When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 38

Worse.

I saw the woman I loved walk away from me like I didn’t mean anything.

“She left,” I said finally. My voice was low. Almost hoarse.

Minhwan blinked. “What?”

“She left.” I swallowed hard, felt something raw tear open in my throat. “Ye Na. She broke up with me.”

Minhwan stared for a moment, not moving.

Then he reached for my arm, pulled it gently. “Alright, come on. Let’s get you out of this damn rain.”

I didn’t resist. I didn’t say anything. He tugged me under the umbrella and half-dragged me to his car. The rain thundered above us as we got inside, windows fogging immediately with the heat of our breaths.

Minhwan turned the heater on, but I didn’t feel any of it.

I just sat there, dripping all over the passenger seat, staring out the windshield like maybe she’d come back.

She didn’t.

Minhwan reached into the backseat, pulled out an old hoodie and handed it to me. “Here. You’ll catch a cold.”

I didn’t take it.

He sighed. “Han Wool, man, talk to me. What happened? You two were fine this morning, weren’t you?”

I nodded. “We were.”

“She said she was tired of the relationship,” I muttered, my voice dull, like it wasn’t even mine.

Minhwan frowned. “What the hell does that even mean?”

I shook my head.

“She didn’t mean it,” I whispered. “I know she didn’t. She cried when she turned away. Her voice shook. Her hands—” I paused. “Her hands were shaking.”

Minhwan leaned back, his face pinched in confusion.

“Then why’d she say it?” he asked softly.

I let out a slow breath.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’ve been standing here, trying to figure it out. What I did. What I didn’t do. If I missed something. If I made her feel alone. But I can’t find anything. It was just… sudden.”

I looked down at my soaked lap.

“We were okay,” I said. “Just last night, she fell asleep with her head on my shoulder. She held my hand like she always does. This morning she sent me a picture of her. I sent her my lunch.”

I shook my head again. “She didn’t even eat yet today. I know she didn’t. She always forgets on surgery days.”

The hurt cracked deeper inside me.

Minhwan exhaled, quietly.

“Maybe something happened?” he asked. “Like… something at the hospital? Or with her family?”

“She wouldn’t say,” I replied. “She didn’t even look me in the eyes when she said it.”

Minhwan watched me for a moment. “You think… someone told her something? Like, about you?”

I scoffed, the sound bitter and dry. “If they did, it wasn’t true. She knows me. She knows me.”

I clenched my fists. “She wouldn’t believe anything unless she had a reason to. But that’s the thing—she didn’t even argue. She just… left.”

Minhwan leaned back again, sighing hard. “God, man. I don’t even know what to say. This is so sudden.”

I laughed under my breath, but it sounded more like a cry. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”