick, intimate. Jaeyi’s hands were tenderly rough, working a towel through Seulgi's damp hair, the gentle friction a soothing rhythm.

​Their faces were inches apart, the warmth of their breaths mingling. Seulgi’s proximity, her raw, unguarded beauty, repeatedly pulled Jaeyi’s focus, her movements slowing, then stopping altogether. Jaeyi’s eyes drifted over every curve and plane of Seulgi's face, until they finally locked onto hers.

​"What is it?" Seulgi whispered, her voice a soft caress against the sudden quiet.

Jaeyi’s expression was open, vulnerable, and completely consumed by adoration. It was the look of a person standing before a masterpiece—a mix of awe and possessive disbelief that something so beautiful could be entirely hers.

​"You're exquisite." Jaeyi breathed, the word a confession, barely audible.

​The unexpected, heartfelt praise, delivered with their lips mere inches apart, sent a wave of heat rushing into Seulgi's cheeks.

​Jaeyi moved slowly, bridging the final distance between them. Her kiss began as an act of pure worship, a profound expression of love and gratitude.

​As the kiss deepened, Jaeyi began to lean her weight, gently urging Seulgi onto the mattress. But Seulgi’s hands found her chest and pushed, halting the embrace.

​Jaeyi pulled back, her eyes narrowing slightly in confusion and banked frustration.

​“You said you had to be back at your grandfather’s by six." Seulgi murmured, her fingers tracing the sharp line of Jaeyi’s jaw. 

The tender touch seemed to soothe the burgeoning fire in Jaeyi’s gaze. “It’s already so late. You’ll be exhausted.”

​“I came with Mr. Park. I can sleep the whole way in the car,” Jaeyi insisted.

​"Still." Seulgi countered softly.

​"Please?" Jaeyi pleaded, her lower lip pushing out in a sweet, childish pout that was utterly disarming, like a child begging for a cherished treat.

​Seulgi chuckled, a warm, melodic sound that melted the last of her reservations. Without another word, she pulled Jaeyi back into her arms, capturing her lips once more.

​They sank into the bed, a tangle of limbs and whispered desires, making love with a fierce, burning passion that consumed the last hours of the night.

__

​“I love the sound of your heartbeat. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. It’s the most soothing sound in the world.”

​Jaeyi lay perfectly still, her head pillowed on Seulgi’s chest, her ear pressed right above the steady, reassuring rhythm.

​Seulgi smiled, her fingers gently weaving through the hair at the back of Jaeyi’s head.

​Sometimes, in these moments, she felt as if this beautiful reality was just a fragile dream. She feared waking up the next morning back in the cramped orphanage room, sharing space with at least five other children.

​Lying in a warm, luxurious bed, loved so extraordinarily by the person beside her, was a fate she had never dared to imagine.

​Jaeyi was irrefutable proof of grace; the manifest goodness of God finally shining upon her.

​Perhaps this was the reward—the quiet recompense for years of resilience and quiet suffering.

​“How did Beomsu know you were attending your grandfather’s event?” Seulgi finally asked, her voice hushed.

​“My grandfather invited Beomsu’s parents to the gathering. Her father is quite an important figure in the country.”

​“Important?”

​“Mm,” Jaeyi hummed contentedly against Seulgi’s skin. “He’s the Minister of Defense.”

​“That is indeed an important person.” Seulgi remarked, a flicker of genuine shock registering the depth of Beomsu's family’s influence.

​Jaeyi lifted her head, sensing the shift in Seulgi's tone.

​“You sound surprised.”

​“Mhm.. If her family is so influential, why did the students at school seem to look down on her?” Seulgi asked, confusion etched on her face. 

She recalled the derisive whispers and veiled mockery Beomsu received. Beomsu was never physically assaulted, but the verbal isolation was clear.

​“Because I looked down on her.” Jaeyi stated flatly, returning her head to its sanctuary on Seulgi's chest.

​“I run the hierarchy at school.” The words were monotone, yet Seulgi felt the subtle tension in Jaeyi's body—a nearly imperceptible, bitter undercurrent, like a trace of guilt.

​“Whoever I endorse, the others worship. Whoever I discard, the others isolate and ridicule.”

​Jaeyi sighed, the sound muffled against Seulgi. “You’re dating a bad person, Seulgi.”

​Seulgi shifted, gently cradling Jaeyi's face in both hands, forcing her to look up. Her gaze was filled with unwavering love.

​“I’d much rather date a reformed bad person than a former good person who turned cruel.”

