Italic will indicate flashback.

**

(Present)

Seungwan winced as she pressed her fingers to her temples. Her head throbbed and felt heavy. She couldn't remember how long she had cried last night, her tears like an unstoppable flood. Her last memory was of the old wounds caused by Irene reopening. Their conversation last night ended badly, leaving a big hole in Seungwan's heart.

She turned to her pillow, seeing the tear stains clearly printed there. After years of picking up the scattered pieces of her heart, last night it all went back to the beginning. She could only stare blankly at the ceiling of her room. She didn't know what to do. She just wanted the pain to go away, wanted her heart to be whole again.

This morning her flight back to Seoul was at 10 AM with Irene and Yerim. She took a deep breath, reluctantly she had to spend her flight back with the person she least wanted to see in the world.

“Achoo!”

A frown creased Seungwan's brow as a harsh sneeze wracked her body. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling her body unwell. She couldn’t tell if it was from crying too much or if she caught a cold. Perhaps it was because she wore wet clothes for too long yesterday afternoon after helping Irene, who almost drowned.

Seungwan pressed her hand to her forehead, gauging her temperature. “Hmm, not too hot. Maybe I'm just exhausted,” she thought to herself.

There was a knock on her bedroom door, and her mother's gentle voice called out.

"Wan-ah, you need to start getting ready. Your flight is at 10, isn't it?"

"Yeah, Mom, I'm getting ready," Seungwan replied listlessly. She dragged herself out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

"After you're ready, come downstairs and have breakfast, okay?" Her mother's voice still came from the other side of the door.

"Okay..." Seungwan answered shortly.

Her mother's footsteps receded, and Seungwan sighed heavily as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked dreadful. Her nose was red from constant sneezing, and her eyes were puffy from crying all night. She'd need a lot of concealer to cover them up if she didn't want to field questions from her parents.

(Dining Room)

With concealer carefully layered over her puffy eyes, Seungwan managed to descend the stairs with a less devastated appearance. The ache in her chest hadn't disappeared, but she could at least pretend she hadn't spent the night in misery.

As she entered the dining room, the familiar scent of her mother's cooking usually brought a hint of comfort. Today, it did very little to soothe the knot of dread tightening in her stomach. Yerim and Irene sat at the table, already engaged in a conversation with her parents.

Seungwan's eyes instinctively darted away when they met Irene's. A surge of resentment washed over her, mixed with a lingering wave of self-loathing. After everything that had happened, the last thing she wanted was to share a meal with the source of her pain.

"Good morning, dear," her mother greeted, oblivious to the undercurrent of tension. "Did you sleep well?"

Seungwan mumbled a vague reply, desperately avoiding eye contact with Irene across the table. She just wanted this breakfast over with so she could hurry to the airport, board the flight back to Seoul, and retreat into her apartment. There, at least, she could resume her crying without the risk of anyone knowing.

The Shons, Irene, and Yerim enjoyed the breakfast that had been prepared. Seungwan was aware of Irene's eyes occasionally glancing in her direction. However, she ignored it, even though she felt uncomfortable.

“Achoo!”

The force of the sneeze caught her off guard, but luckily she managed to shield with her sleeve. A blush crept up her neck. Surely the food wouldn't taste right to anyone if she hadn't shielded in time. The germs...Ugh.

"Sorry..." Seungwan muttered, face still tinged with embarrassment.

Her mother's voice pierced the quiet hum of the room. "Are you alright, dear? Are you sick?" A flicker of concern creased her mother's brow.

Her father joined in, his usual jovial tone replaced with genuine concern. "If you don't feel well, Dad can call Mr. Park to take you to the hospital now."

Seungwan's eyes widened. Mr. Park was their family secretary, and calling him meant Seungwan would use their private jet to get to their hospital in Seoul. The last thing she wanted was to disrupt her parents' peaceful morning or subject them to a hospital waiting room while she insisted it was just a cold. With a quick shake of her head, she waved away their worry.

"I'm okay, just a lingering cold. Once I'm back in Seoul, I'll get some rest and be good as new."

Her parents' skepticism hung heavily in the air. They looked hesitant hearing Seungwan’s answer.

"Oh, come on, Dad, Mom, I'm fine, perfectly fine." Seungwan forced a laugh, flexing a bicep with exaggerated silliness as if to prove her point.

Her parents' worry ebbed slightly, replaced by amused smiles at her antics. "Make sure you get enough rest when you get to Seoul, okay?" Her father's voice softened, though a note of concern lingered.

"Yes, Sir!" Seungwan replied, throwing a playful salute that managed to draw out genuine laughter from them.

Internally, Seungwan breathed a sigh of relief.  The conversation shifted towards Yerim, taking the spotlight off her. For now, her parents were placated. The tension in her shoulders eased, but when she turned her head and accidentally met Irene's gaze, she felt a fresh jolt of annoyance course through her. Quickly, she averted her gaze back to her plate, pretending to be fascinated by a stray piece of kimchi.

She forced a bite of food into , the taste bland and unappealing. The pretense of normalcy felt heavier than ever. How was she supposed to keep this up for the rest of the meal, let alone the entire flight back to Seoul?

**

"Yes, sir!"

Irene watched Wendy's forced attempt at appearing alright. Since Wendy stepped into the dining room, Irene had noticed the younger woman's puffy, red-rimmed eyes. Even layers of hastily applied concealer couldn't hide the clear signs of a night spent crying.

Just yesterday, she'd promised Mr. Shon she wouldn't make Wendy cry again. A wave of self-disgust washed over her. What an absolute fool she was. Wendy's exhausted appearance was a direct consequence of her own broken promises.

To make matters worse, when she saw Wendy sneeze earlier, she thought to herself, "Is Wendy sick? Did she catch a cold?"

She realized that yesterday afternoon, when she almost drowned, Wendy had selflessly comforted her for a long time, all while shivering in her own soaked clothes. There was no doubt now, it must because of her fault that Wendy was sick now.

Irene's heart ached, the guilt weighing heavily on her. "Oh, I should rot in hell!" Irene berated herself, the silent scream clawing at her insides.

When her eyes inadvertently locked with Wendy's, the swift way the younger woman averted her gaze sent a jolt of pain through Irene. This silent rejection was her just punishment, yet the pain cut deep nonetheless.

She promised herself that later at the airport, she would try to talk to Wendy and apologize for what happened last night. She would also invite Wendy to the personal dinner she had planned before. She really wanted to make amends for the mistakes she had made and start courting Wendy officia