혼자 걷는 새

A two-billion-won debt left by her mother.

She thought everything was over.

“How long should I borrow for?”

That was until a man, who claimed to be the brother of the loan shark, made her an offer.

“I’ll extend the repayment period to three years, and provide you with a place to stay during that time.”

Three years of living together, with no strings attached.

All he wanted was for her to stay by his side.

“Lee Seok, you’re not going to pay off my debt, are you?”

But he was too perfect a man not to fall in love with.

To the point where she almost forgot that their relationship was doomed from the start.

So, she harbored a foolish hope.

Lee Seok gently rubbed her cheek, smiling playfully, just like Yeowon always did.

“Your debt is your debt, Yeowon.”

***

“You betrayed me for money, and now you’re saying you don’t care about it anymore?”

“…I, I don’t like you. I don’t like this at all.”

At her words, Lee Seok looked at her with a pained expression, as if someone had reopened an old wound.

With a face that was half-smiling, half-crying, he spoke in a fragile voice.

“You’ve always been out of sync with my thoughts.

From the beginning… from the very start…

You’ve messed up my thoughts, my gaze, my plans.

Everything’s become a mess.

It’s really unbearable, how much you’ve shaken me, how you’ve broken me like this…”