The Fallout

There was no hiding from it now.

By the next morning, three things had happened:

1. Auntie Yoo posted a suspiciously vague status on Facebook: "Some couples lie with their mouths. Others lie with their eyes. 🧐💔"

2. Mina's mom called five times in a row—each call more panicked than the last.

3. And worst of all…

Minseo wasn't texting her.

Not "Good morning", not "Emergency croissant run?", not even a meme. Radio silence.

It felt louder than any message he could've sent.

Mina sat on her bed in her hoodie, staring at her phone like it had personally betrayed her.

She should've said something to Jae. Anything. Instead, she just stood there. Like a coward. While Minseo's hand slipped from hers.

A knock broke the silence.

She opened the door to find Hana holding a cardboard box, eyebrows raised.

"I brought crisis snacks," she announced.

Mina stepped aside silently.

Hana dropped onto the floor, opened the box, and revealed: ramen, tteokbokki chips, banana milk, and a notebook titled "Emergency Damage Control Plan."

Mina blinked. "You made a binder?"

"I always make a binder when you emotionally implode."

She flipped it open and pointed to a flowchart. "Okay. Option A: Tell your family the truth. Risk emotional arson. Possibly get disowned."

Mina groaned.

"Option B: Come clean to Minseo, confess your feelings, and beg him not to leave."

Mina groaned louder.

"Option C…" Hana paused. "Move to Jeju, change your name, and raise goats."

Mina flopped onto the bed. "I pick C."

"You hate goats."

"They're honest. Unlike me."

Hana sat beside her. "Mina. Look. You didn't just fake a relationship. You accidentally had one. A real one. And it scared the hell out of you."

"I pushed him away," she whispered.

"And he still kissed you."

That part played on repeat in her head. Not the kiss itself—but the look in his eyes after.

Like he saw her.

And then Jae saw them.

And then it all fell apart.

Mina turned toward Hana. "Do you think he'll take the Hong Kong job?"

Hana hesitated. "I think… if you don't tell him how you feel, he will."

Mina's stomach twisted.

She picked up her phone.

No new messages.

Still nothing from him.

And somewhere inside her, something started to break.

Not just from fear.

But from the realization that she might lose him—really lose him—because she was too afraid to call this love what it was.