Don't Remember Saying "I Do"

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭 - 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟯

...

The bartender returned with her soju. The Russian raised a finger, and the bartender nodded, adding the drink to an invisible tab. Soo-jin wrapped her fingers around the small glass. It was cold. Grounding. She took a sip. The burn steadied her. "You don't have to do that," she said because she was Korean, and refusing kindness was a reflex.

"I am aware," he replied, unbothered. "I do not do things I do not wish to do."

Well. Okay then. She studied him over the rim of her glass. Up close, he was even more... a lot. Broad shoulders beneath the expensive suit. Long fingers wrapped around his own drink—vodka, she guessed, from the clarity and the faint, sharp scent. There was a watch on his wrist, silver and understated, but she recognized the brand. Her father had admired one like it in a magazine once. It cost more than her annual rent.

"What are you?" she asked, the soju making her bold.

"A model? An actor? A very lost oligarch?"

His eyebrow arched. A tiny movement, but it changed his whole face. "An oligarch? Do I look like I steal from the state?"

"I don't know. Do you?"

The corner of his mouth twitched again. She was starting to like that twitch. "I am in Seoul for business," he said, evading neatly.

"What are you? A woman who drinks alone and issues warnings to strangers?"

"A woman who drinks alone and issues warnings to strangers who just got dumped by a man who wore socks with sandals," she corrected. "There's context. It's important."

"Ah. Context." He nodded sagely, like she'd just shared a profound philosophical insight. "The socks with sandals. A crime against humanity and fashion."

"Exactly! Exactly." She pointed at him, nearly sloshing her soju. "You get it. He also used a black heart emoji. On i********:. While at a VIP booth with the woman he told me was 'just a sunbae.'"

The Russian's expression didn't change, but something in his eyes sharpened. "A black heart."

"A black heart."

"That is... a specific kind of cruelty."

"Thank you!" She threw her free hand up. "Thank you. Everyone else is like, 'Oh, Soo-jin, you're overreacting, it's just an emoji.' But it's not. It's a message. It's a whole thesis statement on how little he cares."

"A thesis statement." He seemed to be tasting the words. "You are a writer?"

"No. I'm a graphic designer. But I read a lot. And I have feelings. A lot of feelings. Too many feelings, according to my mother."

He took a slow sip of his vodka, watching her over the rim of the glass. His gaze was unsettling. Not predatory, exactly. Just... present. Like he was actually listening. Like every word she said mattered. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at her like that.

"And what," he asked, setting his glass down, "do you plan to do with these many feelings tonight?"

Soo-jin stared into her soju. The liquid was clear, catching the violet light.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Get drunk. Make bad decisions. Prove to myself that I'm not just the 'understanding' ex-girlfriend who waits around while he 'finds himself.'" She made air quotes with her fingers, nearly poking herself in the eye.

"He said he needed to 'find himself.' Two years, and he found himself in a Gangnam VIP booth with a sunbae and a black heart emoji."

The Russian was quiet for a moment. Then he said, softly, "A man who makes you feel small is not a man. He is a weather condition. You simply move somewhere warmer."

...

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏 - 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟑

𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗘𝗗!