"You were right," I said, leaning back as I spoke on the phone. "Rena and Heeguk are heavily tangled together. When Rena was with Inkang, Heeguk seems to have gone around making quite the mess behind the scenes."
"Oh? Tell me more," the person on the other end prompted.
"So it turns out Rena was already with Jinyeol, another member of Tenplanet, when she started seeing Inkang. Yeah, you said Rena wasn't on good terms with the CEO of MMI Entertainment, her management company, when she and Inkang met... and that he consoled her while she was going through a lot. That's what led to Rena asking him out, right?"
"That's right," the voice confirmed. "She had been with Jinyeol for two years, but they were going through a rough patch... to the point where they weren't really speaking to each other. Then what happened?"
"Well, Jinyeol found out that Rena had been seeing Inkang behind his back and demanded the three of them meet face-to-face. But I had to wonder how Jinyeol found out about Rena and Inkang so quickly."
The voice on the other end explained, "After Tenplanet broke up in 2010, Jinyeol wasn't in touch with Inkang at all. He hadn't been talking to Rena either... but somehow found out about Rena and Inkang within the first two weeks. Before she could even talk to Jinyeol about breaking up, she was caught."
"No way..." I muttered, connecting the dots. "That's right. It was Heeguk Lim. Rena didn't think anything of it and told him about her and Inkang... Then Heeguk went to Jinyeol's management, told them everything, and asked for hush money." I sighed. "At least he's consistent, that bastard."
"Jinyeol's management paid Heeguk a huge sum to keep his mouth shut," the voice revealed. "Jinyeol heard about it from his own management and confronted the two of them. Then how did word get out that Inkang and Rena were officially dating? At that point, shouldn't it have been over for the two of them?" I asked, my frustration clear.
"So, Jinyeol heard about the affair from his own management and confronted the two of them," I recounted. Inkang had never known Rena was dating Jinyeol, and the three of them eventually decided to mutually end things. Inkang even promised Jinyeol that he'd never see Rena again.
Things seemed to be resolved until Heeguk got greedy. Having already extorted Jinyeol's management for hush money—a huge sum, in fact—the "consistent bastard" wasn't done yet. "As if blackmailing Jinyeol's management wasn't enough, he went straight to Longstar and asked Ms. Seo for hush money too."
The person on the other end of the line explained the reaction. "After hearing from Inkang that the situation was quietly resolved between him, Jinyeol, and Rena, Ms. Seo turned Heeguk away, saying that she'd never make deals with journalists under the table."
I could almost hear the man's scoffing reply: "Ah, I like money. How much is Longstar willing to give me?"
"He's nothing but a thug," I spat out, my jaw tightening as I listened. "How dare he say that to my face after what he did? I heard Longstar doesn't do bribes, though. Do you have a sponsor?"
The Betrayal and Aftermath
Rejected by Ms. Seo, Heeguk got angry. He colluded with the CEO of MMI Entertainment, Rena's management, and released articles that Rena and Inkang were officially dating. "It's obvious that he was using Inkang to make Rena famous."
"Exactly," the voice confirmed. "And because MMI Entertainment officially acknowledged his articles as being true the minute they blew up, Inkang was probably put in a very difficult position."
A new thought struck me. "Oh, so that's why Ms. Seo hates Rena so much."
"Yes. If it were up to Ms. Seo, she wouldn't have taken it lying down... so I'm guessing Inkang asked her not to intervene."
Then came the final, bitter detail. "Rena's excuse was that her group's new album had flopped and the CEO of MMI was putting on the pressure. She said she got on her knees and begged him to keep up the act with her for six months."
The whole mess was appalling—a tangle of infidelity, blackmail, and industry exploitation. It seems Rena, Inkang, Jinyeol, and Ms. Seo were all victims of a power-hungry thug and a desperate management company.
My thoughts were interrupted by the buzzing of my phone. The caller was a man, seemingly reading something as he spoke.
"Hello, Ms. Baek," he greeted me. "I thought our deal was finished... What can I do for you?"
"Do we still have a reason to meet?" he asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.
"Could we meet tomorrow? I have something to tell you. You won't regret it."
"Alright... where do you want to meet?"
