Page 8 of From Paris to Seoul

There was no other way to interpret what I just saw. My mind went blank, like my soul had just left my body and was watching this event unfold from the outside, laughing hysterically.

“You stupid girl,” I heard my ‘soul’ mocking me, cackling like crazy.

Even though the whole thing lasted no more than two minutes, it felt like it happened in slow motion in my head. And with nothing left to say, I just… left.

I slammed the door behind me and ran to my car. That jerk didn’t even try to chase after me.

Suddenly, everything clicked—the scent of a woman’s perfume on his shirt, the lack of intimacy, and his absence over the past few months…

My vision blurred by tears as I drove home, reflecting on all the years we had spent together, now feeling like nothing but wasted time.

***

“There you are! I’ve been freaking out, looking for you everywhere! Your sister said you left this morning without a word, and I had to track you down using find location on my phone!” Ji-a said, rushing to sit across from me in the hospital cafeteria.

“I nearly had a heart attack when I saw your location pop up at a hospital! Are you okay? You didn’t get into an accident, did you?!”

“Sssh,” was all I managed to say as I slurped the last of my iced coffee latte. “I’m okay… more or less,” I replied, sinking behind my oversized sunglasses.

Not that I really needed them—I’m hardly a famous actress; no one’s lining up for my autograph or anything. But everything that had happened over the past few days felt so… traumatic and, frankly, embarrassing. I wore my sunglasses like armor, as if hiding behind the dark lenses could make me invisible, letting me escape the weight of it all. “What happened to you?” Ji-a demanded.

Instead of answering her question, I realized something. “Wait, you can track my location on your phone? What the hell?” I raised my voice, still processing how she’d managed to find me.

“Well, yeah, we agreed to share our locations in case of emergencies, remember? So… this is an emergency,” she declared.

I guess she had a point. I hadn’t shown up at the shoot yesterday and had practically disappeared for the past two days—just holed up in my room, crying and eating ice cream. Super classic drama material, right?

I guessI amboring after all.

“That jerk, Min-seok…” I muttered, starting my explanation. My voice was barely above a whisper, just in case anyone was listening.

“That son of a bitch—an eternally semi-limp guy—cheated on me,” I finally told Ji-a, my anger bubbling up. All the heartache had faded, replaced by pure fury.

And the sadness I felt over the past two days? Yeah, it wasn’t because I lost someone I loved—it was because I wasted so much time on him!

Six years, the prime of my life, gone.

I’ve technically only ever been with one guy my entire life, and honestly, he wasn’t even worth it.

Since the incident, he’s been blowing up my phone with calls and texts—even showing up at my place once. Thankfully, my parents weren’t home; I suspect they would’ve taken his side.

But I think, after a few days of silence from me, he’s finally gotten the message: we’re over.

“He… what?” Ji-a’s eyes widened as she suddenly leapt out of her seat, almost like a character straight out of a cartoon. “Thatssibal saekki!” she burst out. “Let’s go to his place and beat him up!”

I chuckled—so typical of Ji-a.

“And what, get arrested for trespassing and assault?” I raised an eyebrow. “Just let it go. He’s not worth it.”

Ji-a plopped back down, still fuming. “Okay, fair point. But I’m so pissed. I mean, who does he think he is?! How did you even find out? And why are you at the hospital?” Her questions kept firing off like a machine gun.

“I went to his place two days ago and found him with a woman… who looked like an escort,” I shrugged. “So I came here to check if I’d caught something from him or—god forbid—if I’m pregnant.”

Ji-a looked shocked. “And? What did the results say?”

“Yeah, I’m clean,” I said with a sigh. “And not pregnant.”

I leaned back, feeling the weight of everything. “I swear, Ji-a, I’m just so done with everything. I need to get away. Somewhere far.”

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