Chapter 2…..
At first, she thought it was the cry of a kitten who had lost its mother.
But then she realized—there couldn’t possibly be a kitten in the high-rise buildings of the city center. Thinking she must have heard wrong, she took another step forward.
Then the same sound came again.
The moment she was certain it wasn’t her imagination, chills ran down her spine.
Her rational mind told her to just walk past and ignore it, but her legs moved instinctively toward the sound.
She quieted her steps and approached. A panting sound leaked through the crack of a door.
“Ahh… Manager, harder, harder.”
“Quiet. What if someone hears us?”
The desperate voice of a woman, the hushed reprimand of a man—at that moment, the mug in her hand trembled. The tea inside rippled violently.
It was a voice she knew.
She had heard it every single day for a year—there was no way she could mistake it.
Her mind went blank. Her heart slammed painfully against her chest.
Her stomach churned. Her ears rang.
Her knees buckled, her body swayed.
She nearly dropped the cup but barely managed to keep hold of it.
The tea sloshed over her hand, burning her skin, but she didn’t feel it.
No, she felt nothing at all.
How… how could this be…?
It was as if someone had shredded her heart to pieces.
She had never once doubted him—he had always looked only at her.
Now, rage, betrayal, grief, confusion, and the desperate desire not to believe all rushed in at once.
Her emotions tangled together until her head buzzed like a radio filled with static.
She couldn’t breathe.
Her vision blurred.
It felt unreal. No—it had to be unreal. She froze where she stood.
A year ago, when he had joined the company, he’d said it was love at first sight with her.
His persistent confessions and kind words had melted her heart, and eventually she had agreed to date him.
Now they had even set a wedding date.
And yet—this was how he betrayed her.
The fever boiling in her head slowly cooled, and reason began to return.
But reason couldn’t quell her fury.
The thought that all the words she had believed in were lies turned her stomach inside out.
While he was doing this behind her back, she had been apologizing and feeling guilty for nothing. She felt pathetic.
Suppressing her steps, she walked forward quietly.
Then—she yanked the fitting room door wide open.
In the cramped space, barely big enough for one person to stand, Kyung-jin and Mi-joo were tangled together, panting like beasts with their lower bodies exposed.
“What do you two think you’re doing?”
“Y-Yeon-ha!”
“Kyaa!”
Caught mid-act, Kyung-jin scrambled to cover himself with clothes scattered on the floor. Behind him, terrified Mi-joo yanked down her skirt, which had ridden up to her waist.
The sight made Yeon-ha’s head blaze as though a steaming iron had been pressed against it. Her whole body shook with uncontrollable fury.
She clenched her fists with all her strength, unwilling to show them how much she was shaking. Her nails dug into her palms until it hurt—but she didn’t even notice.
“You dare cheat on me? With my own subordinate?!”
“Yeon-ha, it’s not what it looks like—”
Kyung-jin shoved Mi-joo aside and reached for her. But before he could touch her, Yeon-ha slapped his hand away sharply.
“Not what it looks like? You mean lying about some army reunion today? Or sneaking around with my subordinate?”
“Don’t phrase it like that.”
Even now, he dared correct her wording. The bitterness in her throat surged up.
“Then what should I call it? Should I say you were mating?”
“Yeon-ha, I’m sorry. It was my mistake. Just calm down, okay? Let’s go outside and talk.”
Normally, he would have snapped at her for speaking harshly. But now, worried someone might overhear, he tried desperately to pacify her.
His cowardice only made him more pathetic in her eyes.
“What’s wrong? You weren’t afraid of being caught while cheating right here at work. But now you’re scared?”
“Seo Yeon-ha—”
“Since when? Tell me honestly.”
Mi-joo was the youngest designer in the department, a bright, cheerful twenty-five-year-old who was popular with the men for her cuteness.
“Since when? I swear, today was the first time.”
“Really?”
Yeon-ha turned from Kyung-jin, whose lips trembled as he spoke, to Mi-joo, who was trembling like a half-naked fledgling bird.
“O Mi-joo. You tell me. Was today really the first time?”
“I-I’m sorry, Team Leader…”
Whether it was fear of her glare or guilt over her sin, Mi-joo suddenly burst into tears.
That confirmed it—Kyung-jin had lied.
Before she knew it, her hand flew up.
Smack!
Kyung-jin’s head whipped to the side. Her palm stung from the force, and a bright red mark bloomed on his cheek.
“You’ve lost your mind!”
At first stunned, he quickly recovered and snarled in anger. But Yeon-ha, even more furious, didn’t flinch.
“Consider yourself lucky I stop here. You’ll pay all the penalties for canceling the wedding.”
She glared once more at Mi-joo, trembling behind him, then turned and walked away. For the first time, she realized that when anger peaked, it could cool abruptly, like being doused with ice water.
She silently applauded herself for not going berserk like a madwoman. But then—her shoulder was yanked back roughly. Kyung-jin, now dressed, glared at her with bloodshot eyes.
“What, do you still have something to say?”
“And what makes you so high and mighty?”
His grip on her shoulder hurt, but she lifted her chin and replied coldly.
Moments ago, he had been worried sick about being caught. Now, blinded by the fact that she had struck him, his voice rose.
“Who do you think you are? You always canceled plans, always said you were busy. And when I wanted to stay over, you looked at me like I was some animal! Do you know how miserable that made me feel?”
He accused her with an indignant face. Yeon-ha could only laugh bitterly at how he twisted blame.
“So that’s why you slept with Mi-joo? Because I wasn’t enough?”
“Yes!”
Whether out of anger or honesty, he spat the word. Mi-joo gasped in despair, but Yeon-ha felt no pity for her.
The only thing that enraged her was how Kyung-jin had deceived both women for his own lust. Disgust burned in her eyes as she tore his hand off her shoulder.
“You bastard. You call yourself human?”
“What did you just say?”
“You toy with two women just for your own pleasure? You’re trash. Lower than a dog. Don’t ever speak to me again.”
She turned her back on him—she couldn’t stand to be near this garbage another second.
Then she noticed the crowd of employees who had gathered, watching. In the heat of fighting with Kyung-jin, she hadn’t realized people were there.
Kyung-jin’s face turned ashen, while Mi-joo fled back into the fitting room.
Yeon-ha, who had done nothing wrong, walked out with her head held high.
Once out of sight, she ran into the restroom and vomited everything inside her.
It felt as though someone was twisting her stomach with their bare hands.
The pain was unbearable, and the tears wouldn’t stop falling.
