Warning: Spoilers for Ep 3 for those who haven't watched it yet.

A/N: Thank you for reading, upvoting and subscribing to this story. Right, on with the story...

|Ninth Inning|

Sunghee had imagined it would hit her less drastically given the amount of time that had passed, and all the coming to terms with it and moving on she’d done. The passing glance of him from the van walking with her chief had been less impactful than the moment right then.

All in all, it still hurt.

It hurt that he was okay. It hurt that he was unaffected and moving on to another victim. It hurt that he was living life like nothing happened while she still remained subconsciously stuck in the past. Most of all, it hurt that he still affected her so deeply, and she still cared even though her mind told her a punk like him didn’t deserve her emotions.

She must’ve have really loved him back then, if this meeting hit her like a punch in the gut and had her frozen at the door staring at him motionless. The memories she’d imaged she’d buried, and forgotten from his absences surfacing in rapid succession, leaving her breathless as she stared into eyes that had last looked back at her in contempt and dismissal, despite her tears and confusion. Just frozen, looking at the man she’d once loved and given everything she’d had, but had played and discarded her in return.

Mostly she hated the fact that his presences made her remember how it felt to be naïve. Heck, it wasn’t surprising that Mijoo was there as well, because a con couldn’t be without an accomplice. Even if the pain was raw it seemed, the wound inflicted wasn’t as fresh and she somehow managed to pull her wits about her once again.

“You look good,” a lie was easier to tell and believe when it stuck closer to the truth. Because it was true, he did look good physically, emotionally and mentally in comparison to her. But the sardonic smile and sarcasm ensured he knew it was no complement. She’d learned somewhere down the line, partially thanks to him, to remain forcefully calm and keep level headed even though her mental and emotional state was the direct opposite.

It didn’t hurt any less when her eyes slipped to Mijoo because she had been just as guilty of the playing her. Jungdo had conned her cruelly with love, while Mijoo had done the same with friendship. Even now after learning it all, she still felt stupid. Every second in their presence made her raw, and returned her back to that foolish, love struck fool that fell stupidly for a con, and happily befriended another one. “Mijoo-ah,” she greeted with the same smile before ignoring her own emotions, to focus on real reason she was there –her chief.

They both had a potent charm, she admitted. It was a hypnotizing aura that fooled anyone naïve enough to fall it, and one they were obviously using to target Baek Sungil this time round. We’ll she had an advantage this time she supposed, being duped had finally come in handy. The advantage was that she knew better, and saving her chief from them was bigger than her own ill feelings.

Her chief resisted, and only agreed to follow her out when she threatened him with calling the cops. But like masochistic fool, her eyes slide to him again one last time before allowing her chief to guide her out of the freezer.

She hadn’t forgotten. The horrible words echoed in her mind with morbid clarity for the first time in years, opening wounds she’d thought had long since healed.

She couldn’t let him hurt someone else, even more so when it was someone she cared about. No matter her chief naïve notion that he was on the same team as that swindler, he was being conned a second time by him.

He wouldn’t break another heart.

Comments would be lovely and greatly wanted, helps me know what you think. Constructive Criticisms is welcomed, because it helps me improve. Flames … “to each, his own”.