“Wait, Seungwan—!” Joohyun grips the heavy fabric of her gown and heaves it up, chasing after the novelist as quickly as the cumbersome thing would allow her to.

As she rounds the corner, she spots Seungwan standing by a pillar, her shoulders shaking slightly with her face buried into her hands. She takes a step towards the sobbing blonde, only to stop when she sees Seulgi stride into sight, sweeping Seungwan up in her arms. Joohyun freezes.

She made Seungwan cry. And she can’t be there to wipe her tears.

Seulgi glances up and meets Joohyun’s eyes. The taller woman lets out a visible sigh, moving to shield Seungwan’s crying face from the older woman.

“Let’s go, Wani,” Seulgi whispers softly as she caresses the blonde’s head comfortingly, “Get some fresh air and see the sights before you fly back. Deal?”

Seungwan nods mutely against her shoulder. Seulgi gently ushers her towards the lift lobby, away from the bride.

Joohyun starts towards the disappearing pair, “Wai—”

“Where are you going?” Her husband takes hold of her elbow, stopping her in her tracks, “There are more guests to greet, Joohyun my dear.”

The bride casts one more longing look in the direction of the novelist and her best friend, but they’re no longer there. With a resigned sigh, she follows him back to a sea of countless faces congratulating her on her marriage.

I’ll call her tonight. We can talk then.

Joohyun grows more despondent with each ring.

Don’t tell me—

“The number you called is currently not in use.”

She lets her hand fall to her side, her phone slipping from her loosened grip.

She’s…

After her sixteenth attempt, she stops. The night stretches into what feels like centuries, her mind constantly wandering back to tearful brown orbs and a shaky smile. She barely manages to catch a wink of sleep by the time the sunlight glares at her through her windows, harsh and unforgiving. Her husband remains dead asleep. She mindlessly scrolls through her Instagram, until a photo catches her eye.

It’s Seungwan. And Seunghee.

The novelist is wrapped up in her older sister’s embrace, a mix of annoyance and…happiness on her face, followed by the caption: “This brat’s finally home for good. The parents missed her but I definitely didn’t.”

Joohyun’s eyes dart down to the timestamp.

Posted 1 hour ago.

The older woman blinks, muttering under her breath “If she’s already in Canada, that means she left…yesterday. Not long after the wedding.”

The realisation slams into her like a sledgehammer. She searches up the blonde’s personal account, and finds it deactivated. Her heart picking up an anxious pace, she searches for the rest of Seungwan’s private social media accounts. But all of them are deactivated, with only her public celebrity writer account left active. And God knows if the novelist will reply to her.

Especially when she’d left like that without giving Joohyun a chance to say good-bye.

Her chest grows tight, and she scrambles from her bed and out of the bedroom. She leans against her kitchen sink, drawing in as many deep breaths as she can as sweat rolls down her temples. Knowing Seungwan’s feelings for her had been suffocating, but having Seungwan walk out of her life…is even more so.

She’s gone.

The heavy weight pressing down on her heart doesn’t leave after she stops looking at her social media. Even when she’s on her way to the office, it’s impossible to ignore the billboards and posters promoting Seungwan’s latest novel. The standees outside the various bookstores in the immediate proximity of her office taunt her with their claims of Falling as the popular novelist’s greatest masterpiece yet.

She even stumbles upon an interview video with Seungwan in its thumbnail in her recommended videos during her lunch break. She considers closing her YouTube app, but she ultimately can’t bear to tap away from it. She continues watching.

Admittedly, her ears phase out the onscreen conversation as her eyes come to rest on the blonde’s face, noting the way the left corner of her lips curl up. Joohyun knows most of the novelist’s fans will probably fall over themselves over that smile, but she knows better.

Seungwan smiles like that only when she’s sad and she’s trying to cover it up.

It’s been two weeks since her wedding. Every day since Seungwan had left without saying good-bye, Joohyun feels herself crumbling even more. She pours herself into her work, trying to ignore the fact that although she should be content with her decision, she isn’t. As she wraps up her presentation to the board, she’s greeted with applause and hums of approval. As the meeting is adjourned and most of the board members file out of the conference room, her father approaches her.

“Good job on today’s presentation, CEO Bae,” he pats her shoulder heavily.

She dips her head politely, “Thank you, Director Bae.”

