Suho was about to get into his car when her voice stopped him.
"Why can't you forget her, Suho?"
He froze.
"It's been a year," she continued, her voice trembling. "And you're still longing for her… even after everything she did to you?"
Pain spilled into her words. "I loved you for nine years. And I left for just a few months, you moved on so quickly. And now, after a whole year, you still can't let her go? Even after what she did to you? Why?"
Her tears fell freely.
Suho stood there, unable to answer.
"What kind of hypocrisy is this, Suho?" she cried. "You still long for that traitor, but not for the one who loved you and waited for you for years."
Suho's fists clenched tightly.
"Does she matter that much to you?" she asked, her voice breaking. "She's a traitor, a coward. She ran away when her true face was exposed. She's hiding somewhere, unable to face the world. And here you are, hurting the one who loved you sincerely… just for her."
Suho's breath hitched, the weight of her words crashing into him.
His eyes filled with tears. No matter what the world called her, his heart refused to believe anything bad about her. Somewhere deep inside, it kept screaming that she was innocent. That she was pure.
"Don't waste your time on me, Yerin," he said softly, his voice barely audible.
She stared at him, disbelief and agony tearing through her. "Why, Suho?" she cried. "Why are you doing this to me?"
Tears streamed down his face, his throat tightening. She reached for his hand, but his body stiffened. He gently pulled away.
"I can't forget her."
That was all. He got into his car and drove away without looking back.
Yerin stood there, shaking, then slowly collapsed to the ground, unable to bear his rejection once again. She cried uncontrollably.
Mr. Seo and the Kim family came outside and saw her broken state. Her brother rushed to her and held her tightly as she cried into his chest.
Everyone stood there in silence, watching her fall apart.
Haraboji felt a deep ache seeing Yerin cry. At the same time, his anger toward Hauen grew stronger. He regretted his past decisions, separating Suho and Yerin. And now, while trying to fix it, he had broken them all over again.
..............
Suho drove back to the penthouse like a man running from himself.
The city lights blurred past the windshield as his thoughts tangled around one name. One face. One absence that never loosened its grip. His foot pressed harder on the accelerator, anger and helplessness burning through his veins.
When the car finally stopped in front of the penthouse, he slammed the brake. The jerk rattled him.
His hands stayed clenched around the steering wheel, knuckles pale, eyes red and glassy. His breathing came uneven, sharp, as if his chest had forgotten how to work normally.
Then his gaze drifted. The mini garden.
The small patch of green she loved.
That was where Hauen used to spend her evenings, crouched near the flowers, talking to them softly as she watered them. Laughing when the leaves brushed her fingers. He had kept the garden just the way it was. Alive. Because it carried her presence.
He stepped out of the car. The night air was cold, biting against his skin. He walked inside, the silence of the penthouse swallowing him whole.
Suho collapsed onto the couch, exhaustion weighing him down. Then his eyes drifted to the closed door nearby.
His heart started racing.
Memories crashed into him all at once, from the very first day she entered this house to the days they spent together. The couch where they sat for hours, talking and drinking soju. The corridor where she supported him, watching over him while he practiced walking.
Even now, he could almost hear her soft humming from the kitchen, echoing through the silence.
Her voice echoed in his mind.
"Teddy… you missed your practice today."
"Yah, Suho… stop calling me nurse."
"My shy teddy bear…"
"Who told you to skip this leg stretch today?"
"I'm Kim Hauen now… officially your wife."
"Stop crying over your ex, Teddy."
"I didn't want to be the poison between you and Yerin."
"You don't have to show your love by hurting yourself, Suho."
"I'll never leave you, Teddy. No matter what."
His head fell back against the couch, eyes squeezing shut. Then the voices changed.
"She's a traitor. She tried to kill you."
Harsh words cut through his thoughts.
"She ran away as soon as her truth was revealed," Haraboji's voice echoed on the day he woke up from the coma.
"She was never honest with our family. She fooled us."
"She's a murderer. She tried to kill you multiple times," his father's voice followed.
"She faked her fainting and escaped police custody," his mother's words stabbed next.
"She was always a snake, and we failed to see it," another voice added.
Suho pressed his palms tightly over his ears, trying to silence them. His chest felt heavy, his breath shallow.
"Teddy…"
That voice rose softly from somewhere deep inside his heart. His hands slowly loosened. His breathing eased. And his eyes finally relaxed, clinging to that one voice he still believed in.
"I didn't do anything… they're lying. I didn't, Suho. You know that. You know me."
The voice echoed in his head, gripping his heart tightly.
His body jerked as he opened his eyes. His breathing was heavy, his throat burning.
He grabbed the key to the locked room and opened the door.
Her faint scent greeted him instantly.
The room still carried her warmth, as if she had just stepped out. Her belongings lay scattered on the dressing table. The bedsheets rustled softly as he moved inside. Her scarf hung nearby.
He reached for it, his fingers brushing the soft fabric. His chest tightened. He brought the scarf close to his face, breathing in what little of her scent remained.
Her smile. Her voice. Her eyes. Her simplicity. Her purity.
His body began to tremble. Tears slipped down again.
"Where are you, Hauena?" he whispered into the emptiness. His voice barely survived the words. "Why are you hiding from me?"
Silence answered him.
His grip on the scarf tightened, knuckles whitening. "You promised," he breathed. "You said you'd never leave me. And now I'm here… aching for you." A broken laugh escaped him. "But you're nowhere. Not even a shadow."
He pressed the fabric against his lips, as if it could hear him. "I love you, Hauena," he murmured, voice dissolving. "I love you so much it hurts."
"My heart won't accept you as a traitor," he whispered. "No matter how loudly the world screams, it refuses to believe it."
A sob tore through his chest. "If you're innocent… then why are you hiding?" His voice shook. "Why would you leave me like this after giving me a reason to live?"
His shoulders trembled as another wave of grief swallowed him. "How can my angel turn into a devil?" he cried softly. "How?"
His voice dropped, almost broken. "I was different back then. Yes, I was happy… with Yerin. But things got worse..."
He swallowed hard. "Then you came, and everything collapsed in my life. But you stayed, you built me again with your love and care… why? Only to leave me suffering like this?"
Tears streamed down his face.
His chest heaved. "They call you a monster," he said, bitterness lacing every syllable. "A murderer. A traitor. Someone who tried to kill me." His voice softened, fragile. "But if that were true… why does my heart fight it so desperately?"
His words shattered into silence.
"I've been trying to find you ever since you disappeared. There's no trace of you anywhere." His lips trembled. "Where are you, Hauena?"
He clutched the scarf to his chest and sank completely to the floor, curling around it like it was the last thing keeping him alive. "Your teddy needs you," he whispered, voice breaking beyond repair. "Please… come back. Please."
His cries filled the room, raw and unguarded, echoing against walls that once held laughter. His body trembled, aching with longing, starving for her presence.
But she wasn't there. And he had no idea where she was… or how she was surviving without him.