Irene’s POV

“I’m home!” you shout as the garage door closes behind you. You start climbing up the stairs wearily, designer bag slung over your shoulder and arms full of your scrubs.

The landing’s automatic lights flicker on as you emerge from the dark stairs. You turn your head and look over the spotless living room and dining area. Everything is in perfect order, from the magazines scattered artfully across the low parlor ottoman to the place settings on the oak dinner table. Yet things seemed a bit too perfect.

“Seulgi?” you call as you make your way to the laundry room. The washer’s empty and you dump your scrubs in before turning on the machine and letting it clean your work clothes. The steady churning of the water creates a dull roar in the background as you walk back into the living area and set your bag down next to the couch.

“Seulgi!” Now you’re worried. You pull out your phone and check for any new messages. There are none. Was today another late office hour night? Your fingers hover over her contact picture. Would she find you overbearing if you called her? No, surely not. That’s what girlfriends did, check up on each other, right? You dither over whether or not to call her for another five minutes before glancing at the clock. It’s nearly midnight. Whatever. You press the call button and firmly hold the phone to your ear.

After the fourth ring, the call ends. But almost immediately, a text pings the screen.

Walk out the door.

You look at the clock again. Now it’s midnight. You glare at the phone and debate whether or not to ignore Seulgi or follow her directions. You just had an exhausting day, and Seulgi wanted to play games with you? All the same, you pocket the phone and stride over to the front door, unlocking it and stepping into the cool fall air.

“Over here.”

Seulgi’s standing on a small path that leads into the woods next to your house. At the sight of her round face, something relaxes in your chest. You quickly jog over to her and try to take her hand. But she easily sidesteps you and deliberately jams her hands into her pockets.

“What is this?” The shock is evident in your voice.

“How was your day?” The question is so incongruous that you gape at her before finding your voice.

“Um, it was okay, I think I just saved the hospital,” you answer as normally as you can before taking a step back and jerking your arms down your sides.

She an eyebrow as if encouraging you to say more. You seize the opportunity to talk about something normal, even though everything about this situation screams abnormal.

“You know that deal, with the new director? It almost fell through, but I think—I think I found a way to make it happen.”

“You don’t sound so sure,” she muses, eyes full of some hidden emotion.

“No, I am sure. It was hard, I had to make a decision—I think I ended up hurting two people, but it was for the good of everyone else. I’m sure it was the right call.”

The way Seulgi’s eyebrows nearly disappear in her hair makes you squirm inside.

“So you’d always choose the many over the few.”

“Well, yeah,” you respond somewhat cautiously. “Wouldn’t you?”

“Not necessarily. Every life is precious, and just because you hurt less people doesn’t mean what you’re doing is right.”

Her statement pierces right through that cracked exterior of yours and into your core. It nearly breaks you wide open, but you grit your teeth and push the doubt away.

You made the right decision.

You made the right decision.

You made the right decision.

It’s a moonless night, so the forest feels very dark. Not an ideal evening for a stroll. But you’re with your bear, so you don’t feel scared. Yet she still hasn’t smiled at you, and you realize it’s the internal demons that haunt you the most.

After a minute of silence, she squares her shoulders, as if bracing herself for what’s next.

“This has been a long time coming,” she states, staring evenly at you.

“What’s coming?” you ask sharply, but you don’t want to hear the answer. You know it’s something terrible. Your gut suspicions are confirmed when her eyes tighten and she bites her lip.

“I’m leaving you.”

It feels like someone took a baseball bat and hit you over the head with it. You can taste iron and a dizzying set of stars pop in front of your eyes. There’s a strange ringing in your ears and the ground tilts beneath your feet.

“You’re…leaving…me?”

Seulgi nods once.

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