Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Betrayal

Kim Namjoon stood at the balcony, the city lights a blur as they reflected the chaos in his mind. The air around him was still, but inside, everything felt like a storm. His hand tightened around the railing, knuckles white, as he tried to control the sudden surge of emotions that rose in his chest.

She was gone.

And with her departure, came the truth—a truth that had been buried under lies and deceit for far too long.

He could still hear her voice from just moments ago, like an echo in his mind: "I'm sorry, Namjoon, but I can't do this anymore." The finality in her words still cut deeper than anything he could have ever imagined. How could this be happening? They had built something together, hadn't they?

He shook his head, trying to shake the confusion away. Why? He had done everything for her. He had been there through every high, every low. He had been loyal, trusting, loving, giving... everything. But it wasn't enough.

The door creaked open behind him, and he didn't need to turn around to know she was there. Her presence in the room was suffocating, but he couldn't escape it.

"Namjoon," she said softly, but it only made the air between them heavier. Her voice held the weight of something worse than just a simple goodbye.

"I don't understand," Namjoon whispered, his voice cracking. "Why? After everything, why now?" His heart thudded painfully in his chest, the questions spilling from his lips without filter.

She hesitated, her steps slow as she crossed the room toward him. But instead of standing beside him, she kept her distance. Namjoon could feel her reluctance, her hesitation, and it made him feel sick.

"I didn't want you to find out this way, but…" She stopped, her voice faltering. "Namjoon, I've been seeing someone else."

The words were like a punch to the gut. Namjoon froze, unable to breathe. He turned to face her, his eyes wide with disbelief. What? He thought he had misheard, but the expression on her face told him it was the cruel truth.

"You… what?" Namjoon's voice barely escaped his lips, hoarse with emotion. He took a step back as if the words themselves had physically shoved him. "For how long?"

Her eyes fell to the floor. "A year... Namjoon, I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did."

A year.

The weight of the revelation hit him all at once, suffocating him. His chest felt tight, and his vision blurred with the overwhelming rush of emotion. She had been lying to him all along. All the time he thought they were building something solid, she had been secretly seeing another man. His mind raced—How did I not see this? He had been so blind.

"How could you do this to me?" Namjoon's voice was barely a whisper, but it carried all the hurt he was feeling. "I gave you everything, and this is how you repay me?"

Her eyes welled with tears, but there was no turning back now. "I'm sorry, Namjoon. I never meant to hurt you, but I've fallen for him. I don't love you anymore."

He felt like the ground was slipping beneath him. Everything he thought he knew about her, everything he thought he had with her, had all been a lie. The love, the trust—betrayed for another man, for a year.

"I didn't want this to be the way we ended, but…" She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Namjoon took a shaky breath, but the lump in his throat made it impossible to speak. He felt betrayed—not just by her actions, but by his own foolishness for not seeing the signs earlier. How had he missed this? How had he not noticed the late nights, the sudden coldness, the way she stopped sharing small details with him like she used to? It had been there. It had all been right in front of him.

His mind screamed at him: How could I have been so stupid?

"You've been lying to me for a year, and you thought you could just walk away like this?" His voice cracked as he turned away from her, the anger and pain flooding through him. "You weren't honest with me, not even once."

There was a long silence, the air thick with tension. She looked away, clearly avoiding his gaze.

"I—I'm sorry, Namjoon," she said, almost in a whisper, as if her apology could somehow erase the damage she'd caused. "I didn't want this to happen, but it did. It just did."

He stood there, unable to speak, unable to move. Her words only stung more as he realized there was no easy answer, no way to undo the hurt she had caused.

She took a step towards her bag, pulling it from the corner of the room. "I'm leaving now. I've made my decision."

Namjoon couldn't stop her, couldn't even bring himself to try. What was the point? What could he possibly say now that would make a difference?

She was already walking toward the door, suitcase in hand.

"You know, Namjoon," she said coldly, her voice cutting through the silence like a sharp blade, "you never really understood what I needed. You were always so focused on your work, on your own world, that you never noticed when I started slipping away."

Her words stung, but they weren't new to him. He had been so wrapped up in his own world, his ambitions, and his dreams that he had never truly seen the distance growing between them. But hearing her say it out loud made it real. It made it feel final.

"You were never enough for me, Namjoon," she finished, her voice unwavering, and with that, she walked out the door.

Namjoon stood there, frozen in place. The emptiness that followed her departure felt like a gaping wound in his chest, one that would take a long time to heal, if it ever did.

Everything he thought he knew about her, about them, was a lie. She had been seeing someone else for a year, and he had never suspected. The truth hit him like a ton of bricks, leaving him stunned and shattered. He didn't feel anger, not yet. He just felt small, foolish, and heartbroken, as though the ground beneath him had disappeared.

She was gone, and with her departure, all that was left was the cold echo of her betrayal.

But as the silence stretched on, something inside him began to stir. A cold fire ignited in his chest. He had given her everything, trusted her completely—and this was how she repaid him? No, she wouldn't walk away without consequences. He wouldn't let her get away with it.

He would make her regret ever betraying him. He didn't know how, but he would find a way to make her feel the weight of her lies. No longer the victim of her deceit, he would take control, and she would learn what it felt like to lose everything.