CHAPTER 45— THE WOMAN HE COULDN'T LOSE
The moment Lucy disappeared through the doors, Kim-Jo stopped breathing.
It was as though the entire world had suddenly gone silent.
The lights were still flashing.
The music was still playing somewhere in the background.
Thousands of people were still gathered around them.
But Kim-Jo heard none of it.
His eyes remained fixed on the doorway where Lucy had vanished.
Just seconds ago, she had been standing before him.
The woman he loved.
The woman who had just promised him forever.
The woman who had looked into his eyes and told him she loved him for who he truly was.
And now—
She was gone.
"Kim-Jo!"
A reporter suddenly pushed forward.
"Kim-Jo, what is going on between you and Lucy?"
Another microphone was thrust toward his face.
"Is it true that Lucy was only brought here to save your music career?"
"Did you actually love her?"
"Was the engagement real?"
"Are you using Lucy?"
"Kim-Jo, answer us!"
"Did you know about the rumors?"
"Who is Lucy to you?"
The questions came one after another.
Then another wave of reporters surged forward.
Cameras flashed relentlessly.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Paparazzi stretched their phones above their heads, recording every second of his breakdown.
Kim-Jo didn't move.
He stood there like a man who had been abandoned in the middle of a burning building.
His hands hung loosely at his sides.
His lips parted slightly.
His eyes were still locked on the empty doorway.
He couldn't understand how everything had fallen apart so quickly.
Only moments ago, he had been the happiest man alive.
Now, the woman he loved had walked away believing that his love for her had been nothing but a lie.
"Kim-Jo!"
A reporter shouted directly into his face.
"Did you marry Lucy because your career was dying or something else is added?"
Another voice followed.
"Is she just part of your comeback strategy?"
"Was the proposal staged?"
"Did you ever really love her?"
Kim-Jo finally blinked.
But he still didn't answer.
His heart was pounding so violently that it hurt.
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to push everyone away.
He wanted to run after Lucy.
But his body refused to move.
VIP SECTION
From the VIP area, Mr. Kim and his wife watched the chaos unfold.
Neither of them spoke.
The guilt was written plainly across their faces.
Mrs. Kim's fingers trembled as she held them together.
She looked at Kim-Jo standing alone in the middle of the crowd.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"This wasn't supposed to happen," she whispered.
Mr. Kim didn't respond.
He couldn't.
He knew exactly what they had done.
The threats.
The pressure.
The fear.
They had believed that forcing Kim-Jo to find a wife or loose his career and would save him from destroying everything he had built.
Instead, it has backfire and had destroyed the one thing that had made him genuinely happy.
They had watched their own son lose the woman who loved him without caring about his fame, his money, or his status.
Mrs. Kim lowered her head.
"Rhe young man went too far"
Mr. Kim's jaw tightened.
For the first time, neither of them could convince themselves that what they had done was for Kim-Jo's own good or for themselves but forcing him to search for a woman he love isn't a bad thing. The bad thing is threatening him with his music career and since finding a fake bride ,that was his priority at the beginning but for now.... this is love but will Lucy believe it?
They can only watch their son.
Broken.
Completely broken.
And the person responsible for that pain was Cha Woo.
"Kim-Jo!"
Seo Joon pushed through the crowd.
Lee Dae was right behind him.
They grabbed Kim-Jo by the arms.
"Kim-Jo!"
Nothing.
He didn't respond.
His eyes were vacant.
"Kim-Jo, wake up!"
Seo Joon shook him hard.
Still nothing.
Lee Dae looked toward the doorway.
Then back at his friend.
"Are you seriously going to stand here?"
Kim-Jo's lips trembled.
"Lucy…"
His voice was barely audible.
Lee Dae grabbed him harder.
"Then GO AFTER HER!"
Kim-Jo looked at him.
"She thinks I lied to her."
"So explain it to her!"
"I can't…"
"What do you mean you can't?"
"I—"
Kim-Jo's voice broke.
He looked toward the entrance again.
"I hurt her."
Seo Joon's expression softened for a moment.
"Yes, you did."
Kim-Jo lowered his head.
"But you can still fix it," Seo Joon said.
Kim-Jo shook his head slowly.
"What if she doesn't want to see me?"
Lee Dae grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Then let her tell you that herself!"
Kim-Jo stared at him.
"Don't stand here like a fool and watch the woman you love walk out of your life!"
The words struck him.
The woman you love.
Lucy.
His Lucy.
Something inside him shifted.
Then suddenly—
A powerful hand gripped his shoulder.
Kim-Jo looked up.
Lee Dae's eyes were burning.
"GO AFTER LUCY."
The world seemed to snap back into focus.
The noise returned.
The cameras.
The shouting.
The flashing lights.
The reporters.
Everything came rushing back at once.
Kim-Jo's breathing became uneven.
And then everyone around him noticed something.
Tears.
Fresh tears were rolling silently down his flawless cheeks.
The crowd went strangely quiet.
Even the reporters hesitated.
Kim-Jo didn't wipe them away.
He simply stood there, tears running down his face as he stared toward the door.
Seo Joon's eyes widened.
Lee Dae's expression changed.
He had never seen Kim-Jo cry like this.
Not publicly.
Not helplessly.
Not over anyone.
"After her!" Lee Dae screamed.
