When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 38

I shook my head. “I’m not sleeping.”

“Han Wool—”

“She’s overthinking,” I said suddenly.

Minhwan blinked. “What?”

I looked at him, eyes tired, throat dry. “Ye Na. She’s overthinking. She did that because things feel out of her control. She blames herself before anyone else can.”

Minhwan sat back on his heels, giving me space to keep going.

“When Harin died,” I said slowly, the memory tightening something deep in my chest, “Ye Na didn’t cry in front of anyone. But I saw it. The guilt. It ate her alive. She thought it was her fault.”

“Han Wool…”

“She thought she was the reason Harin ended up like that. That if she had done something—if she hadn’t—if she hadn’t loved me, maybe none of this would’ve happened.”

Minhwan ran a hand through his hair, exhaling hard. “That’s not on her. None of it.”

“I know,” I said. “But she doesn’t.”

I swallowed, eyes stinging again. “She may think she’s selfish. That being with me—loving me—cost Harin her life. And now she thinks the universe is punishing her for being happy. That if she chooses me again, something worse will happen.”

“That’s insane,” Minhwan whispered.

“It’s Ye Na,” I said. “She doesn’t let herself have things easily. She never has. She thinks everything good has to be paid for.”

Minhwan sank onto the armchair across from me, not saying a word.

“She’s punishing herself,” I continued. “Convincing herself she doesn’t deserve me. That letting me go is the right thing. Safer. Smarter.”

“But why today?” Minhwan asked.

“She was fine this morning, right? You said me that she texted you. You were literally eating lunch when she messaged you.”

“I know,” I whispered. “She was okay. Smiling even. She told me she missed me.”

“So what happened?”

I looked down at my hands. They were trembling.

“I don’t know,” I said. “That’s the part I can’t stop thinking about. What happened in those few hours that made her change everything? Did she remember something? Did someone say something to her?”

My voice cracked.

“Did she cry alone and decide she didn’t deserve comfort anymore?”

Minhwan closed his eyes for a moment, then stood. He walked into the kitchen and came back with the ginger honey tea again. He placed it on the table in front of me but didn’t force me to drink it.

He sat back down, elbows on his knees. “You’re doing everything right, Han Wool. You love her. You’re trying to understand her. That’s more than most people ever do.”

“But it’s not enough,” I whispered.

Minhwan didn’t argue with that.

We both knew the truth.

Sometimes, even love isn’t enough when someone’s mind turns against themselves.

And Ye Na—she was at war with her own heart.

And she pushed me away to protect me.

To protect me.

And I just sat there, soaked in rain, holding the shape of her absence like it was the only thing left that could still feel warm.