​“You were nothing but kindness to me. So kind, in fact, that sometimes I wonder if I actually died during one of the beatings at my old school, and this comfortable place, here with you, is my heaven.”

​“I love you, Jaeyi. Whoever you were. Whatever you did. Because you love me for exactly who I am.”

​Jaeyi melted under the intensity of that acceptance. She pulled Seulgi close, their kiss soft, warm, and utterly real.

__

​Yeri walked into the classroom, slinging her bag onto her shoulder, and stopped dead. Her jaw dropped at the sight. Seulgi, usually the picture of studious perfection, was slumped asleep at her desk.

​“Is she actually out?” Yeri whispered to Kyung, who was already settled into her seat, deep in a textbook.

​Kyung didn't look up, offering a noncommittal hum of affirmation.

​“Wow,” Yeri remarked, settling into her chair. “A sleeping Woo Seulgi. Now that’s a collectors’ item.”

​Seulgi groaned, finally stirring. She rubbed her puffy eyes and yawned, her voice rough with sleep. “I didn’t get any sleep because Jaeyi showed up last night.”

​Kyung and Yeri immediately swiveled their attention toward her desk.

​"Figures." Kyung stated flatly, coinciding perfectly with Yeri's emphatic, "Yep. That is peak Jaeyi behavior."

​“But she showed remarkable restraint, I’ll give her that.” Kyung added, a hint of surprise in her voice.

​Seulgi raised an inquiring eyebrow.

​“I fully expected her to come racing back here the second Yeri told her about Beomsu’s little visit.” Kyung explained.

​Seulgi sighed, massaging the back of her neck tiredly.

​“So…” Yeri’s expression instantly turned mischievous. “Did she mark her territory? You know, the whole alpha thing—asserting her dominance with her scent?”

​“Speaking of scent.” Kyung interrupted, sniffing the air near Seulgi. Her eyes landed on the jacket Seulgi had been using as a makeshift pillow. “Is that Jaeyi’s jacket?”

​“Mhm,” Seulgi confirmed casually. “We swapped.”

​Yeri gasped dramatically, clasping her hands over her mouth. “Oh, my God. You two are officially spliced at the DNA level. That is genuinely creepy.”

​“Are you alright?” Kyung asked, her concern genuine beneath her dry facade. “This level of sentimentality is so far outside Jaeyi’s operating manual, I’m genuinely concerned for your mental health. Both of you.”

​Yeri shuddered. "I think I just got secondhand chills."

​Seulgi merely rolled her eyes at their combined dramatics.

"I need to hit the restroom for a quick splash on my face." 

__

Seulgi found her huddled in the dim light of the restroom, a scholarship student from the library, tears silently streaking her face. She was trying, futilely, to scrub the red stain of spilled juice from her shirt, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

​Before she could lift her head and see her, Seulgi pivoted, her footsteps soft. She made a quick detour to her locker, retrieving a fresh, folded shirt, and returned.

​"Here," Seulgi said, extending the offering.

​The student startled, her head snapping up, her eyes wide and red-rimmed. She hastily wiped her face, attempting to rein in the trembling that threatened to consume her.

​"No, Sunbaenim, really, it's fine," she stammered, gesturing weakly to her soaked, stained shirt. "I can still wear this."

​"It's wet and dirty," Seulgi insisted, her voice gentle but firm. "You'll be uncomfortable. Just take mine. It's no trouble."

​"But—"

​"I said, take it." Her tone left no room for argument.

​With hands that still visibly shook, the student took the shirt.

​"Thank you," she choked out, her voice thick with a mixture of overwhelming gratitude and lingering pain. Her gaze remained fixed on the tiled floor, unable to meet her eyes.

​"What's your name?" Seulgi asked softly.

​"Ara. Jo Ara."

​"Jo Ara," Seulgi repeated, letting the name settle between them.

​"Just hold on a little longer. Everything will be okay once my girlfriend gets back."

​At that, Ara's head shot up, eyes wide with a sudden, desperate hope. Her lips trembled, a torrent of suppressed emotions threatening to burst forth. 

In Seulgi's calm demeanor, she saw a flicker of salvation—a promise that the relentless torment might finally cease once Seulgi asked Jaeyi to intervene.

​Tears streamed anew, but these were different. They were tears of pure, overwhelming relief, punctuated by a string of fervent thanks.

​Without a second thought, Seulgi pulled Ara into a tight hug, her hand rubbing soothing circles on her shaking back.

