Pain, as I have concluded, is always meant for me to suffer.

I can never be more taken aback at her outward request of a fake marriage to Yoon Jae. That has to be the boldest thing she ever said, shredding off her last pieces of dignity for that simple sentence.

I’m crazy enough to hear it. To eavesdrop like I am a ghost or a non-living being. Now it costs my heart a great deal of pain I don’t know if I can bear to face.

When Yoon Jae catches me listening to their conversation, I quickly look away and march to my room. His decisive footsteps follow me but they soon die when I bang the door shut. I slide down the floor and cry.

I have to be selfish. Just this once. Because I can’t afford to lose him when he’s into me and I’m falling for him harder and my deepest fantasies turning into beautiful realities.

This time Sung Shi Won won’t get what she wants.

I raise my hand to knock on Joon Hee’s door but put it down instead. I know he saw everything. It puts him into a great deal of shock to hear everything Shi Won and I talked about. I want him to know that I haven’t made my decision yet.

I turn around and see Shi Won behind me. Her face is as meek as a lamb, luring me again for her trap.

“I’m not saying we’ll do it now. Just think about it. It’s all for a show.” she says.

Show. It seems so easy for her but it’s hard for me. Harder for Tae Woong. Hardest for Joon Hee.

“Shut up and go to bed.” I say. She walks away while I sit on the floor.

“Joon Hee-ah.” I say.

There’s no response. The silence of his room puts a lot of weight on me. Maybe he’s asleep or just pretending to be asleep.

“I know you heard everything. Let’s talk.” I say again.

Another round of silence. I patiently wait for him to speak or even acknowledge my presence.

But I hear him sniff loudly so I know he’s just on the other side of the door. A flicker of hope lights up in my heart to finally reach out to him. I try it again.

“Kang Joon Hee?”

Before I get a reply, I hear something fall on the floor followed by Shi Won’s high-pitched scream. I walk over to check on her.

I am near the living room when I hear the sound of a doorbell. I go to the door and receive a delivery package. I sign the receipt, close the door and open the package.

It’s from Tae Woong. It has three pictures. One of Joon Hee, Yoo Jung and Yoon Jae. It’s all bloodstained and in it a letter that says if I don’t go back to him, he’d kill any of the three. I scream and the box slips through my fingers, catching my breath and restraining myself from looking at the horrible pictures.

Yoon Jae comes to my aid.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

I don’t answer. I don’t know if I can still speak. I’m in shock.

His eyes dart on the floor. He picks up the box.

“No!” I say, attempting to swat off the box from his hand. He steps back a bit and the expression in his face changes when he sees the pictures.

“Hyung…” he says in hopelessness.

“What’s going on here?” Joon Hee asks as he walks toward us. Yoon Jae and I don’t answer and he tosses the box to him.

Joon Hee cringes at the pictures. His hands are shaking as he tries not to let the box slip away. He sits on the couch and buries his head in his hands.

“This is getting worse.” he says.

“What should I do?”

Yoon Jae walks out of the living room. Joon Hee doesn’t even look up and chooses to remain silent.