BENEATH HIS COLD EMPIRE

---

Seo-rin stood outside the training hall, her arms folded tightly across her chest as the evening chill bit at her skin. She had waited for nearly thirty minutes — but Jae-hyun never showed.

Again.

She glanced at her phone. No messages. No excuses. Nothing.

Inside, Taeyang's laughter echoed with a group of other trainees. He spotted her through the glass door and waved her over. "He's not coming again?"

Seo-rin gave a small, tired smile and shook her head. "No. He's been... busy."

Taeyang tilted his head, reading her better than she wanted him to. "Or he's running."

She didn't respond. Instead, she pushed the door open and walked in.

---

Later that night, Jae-hyun stood on the rooftop of the safe house, a cigarette between his fingers, untouched. His eyes were fixed on the city below, but his thoughts burned hotter than the neon lights.

He knew where she had gone.

He knew she was with Taeyang — again.

And it was his fault.

His lips tightened. His chest ached — not from anger. From something worse. But he'd never say it. Never admit it. That would mean giving in. That would mean risking everything.

But still… the image of Seo-rin laughing with someone else made his fists clench.

---

The next morning, Seo-rin stormed into the courtyard where Jae-hyun was casually checking his phone. She was done waiting.

"Why are you avoiding me?" she demanded.

Jae-hyun didn't even glance up. "I'm not."

She laughed bitterly. "You haven't shown up to training in days. You ignore me every time I walk into a room. What is this? Some twisted game?"

He finally looked at her. Cold. Guarded. "You seem to be training just fine with Taeyang."

There it was. A hint of jealousy — but masked in indifference.

Seo-rin's eyes narrowed. "So that's what this is about."

He didn't answer.

"You know what, Jae-hyun?" she said, voice trembling, "I thought maybe… maybe you were just scared. That if I stayed close, I'd see something real in you. But I was wrong. You don't push people away to protect them. You push them away because you're a coward."

His jaw tightened, but he didn't move.

She turned to leave — and something in his chest snapped.

But he didn't call her back.

Didn't stop her.

Didn't even flinch when she disappeared around the corner.

Only when she was gone did his knuckles go white around the phone he was gripping. A single word echoed in his mind.

Coward.

And maybe… she was right.

---