And that was all it took.
Kim-Jo turned.
He ran.
"Kim-Jo!"
The reporters screamed after him.
Cameras followed.
Fans began shouting.
Security guards tried to control the crowd, but Kim-Jo didn't care.
He pushed past people.
He stumbled over someone's foot and nearly fell.
He caught himself and kept running.
"Lucy!"
That was the only word in his mind.
Lucy.
He didn't care about his reputation.
He didn't care about the cameras.
He didn't care about tomorrow's headlines.
He didn't care if the entire world watched him break down.
He needed to see her.
He needed to find her.
He needed one chance to explain.
Please let her still be here.
His lungs burned.
His heart hammered against his ribs.
"Lucy…"
He ran faster.
Please.
Please don't leave.
Please let me find you.
As he pushed through the crowd, his mind became filled with desperate thoughts.
God, please.
He had never prayed so desperately in his life.
If she's still here, I'll do anything.
I'll help the less privileged.
I'll put children through school.
I'll help people who have nowhere to sleep.
I'll build homes for the homeless.
I'll give back.
Just let me see her.
His eyes searched every face.
Every doorway.
Every corner.
Every car outside.
Nothing.
"Lucy!"
He kept running.
His suit was becoming disheveled.
His hair had fallen slightly out of place.
His breathing was ragged.
But he didn't stop.
He finally broke free from the thickest part of the crowd and reached the outside of the venue.
He stopped.
His chest heaved violently.
He looked left.
Nothing.
He looked right.
Nothing.
His eyes searched the parking area.
Empty.
The car park stretched before him beneath the bright lights.
But Lucy wasn't there.
Kim-Jo's face slowly changed.
"No…"
He took a few steps forward.
"No, no, no…"
His voice trembled.
He looked around again.
"Lucy?"
Silence.
His heart sank.
Something inside his chest seemed to withdraw into itself.
The pain that followed was so sharp that he pressed a hand against his chest.
"Lucy…"
His voice cracked.
"She's gone?"
He looked toward the road.
Nothing.
He turned around desperately.
Maybe she had gone back inside.
Maybe she was hiding somewhere.
Maybe someone had stopped her.
Maybe—
No.
She was gone.
"Lucy…?"
A tear slipped down his cheek.
"Lucy?"
His voice became louder.
"Lucy!"
Nothing.
His breathing became heavier.
"LUCY!"
People nearby turned.
Some fans began recording.
Paparazzi followed him with their cameras.
Kim-Jo didn't notice.
He ran toward one side of the building.
"Lucy!"
Nothing.
He ran back.
"Lucy!"
Still nothing.
His voice broke completely.
"Where are you?"
He looked around wildly.
"You can't just leave!"
His eyes filled with tears.
"You can't…"
He swallowed hard.
"You can't leave me like this."
He walked backward slowly, shaking his head.
"No…"
Then he suddenly ran again.
"Lucy!"
His voice echoed across the entrance.
"LUCY!!!"
The cameras continued recording.
The fans continued watching.
But Kim-Jo no longer saw any of them.
The superstar who had spent years carefully protecting his image was now running through a parking lot in tears, desperately searching for one woman.
Not a fan.
Not a manager.
Not a business partner.
Not someone who could save his career.
Just Lucy.
The woman who had loved him when everything else seemed to be falling apart.
He stopped again.
His knees almost gave way.
He bent forward, breathing heavily.
His tears dropped onto the pavement.
Then he whispered the words that terrified him more than anything.
"Lucy is gone…"
He straightened slowly.
His eyes were red.
His lips trembled.
"She's really gone…"
He looked toward the dark road.
And something inside him shattered.
"LUCY!"
His scream tore through the night.
He ran again.
"LUCY!"
His voice cracked.
"PLEASE!"
He stopped.
His chest rose and fell violently.
"Come back…"
He whispered.
"Please come back."
For the first time in years, Kim-Jo didn't care who saw him cry.
He didn't care who recorded him.
He didn't care what tomorrow's newspapers would say.
Let them say he was weak.
Let them say he had lost his mind.
Let them laugh.
He would accept all of it.
Just not this.
Not losing her.
He pressed both hands against his face.
"I'm sorry…"
His voice was muffled by his palms.
"I'm so sorry, Lucy."
He lowered his hands.
"I should have told you the truth ."
A painful sob escaped him.
"I should have told you everything."
He looked up at the sky.
"God…"
His voice trembled.
"I don't want anything else."
He swallowed.
"I don't want the fame."
He shook his head.
"I don't want the career."
Another tear rolled down his cheek.
"I just want her."
His voice became almost childlike.
"I just want Lucy."
Behind him, the crowd had grown strangely quiet.
Seo Joon and Lee Dae stood several meters away.
Neither man spoke.
They simply watched their friend.
The man who had once seemed untouchable.
The man millions of people adored.
The man who had everything—
Standing alone in the middle of the night, crying for the one thing he could no longer reach.
And somewhere inside the VIP section, Mrs. Kim finally covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face.
She had wanted to protect her son.
Instead, she had helped break his heart.
Kim-Jo looked around one last time.
"Lucy…"
His voice was barely a whisper.
Then he screamed her name again.
"LUCY!!!"
And this time, the only answer that came back was the cold silence of the night.