______________

The heavy, meditative silence of the church wrapped around Seulgi. She was shocked out of her prayer when the quiet space beside her was abruptly filled. Beomsu.

​"Do you believe in God?" she asked, her voice low, cutting through the devotional hush.

​"Still showing up for church even when the Jaeyi contingent isn't here," Seulgi heard her muse dryly. "You'd make a very devoted daughter-in-law."

​Seulgi felt a surge of confusion and dread. They had met twice, but she knew nothing real about her, only the unsettling rumors.

​"What are you doing here?" was the only immediate defense she could find.

​"I came to seek redemption," Beomsu replied.

​The sarcasm was thick, yet her face was unreadable. Seulgi knew she was mocking her. What she really wanted to know was Why this specific church? The one that had become a protected territory through Jaeyi’s family influence.

Her recent, watchful intrusions were beginning to chip away at her composure. She was consumed by curiosity about her intentions, but she was also stubbornly determined to ignore her. Dealing with Beomsu felt like an unnecessary, distracting burden on her tightly managed life.

​“The promise of Heaven is based on a simple scale, isn’t it?” Beomsu asked, tilting her head, her gaze sweeping over the stained-glass depiction of the Ascension.

​Seulgi remained silent, refusing to play her game.

​“Good deeds versus bad deeds,” she continued, her voice taking on the cadence of a cynical sermon. “If the good outweighs the bad, you're saved. If the bad tips the balance, you burn.”

​She turned her full attention back to her, her eyes cold and assessing. “But what if they simply weighed the suffering?”

​"Someone who has endured a lifetime of agony might harbor deep, silent hatred—curses whispered in the dark. That counts as sin."

​“Is there justice in a system where those who suffered most on Earth are then condemned to suffer eternally in the next life?”

​“You don't sound like a believer," Seulgi finally retorted, defensive.

​“There is virtue in suffering,” Seulgi insisted, her own faith firming her voice. "Endurance breeds reward. That reward is your guaranteed entry to Heaven. You harvest your abundance in the fields of hardship."

​Beomsu’s lips curved into a subtle, disturbing smirk.

​“So you’ve gathered a comfortable number of tickets, then? Enough to buy your own piece of Heaven early?” She paused, her tone deepening. “Jaeyi.”

Yes. Jaeyi was, in a way, Seulgi’s piece of heaven.

​“But you are still walking this earth,” Beomsu reminded her, leaning closer.

​“And sometimes, the flames of Hell flicker into the world of the living.”

Her smile returned, sharper this time. “Be careful. You might just experience another flame of hell while Jaeyi is... unavailable.”

_______________

Seulgi was only a few strides from the dormitory entrance when her phone buzzed a familiar rhythm in her pocket.

​“Hello?” She answered Jaeyi’s call, her voice already lighter.

​“Are you home yet?” Jaeyi’s voice, a low rumble, came through the speaker.

​“Just arrived,” Seulgi confirmed, pushing the front door open and beginning the long walk down the empty hallway toward her room.

​“Did you eat?”

​“Mhm. Grabbed a meal with Yeri and Kyung after our study session.”

​It had been Seulgi’s first time studying with the group without Jaeyi, and the absence felt strange. Ironically, her focus had been more scattered without Jaeyi there than with her. She found she genuinely missed her presence.

​“What about you? Have you had dinner?” Seulgi asked in return, deftly tucking the phone between her ear and shoulder as she fumbled with her bedroom key.

​“Yes. I had a meal with Appa and Hal-a-beoji,” Jaeyi replied.

​“Are you in your room now?” Jaeyi asked, detecting the faint click of the door closing and the muffled thump of Seulgi tossing her bag onto the bed.

​“Mhm,” Seulgi mumbled in assent.

​“Going to hop in the shower first,” she announced.

​The phone screen instantly flickered, shifting from a voice call to a persistent video call request.

​Seulgi chuckled, a small sound of pure exasperation and amusement.

​“Seriously? A video call? Right after I said shower?”

​“Uh-huh. I want to see you naked,” Jaeyi stated without missing a beat.

​“Absolutely not,” Seulgi instantly declined the request. “That is not happening.”

​“Why not? I miss you terribly.”

​Seulgi couldn't help the swell of warmth in her chest; the gesture, however audacious, filled her heart.

​“We will video call after I shower,” Seulgi promised, already beginning to peel off her clothes.

​“You don’t have to do anything! Just set the phone on the bathroom counter.”

​“No,” Seulgi maintained firmly.

