Su-mi sat quietly on the sofa in her office, her hands folded in her lap, her gaze unfocused.
Across the room, Woo Ye-jin was pacing like a storm about to explode.
"Isn't Hyun-woo such a bastard?" Ye-jin burst out, throwing her hands into the air.
"How could he call off the engagement and let you find out from reporters?"
Su-mi didn't answer. She simply stared ahead, her expression blank.
Ye-jin stopped pacing for a moment, disbelief written all over her face.
"This is completely ridiculous," she continued, her voice sharp with anger. "He doesn't even deserve to be the one calling it off. He's the one who kept canceling on you. He's the one who kept cheating."
Her pacing resumed. "I've watched you bend over backwards trying to become someone you're not just to accommodate him."
Still, Su-mi remained silent.
Ye-jin turned toward her again, clearly not done. "Should we talk about the flirting classes you attended because he said you were too formal?" she said sarcastically. "Or the fact that you started copying my dressing style because he said your clothes were too dull?"
Su-mi pressed her fingers lightly to her temple. She glanced over the very stylish beige suit she was wearing and her boldly colored nails. She wished she could chew them right now but they were acrylic.
"And don't even get me started on those strip dancing classes," Ye-jin added dramatically. "All because he said you had no 'sexy vibes.'"
That did it. Su-mi's head began to throb.
Memories she had tried to bury resurfaced one after another.
Su-mi and Lee Hyun-woo had known each other since childhood. Their fathers—Chairman Jang and Chairman Lee—had been inseparable friends for decades.
When Hyun-woo asked her out in high school, it felt natural. Expected, even.
Everyone had assumed they would end up together someday.
But from the very beginning, something had always felt… wrong.
It was as if she was constantly failing some invisible test.
Too formal.
Too quiet.
Too stiff.
Too boring.
Too everything.
Whenever Hyun-woo cheated—and he did, more times than she cared to remember—he always blamed her.
If only she were more fun, he said.
If only she were more exciting.
If only she were less cold.
And every time, Su-mi tried to fix it.
She would change something about herself, hoping that maybe this time it would work.
Then he would return, apologetic and dramatic. "I realized I can't live without you."
And she would let him back in.
But things only grew worse when they both began working in their fathers' companies.
The moment Su-mi started making real progress at JGo, Hyun-woo seemed to change.
Every promotion she earned was followed by another argument.
Every success of hers seemed to irritate him.
There was jealousy there—unspoken but undeniable.
Still, the cycle continued.
Break up.
Reconcile.
Break up again.
Until now.
She had discovered the end of their engagement through reporters.
Reporters. Who does that? A wave of humiliation washed over her. I feel so embarrassed.
No… not embarrassed.
Mortified.
I wish the ground would just open up and swallow me whole.
Her hands slowly rose to cover her face.
Ye-jin stopped pacing immediately. Her anger softened as she walked over and sat beside Su-mi on the couch, pulling her gently into an embrace.
"Oh, my dearest," she murmured. "Don't worry."
She squeezed her friend's shoulders. "At least now your father will finally see the kind of asshole he's been rooting for all these years."
A single tear slipped from the corner of Su-mi's eye.
Ye-jin caught it instantly, wiping it away with her thumb. "Nope," she said firmly. "Not a single tear for that jerk. He is not worth it."
She stood up and grabbed her tablet from the desk. "Look at this." She held the screen out for Su-mi to see.
"Your aunt swooped in just in time and used her minions to shut the story down before it spread too far. I don't know how she does it, but honestly, I'm in awe of her."
Su-mi looked at the screen, though the numbers barely registered in her mind.
"Thanks to her," Ye-jin continued, "today's sales only dropped by about 0.24 percent."
Su-mi just nodded faintly.
Ye-jin studied her friend carefully. The exhaustion on Su-mi's face was impossible to miss.
"Why don't you go home and rest?" she suggested gently. "I'll finish whatever needs to be done for the project team leader interview tomorrow."
Normally, Su-mi would protest immediately.
Work always came first.
But today… she didn't argue.
Her head felt like it might split open.
Her chest ached in a way she couldn't quite explain.
Did I actually love Hyun-woo?
Or is my ego just bruised badly? Or has he cut me in a way I may never heal from?
_____________________________________________________________
Later that evening, Su-mi sat on the floor of her penthouse suite in one of her father's luxury hotels.
The city lights of Seoul glittered through the tall glass windows around her.
For a long time, she simply sat there in silence.
Then she sighed. "I really hate this," she muttered to herself.
Ye-jin was right.
Hyun-woo wasn't worth a single minute of her sadness.
She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling.
What would Ye-jin do if she were me?
The answer came immediately.
Su-mi let out a quiet laugh.
Of course.
For just one night, she decided she would forget who she was.
Not a CEO.
Not the Chairman's daughter.
No responsibilities.
No expectations.
Just for one night, she would let herself go.
Su-mi grabbed her phone and searched for clubs downtown—places far from the social circles she usually moved in.
Places where nobody would recognize her.
Fifteen minutes later, she stood in front of the mirror wearing a tiny glittering black dress she had never had the courage to wear before. She went with dark makeup tonight.
It barely looked like her.
Perfect.
She ordered a cab.
Tonight, she would drink.
She would dance.
She would forget.
And she didn't care if she might do anything she'd regret.
She already had a long list of that right now.