Jiyoo's heart skipped a beat as his eyes widened in disbelief. A sudden rush of memories flooded his mind all at once like the tide crashing against a shore. He had seen those eyes before, those familiar, warm eyes that had once sparkled with laughter during their carefree days in high school, and before that was the playful innocence of childhood.
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The realization hit him like a lightning bolt. She was the same girl, the one who had shared so many moments with him in the past. His pulse quickened, and for a moment, the world around him seemed to freeze, every detail sharpening with an eerie clarity.
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The flower, which had been half-bloomed in the background, suddenly unfolded its petals, catching the moonlight and glowing brighter, as if reacting to the connection that had just been reignited.
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"Valerie... Your real name is Yon-hae Lockhart," his voice faltered and breathless as the name escaped from his lips in a stutter. The word hung in the air, heavy with the weight of years and unspoken memories.
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The full moon, now rising above them, cast a silver light over the scene, bathing everything in its ethereal glow. His hand instinctively reached out, though unsure whether to touch the past or let it remain a distant memory.
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Valerie stood there, her expression unreadable for a brief moment, before the edges of her lips curled halfway. "You remembered." The words were quiet and cold but laden with a depth only years of lost time could bring.
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The air between them pulsed with an old connection, long forgotten but never truly gone.
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His heart skipped, the recognition rising like a wave, but so too did the skepticism. "Could it really be her?" Jiyoo had never expected to cross paths with her again. She had been just a fleeting presence in his childhood—a girl from a middle-class family who had lived in the same neighborhood, whom he had known as a child but had never truly understood. They had shared a few fleeting moments in their early years, but they had drifted apart when their families moved in different directions. He had assumed she'd become a part of some other life, far from his own.
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He couldn't help but stare at her, his thoughts tangled. How had she changed? And more importantly, how had he changed?
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...
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Her eyes, dark and perceptive, met his for a split second. She didn't flinch, but her gaze held something unreadable. Jiyoo couldn't tear his eyes away, the pull of recognition and confusion battling within him. The others around them were too busy arranging themselves for the photo, their voices blending into a hum of disinterest. Only he and she seemed aware of the strange gap between them—one that had been bridged by years of absence and silence.
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...
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Valerie continued to gaze at him and backed away a little few steps. Her chest was heaving with ire.
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Jiyoo trembled emotionally and shook his head as he gestured his arms out in question. "You've been alive this whole time... Why didn't you come to us?"
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She replied indifferently. "I had to make some changes."
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"By what...?" Jiyoo asked further.
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"Starting over."
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"But you could've come to us... Why didn't you?"
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Valerie held her gun pointing directly at him with so much resentment by adjusting the trigger with her fingers in just one click.
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"Listen! I understand, okay? I understand that you're angry at what I did to you back then, and for that I'm truly sorry..." Jiyoo panicked as he slowly moved closer to her and tried to caress her face while he was on the verge of tears.
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Valerie looked away, trying to hold back her indignation.
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"Do you remember anything that happened a year ago?" Jiyoo asked softly.
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"I can't remember..."
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"That's fine... But you know, there are others who are worried about you. Since that news occurred, everyone was devastated about your death. It broke them, even right after the funeral, it was like a part of them died, including mine too. And now that you are here, I couldn't even think for a second that you would still be alive and well..." Jiyoo explained, frowning and went on. "Look, I know what happened to you last year and we are deeply sorry for leaving you out in the rain. I wanted to take it all back and I wish I could've done it differently-"
He then received a loud smack across his left cheek from her hand as he slowly turned back to watch her pant heavily with her eyes full of animosity.
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"You and the rest of your friends were given the chance to make amends with each other and you did that just about right. I did not come here to Seoul to only bring your group back together, but also...I came here for something else. All my life, I thought I had everything and I couldn't be happier until I looked back on that day when something that was so precious to me was taken away..."
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...
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Jiyoo and his girlfriend, Chia, were laughing at the posts about Yon-hae, who was splashed by a bucket of blue paint over her head near the lockers as a prank made by their group of friends.
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Though Yon-hae was unfazed as she continued to keep her head up and opened her locker, only to find out that there were vulgar and nasty words written on paper in bold red.
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"Disgusting, common-foreigner! Weirdo! Freak! Lame! Loser! Stupid bitch, go kill yourself!"
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She lifted it up and put her textbooks away as she rummaged to get her notebooks and pens. As she turned around, some of the students were recording and taking pictures of her with a flash, so she hid behind one of the stalls. From there, she was sitting on the cover of the toilet seat until the bell rings for the next upcoming class.
