Night descended slowly, carrying the echoes of cameras and reporters that still lingered over Seoul.On the top floor of AUREX Holdings, the city lights spilled through Jaehyun's glass office, brushing across untouched files.But tonight, it wasn't the numbers that kept him there—it was silence.A silence that didn't feel empty, but waiting.
The door opened quietly.Han Serin stood there, bare-faced, her hair slightly undone after a day under the spotlight.She looked exhausted, yet her eyes were calm.Without a word, she stepped inside.
"I suppose I haven't thanked you yet," she said softly.Jaehyun looked up from his desk. "For what?"
"For what you said earlier—to the reporter."Her voice trembled slightly. "You didn't have to defend me. But you did."
Jaehyun rose from his chair and turned toward the window. Their reflections met in the glass, framed by the blue shimmer of Seoul's night."I didn't defend you, Serin," he said quietly. "I defended our agreement. But maybe… there's a part of me that hates seeing you stand alone against the noise."
The silence that followed wasn't a wall this time—it was a bridge.Serin took a step closer, her voice almost a whisper."You always sound like someone used to keeping distance… even from yourself."
His gaze lingered on her, as if her words had unlocked something long buried."I've learned," he said softly, "that closeness often ends in loss."
"And do you plan to avoid loss forever?"Her question lingered, gentle yet piercing.
Jaehyun didn't answer. But in the faint reflection of his eyes, something shifted—not fire, but an ember beginning to glow.Serin felt it.And somehow, that night, she wasn't afraid of the silence between them anymore.
She turned to the window, watching the rain return, tracing thin lines down the glass."It's strange," she murmured, "how the world writes millions of opinions about us, yet none of them know what this silence feels like."
Jaehyun approached the table, placing a folder in front of her."Tomorrow we launch the AUREX–Han Foundation project. The media will be worse than today."
Serin let out a quiet sigh, then smiled faintly."Then at least… I'll have someone beside me when the next storm hits."
Jaehyun looked at her, and a faint, genuine smile broke through his composure.And in that silence, both of them knew: the storm hadn't ended—but tonight, the world felt a little quieter.