Chapter 2: What’s Done Is Done
Time seemed to have stopped.
Sena, frozen as if everything in her world had burned to ashes, was so stunned that she couldn’t even think about wiping her nose.
Whoooosh—
A sharp, icy gust of wind brushed past her ears.
“…You really do get yourself into everything, Sena.”
Yes. I really do. Lord, if this is hell, what exactly is my crime? Is it my selfish audacity for confessing to a man who already has someone? No matter how you look at it, this is too much. Maybe I should just take a leave of absence.
At twenty-two, this was the scene in which an indelible stain would be carved into Sena’s life.
Every year, when the first snow fell, Sena would involuntarily remember that humiliating confession and kick the covers in ritualistic frustration.
But now she was no longer the naive, reckless girl of the past. She had overcome those embarrassing memories and become a professional woman admired by everyone.
And today! Today was the day she would achieve one of her long-cherished goals.
Or so she thought.
That is, until a living reminder of her black-marked past—someone she’d pay a fortune to erase from memory—appeared right before her eyes…
Startled, she burst out of her room without even gathering her thoughts. Racing up the stairs, she nearly collided with a man descending them.
First, she noticed the polished brown wingtip shoes.
The crease of his suit trousers, cut to just brush the ankle, ran straight and sharp like a blade. Slowly, her gaze traveled upward, taking in the vest over his well-built frame and the jacket casually draped over one arm.
Sena licked her dry lips and lifted her trembling gaze further.
His eyes were still sharp and intimidating, and the subtle furrow of his brows radiated the same commanding presence he had ten years ago.
Ah, why… why him?
Her lips parted reflexively, releasing a quiet gasp. Then a low, incredulous voice formed words before she could stop it:
“Senpai… why are you here…???”
It was still too chilly to call it spring, but the midday sun shone unusually bright.
Sena removed her coat, hung it on a rack in the office corner, and turned the heater on low. She walked to her desk, unbuttoned her ivory-colored suit jacket, sat down, and powered up her laptop.
A soft ding signaled a new message on the office messenger.
[Ki, do you know who’s coming today for partner selection?]
A fellow attorney at K Law Firm, who joined on the same day as her, seemed to have tuned in to the board meeting happening upstairs immediately upon arrival.
Sena hesitated briefly before typing: “Not sure, I guess…”
K Law Firm—anyone could guess where that “K” came from. Seven years at the firm, two as an associate, five as a senior lawyer.
Sena, a minority shareholder, had been waiting for today: the day she would claim the position of partner attorney and eventually become the lead counsel of K Law Firm.
Tomorrow, she would stamp her presence as a partner. Today, she wanted to savor the thought alone.
She forced a smile from her lips and glanced at her scheduler. About thirty minutes remained before her first client appointment.
Sena grabbed her notebook and tablet and left the office.
She walked toward the staff lounge at the end of the same-floor corridor and glanced at the stairs leading to the second floor.
K Law Firm occupied the penthouse of a fifteen-story building in Seocho-dong.
On the lower floors were the small offices of senior attorneys; junior lawyers, investigators, and clerks had desks densely arranged in the center—a large law firm in full operation.
Upstairs were meeting rooms for clients, partner attorneys’ private offices, and, in the best location, the firm’s executive office.
Someone had said: the stronger one’s ambition for rank, the more one wants to look down from above.
Sena compared her modest five-pyeong office with the partner offices upstairs.
Sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. A spacious office, where a simple meeting could take place on the sofa without booking a separate meeting room.
“All the effort I’ve put in to make that office mine…!”
Confident she would tomorrow walk into the upper floor instead of the crowded lower floor, she entered the lounge proudly. She poured a large mug of coffee and walked to the window.
Since early morning, junior attorneys with dark circles from overtime lay sprawled at the window tables, soaking up sunlight.
Sena took a sip of her coffee, recalling herself at that stage.
“I was like that once too.”
A rookie attorney who couldn’t even dress properly, with a dull face, watching the shining senior lawyers like a baby bird looking up to its mother.
“Back then, I barely washed at the sauna in the morning before working like an ant all day… Ugh, just thinking about it is horrible.”
Now, she wore a bright, vibrant suit instead of the dreary black ones that showed wear after a few days.
