When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 44

Silence stretched for a second too long. Then his voice came low, almost whispering:

"I was always in the corner, Ye Na. Since we were kids. Always behind the curtain while Han Wool stood in the spotlight. You never once turned back."

"And why should I have?" I asked softly. "Love isn’t something you buy with silence. Or stalking. Or kidnapping. You were never in the story, Tae Sung. You just wrote your own version in the dark."

He laughed, but it was empty. "You make it sound so simple."

"Because it is," I said, leaning forward slightly. "You made your choices. And now you're facing the consequences. Don't look at me like I’m supposed to feel sorry."

His eyes darkened. "I thought you were kind."

"I am," I said. "But kindness doesn’t mean stupidity. I’m not here to save you."

He went quiet, hands resting uselessly on the table. For a moment, the silence stretched.

But then—

"In high school, when I found out you were secretly seeing Han Wool, I was furious. I asked my father to intervene, to show you that being with him would only bring you trouble. But he messed up. So i killed that shithead"​

Realization dawned on me, pieces clicking into place. "The kidnapping..."​

He nodded. "At university, I thought I'd finally have my chance. But you ignored me. I planned to confess on the last day, thinking my patience would pay off. But you didn't even know I existed."

I stared at him through the glass, heart beating slow but heavy. His words felt like ash in the air—bitter, charred remnants of a truth I hadn’t wanted to imagine.

“You think what you feel is love,” I continued, not flinching under his gaze. “But it’s not. It’s control. It’s a need to be seen, even if it means burning down the lives of everyone around you. You say you watched me all these years—then you should’ve learned that I don’t bend. Not to fear. Not to guilt. And definitely not to men who think love is a debt to be paid back.”

"You think I didn’t try to do better?” His voice cracked at the edges. “I studied what you liked. I followed the same books you read. I even studied medicine—”

“I don’t care,” I said sharply, cutting him off. “You could've dressed like the moon and memorized my heartbeat. That doesn’t give you the right to hurt people for my attention.”

His fingers curled into fists on the table.

“You were never invisible, Tae Sung. I just never loved you. And I don’t owe you an explanation for that.”

Silence fell again, heavy and raw.

Then he asked, almost like a child, “So that’s it? You’re walking away again?”

“I didn’t walk away,” I said quietly. “You chose a path that never included me.”

I stood up.

“No matter how long you watched me, Tae Sung, you never actually saw me. Because if you had—you would’ve known I was never yours to begin with.”

His voice came low behind me, almost a whisper. “You’ll forget me. Just like everyone else.”

I paused at the door, turning only slightly.

“No,” I said. “I’ll remember you. As a warning.”

And with that, I left.

No tears.