​“Seulgi-ah.” Jaeyi’s voice was pleading.

​“Nope.”

​“Baby.” Jaeyi coaxed, her voice low and persuasive.

​“Still no,” Seulgi insisted, laughing softly.

​“Yeobo,” Jaeyi whispered, trying her ultimate charm offensive.

​“Bye, Jaeyi,” Seulgi said decisively, and hung up before Jaeyi could utter another word.

​“Wait—” Jaeyi’s voice cut out abruptly.

​Seulgi grinned, standing in her underwear, and quickly typed a message before heading to the bathroom.

​Attachment: wooseulgi_heartbeat.mp3

​Seulgi: I asked Soyeon Unni to record my heartbeat during my medical checkup earlier.

​Jaeyi: Wow. I’ll sleep soundly tonight with that lullaby.

Jaeyi: And I’ll have even sweeter dreams if you send nude photos.

​Seulgi rolled her eyes, but a smile touched her lips as she rapidly typed a reply.

​Seulgi: Absolutely Not.

​She dropped the phone onto her desk and finally headed into the bathroom for her shower.

__

It was Jaeyi’s sixth day in Sokcho. That afternoon, as soon as the day's scheduled activities wrapped up, she bolted for her room. Her steps were urgent. She couldn’t wait to exploit her private space to connect with Seulgi, even if only through a screen. She desperately missed her lover.

​It wasn't simply missing, it was an escalating fever. Jaeyi was haunted by a corrosive unease, a bad feeling that clung specifically to Seulgi. 

Even with the near-constant communication—texts flying back and forth, hourly calls squeezed in between Seulgi’s study sessions, paused only for the lecture bell—it felt like a cheap imitation of connection. She needed more. She felt a terrifying loss of control, an absolute vacuum of power whenever Seulgi wasn't physically within her grasp.

As she reached the door and thrust it open, a figure materialized from the side, aiming for a theatrical jump scare.

"BOO!!"

But Jaeyi didn't so much as twitch. She hadn't been startled at all. The intruder’s expectation of seeing Jaeyi’s cute, wide-eyed surprise instantly evaporated. The mischievous grin died on her lips.

"Seulgi," Jaeyi stated flatly.

"Tsk. What is this? You're not surprised, this is no fun," Seulgi grumbled, her bottom lip sticking out in a pout.

Jaeyi let out a low, warm chuckle and immediately pulled Seulgi into a crushing hug.

“I’m a woman with god-level composure and poise. I don’t flinch easily.”

Seulgi pouted harder, but it was purely for show. She melted instantly into Jaeyi’s tight embrace, inhaling the familiar, comforting scent.

On the surface, Jaeyi appeared calm, but the ferocity with which she held Seulgi betrayed her. Something inside her was clearly fracturing. She couldn’t believe Seulgi had appeared before her, like a miracle, precisely when her need was most acute.

“How did you get here?” Jaeyi murmured into her hair.

“I took the bus,” Seulgi replied simply, their arms still locked around each other.

“And school? Did you skip out?” They finally pulled back, though their torsos remained pressed together. Seulgi’s hand rested on Jaeyi’s waist. Jaeyi returned the gesture, her other hand reaching up to gently stroke the back of Seulgi's head.

“I took the day off. Your dad gave me permission after I amazed the chief of orthopedic surgery with my brilliant brain,” Seulgi said, tapping her temple proudly.

“Ugh. My brilliant menace of a girlfriend,” Jaeyi sighed, pulling her back in, squeezing her fiercely one last time.

“I’m so glad you came.” Jaeyi began peppering Seulgi’s neck with light, needy kisses, inhaling her specific scent deeply. She finished the trail with a soft kiss on Seulgi's jaw.

Jaeyi then pulled back enough to cup Seulgi's right cheek with her palm, her thumb caressing the smooth skin. "I missed you so much," she whispered, her eyes dark with emotion.

Without waiting for a response, Jaeyi leaned in and claimed Seulgi's lips.

Seulgi responded instantly, tilting her head and deepening the connection. They kissed passionately, desperately, letting the intense longing and the unvoiced fear crumble away beneath the pressure and warmth of their mouths.

__

They pedaled down the coastal road, separated from the open sea only by a low fence. Above them, the brilliant blue sky met the deeper blue of the ocean in a perfect horizon. Sokcho's coastline lived up to its reputation for breathtaking beauty.

​They chased each other on their bicycles, their joyful shouts carried away by the wind. Their laughter rang out, easily conquering the steady roar of the crashing waves. They were truly, completely happy, lost in the exhilaration of the ride.