“He’s a good look on you,” her father continues, “Never dilute power with those who are below us. I’m not happy that you still invited her to your wedding after I told you not to, but it’s a good thing she left. You cannot afford a distraction like her.”

Joohyun balls her hands into fists, “You—”

“Joohyun, your new business proposal is very promising, thank you for your hard work.”

The CEO turns to look at the newcomer. Mr Han bows deeply in greeting.

“If the CEO’s father calls her as such…” Her father remarks disapprovingly, “Shouldn’t you do the same, Director Han?”

Joohyun opens but Mr Han beats her to it.

“Of course, Director Bae,” he bows again, “My apologies for my carelessness, CEO Bae.”

Joohyun’s father clicks his tongue in disdain and stalks away.

The CEO whips around to face her mentor, “Why did you do that?”

“I did not want you to do something you would regret.”

“I already regret a lot of things, Mr Han,” Joohyun mutters, “What’s one more?”

“It’s late, Joohyun,” he sighs, “You must be hungry. Come eat with me at Hyeonsil.”

“You’re here, Joohyun-ah! And Mr Han!” Mrs Park greets them as they enter the diner, pulling out the chairs for them, “You came at a good time! Business has been booming lately so it’s hard to find space sometimes.”

“That’s good news,” Mr Han chuckles.

Joohyun offers the elderly lady a soft smile as she settles down, “What made business go up suddenly?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard?” Mrs Park giggles, “I thought you would have, since you’re always the first to read her works.”

Mr Han casts a worried glance at the younger woman seated opposite him. Joohyun’s lips have tightened into a thin line.

“She wrote Hyeonsil House into her new book. A lot of her fans have been coming here to eat ever since,” Mrs Park continues.

Mr Han dips his head to the elderly owner, “Ah, really? That’s nice of her.”

“She is, isn’t she? I miss her already,” a bright smile is plastered to Mrs Park’s face, “But home is where the heart is after all. For their daughter to finally return, her parents must be really happy. Well, enough rambling from me. I’m sure you must be hungry. The usual?”

Mr Han nods and she ambles off to the kitchen. Joohyun glances around the diner, feeling a tad guilty for not visiting in a long while. The worn-out menu on the wall next to her has been replaced by a neater, newer one. Her eyes wander over to the photo next to it and what she sees sends a sharp pang straight to her heart.

Seungwan is hugging Mrs Park while the elderly owner holds up a signed copy of Falling.

In silver ink, the words “Yes, Hyeonsil House is the same here and in Falling. Thank you always for your delicious food, Mrs Park. Stay healthy! —Wendy <3” are scribbled onto the bottom right corner of the photo.

“She seems to be doing well…” Mr Han remarks upon following her line of sight to the photo, “Hyeonsil must’ve been really important to her to write it into her book. It makes me want to read it even though my eyes are weakening every day.”

Joohyun feels tighten, “Maybe she got lazy with the name. Or she forgot that she’s writing fiction.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Joohyun I know.”

The CEO shifts her focus back to him, the unspoken question in her eyes.

“The Joohyun I know never doubts her closest friend’s sincerity and art of writing,” he adds.

“Well, things are different now. She left and she didn’t even—” Joohyun chokes as tears blur her vision, “…She didn’t even say good-bye.”

She feels the droplets land on her hand and she breaks down. Mr Han watches on in sadness, his heart hurting for the young woman. He may have known her father for longer, but he had watched Joohyun grow up, so she’d become like a daughter to him.

“You two had difficult choices to make, Joohyun,” he reaches out and rests his hand on her head gently, “There’s more to both your stories than you let on to each other, don’t you think?”

That night, insomnia assaults the CEO. She can’t help but mull over what Mr Han had said to her, just before they’d parted ways after dinner.

“Knowing her, maybe…the only way she knew how to say good-bye was through her book.”

She clenches her jaw.

That’s just being a coward.

But her curiosity soon gets the better of her and she whips out her phone. She searches up comments on the novel.

“I didn’t think she’d be able to top ‘Return’ but she did.

It’s just so...raw.”

Jung Soojung

“Putting herself into the story in the manner of

meta-fiction, it’s a bold move. I’ll be looking forward

to her future works with even more excitement now.”

Kim Taeyeon

“Wendy’s always been known for doing exciting stuff,

so for her to take on a more introspective story…

It’s new and refreshing!”

Ahn Kangta

“Somehow, there’s something much deeper about ‘Falling’

than I’d thought… I just haven’t figured it out yet. What is

your magic, Wendy?”

