CHAPTER: THE FLIGHT BACK
KEIFER'S POV
Morning arrived too quickly.
The sky over Seoul was pale gray when Keifer stepped out of the hotel elevator and into the quiet lobby. The city outside was already beginning to wake up, but inside the hotel everything still felt calm.
Too calm.
Like the storm hadn't started yet.
Ci-n was already sitting on one of the couches scrolling through his phone.
"You're late," he muttered.
Keifer glanced at the clock.
"I'm two minutes late."
"Exactly."
Keifer ignored him and walked toward the glass doors where a black car was waiting outside.
Today they were leaving Seoul.
Going back to the Philippines.
Back to reality.
Back to responsibilities.
But his mind wasn't on the flight.
It was on her.
Ci-n suddenly spoke again.
"You're still thinking about Jay."
Keifer didn't deny it.
Instead he said quietly,
"She called herself Jae Rin."
Ci-n shrugged.
"Well… that's her name now."
Keifer looked toward the brightening sky outside.
"No," he said softly.
"That's the name she built."
The girl he knew was still Jay.
And he wasn't ready to let that go.
A few minutes later the rest of them arrived.
Aries walked into the lobby first, carrying a suitcase and looking like he hadn't slept much.
Angelo followed behind him, already talking on the phone.
"…Yes, schedule the board meeting for next week. I'll handle it when I'm back."
He ended the call and sighed.
"Fernandez Corp is already waiting for us."
Ci-n leaned back on the couch.
"Corporate life sounds exhausting."
Angelo gave him a tired look.
"It is."
Aries dropped his bag beside the couch and rubbed his neck.
"Let's just get to the airport."
Keifer nodded.
"Yeah."
Because the sooner they left—
The sooner he could start planning what came next.
ARIES' POV
The car ride to the airport was quiet.
Too quiet.
Aries stared out the window as the streets of Seoul passed by.
Last night's meeting kept replaying in his head.
Jay.
No—
Jae Rin.
Standing in front of them like a completely different person.
Confident.
Calm.
Untouchable.
The same girl who used to look at him nervously whenever he entered a room had now become someone the entire world admired.
It was strange.
He should have felt proud.
But instead there was a strange ache in his chest.
Because she hadn't even looked at him like a brother.
Just a stranger.
Aries closed his eyes for a moment.
The memory of that night surfaced again.
The night everything broke.
The knife.
Her shaking hands.
Her terrified expression.
Back then he had only seen betrayal.
Now he saw something different.
Fear.
Pain.
And a sister who had been completely alone.
His fingers unconsciously touched the faint scar on his side.
He sighed.
"Jay…"
But the word felt too late.
ANGELO'S POV
Angelo was already stressed.
His phone kept vibrating with new messages from Fernandez Corp.
Investors.
Board members.
Legal teams.
Everything had been chaotic lately.
But his mind wasn't on business.
It was on his cousin.
The same cousin he had once forced into a marriage arrangement to save his company.
He had told himself it was necessary.
That it was the only way.
But seeing her again yesterday made the truth impossible to ignore.
He had failed her.
Completely.
And now she looked at him like he didn't exist.
Maybe he deserved that.
Angelo sighed quietly.
Ci-n glanced at him.
"You look like you're having an existential crisis."
Angelo rubbed his temples.
"I probably am."
KEIFER'S POV
The airport was crowded.
People rushed through the terminals dragging suitcases behind them.
Announcements echoed through the building.
But Keifer barely noticed any of it.
His mind was still in Seoul.
Still thinking about her.
Ci-n nudged him.
"You know staring at the floor won't summon her."
Keifer ignored him.
Instead he pulled out his phone.
And opened the video again.
The concert clip.
Jae Rin standing on stage in front of seventy thousand people.
Her voice sharp and powerful.
Her rap so fast the crowd went insane.
The moment when her mask disappeared and the audience erupted.
He had watched it dozens of times already.
Ci-n leaned closer.
"You're obsessed."
Keifer didn't argue.
Because it was true.
He watched the moment where she flipped her long hair back and smirked confidently.
She looked powerful.
Untouchable.
Nothing like the girl who used to sit beside him in class.
But one thing was still the same.
Her eyes.
They still carried the same fire.
Keifer locked his phone.
"She's still Jay."
Ci-n sighed.
"You need therapy."
JAE RIN'S POV
That night…
The penthouse was quiet.
Everyone had gone to sleep.
Outside the tall windows, Seoul glittered under the night sky.
Jae Rin lay asleep in her room.
But her sleep wasn't peaceful.
Her breathing slowly became uneven.
Her body trembled under the blankets.
The nightmare had returned.
Again.
Darkness.
A small room.
A little girl standing near the wall.
Her tiny hands shaking.
A loud voice shouting.
Footsteps.
Then—
Pain.
Her stepfather's angry face appeared in front of her.
"USELESS CHILD!"
The sound of something hitting.
Her small body falling to the floor.
The pain spreading through her ribs.
The crying.
The hospital lights.
White walls.
Doctors talking quietly.
Then another memory.
Another night.
Another argument.
Her hands holding a knife.
Aries stepping closer.
"Jay calm down—"
"DON'T COME NEAR ME!"
Her hands shaking violently.
Then—
Blood.
Back in the present—
Jae Rin's body shivered in her sleep.
Tears slipped down her face.
"하지 마…"
(Stop…)
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"무서워…"
(I'm scared…)
Outside her room—
Min Jae suddenly stopped walking.
He frowned.
"Did you hear that?"
Yuna looked up.
"…Yeah."
Sora nodded.
"It came from Jae Rin's room."
They quickly walked toward the door.
Min Jae knocked softly.
"Jae Rin?"
No answer.
But they could hear her crying.
Min Jae opened the door.
Inside—
Jae Rin was shaking in bed, tears streaming down her face.
Min Jae immediately rushed over.
"Jae Rin!"
Her eyes suddenly opened.
For a moment she looked completely lost.
Confused.
Terrified.
Then she saw them.
Her breathing was still shaking.
"Min… Jae…"
Without thinking she suddenly leaned forward and hugged him tightly.
Her hands gripping his shirt.
Like she needed to make sure he was really there.
Min Jae gently held her shoulders.
"It's okay."
"괜찮아."
(It's okay.)
Yuna sat beside the bed looking worried.
"You had another nightmare?"
Jae Rin slowly nodded.
Her eyes were still wet.
For a few seconds she stayed quiet.
Then she whispered,
"어릴 때…"
(When I was little…)
Everyone listened carefully.
"My stepfathers… used to hit me."
The room went completely silent.
She continued slowly.
"많이 맞았어…"
(They hit me a lot.)
Her voice trembled.
"한 번은 너무 심해서 병원에 갔었어."
(One time it was so bad I had to go to the hospital.)
Sora's eyes widened.
Yuna looked furious.
Jisoo looked heartbroken.
Jae Rin wiped her tears.
"And that night…"
Her hands clenched slightly.
"The night I stabbed Aries…"
She looked down.
"I wasn't trying to hurt him."
Her voice cracked.
"I thought he was going to hurt me too."
The room stayed quiet.
Min Jae gently squeezed her shoulder.
"No one blames you."
Jae Rin shook her head slowly.
"But I do."
For years she had carried that guilt.
Even though she had been a scared child.
Min Jae pulled her into another hug.
"Hey."
"You survived."
"That's what matters."
Jae Rin closed her eyes.
For the first time in years—
She finally said the words out loud.
And somehow…
The weight on her chest felt just a little lighter.