📍 Unknown Location – Kai Wen's Room
The room was covered in photographs.
Old school pictures.
Yearbooks.
Newspaper clippings.
Pictures of Jiho and Kiara.
Pictures of their parents.
Kai Wen sat alone in front of the board.
His eyes stopped on one photograph.
Five teenagers.
Smiling brightly.
Hana.
Miho.
Thomes.
Lee Minseok.
Kai Wen.
For a moment...
The years disappeared.
🔙 Flashback – High School
A young Kai Wen sat alone in the classroom.
Quiet.
Introverted.
Always reading.
Never joining conversations.
At lunch, students gathered in groups.
Kai Wen always sat by himself.
One day—
A lunch tray appeared in front of him.
He looked up.
Hana.
Bright smile.
Hana: "Why are you always alone?"
Kai Wen: "I like being alone."
Hana: "No, you don't."
She sat down anyway.
Kai Wen blinked.
Confused.
That was the first time someone sat beside him.
And after that...
She kept doing it.
🌸 Another Day
The class was preparing for a festival.
Everyone was choosing teams.
Kai Wen stayed silent.
As usual.
Thomes, Miho, and Minseok were already planning together.
Hana noticed him standing alone.
Hana: "Kai Wen."
Kai Wen: "Hm?"
Hana: "You're with us."
Kai Wen: "I don't know anything about festivals."
Hana laughed.
Hana: "Good."
Kai Wen: "What?"
Hana: "We don't know anything either."
Everyone laughed.
Even Kai Wen smiled.
A little.
For the first time.
🌸 Years Passing
The five became friends.
They studied together.
Ate together.
Went on trips together.
Shared dreams together.
But...
Kai Wen slowly noticed something.
Whenever plans were made—
Sometimes they forgot him.
Not intentionally.
Just naturally.
Thomes: "Let's go!"
Minseok: "Hurry!"
Miho: "We'll be late!"
The three would run ahead.
Kai Wen would be left behind.
Only for a moment.
But Hana always noticed.
Every single time.
Hana: "Kai Wen!"
He looked up.
Hana waved.
Hana: "Come on!"
Then she would wait for him.
Every time.
Every single time.
And slowly...
Kai Wen fell in love.
đź’” The Day Everything Changed
One afternoon.
Kai Wen was searching for a book near the school garden.
Then he heard voices.
Hana and Miho.
He stopped.
Miho: "So..."
Hana: "What?"
Miho smiled.
Miho: "Thomes likes you."
Hana froze.
Hana: "What?"
Miho: "Everyone knows."
Hana laughed awkwardly.
Hana: "I don't know."
Miho: "His feelings are sincere."
Hana looked away.
Thinking.
Miho nudged her shoulder.
Miho: "And what about you?"
Long silence.
Then—
Hana smiled softly.
A smile Kai Wen had never seen before.
Hana:
"I think..."
"I like him too."
Kai Wen froze.
The world suddenly became silent.
Everything after that sounded distant.
Like he was underwater.
He slowly stepped backward.
Then walked away.
Alone.
He never heard the rest of the conversation.
He never heard Hana continue.
Hana: "But I'm scared."
Miho: "Why?"
Hana: "Because I don't want to lose our friendship."
Kai Wen never heard those words.
He only heard one thing.
"I like him too."
And that was enough.
đź’” After That
Nothing changed.
At least for everyone else.
The group remained friends.
They laughed.
Studied.
Graduated.
But Kai Wen was different.
Every smile from Hana hurt.
Every moment between Hana and Thomes hurt.
And every time she included him...
It hurt the most.
Because she was kind.
Not in love.
🌧 Back to Present
Kai Wen stared at the old photograph.
His fingers trembled slightly.
Kai Wen:
"You always chose him."
His eyes moved to Hana's smiling face.
Kai Wen:
"And I spent years pretending it didn't matter."
He looked at the board.
The photos.
The rumors.
The secrets.
The lives built after he was left behind.
Kai Wen whispered softly:
"You all moved on."
A bitter smile appeared.
"But I never did."
His eyes darkened.
For the first time...
There was no regret.
Only obsession.
Kai Wen:
"If I can't go back..."
"Then none of you get to forget."
The room fell silent.
Kai Wen stared at Hana's photograph.
Years had passed.
But to him...
Nothing had changed.
His fingers brushed over the old picture.
A young Hana smiling brightly.
The same smile he had never forgotten.
Kai Wen laughed bitterly.
Kai Wen: "Look at you, Hana."
His eyes filled with sadness.
Kai Wen: "You chose him."
He looked at a photo of Hana and Thomes after their marriage.
Kai Wen: "And what did you get?"
Another photograph.
Hana standing alone at a company event.
Kai Wen: "You spent years alone."
Another photo.
A newspaper article about the divorce.
Kai Wen: "Your marriage collapsed."
His voice softened.
Almost gentle.
Kai Wen:
"You gave everything to him."
"You gave him your love."
"Your dreams."
"Your empire."
"And in the end..."
"What did he give you?"
Silence.
Kai Wen stared at her picture.
As if she could answer.
Then his expression changed.
The sadness slowly became obsession.
Kai Wen:
"They all think I'm the villain."
A smile appeared.
Small.
Unstable.
Kai Wen:
"But I understand you better than anyone."
He stood up.
Walking toward the board filled with photos.
Jiho.
Kiara.
Their families.
The rumors.
The scandals.
Everything connected.
Kai Wen looked directly at Kiara's photo.
Kai Wen:
"You're just like your mother."
"So stubborn."
"So willing to sacrifice yourself for love."
His eyes darkened.
Kai Wen:
"No."
"I won't let history repeat itself."
He picked up a photograph of Jiho and Kiara together.
Kai Wen:
"I won't let you make the same mistake Hana made."
His grip tightened.
Kai Wen:
"I won't let Jiho and Kiara be together."
A dangerous silence filled the room.
Then he smiled.
Not the smile of a friend.
Not the smile of a teacher.
The smile of someone who had convinced himself he was right.
Kai Wen:
"No matter what happens now..."
"I'll protect you."
"Even if you hate me for it."
The photograph bent slightly in his hand.
Kai Wen whispered:
"I should have been the one beside her."
"And this time..."
"I won't lose again."