Park Chaeyoung

“It’s an interesting choice she made to keep some names

the same as the real world while changing others...makes

me think there’s more to this than fiction.”

Kim Sejeong

“What can I say? I should’ve known a genius like Wendy

couldn't have written such bland characters

(save for Irene) without having an explosive twist!

She’s done it AGAIN!!”

Hwang Tiffany

“That ending though… TT”

Im Nayeon

“Really? You’re reading up on that?”

Joohyun’s eyes swivel from her screen and land on her husband, who must’ve just woken up.

He sits up and jabs an accusing finger at her phone, “I already let it go when you invited her to our wedding. You’re leading a company for goodness’ sake, Joohyun! CEOs like us don’t have time to waste on childish stories like this!”

He wraps her hand with his, trying to take her phone away. She yanks it out of his touch, as though it’d scorched her skin.

She clambers out of bed and heads out of the room, “I’m sleeping in the guest room tonight.”

“Joohyun, wait—”

She slams the door shut.

She tiredly settles down in the guest bedroom with a sigh. Propping her head up on the pillow she scrolls through the reviews until a notification from her news app pops up. The moment she sees Seungwan’s name on it, she quickly taps it.

International bestselling author Son Wendy to collaborate with webtoon artist Kang Seulgi on a new project

As stated in the press release, Ms Kang will be flying over to Canada to work on a joint project with celebrity author and Korea’s pride Ms Son. The project is not only highly anticipated by investors and the public—many production studios are hoping to snatch up the publication rights to turn the project into a drama. Although it is rather early on in the timeline of the project, it has already received its name: ‘Only You’. Many fans of both the artist and writer are already in love with the prospects of this story, which will no doubt be a grand one when you put two brilliant minds together.

Joohyun doesn’t think twice before speed-dialling Seulgi. It rings several times, and the CEO wonders for a moment if Seulgi has cut her off too. Just as she’s about to hang up, the artist finally picks up.

“Do you have any idea how late it is?”

Yikes, she sounds pissed.

“Seulgi, I—”

“Is this about me working with Seungwan?”

Joohyun gulps nervously, “Y-Yeah.”

“Let me guess…you’re wondering when I’m going over so you can tag along.”

“…Yes.”

“Why should I let you?” Seulgi asks sternly, “So you can show up and hurt her all over again?”

“That’s not—”

“Have you even read Falling?”

“N-No, I’ve been b-busy the past f-few—”

“So you have the guts to ask to meet her without understanding how much you’ve hurt her in the first place.”

“What do you m-mean I d-don’t understand ho—”

“I think I’ve heard enough, Joohyun.”

The call ends.

Joohyun visits the bookstore after her lunch break the next day. Summoning as much courage as she can, she makes her way over to the shelf dedicated entirely to Wendy Son. The cover of Falling is a pretty blue, a blue that undeniably and unexplainably encapsulates the Seungwan she knows. She picks it up. Everything about it is simple, and it hurts how much it screams “Seungwan” more than “Wendy”. Like there’s a secret waiting inside, just for her.

From Seungwan.

As she makes her way over to the cashier, book in hand, she suddenly recalls Seungwan’s words to her the day of her wedding.

“I’d rather you only read the things that make me look like an amazing author in your eyes, not some sad fever dream.”

She pauses.

Seulgi told me to read it, but Seungwan doesn’t want me to. Maybe…I should respect her wishes.

She turns back and returns the book to the shelf. She exits the bookstore, resolving to convince Seulgi to just let her meet Seungwan one more time.

She gets a very unexpected visitor in the form of the one and only Kang Seulgi at her doorstep that evening. The CEO notes the mustard yellow luggage next to the artist.

She steps out from behind her door, “You’re…”

“I’m flying over tonight.”

“A-About that—”

“I stand by what I said,” Seulgi interrupts her, “Not until you’ve read this.”

The artist pulls out a copy of Falling and holds it out to the older woman, “It’s the very first copy printed and she insisted on keeping it for you.”

Seungwan…kept this for me?

The CEO takes it from her with shaky hands and meets her eyes, “Why…?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Joohyun. I’m not helping you,” Seulgi continues, “I’m helping her. Because I hope that by reading this, you’ll realise why she left, so you’ll let her go. And she can heal and move on. From you.”

Joohyun returns her gaze to the book in her hands.