Jinyoung didn't go home that night.
He stayed in his office until the lights outside the windows disappeared one by one.
The city had gone dark, but his office remained illuminated by the cold glow of his desk lamp.
The photograph of Kyrah was still on his phone.
He had told himself he would stop looking at it.
He hadn't.
Every few minutes, his fingers found their way back to the screen.
Kyrah was smiling.
That smile kept haunting him.
Not because she looked sad.
Because she didn't.
She looked happy.
And somehow, that hurt more.
Jinyoung finally placed his phone face down on the desk.
He leaned back and closed his eyes.
"Why can't I just forget you?"
The answer came immediately.
Because he didn't want to.
That was the truth he had spent months running from.
He didn't want to forget Kyrah.
He wanted her back.
But wanting her back didn't erase what he had done.
He had walked away when she needed him most.
He had watched her face fall when he denied the child.
He had allowed his family to convince him that choosing Mi Rae was the right decision.
And now he wanted to reverse everything.
Life didn't work that way.
---
The next morning, Jinyoung finally returned home.
Mi Rae was already awake.
She was sitting at the dining table with a cup of tea in front of her.
She looked up when he entered.
"You didn't come home last night."
Jinyoung removed his jacket.
"I had work."
"All night?"
"Yes."
Mi Rae studied his face.
He looked exhausted.
His shirt was wrinkled.
His eyes were red.
She had seen him like this several times lately.
But something about him seemed different.
More distant.
More troubled.
"Did something happen?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
Jinyoung walked past her.
"I'm going to shower."
Mi Rae watched him disappear down the hallway.
She lowered her eyes.
She was tired too.
Tired of asking questions.
Tired of receiving half-answers.
Tired of living beside a man who seemed to be physically present but emotionally somewhere else.
She had tried.
She had genuinely tried.
She had given him space.
She had tried to understand his long hours.
She had tried to make their marriage comfortable.
She had tried to be the wife his family wanted.
But she couldn't compete with a woman who wasn't even in the room.
And she was beginning to realize that she shouldn't have to.
---
Later that morning, Jinyoung's mother called.
"Come to the house this weekend."
"Why?"
"I want to see you and Mi Rae."
"I have work."
"You always have work."
He sighed.
"Fine."
"And Jinyoung?"
"Yes?"
"What about the future of the family?"
Jinyoung's expression changed.
"What about it?"
"You know what i mean."
He did.
An heir.
A child.
A successor.
That was what everyone wanted.
His mother lowered her voice.
"You and Mi Rae should start thinking about having a baby."
Jinyoung's fingers tightened around the phone.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
There was a pause.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said."
"You're married."
"I know."
"Then why wouldn't you want children?"
Jinyoung didn't answer.
Because every time he imagined having a child, he saw another baby.
A baby whose existence he had denied.
His baby.
Kyrah's baby. He knew there was a name she would call their baby. Kyrah was a sweet person by nature she loved things like that.
His heart tightened.
His mother spoke again.
"Jinyoung?"
"I'm here."
"Is there something wrong with your marriage?"
"No."
The lie came too easily.
His mother seemed satisfied.
"Then stop avoiding your wife."
Jinyoung closed his eyes.
"Mom, I have to go."
"Jinyoung—"
He ended the call.
---
That evening, Mi Rae prepared dinner.
She had been waiting for him.
When Jinyoung arrived, she smiled faintly.
"Dinner is ready."
He looked at the table.
"I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten properly in days."
"I said I'm not hungry."
Mi Rae's smile disappeared.
"Okay."
Jinyoung started walking away.
"Jinyoung."
He stopped.
She looked at him.
"Can I ask you something?"
He turned around.
"What?"
"Do you regret marrying me?"
The question hit him harder than he expected.
He stared at her.
Mi Rae's voice remained calm.
But her eyes were not.
"I need you to be honest."
Jinyoung looked away.
"I don't hate you."
"That isn't what I asked."
He said nothing.
Mi Rae nodded slowly.
"That answer is enough."
She turned back toward the table.
Jinyoung watched her.
For a moment, guilt rose inside him.
Mi Rae hadn't done anything to deserve this.
She hadn't forced him to abandon Kyrah.
She hadn't been the one who made those decisions.
She had simply accepted the marriage.
And yet he was punishing her for something she couldn't fix.
"I've been under a lot of pressure," he finally said.
Mi Rae looked at him.
"I know."
"Work has been difficult."
"I know."
"My family…"
"I know, Jinyoung."
Her voice was soft.
Then she asked,
"Is it me?"
He froze.
Mi Rae continued.
"Is there something about me that makes you unhappy?"
"No."
"Then what is it?"
Jinyoung couldn't answer.
Because the truth had a name.
Kyrah.
Mi Rae watched him struggle.
And somehow, she understood more than he said.
"There is someone else."
Jinyoung's eyes snapped toward her.
Mi Rae swallowed.
"Isn't there?"
He didn't answer.
That silence told her everything.
She looked down at her hands.
"How long?"
"Mi Rae—"
"How long have you been thinking about her?"
Jinyoung's face tightened.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Then tell me I'm wrong."
He couldn't.
Mi Rae laughed bitterly.
"I knew it."
Jinyoung stepped closer.
"It's not that simple."
"No?"
"No."
"Then make it simple for me."
He stopped.
Mi Rae looked directly into his eyes.
"Do you love her?"
Jinyoung's heart pounded.
He could have lied.
He should have lied.
Instead, after several painful seconds, he said,
"Yes."
The word hung between them.
Mi Rae looked as though he had struck her.
She slowly looked away.
Jinyoung immediately regretted saying it.
But it was too late.
"I see."
"Mi Rae…"
"Don't."
She stood up.
"I don't want an explanation right now."
She walked away.
Jinyoung remained standing in the dining room.
He knew he had hurt her.
He knew it wasn't fair.
But there was another truth he couldn't escape.
He had finally said the thing he had been afraid to admit.
He still loved Kyrah.
---
That night, Jinyoung lay awake.
His phone sat beside him.
He opened his social media again.
Linda's story had disappeared.
But the image remained in his mind.
Kyrah smiling.
Kyrah pregnant.
Kyrah with Seojun.
He stared at the ceiling.
What if she had truly moved on?
What if she no longer loved him?
What if Seojun was already becoming part of her life?
Jinyoung turned onto his side.
He couldn't accept it.
Not yet.
He reached for his phone.
This time, he didn't open social media.
He opened a travel website.
Then he searched:
Hong Kong.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
He had no plan.
No invitation.
No idea what he would say if he actually saw Kyrah.
But for the first time, the thought of staying where he was felt impossible.
He wanted to see her.
Just once.
He wanted to know if there was still something between them.
He wanted to hear her voice.
He wanted to apologize.
And somewhere beneath all those excuses was the selfish hope he wasn't ready to admit.
He wanted Kyrah back.
Even if she no longer wanted him.
Even if he had waited too long.
Even if someone else had already taken the place he once thought would always belong to him.
Jinyoung stared at the screen for a long time.
Then he whispered,
"I need to see you."
And that was when regret stopped being something he felt…
and started becoming something he was willing to act on.