"I'll text you the time and place," I replied, a plan already forming in my mind. "Mhmmm. Then I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Lim."
Preparing for the Next Move
Hanging up, I felt a familiar knot of tension. I needed to move carefully. Inkang isn't the type of person to go around talking about me to the press just because we broke up. I was sure of it, mainly because even after Rena Lim backstabbed him, he never went out of his way to speak ill of her. He's just that kind of man—once he starts caring about someone, he gives them everything he's got.
But the thought of the future made me nervous. Even Inkang's good nature wouldn't protect me completely. I needed leverage. I need something as insurance...
My mind drifted to his family. I remembered a conversation about his sibling: "But... his younger brother is different. Inmo has an aggressive side to him. It also worries me that they're unusually close..." This was a fact I knew I could potentially exploit.
My eyes fell on a discarded teddy bear, a reminder of my past, before a sharp, intrusive sound broke the silence.
DING DONG.
Someone was at the door, relentlessly pressing the buzzer. I walked toward the entrance, my blood running cold when I looked through the peephole. It was Inkang, his face full of an intensity I hadn't seen before.
DING DONG, DING DONG, DING DONG.
He stared right at the door, his expression unreadable, and then he spoke, his voice muffled but clear: "I'm going to ask you this one last time. Did you use Inkang?"
I froze, the air caught in my chest. He was here, now. And he knew.
The moment Inkang's furious gaze met mine through the peephole, I froze. My internal alarm bells were screaming. This wasn't the sweet, caring man I knew; this was someone pushed past his limit, demanding an answer to the most painful question: "Did you use Inkang?"
Before I could process the gravity of his question, the relentless bell-ringing stopped, and a different voice, louder and more casual, replaced it.
"Jaeo...?" I whispered, my surprise giving way to mild annoyance as I opened the door. It wasn't Inkang after all, but a different man with a paper bag.
"Jeez, you were in a call for so damn long!" he complained, strolling past me. "I forgot which unit you lived in so I kept calling to ask you, but it kept saying the line was busy. Do you know how long I was standing out there in the cold for? I thought I was gonna freeze to death!"
I closed the door quickly, already on edge from the previous scare. "What are you doing here? How did you even get into this building?"
He shrugged, holding up the bag. "Man, the security here is really lax. As soon as security saw me with a helmet and the fried chicken, they just let me in." He then added with a smirk, "Did you forget? I downloaded that GPS tracker on your phone. I saw you were home and ran over as fast as I could."
My gaze drifted to the box near the entryway, still containing the small, sad teddy bear—a box of things I was planning to get rid of, a quiet attempt to cleanse my life of the recent mess. "What's with the box?" he asked, following my eyes.
"Oh, it's just some things I'm throwing away," I quickly replied, trying to appear nonchalant.
He placed the food down. "Well, it doesn't look like you just came by to have dinner together. You have something you want to tell me, don't you? Is it something you couldn't say over the phone?"
I looked at him, feeling the weariness of all the secrets and manipulation. He was right. "It's nothing much... I'm leaving the country soon."
His smile faltered. "When?"
"This Saturday..."
"That soon...?" he asked, his expression turning to shock and then mild hurt. "I thought you said you'd help me wrap this up. They're really rushing me, and... You're not angry, are you?"
I stared at him, my mind spinning back to the conversation I'd just had with the man on the phone, the man I'd called Mr. Lim, and the urgent need I'd felt for "insurance." My heart was still pounding from the thought of Inkang being at my door, demanding answers. The only thing I could do now was play the cards I had left.
"You're not angry, are you?" Jaeo asked, his tone worried.
"Who said I'm angry?" I countered, trying to keep my voice flat, though my mind was racing with the fear of the man who had just been at my door.
"Well, that's why I brought you fried chicken as a bribe. Should I order you a pizza too? They're really rushing me, and..."
DING DONG. DING DONG.
The bell rang again, sharp and insistent, cutting Jaeo off. We both looked towards the door monitor. The fear from moments ago solidified into icy dread.
"No..." I breathed.
Jaeo asked, "Was anyone supposed to come over...?"
