Chapter 28 — When the Past Knocks Again
The knock came late.
Ji-Woo was already half-asleep, the room dark except for the faint glow of his phone on the nightstand.
At first, he thought he'd imagined it.
But then it came again — steady, insistent.
His chest tightened.
---
When he opened the door, Soo-Min was standing there.
Not in the confident posture Ji-Woo remembered, but smaller somehow. His hair was unkempt, his eyes red-rimmed.
For a moment, neither spoke. The winter air slipped between them, cold and sharp.
Finally, Soo-Min said, "Can I come in?"
Ji-Woo's throat was dry. "It's late."
"I know." His voice cracked. "I didn't know where else to go."
---
Inside, the silence stretched.
Ji-Woo leaned against the wall, arms crossed, while Soo-Min stood in the center of the room like he didn't belong there anymore.
"I heard… about Min-Ho," Soo-Min began. His eyes flicked up, then quickly down again. "People are talking."
Ji-Woo's pulse spiked. "And?"
"And I don't like it."
The words landed between them, raw and selfish. Ji-Woo's chest ached — with anger, with confusion, with something dangerously close to hope.
---
"Why are you really here, Soo-Min?" Ji-Woo asked, his voice steady.
Soo-Min swallowed. His hands trembled at his sides.
"Because… I made a mistake. A big one. And every time I see you with him, I realize I might've lost you for good."
The room seemed to shrink.
Ji-Woo's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Winter had returned — not outside, but inside, where it hurt most.