The Strings She Pulls

Chapter 16: Getting back Princess?

She couldn't let Seulgi see the full extent of her darkness. Not yet. Not until Seulgi was hers again.

Jaeyi walked over to the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were cold, calculating. She wasn't going to make the mistake of showing vulnerability again. She grabbed a razor, her hand steady as she slit her wrist, a deep cut opening up. She didn't flinch. The blood trickled down, but that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was the aftermath.

With a trembling hand, she pulled out her phone and sent a message to the hospital, listing Seulgi's number as the emergency contact. She had planned it all. The hospital would call Seulgi. Seulgi would come. No matter how much she had distanced herself from Jaeyi, there would always be that thread of love, that lingering care. And when Seulgi heard about what had happened, when she realized Jaeyi was hurt, there would be regret, guilt.

Jaeyi smiled faintly as the blood continued to pool around her wrist. She knew Seulgi would come. And when Seulgi walked through that door, all of her old feelings would resurface. Jaeyi would be right there to pull her back into her web. And Yeri? Yeri would pay.

Jaeyi stood motionless, her eyes cold as stone, a storm brewing in the depths of her gaze. Her heart raced, not from fear, but from an overwhelming fury that twisted and coiled within her chest like a living beast. She had known it for a while, but now, seeing the undeniable truth, it made her blood boil. Seulgi wasn't just leaving her. She was running to her—to Yeri.

The thought of Yeri was like poison on her tongue. Jaeyi's fingers curled into fists at her sides as the name reverberated in her mind.Jaeyi couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand the thought of Yeri with her princess, the way she would play the role of the perfect, innocent friend, pretending to be nothing more than a shoulder to lean on. But Jaeyi knew better, she knew that underneath all of Yeri's sweet smiles, her gestures of kindness, was a deep, twisted desire. A desire for Seulgi. A desire that had been quietly, persistently growing, until it had consumed everything.

And Jaeyi? Jaeyi had been blind to it until now.

Seulgi. She loved her. Jaeyi loved her so much it made her heart ache. But Seulgi had always been too soft, too trusting. She'd never truly understood how to navigate the darker sides of the people around her, and Jaeyi had always protected her from it—until now. Until this moment, when Yeri had slid into her life like a snake in the grass, convincing Seulgi to turn her back on the woman who had always been there for her.

Jaeyi's pulse pounded in her ears as the fury inside her began to rise, her hands shaking with a cold, calculated rage. Yeri would pay. But first, she needed Seulgi. Without Seulgi, her plans would be meaningless. She needed Seulgi beside her, needed her to understand just how much she mattered.

But it couldn't be just any reunion. No, Seulgi had to come back to her out of guilt. Out of regret. She needed to see Jaeyi broken, to feel the weight of her actions, the consequences of choosing Yeri over her. Only then would Jaeyi have the leverage she needed.

Jaeyi's gaze shifted to the bathroom mirror, where her reflection stared back at her with a cold, emotionless face. She was a master of disguise, of hiding her true self. She had always been able to make Seulgi believe she was soft, gentle. But Jaeyi knew better. She knew that she was capable of darkness, of destruction. And now, with Yeri standing between her and Seulgi, she would do whatever it took to pull her back.

She walked over to the counter and picked up a razor, the sharp blade gleaming under the dim light. Her hand hovered over it for a moment before she brought it to her wrist. She wasn't afraid. She had done this before, a reminder of her own control, of how easily she could bend her body to her will. With one swift motion, the blade sliced through her skin, a deep, clean cut that immediately began to bleed. The blood pooled in her palm, staining her skin a deep, dark red.

She watched, fascinated, as the blood trickled down her arm, feeling nothing but the cold emptiness inside. It wasn't about the pain. It wasn't even about the blood. It was about sending a message. She wasn't weak. She wasn't helpless. She had control. And with that control, she would have Seulgi back.

Jaeyi grabbed her phone with trembling fingers, her blood-slicked hand leaving a streak on the screen. She opened the contacts list, scrolling down to Seulgi's name. Her finger hovered over it for a moment, her heart beating in her chest as she made her choice.

She sent an emergency message to the hospital about her health and her emergency contact: Woo Seulgi .

Then, with a slow exhale, Jaeyi hit send. It was done. The hospital would contact Seulgi, and Seulgi would come. She would have no choice but to come, because even if she had distanced herself from Jaeyi, even if she no longer wanted to be near her, there was still something there. There was still the love that had once burned so brightly between them, the love that had never truly disappeared, no matter how far Seulgi tried to run.

Jaeyi closed her eyes, feeling the weight of her own blood dripping from her wrist, soaking into her sleeve. The sharp pangs of guilt, the self-loathing, the ache of betrayal—they all melted away. What mattered now was Seulgi. She would come, and when she did, Jaeyi would be waiting. She would be waiting, arms open, ready to pull Seulgi back into the safety of her world. A world where only Jaeyi existed. A world where no one could take her from her.

Jaeyi let out a soft laugh, though there was nothing humorous about it. The darkness had always been a part of her, but now, it was all-consuming. She would make Yeri suffer. She would make her regret ever trying to come between them. But first, she had to make Seulgi see just how much she needed her.

And when Seulgi walked through that door, Jaeyi would be ready. Ready to pull her back. Ready to make her forget about the snake that was Yeri. Ready to remind her that there was only one person who truly understood her. Only one person who could protect her from the darkness—and that person was Jaeyi.

As the blood continued to drip, Jaeyi smiled to herself, dark and cruel, knowing that her plan had already begun.