On the screen, a man in a red-hooded sweatshirt looked directly into the camera. His expression was serious. It was a face I immediately recognized and recoiled from.
"Looks like we have an unwelcome visitor," Jaeo stated, his hand going to my arm.
"This isn't good. He knows my face. Oh, maybe he won't remember. It's been a while since that accident," I murmured, instantly dismissing the vain hope. It was Inkang Heo, the man I just broke up with, standing outside. The confrontation I thought I had avoided had simply been delayed.
I turned to Jaeo, urgency making my voice sharp. "Jaeo, will you set that camera up in my living room...? You have it with you, right?"
"Huh? I do... But what do you want the camera for?"
"Set it up and wait in my bedroom... And no matter what you hear, don't come outside." I didn't wait for him to argue. My plan for "insurance" was now a necessity, and Jaeo was the perfect pawn.
The Confrontation
I opened the door, schooling my face into a calm, aloof mask. Inkang stood there, his jaw tight. I hadn't known he would come by, no less this late at night.
"What is it?" I asked, keeping a cool distance.
He didn't return my greeting. "Inmo told me... that he ran into you at the mall today."
The mention of his younger brother, Inmo, the one with the aggressive side and the troubling closeness to Inkang, put me even more on guard.
"He keeps saying weird things..." Inkang continued, staring at me intently.
"What did he say?" I asked, feigning ignorance, though I knew exactly what was coming.
"He went on about how you used me or something..."
I offered a quick, practiced dismissal. "I'm sorry if Inmo picked a fight with you. He can be a bit unreasonable sometimes. It must have put you in an awkward spot."
Inkang looked away, then back. "We didn't fight, and he didn't put me in an awkward spot. Is that everything you came here to say?" I pressed, trying to end the conversation before he said anything that might incriminate me—or worse, that Jaeo might overhear.
He ignored my question, his voice dropping as the pain became clear. "The truth is... I still don't understand why we broke up. I came here because I wanted some closure."
I offered him the hard, cold reality. "We broke up. None of this means anything. Articles about our breakup have already gone out."
But a part of me knew he wasn't looking for a public statement. He was looking for the truth about the heart he had just lost.
The conversation was going exactly where I needed it to, and exactly where Inkang dreaded. He was desperate for closure, for any reason other than the one his brother, Inmo, had whispered.
He slumped slightly on my couch, his voice quiet and broken. "I know, but I just don't understand... This just doesn't feel like something you'd do... I keep wondering if the ring was just an excuse, and if there were other reasons I don't know about. Did I ever hurt you while we were together?"
I kept my distance, standing opposite him. This was the moment for the final, clean break, captured perfectly by the camera I had Jaeo set up.
"What...?" Inkang's face crumpled with confusion.
"No," I stated coldly. "I was happy because I got a lot out of you," I confessed. "If there was any other reason to our break up, it's because you stopped being useful to me. I like people who make me look good."
The betrayal was visible in his eyes, but I continued, twisting the knife. "I used you. But the minute you became a nuisance to me, I had no reason to keep seeing you. I can't stand that kind of stuff."
He jumped up, his voice cracking. "What are you saying right now, Ajin—?" He caught himself and used the name I prefer: "What are you saying right now, I? If you're saying this on purpose to push me away for coming to see this—"
"Don't you get it? I'm saying your brother is right."
The words hung in the air. His eyes widened, the hurt replacing confusion with raw anguish. I had confirmed his worst fear.
"I used you, just like Rena did!" I didn't flinch as the tears finally came to his eyes.
I stared at him with what I hoped looked like utter disdain. "I'm so sick of this... Please stop. How long are you going to whine about this? Everyone breaks up. Why are you acting like you're the only person in the world that's having a hard time? Why do you make me look like the bad guy? Or are you just not smart enough to see why my attitude toward you suddenly changed overnight?"
His head dropped, the silence broken only by his choked breaths. Finally, he looked up, his eyes swimming. "Did... did you ever love me?"
The truth was irrelevant now. The recording was what mattered. I had given him the worst, most brutal explanation possible—a confession of pure malice—to ensure he would never come back and that this breakup would be permanent and on my terms.
I knew my words would destroy him, but they would also protect me. He had his closure. And I had my insurance.