"You've been acting really weird, you know that? Did I do something?"
Josh asked, his voice filled with worry.
"Even if it's something, you don't just break off an engagement. We have to sit down and talk about it first, but you're leaving? A'ra, what the hell is happening to you?!" He continued, his tone getting more aggressive.
"Nothing's happening to me, and you haven't done anything wrong. I just don't think this relationship will be relevant after I leave."
"Why not?!"
Josh's voice rose with desperation.
"Okay, then let's leave together if it's the distance that's worrying you. I'll take this chance to meet your family."
A'ra chuckled internally. Poor Josh, on the verge of tears, and she couldn't even bring herself to care.
"My family is the last group of people you'd want to meet."
She meant it. Now, her patience was starting to wear thin. Glancing at the time, she saw she needed to leave in 30 minutes. It was time to end this.
"Please leave. If people ask, tell them I cheated."
She was done. Josh, however, was far from it.
It doesn't take much to wound a man's ego, and even for someone like Josh, who was usually calm, A'ra had hit the right nerve. He snapped.
Josh took three big steps toward her, grabbed her shoulders roughly, and shoved her onto the bed. A'ra was caught off guard, her body crashing into the edge before falling to the floor. A sharp pain shot through her wrist, and with it, a wave of uncontrollable anger. Her vision blurred for a moment, but Josh wasn't done. He began to shout.
"The only way you're leaving this apartment today is as a corpse! You think you can do whatever you want because you're pretty? Who the hell do you think you are?!"
His veins bulged, his eyes bloodshot with rage. But A'ra didn't let him bask in his newfound dominance for long. In a flash, she reached for the cabinet near where she had fallen, pulled out a short gun, cocked it effortlessly, and aimed it at his head.
The man who had just been towering over her with all his fury shrank instantly, like a withered plant in the face of the cold steel muzzle pointed at him. His hands shot up in surrender, his eyes wide with fear.
"Leave,"
A'ra said, her voice flat. She didn't trust herself to say another word. If she did, she might really put a bullet in his head.
"O...okay... I'll... I'll leave."
Joash stammered, his words shaking with fear. He half-crawled, half-stumbled out of the apartment, tumbling over himself in his rush to escape.
Confusion clouded his mind. Who had he been dealing with these past two days? That question would haunt him, but he'd never get an answer. That night, A'ra flew back to Korea.
During the flight, A'ra recounted the encounter to Natasha, who burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Did you really threaten your fiancé with a gun? When we get home, we're checking you into a mental hospital. You're not okay in the head."
Natasha said, laughing until tears formed in her eyes.
"Former fiancé," A'ra corrected her calmly.
"Doesn't matter," Natasha shot back, still chuckling.
"With a nature like yours, you won't have a current or future one, either."
A'ra frowned slightly, unable to refute Natasha's brutal honesty, disguised as a joke.
Moon A'ra's return to Korea wasn't supposed to be a big deal, but her father had other ideas. He sent a dozen men in black suits and a fleet of luxurious cars to greet her at the airport, causing quite a stir. Curious onlookers wondered who she was, trying to place the face of a woman they were sure they'd never seen before.
At first, the attention felt awkward, but A'ra quickly adjusted. Still, she remained focused on her mission, overthrowing her family's corrupted household.
However, plans rarely go as expected. The moment she spotted Insu running toward her with the brightest smile, all the chaos she had stored inside evaporated. The first thing she noticed was how much taller he had grown. He crashed into her arms with the same youthful energy that once warmed her heart.
"Why are you here?" she asked, her surprise evident.
"I came to pick you up!" Insu beamed, flashing his goofy, charming smile. Cute, she thought, relieved to see that part of him hadn't changed.
Throughout the car ride, Insu chattered endlessly. He talked about school, Su Ah's meanness, and the usual family drama. Natasha, who had grown familiar with the Moon family's chaos, was his biggest audience.
She gasped, laughed, and exaggerated reactions at all the right moments, teasing Insu at every opportunity. Natasha knew the siblings well; after all, she had cleaned up more than her fair share of their messes over the years.
A'ra, for once, didn't mind just listening. She smiled and even laughed occasionally. This felt nice, familiar, and even comforting. Before they realized it, they had arrived at their destination. She unconsciously kept her guard up when she saw the familiar entrance leading into their estate.