The drive back was a tomb.
Not a word.
Not a steady breath.
Only the sound of the engine, heavy, regular, unbearable —
like a mechanical heartbeat hammering inside their skulls.
Nari stared out the window, but her eyes saw nothing.
Seoul's lights streaked past in blurry trails, dissolving into a mix of drizzling rain and tears she barely held back.
Beside her, Sion drove mechanically, his fingers gripping the steering wheel too tightly, veins bulging, knuckles white, jaw clenched so hard it shook.
He was barely breathing.
Each inhale was short.
Ripped out of him.
As if breathing hurt.
As if existing hurt.
Nari wanted to speak.
But every time she opened her mouth, she hit an invisible wall.
A wall of pain.
A wall of shame.
A wall of childhood.
When they finally arrived at his place, Sion stepped out of the car without waiting for her, his steps quick, almost fleeing, crossing the entrance, climbing the stairs, his back a living tension, a contained storm.
Nari closed the door behind her, softly.
He was going to explode.
She felt it in the air.
In the walls.
In the silence that vibrated.
He tried to enter his office.
She caught him just before he could close the door.
— Sion…
No answer.
He kept his head down, shoulders hunched, hand trembling on the handle.
— Sion, look at me.
He didn't move.
So she did something she had never dared to do before.
She placed her hand on his wrist.
Firm.
Firm enough for him to feel her presence, her warmth, her anchor.
— Talk to me. Tell me what you're feeling. I'm here.
Her voice, soft and broken, split the room like a beam of light in darkness.
Sion finally lifted his head.
His eyes were red.
Red from held-back tears.
Red from pain.
Red from rage against himself.
He murmured, in a strangled whisper:
— Let me go.
It hit Nari straight in the chest.
But she stayed.
— What, you're going to push me away again? Run away again? Escape again instead of talking to me?! she shouted suddenly, her voice trembling, tears already burning her cheeks.
Sion closed his eyes.
He pressed his forehead against the door.
He was breathing like a drowning man.
— Let me go, Nari… please… he said, his voice nearly inaudible, cut by a knife.
She didn't let go.
She threw herself against him, her arms wrapped around his waist, her face buried in his back.
She began to cry.
Not softly.
Not silently.
No.
Sobs, raw and cracked and visceral.
Cries pulled from the deepest part of her belly, from every wound she carried, from every fear he awakened in her without meaning to.
— Talk to me! Talk to me, please! Don't push me away! Don't do this!
Sion's body stiffened.
He tried to pull away.
But Nari held on even tighter, her fingers clutching his t-shirt as if she was trying to stop him from falling into a black hole.
— Do you hear me?! Talk to me! she screamed, her voice breaking.
Then something snapped in him.
He turned around abruptly.
His hands grabbed her face with desperate violence, his fingers trembling against her wet cheeks.
He looked at her.
Straight.
Deep.
Bare.
His eyes were flooded with tears.
— Why… why do you stay? he whispered, breathless.
— Why don't you leave? Why don't you hate me? Why aren't you afraid?
Nari placed her hands over his, holding them tightly against her skin.
— Because I love you, Sion.
— I love you like a madwoman.
— I love you with everything I have.
The words fell between them like thunder.
A truth crashing down, heavy, undeniable, irreversible.
Sion's eyes widened.
He inhaled sharply, like a man pulled back to life after being underwater too long.
And he kissed her.
Not like usual.
Not with rage.
Not with fire.
No.
He kissed her with heartbreaking softness.
A trembling kiss.
A kiss where every second quivered with the weight of his tears.
A kiss where he gave everything, even what he had never dared to give.
His fingers slid into Nari's hair.
He held her close, his body molding to hers as if he was trying to disappear inside her.
— I'm sorry…
— I'm so sorry…
— You don't deserve someone like me…
Nari pressed her forehead to his.
— I never asked you to be perfect.
— I asked you to be here.
— And I'm here too.
He broke into silent sobs.
She didn't say a word.
She wiped his tears with her thumbs, slowly, with infinite tenderness.
Then he kissed her again.
Harder.
More urgent.
More alive.
They fell onto the bed with slow, sensual gravity, their bodies curling around each other like two people who finally find each other after being lost in a world too loud.
This time, he undressed her as if he was afraid of breaking her.
As if every gesture was an apology.
A forgiveness.
A confession.
He entered her in one slow, deep movement, his eyes locked into hers.
She arched under him, tears still flowing, their breaths mixing in muffled murmurs.
Every movement was an "I'm here."
Every moan, an "I love you."
Every caress, a "don't leave me."
They finally came together, in a sacred silence.
Bodies trembling.
Tears mixing.
Hearts beating against each other.
Then he kept her close, wrapping himself around her, his breath still ragged, his fingers sliding on her skin as if trying to carve her presence into him.
Nari ran a hand through his hair.
— I'm here, Sion.
He closed his eyes.
A tear slipped down his cheek, slowly, like a confession he would never speak out loud.
And in the silence of the room, two hearts beat together.
Fragile.
Broken.
Alive.
Ready to love each other to ruin.