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...
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The background music was playing called "I'll Never Break Your Heart" by Backstreet Boys as everyone joined on the dance floor and be with their partners, including for Yon-hae and Taeyun, who had her hands behind his neck, whereas he placed his hands below her waist.
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He gazed at her and asked gently. "Are you okay?"
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Yon-hae blinked as if snapping out of a trance and met his eyes. "I'm fine, Taeyun... Just a little tired, I guess." Her lips parted, but there was an underlying vulnerability that made his worry deepen.
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He pulled her closer with his hand resting a little more securely on her back. "You know you can talk to me, right?" He whispered steadily and sincerely, hoping she'd let her guard down.
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She nodded slightly, appreciating the quiet reassurance as they resumed their dance.
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As for Jiyoo and Chia, they were both secretly glaring at the couple just a few meters away from them with detest and abhorrence.
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The sight of them together — Taeyun's hand, resting possessively on Yon-hae's back, their movements so synchronized was enough to ignite a fire of disdain within them.
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Jiyoo's lips pressed into a thin line with his fingers clenching slightly.
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"Look at them. So perfect and smug... as if no one can see through them. Your best friend doesn't even know what he's getting into," Chia whispered in a hiss, dripping with venom.
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Jiyoo's gaze remained fixed on the couple with his jaw tightened. He didn't respond at first with his eyes scanning every subtle shift between Taeyun and Yon-hae, the way they seemed so comfortable, so at ease.
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"I can't stand it," Chia muttered, her voice low and seething with resentment. "He thinks he's so special, like he's some kind of prince... and she? She's just... too naive."
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Jiyoo smirked in the faintest hint of malice. "Let them have their little fantasy. It won't last. They've both too damn fragile. Just wait — everything will fall apart."
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They both stood in silence for a moment as the weight of their shared bitterness hung thick in the air. Their eyes never left the dancing couple as they were silently plotting.
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Taeyun's carefree laugh and Yon-hae's soft smile, so natural and unguarded, were more than they could bear.
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...
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The smoke billowed into the sky, curling and choking the air as the thick black cloud swallowed the horizon. The abandoned house — dilapidated and neglected — was now a raging inferno, the wooden beams crackling and splintering as the fire consumed everything in its path. As Yoonhae went near, the heat was unbearable with the acrid stench of burning wood and remnants.
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Her eyes scanned the windows frantically, but all she saw was a blur of flames. She pushed through the crowd of onlookers, shoving past them with one single-minded purpose. It wasn't until she reached the edge of the yard that she stumbled to a halt, gasping for breath. Her body trembled as she stared at the wreckage. There, lying motionless on the ground was her beloved cat — her once soft fur now charred and blackened, her small body still. The realization hit her like a freight train, her breath catching in her throat.
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"No..." Yon-hae whispered in disbelief. She collapsed to her knees with her hands reaching out to touch her, but she couldn't bring herself to move closer. The pain was unbearable and a sharp, suffocating ache in her chest that made her vision blur.
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A loud scream was made that echoed throughout the yard. Behind her was Taeyun, Jiyoo, and the others arriving at the scene in shock and sorrow.
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Her eyes, now empty and hollow, remained fixed on the lifeless form of Gracie.
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...
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Jiyoo continued to stare at her in deep remorse and gulped, saying. "Yon-hae... I'm sorry about your pet. I didn't know-"
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"You damn well know what happened back there at that time. I know it was you and your idiotic friends who were behind it. Now, she's gone..."
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"Yon-hae..."
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"Don't call me that!" She shouted in vexation.
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Jiyoo didn't bother to reply as he watched her timidly.
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"I was treated the same way you treated those students because we were different from the rest of you. Also, back when we were kids, your parents and mine were involved in some social gathering, then something happened, but I guess you've forgotten. Haven't you, Park Jiyoo?"
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"I do... I remembered what I did to you..." he uttered quietly as they both reminisced about their moments previously.
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...
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The memory felt like a shadow lingering in Yon-hae's mind, always there, never fully fading. It was a summer evening from years ago, when their families had gathered at a lavish social event—a celebration of sorts, a mingling of wealth and ambition. Yon-hae had been a child then, barely understanding the intricacies of the adult world around her. The air had been thick with polite conversation, the clink of glasses, and the low hum of business discussions. Her parents had been speaking with Jiyoo's—something about the future, the potential paths their children could take in the world of music. The prospects seemed endless, and her parents had believed, in that moment, that their collaboration would benefit them all.
