WILL THE TRUTH COME TO LIGHT?

Seo-joon sat in his spacious, minimalist apartment, but there was no sense of peace. He paced back and forth in the living room, his fists clenched, unable to push Lena out of his mind.

He was angry. At her. At himself. At Hyun.Especially at Hyun.

"How could he put me down like that? Me?!" Seo-joon gritted through his teeth and furiously threw his phone onto the table.

Seo-joon, the founder and CEO of one of the most successful companies in Seoul, had let a twenty-two-year-old girl throw him off balance.

"This is absurd," he muttered under his breath.

He reached for his phone again, and before he could think of what to say, he pressed Hyun's number.

One ring… two… three…

Voicemail.

Seo-joon slammed his phone down. "Unbelievable."

He was never the type to second-guess his decisions. He made a choice and moved on. But now… What if Lena didn't come back? What if she gave up? What if… he actually needed to listen to her?

Shaking his head, he muttered through clenched teeth, "No. I'm not falling for this."

At that moment, the doorbell rang, snapping him out of his thoughts. Seo-joon frowned and ran a hand over his face.

"Who now…?"

He opened the door—and immediately regretted it.

"Seo-joon-ah!"

Standing before him, with a dazzling smile and a bag in her hand, was his ex-girlfriend, Min-ji.

"I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some dinner."

Seo-joon shut his eyes for a second, trying to hide his frustration.

"Min-ji, how many times have we talked about this?"

She simply smiled and pushed the bag into his hands.

"I know, I know… but we're old friends, aren't we? You can't just push me out of your life because we're not together anymore."

Seo-joon sighed and stepped aside, letting her in.

"Five minutes," he said firmly.

Min-ji walked in, took off her coat, and made herself comfortable on his sofa, as if she still belonged there. Seo-joon didn't even sit. He stood with his hands in his pockets, watching her.

"How have you been?" she asked, crossing her legs.

"Busy."

"Busy with what? Work… or thinking about someone else?"

Seo-joon immediately went on the defensive. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Seo-joon, I know you. I can see it on your face. And I know it's not business. Normally, you're cold and composed, but right now, you look like you're about to explode."

Seo-joon looked away.

"It doesn't matter."

"Oh, so it is someone else," Min-ji smirked, clearly enjoying this.

Seo-joon clenched his jaw. "Min-ji, this is none of your concern."

"Hmm…" She studied him carefully, then leaned back against the sofa. "Fine. If you don't want to talk, don't. But you look like someone who, for the first time in his life, doesn't know what to do."

Seo-joon immediately stood up. "We're done here."

Min-ji just smiled, got up, and put on her coat.

"Alright, alright… I'm leaving. But if you ever need someone who truly understands you, you know where to find me."

Seo-joon didn't respond. He just opened the door.

Min-ji winked at him and walked out.

Seo-joon closed the door, turned to face his apartment, and ran a hand through his hair.

Seo-joon, who always knew what to do. Seo-joon, who never second-guessed himself. Seo-joon, who now felt like a complete idiot.

Seo-joon, who finally had to admit—he wanted to see Lena.

__________

Seo-joon was sitting at his desk in the office, flipping through documents, but the words were blurring in front of his eyes. Every time someone knocked on the door, his heart would skip a beat—then he'd curse himself in his mind.Of course, it wasn't her.Seo-joon straightened in his chair, trying to focus. His eyes followed the lines of the report, but nothing was sticking in his mind.Knock-knock.Seo-joon quickly looked up.The door opened, and in walked—Hyun.Seo-joon immediately rolled his eyes and lowered his gaze back to the paper."Were you expecting someone else, boss?" Hyun asked with a sly smile."Don't talk nonsense," Seo-joon snapped, though he couldn't hide the slight discomfort.Hyun leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "You really need to practice your poker face. You looked like a dog waiting for its owner to come home."Seo-joon gave him a sharp look. "Go do something useful, Hyun."Hyun shrugged. "Alright, alright… I'm just saying. If you're thinking about her, maybe you should—"Seo-joon slammed the file down on the table. "I'm not thinking about her!"Hyun raised his hands in defense. "Okay, okay! You don't have to yell. Think about whoever you want… or don't."Seo-joon sighed, rubbed his temples, and, ignoring Hyun, returned to the papers."By the way," Hyun said, observing him, "are you okay? You're a little more… nervous than usual today."Seo-joon threw him a glance. "My mood isn't your problem."Hyun nodded but didn't back down. "Just don't slam the file again. Printing's expensive."Seo-joon didn't respond, just waved his hand for Hyun to leave.Hyun chuckled and left the office, but Seo-joon didn't miss the satisfied look on his face.The day went by relatively normally, but Seo-joon couldn't calm down.Regular meetings, emails, signing documents—all of it was getting on his nerves.What bothered him the most was that Lena hadn't come.Seo-joon couldn't believe how much it bothered him that he hadn't seen her all day. Wasn't that what he wanted?Several times he caught himself glancing at the door, but she didn't show up.She gave up.Seo-joon didn't know why, but the thought made him even more upset.When Hyun left work, Seo-joon felt a strange unease.He didn't know what to do with himself.Seo-joon found himself in his apartment, but he couldn't relax.He wasn't the type to go out and get drunk, but this time, he didn't want to be alone.He tried calling Hyun again.The voicemail."That bastard is doing this on purpose…" he muttered.Seo-joon looked at his phone, then at the door.Maybe it was time to visit Hyun.

Seo-joon soon arrived at Hyun's apartment and knocked on the door a few times.He didn't know what to expect—maybe Hyun would just peek his head out and tell him he was wasting his time.But what he didn't expect was—The door opened.Seo-joon froze.In front of him, standing at the door of Hyun's apartment, was Lena.Their eyes met.She looked just as shocked as he did.Seo-joon couldn't speak.His stomach flipped.Lena.Here.At Hyun's place.Seo-joon stepped back abruptly, his eyes narrowing, his face hardening completely."What the…?" Seo-joon flinched, then repeated more sharply."What are you doing here?"

Seo-joon didn't wait for Lena to speak.He shoved the door open and aggressively stepped inside, and she hesitated, stepping back."I can't believe this…" Seo-joon thundered, his voice filled with disdain. His gaze cut like a knife.Lena just stood there, still shocked by his presence."So you really don't give up? What now, you found a new victim? My assistant, of all people?!" Seo-joon laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "How can you not be ashamed, Lena? Doesn't anything mean anything to you?""Seo-joon…" Hyun tried to interrupt, but Seo-joon ignored him.Seo-joon continued angrily. "I thought I was a fool for trusting you, but this… This is a new level! You're unbelievable!"Lena trembled. She couldn't speak, couldn't defend herself.Seo-joon kept going. "Do you know what the worst part is? I fell in love with you. I did! And you… You're just…" Seo-joon bit his lip, as if he couldn't even say what he really meant.Hyun tried to interject again. "Boss, you're really overdoing it now."Seo-joon raised his hand to silence him.Lena couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes were full of tears, but she didn't want to cry in front of him.She turned to Hyun, swallowed the lump in her throat, and barely spoke:"I'm sorry, Hyun. I need to leave now."Seo-joon frowned.Lena grabbed her bag and wallet from the table, glanced at Hyun once more, and quietly said:"Bring me my things tomorrow. You know where to find me."Hyun was silent for a few seconds, then winked at her and nodded.Seo-joon just stood there, silently watching, fists clenched.Lena opened the door and left without looking back.Seo-joon remained standing in the middle of the apartment, as if rooted to the spot.Silence.Then Hyun's voice broke through, cold and precise:"Well, now you really messed up, Seo-joon."