HER RECKONING

CHAPTER 14

As the music swelled, each girl emerged from the darkness, one by one.

Nia: Hana wa saite chitte. Eien no honō mo nakute. No, nothing will stay the same. Waka tte itakedo.

(Flowers bloom and fall. There is no eternal flame. Nothing will stay the same. I knew it, but…)

Raye: Sukui ageru ash. Yasashī memories of us. Like sand in an hourglass. Mō modosenainoni. Kaze ga saratte ku.

(Scooping up ash, gentle memories of us. Like sand in an hourglass. We can’t go back. The wind still blows.)

Cherry: Kieta kūkan, kieta iki. Kiesatta our memories. I can’t forget you, I can’t catch you…

Suhee stepped forward as the light found her. Her voice was deep, aching, beautiful.

Sora: I’m dancing in the ash. Kimi ga kureta the rush…

The crowd fell silent, lost in her tone. Her eyes were full of emotions. Her love and pain could be felt in her voice.

At that moment, Trunks burst into the auditorium, his light stick in hand. He stopped in his tracks, frozen by what he saw. Suhee, illuminated in a deep sapphire light, was breathtaking. She was particularly beautiful that night, in a way he never saw her before. Her voice reached for something beyond the song—beyond him.

Their eyes met. For a second, everything else disappeared. The crowd, the music, the lights—all blurred into nothing.

Lx-A: Omouga omoidasu ni natte. Suki ga sukidatta ni kawaru…

(Thoughts turns into Reminisence. Like turns into I used to like... )

Sora: Son'na koto nante dō demo ī. Muriyari tsukamou to shinakute ī. Iroaseta fuku o aratta to shite mo. Tada suriheru dakedakara kanashiku mo nai. Oshikumo nai. Noni mata furi shite. Hanareru te ni tsume no ato wa iranai. Ai shitakara.

(I don't care about that. You don't have to try and force it. Even if you wash faded clothes. It'll just continue to wears off. There is no sadness, there is no pity. But I continue to pretend. I don't want nail marks on my parting hands. Because I loved you)

Once she took that verse, her eyes filled with tears. She was singing to him—and he knew it. It was like they were alone under the moon light, a disguised confession. Every lyric was her heart laid bare.

Trunks felt his chest tighten. His pulse quickened. He could barely breathe, as the emotions in her eyes and voice were louder than any word. All this resonated within him and his heart melted. He was hypnotized. His eyes yearned for her, he could not take them off. Their eye contacts screamed unspoken words…

Up in the crowd, Ryan smirked, phone in hand. “Oh, this is gold,” he muttered, recording every second of Trunks’ reaction to share with Angelique.

The performance built to its clim@x. The harmonies were raw, perfect, painful. When the final note faded, the crowd erupted. Many in the audience were crying. Velvet Gem had given everything—and more. They served.

They didn’t just perform. They lived that song. Soon enough, they were breaking the internet for delivering the best Kpop covers.

Backstage, Trunks pushed past staff and fans until he found her. The moment he saw Suhee, he took her by the hand and led her to a quiet corner behind the stage.

“You finally came,” she said with a trembling smile.

“I couldn’t miss it,” he said softly. “I just hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

“You came. That’s what matters.” She muttered.

He held her hands, looked down, locking his eyes into hers, his gaze, deep, tender, yearning, begging. With his thumb, he brushed away a tear that lingered on her cheek.

“I’m sorry if I ever hurt you. Please don’t cry.” He cupped her face gently and rested his forehead against hers as if only them remained in this world. “I promise I’ll never make you cry again.”

Suhee closed her eyes, her fingers tightening around his. “Trunks, please…” she whispered.

“Seems like we left a lot of things unsaid,” he whispered caressing tenderly her cheeks, internally burning for something that felt unreachable.

“The song,” he murmured, eyes closed. “You wanted me to hear it, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” she said between quiet sobs. Their lips were just a few inches away. So close to meet each other for the first time.

“Su, I… I… there’s also something I wanted to—” His words stopped. His phone buzzed.

They stepped apart.

“I think you should check it,” Suhee said.

He nodded and unlocked it. As his eyes scanned the screen, his entire expression changed. The warmth vanished—replaced by shock, then fury.

He looked up at her, eyes dark with betrayal.

“How could you?” His voice was low, trembling with anger. “I trusted you.”

“What are you talking about?” Suhee asked, bewildered.

He turned the phone toward her. A headline blazed across the screen:

Park Suhee Confesses The Truth About the Death of Seungmin and Xiaolin Choi:

The parents of Juhoon Feng-Choi—also known as Trunks—were not victims of an accident but of brutal murder. Both were sexually assaulted, tortured and dismembered, their remains sent to their son in a package.

“What?!” Suhee gasped.

“You’re the only one who knew that secret,” he said, voice cracking. “How could you tell anyone? How could you expose that?” He asked, crying bitterly.

“Trunks, I swear I didn’t!” she cried. “I would never do that to you. You have to believe me!”

People nearby began to gather, drawn by the raised voices.

“Not only did you tell someone,” Trunks said, trembling with rage, “you exposed it to the world—knowing what that memory does to me! You are fully aware of my trauma. I trusted you my whole life, You’ve destroyed everything. I never want to see you again. As far as I’m concerned, you’re dead to me.”

He turned to leave, but Suhee grabbed his arm, sobbing.

“Trunks, look at me! Do you really think I could betray you? Have I ever betrayed you before? I’ve been your shield my whole life. I never cared about myself—only you. Why would I ever hurt you? If I could, I would carry all your pain and endure it for you just to never see you sad or hurt.” Her voice broke. “Please for the sake of the longtime friendship we have you need to believe me, I’m innocent. Don’t hate me. I beg you. I wouldn’t bear it.”

He shoved her away and she fell.

“I’ll never forgive you,” he said coldly. “Forget me. And get out of my life. Get lost,”

He walked off, leaving her collapsed on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

Cornelia, Alejandro, Ryan, and the other girls rushed in, helping her up. She was trembling, unable to speak. Cornelia and Alejandro guided her home, where she broke down completely—crying like she never had before.