__

Outside the window, the soft, rhythmic sound of the Sokcho waves was the only witness. The clock on the wall ticked quietly, each chime a drop of water falling onto stone, slowly eroding the time they had left.

​Jaeyi inhaled the scent of Seulgi. A cold combination of sea air and the casual warmth of her skin, filling her lungs. 

But beneath the sensual warmth, a sharp, cold spike of dread pierced her. It wasn't just the impending separation; it was something darker, a whisper of wrongness that had been clinging to her since sunset.

​She remembered the strange, hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach when Seulgi had casually mentioned her 4 AM departure time. Now, it resonated with every tick of the clock, morphing into a genuine, terrifying premonition. This feels too much like a goodbye, the thought screamed in her mind. Not a 'see you soon,' but a closure.

​They had just been intimate, their breaths still catching, but Jaeyi moved again. She rolled over, settling on top of Seulgi, burying her face in the curve of Seulgi’s neck, clamping down hard as if trying to merge their bodies.

​"Jaeyi-ah." Seulgi whispered, her voice husky and choked, her left hand moving from Jaeyi's waist to gently squeeze her hair behind her ear.

​Jaeyi shook her head, a frantic, desperate movement. "No," she whispered, her voice rough with fear. "I don't want you to leave. I feel… bad. Something feels broken about this."

​She began to kiss. Not the wild kisses of lust, but slow, possessive, primal tributes, trying to seal Seulgi to her skin. From Seulgi's soft shoulder, tracing down the collarbone, and then to her heart, Jaeyi was trying to physically counteract the cold dread that was tightening her chest. Every touch was an attempt to overwrite the clock’s chimes.

​One chime— Jaeyi’s gut clenched. Seoul was too far, and the feeling of finality was suffocating.

Two chimes— She squeezed Seulgi’s waist. 4 AM. The time of severance.

​Seulgi felt the change in Jaeyi's energy—the frantic quality beneath the tenderness. She understood the fear, though not its source.

​"Love," Seulgi called, her breath catching. She cupped Jaeyi’s face, forcing Jaeyi to look into her eyes in the dim light. "It's just Sokcho to Seoul. Only a few hours”

​"It's not that," Jaeyi muttered, her eyes wide, glistening with unshed tears. "It’s not just a call. It's... a thread snapping. Don't go." 

She kissed Seulgi's lips with an intensity that verged on pain. The kiss was a panicked demand for connection, a desperate plea for reassurance against the nameless shadow creeping into the room.

​Seulgi opened her legs slightly, offering silent comfort. Jaeyi moved with a slow, agonizing reverence. This was no longer lovemaking, it was an act of emotional anchoring. Each calculated push was an effort to rewind the clock, to keep them locked in this small, safe bubble of Sokcho.

​Their pace slowed until it was almost a desperate, prolonged hug. They simply held onto each other, exchanging ragged breaths, defying the finality that Jaeyi felt so keenly. Jaeyi buried her face into the pillow beside Seulgi, her ear close to Seulgi's thrumming heart.

​"Please," Jaeyi pleaded, her voice choking and raw, "Let me just stay here, inside this moment, where you can't be taken away."

​Seulgi held her tighter, her own eyes closed against the weight of Jaeyi's fear. She met Jaeyi's movement with her hips, creating a deliberate, slow rhythm—a final, intimate protest against the ticking clock and the unnamed fear that threatened to tear them apart at 4 AM. They clung to the warmth, using their bodies as a shield against the creeping cold of the unavoidable future.

​Until the next chime of the clock sounded, and Jaeyi knew she was losing the battle against time, but refused to surrender the touch.

__

With a dull thud, the suitcase was fully opened. Inside, arranged neatly and chillingly, lay a cache of long-barreled firearms and a massive quantity of ammunition boxes.

​Beomsu stood perfectly still, confronting the arsenal. Behind her, several children who have been victims of bullying - including Ara and Sujin - watched with faces set like stone, their collective gaze a potent brew of cold anger, resolute vengeance, and an irrepressible depth of heartache.

​For a moment, she simply absorbed the sight of her guns. Then, with deliberate motion, she chose one. She shifted its weight, finding the familiar, deadly equilibrium of the shooting position. 

The barrel was aimed at the tactical whiteboard, which detailed their operational plans. Beomsu held the target in the crosshairs: the photograph placed squarely at the heart of the schematic.

Seulgi.