Rain tapped softly against the car window as Hwan sat silently in the back seat, his black mask covering half of his face. Outside, giant LED screens played the smiling face of actress Yuna beside the nation’s favorite actor, Kang Minwoo.
“Perfect couple chemistry!”
He looked away instantly.
The driver hesitated before speaking carefully.
“Boss… should we head home?”
“…No.”
His voice was low and tired.
“Drive to the studio.”
Meanwhile, inside the filming studio, Yuna laughed politely at something Minwoo said. Cameras flashed everywhere. Staff members whispered excitedly.
Hwan watched from afar beneath the shadow of his umbrella.
Same fake smiles.
Same fake laughter.
His eyes slowly moved toward Yuna.
Unlike everyone else, her smile looked… warm.
Real.
For a moment, he remembered another lifetime.
Blood on his hands.
Her frightened eyes.
The way she died while calling someone else’s name.
Minwoo.
His jaw tightened.
Even in this life… she still chose him.
The assistant beside Hwan nervously spoke.
“Boss, should I make the rumors disappear? One article and”
“No.”
Hwan interrupted quietly.
His fingers tightened around the umbrella handle.
“If she hates him… she’ll cry again.”
The assistant froze.
For someone known as the most dangerous gangster in Seoul, Hwan’s expression looked strangely broken.
Then suddenly
Yuna stepped outside the studio alone, shivering slightly from the cold night air.
She noticed him immediately.
The tall man in black standing silently across the street.
“Hwan?”
He looked away first.
“…You should go back inside.”
Yuna blinked in surprise before walking closer.
“Did you come here just to stand in the rain?”
“…I was nearby.”
A lie.
Both of them knew it.
Her eyes softened slightly.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
Without thinking, she reached for his hand.
Hwan froze.
Warm.
So warm.
For years, he had convinced himself he didn’t need anyone. That people were fake. Cruel. Temporary.
But one small touch from her…
And suddenly the lonely 7 year old boy inside him wanted to believe in love again.
Quietly, almost painfully, he whispered
“…Don’t be kind to me unless you plan to stay.”
