Chapter 8: The First Fracture
374 Words
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It started small.
A whisper in the hallway.
A screenshot sent to her anonymously—again.
This time, it was a chat log. Jae-won’s name. Someone asking if he was “bored yet.”
And a reply:
> It’s cute for now.
Eun-ha stared at the message on her screen for a long time. Her fingers trembled, not from hurt—but from doubt.
She didn’t want to believe it. But she couldn’t unsee it.
She didn’t ask him that night. She couldn’t. Instead, she went quiet.
And he noticed.
“You okay?” Jae-won asked, walking beside her the next morning.
“Fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
She stopped walking.
“Do you talk about me behind my back?”
His brows furrowed. “What?”
“Do you call me cute like I’m a novelty? Something temporary?”
He went still. “Where is this coming from?”
She showed him the message.
He looked at it, then exhaled slowly.
“I never said that. I swear.”
“Then how is your name on it?”
“Because people lie. They forge. They twist things just enough to make it believable.”
She wanted to believe him. But something in her ached.
“I just don’t want to be a phase, Jae-won.”
“You’re not.”
“Then prove it.”
His jaw tightened. “How?”
“Tell your father you won’t marry the girl he chose.”
That stunned him.
She didn’t even know she’d say it until the words were out.
“You said he gave you a list. Cross it out. In front of him.”
He swallowed hard. “That’s not just about dating, Eun-ha. That’s my inheritance. My position. Everything.”
She nodded. “Then we’ll see if I’m still ‘cute’ after that.”
She turned and walked away.
And for the first time… he didn’t follow.
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That night, Eun-ha couldn’t sleep.
She stared at the ceiling, heart pounding. Not with heartbreak.
With fear.
Because she knew this wasn’t the end.
It was the beginning.
Of the real test.
And one of them was going to have to fall first.
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End of Chapter 8
[To Be Continued...]
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