When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 33

The officer shook his head. "The phone. It wasn't found on her. We suspect it may have fallen into the river. Our divers are preparing to search the area now."

I felt cold all over again.

No one else knew she messaged me. No one knew she blamed me.

And I couldn't even defend myself-because deep down, a part of me feared she was right.

The officers walked away. I turned to look at Harin's family again. Auntie caught my eye. The way she looked at me-like she is crying for years and asking for help.

Han Wool stood quietly beside me. His hands were trembling.

His eyes searched mine, but I couldn't give him anything. Not now. I didn't have room for comfort, not when guilt was swallowing me whole.

As the night deepened and the air grew colder, I stood there, staring at the river-
the one place that now held all of Harin's secrets.
And maybe... mine too.
___________________

Next morning

They said grief came in waves.

But this felt like drowning-slow, silent, unnoticed.

I sat on the wooden bench outside the funeral hall, the cold biting through my black dress, my hands folded tightly in my lap. I hadn't spoken in over an hour. Maybe two. Time felt abstract. Irrelevant.

Inside, I'd stood before Harin's altar, bowed like everyone else, lit the incense with steady hands. I did everything right. Everything polite. Everything expected.

And still, it felt like I was the one they buried.

"A villain," I whispered to myself, my breath clouding in the cold air. "They want me to be the villain."

It was almost funny-almost. If I closed my eyes, I could still see her smirking at me seven years ago, after her family got arrested.

You'll regret this

she'd spat at me then, just like she did a few days ago.

And now?

Now she was gone.

She texted me.
You are the reason. I'll never forgive you. You ruined my life.

And then she died.

I hadn't even answered her. Not out of cruelty-but because I was tired. Because I wanted to have one quiet moment. Because I never thought she'd...

A tremble passed through me.

I curled my fingers tightly, pressing my nails into my palms until they hurt. I needed the pain. Something to anchor me.

"She chose this," I whispered. "She chose to end it. I didn't make her do it."

But I couldn't believe myself.

Because in her story, I was the thief. The girl who stole a man. The girl who got her cousin arrested, then came back years later to steal what was never hers. The one Harin hated, envied. The one who should've been the one lying cold beside the river, not her.

"She was supposed to be the one who ruined me," I muttered bitterly. "Not the other way around."

I wasn't crying. Not even close. There was no room left for tears.

Just silence.

And a question that wouldn't leave my head:

Am I really the reason?

The wind picked up.

I stood slowly, brushed the wrinkles from my dress, and walked down the steps.

And there he was.