BENEATH HIS COLD EMPIRE

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Seo-rin's POV

The sunlight streaming through the hospital window felt like freedom.

After days of white walls and hushed voices, she was finally going home. The doctor had cleared her that morning, and though her shoulder still throbbed from time to time, she was more than ready to leave.

Jae-hyun hadn't said much during her discharge. He'd helped her pack, walked her to the car, and drove in silence.

Just like he always did.

Even when she'd been shot. Even when she'd almost died.

He never said it.

Now, back in the mansion, Seo-rin stepped into the vast living room with its cold marble floors and vaulted ceiling. Everything felt the same—but she didn't.

And she couldn't take it anymore.

"You've been avoiding me," she said, turning to face him as he shut the door behind them.

Jae-hyun's brows barely moved. "You were recovering."

"Cut the crap," she snapped. "This started before I got hurt. You shut down the second Taeyang and I started hanging out."

He didn't answer.

"Admit it, Jae-hyun," she said, stepping closer. "You got jealous."

"I don't get jealous," he said flatly.

"Then why did you act like I didn't exist? Why were you there every day in the hospital, but couldn't even look me in the eye?"

Still, silence.

Seo-rin's heart pounded. "What is this? Am I just some… distraction? Something you protect because it's your job? Or do you actually—"

"Don't," he said sharply, his voice like ice. "Don't ask questions you won't like the answer to."

She laughed bitterly. "You mean the answer you're too afraid to give."

He flinched, but said nothing.

Seo-rin shook her head. "You'd rather watch me slip away than admit you care. That's pathetic."

"I don't care," he said—but it was too quick. Too forced.

She stepped closer again, looking him straight in the eyes. "Then say it. Right here. Right now. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't care about me at all."

His jaw tensed.

"Say it, Jae-hyun."

He stared at her. For a long moment, it looked like he might.

But instead, he turned away.

Her heart cracked in two.

"That's what I thought," she whispered.

Then she walked past him, leaving him in the silence he chose for himself.

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