And heels! Eleven-centimeter heels that made her legs look perfect. And in her hand, a Kelly bag instead of a heavy briefcase—she felt proud.
Feeling the juniors’ envious gazes on her, she straightened her back and smiled calmly.
She wanted to appear even more elegant and intelligent. The coffee was too bitter, but she ignored it. After all, an Americano, like life’s bitter moments, was a beverage one must enjoy as a busy professional.
A successful early-thirty lawyer, a professional woman, and soon, a partner responsible for a whole group.
“Attorney Sena is seriously amazing.”
“Senpai, you’re my idol! I aspire to be like you!”
“I want to be like Attorney Ki too.”
“How can she be so smart and pretty? I’m jealous.”
Even if it was flattery, she loved the admiration in their eyes—it confirmed the perfect image of herself that others saw.
Yet, every time:
“No, I’ve made mistakes and gotten scolded too,” or “I’m not that amazing, it’s just flattering…” she feigned modesty. In reality, she thought:
“You know how much a swan paddles under the water to glide elegantly across a lake? You have to work that hard to become like me. This doesn’t just happen.”
That was Sena’s ultimate joy: a life praised by others. The world held no more “pathetic Sena.”
While indulging her vanity in the staff lounge, her phone vibrated. Her brow furrowed slightly at the incoming caller.
“Of all mornings, why now…”
It was the phone of the boyfriend who had gone MIA a week ago. She hesitated, then the call ended.
“Impatient bastard. Couldn’t even wait thirty seconds.”
She clicked her tongue, then a message notification flashed:
[Can we meet for lunch today? I’ll come by your office.]
Sena smirked slightly, considering the phone.
What’s done is done.
Why cling to useless ties? It’s better to cut them off before they drag on. Tomorrow, a new world would unfold.
“So you insist on meeting to talk. Fine. Let’s hear what you’ve got.”
Sena sat at a café, barely having eaten lunch, gazing coolly at the man who would soon become her ex.
The one person who had become the only blemish on her perfect life.
“What do you want to say?”
“…”
“You asked to meet because you had something to say, right? If you’re just going to sit there, you could’ve texted.”
Her annoyed tone made him lower his head, glancing up nervously.
“Sena.”
“Why?”
“Do you still love me?”
“Get to the point. Make it brief. I don’t have time.”
Sena’s sharp retort made him flinch, but she knew exactly what was coming: the breakup. After a week of disappearing, he had surely been wracking his brain for excuses.
Still, he had some expectation he could speak the truth, which is why he showed up.
“I’ve had a really hard time over the past two years we’ve been together.”
Ah, here we go. The prelude.
He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses—over half a million won, a luxury brand frame she had bought.
“You were always busy, and when you worked, I couldn’t reach you. I thought if I stopped contacting you, you’d try once…”
Unbelievable.
Sena clenched her jaw to stop herself from cursing, holding her chin high.
“You called me in just to say that?”
This time he fiddled with his shirt collar, a premium shirt she had bought, tailored perfectly unlike the cheap check shirts engineers often wore.
“You didn’t even want to see me?”
Sena glanced at his wrist. Unsurprisingly, he wore the luxury watch she had spent a fortune on for his birthday—a male fantasy.
“….”
“I tried to understand your busy schedule. I was busy with my thesis too. But this isn’t right. If we loved each other, we should have been there for each other in hard times.”
Ah, what a mouth. The guy who used lame excuses about late nights in the lab had gone traveling with another woman overseas?
“I’ve really had a hard time… you probably didn’t know.”
Sure, he must have. He was cheating blindly, so how could he not?
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m not the right person to be with you.”
The same man who used to delight in flaunting the clothes, watch, and shoes she bought him—now wearing them while seeing another woman, talking about not being the right vessel?
“So, let’s break up. Find someone better than me.”
“….”
“It hurts me to say this too, but it’s time for both of us to part ways. Sorry.”
“You went MIA for a week just to check my feelings and called me in when you knew I was busy?”
“Even so, it’s polite to say it in person… After two years—”
Before he could finish, Sena cut him off with a bitter laugh.
Infuriating. She thought about waiting for him to admit the truth behind his weak excuse of feeling unloved—but that coward would never say it first.
“Polite? The polite guy who cheats?”