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But as the night wore on, things had shifted. Yon-hae remembered her father's voice growing tight as he discussed investments and partnerships. The excitement in the air had begun to change, subtly, but with an unmistakable weight. And then it happened—Jiyoo's parents, in a calculated move, had turned the conversation toward wealth, seizing an opportunity to manipulate, to demand more than what was fair.
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"We've been discussing it," Jiyoo's father had said smoothly, his words laced with a quiet arrogance, "and we believe it's time for a change in how things are divided. Perhaps your family should take a step back and let us take control of certain assets—especially the business dealings involving the future of the children's careers."
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Yon-hae's father had blinked in surprise, a tension creeping into his shoulders. Her mother, who was a diplomat, had tried to mask her concern, but there was an underlying shift, a moment when the smile on Jiyoo's mother's face no longer looked friendly. The insinuation was clear: they wanted more, and they were willing to push boundaries to take it.
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"Your family has always been in charge, but we've built more trust between us, haven't we? You should consider this as a long-term investment," Jiyoo's mother had added, her tone too smooth, too rehearsed. "It's time we all recognize where true power lies."
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It had been a business deal in the making, a quiet betrayal, and Yon-hae's parents, feeling cornered and betrayed, had refused. That was when the ties had been severed. The facade of friendship had fallen apart, and the whispers of greed and manipulation had made themselves known. Yon-hae remembered the angry confrontation that followed—her father shouting at Jiyoo's parents, accusing them of trying to steal everything they had worked for.
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And then, Jiyoo had turned on her.
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Yon-hae could still hear his words, sharp and venomous, spoken with a bitterness that she had never understood back then.
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"It's your fault!" Jiyoo had spat with his eyes burning with the kind of hatred only a child could hold against someone he once called a friend. "If your parents hadn't been so stubborn and selfish, this wouldn't have happened. You ruined everything. My family worked hard for what they have, and now look at what you've done—everything's falling apart because of you!"
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Yon-hae had been stunned, confused, and devastated. How had it become her fault? Her parents had tried to protect everything they'd built, but in Jiyoo's eyes, it was all twisted. Jiyoo's parents, the ones who had orchestrated the whole scheme, had blamed her family—her parents—for the consequences of their own greed.
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It was a bitter, twisted irony.
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...
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"I swear I had no idea that it was them..." Jiyoo looked at her sadly.
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"Do you really think I don't know the truth?" Valerie muttered under her breath in ridicule as the memory rose like bile in her throat, holding her tears back from falling from her very brown eyes. "It was your parents, Jiyoo. Not mine. You should have known better than to blame me."
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"We were both just kids that time-"
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"So what?!" Valerie argued strongly.
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Jiyoo remained quiet as he listened to her attentively. He had never thought about her getting so angry at him, but it was more like he was the worst thing that she encountered.
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"It doesn't matter because you knew exactly how you felt towards me. You once called me a disgusting, grisly, common foreigner and many things. I didn't fit in with everyone else there. I was an outsider, a misfit like the others because I was weird and socially awkward to you and your friends and I accepted that about myself. I can only remember as much as I can about how I dreamed of wanting to pursue music as my career. And... and I can't... I can't even remember what happened a year ago, until I just woke up from a hospital bed. I was running away from those people who were trying to hurt me. All I know is that the last time I was crossing the street, I didn't notice that a car just suddenly flashed right before my eyes..." Valerie explained weakly and turned her back on him for five seconds. She gasped out of breath as she whipped her head to look at him with tears streaming down her face. "I was fighting for myself, even when you guys left me... I needed a friend, I needed you, Jiyoo... You couldn't trust me, nor believed me because you believed what they told you instead... So what gives you the right to justify your words and actions?"
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Jiyoo started to tear up in shame and guilt without reasoning himself.
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Valerie shook her head dismissively, running her fingers through her brown red hair. Then, she went over to her bag and pulled out a shiny object. She walked towards him before giving him the "Platinum" in his hand and said wistfully. "You can have that. It's no longer useful to me, you can tell your friends that you won and succeeded in this mission... You are nothing to me..."
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Jiyoo was speechless until he spoke out pleadingly and dejectedly. "Valerie..."
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However, she ignored him as she left without even looking back.
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He looked at the object, gripping onto it in question.
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"What have I done...?"
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