Certainly. Here is Chapter 7 written in a deeply
Chapter 8 : Shadows Between Us
The house felt different that morning.
Brighter, maybe. Louder, definitely.
Yeri noticed it the moment she stepped into the hallway. The sound of laughter—light, familiar, belonging to someone who wasn't a stranger here.
But she was. Still.
She tugged her cardigan tighter around her shoulders, the sling finally gone but her arm still sore.
The stitches were out. The bruises were fading.
But some aches weren't so visible.
Downstairs, the laughter got closer.
And then she saw her.
Tall. Confident. Eyes like she owned the room.
Her ponytail swung like something out of a movie.
And Yunjun—he was smiling in a way Yeri hadn't seen in weeks. A real smile.
"Sia," he said, his voice softer than she was used to hearing. "It's been too long."
The woman's arms were around him in a second. He didn't pull away.
Yeri stood frozen at the top of the stairs.
Then Sia turned slightly, spotting her.
"Oh," she said, grinning. "Is this her?"
Yunjun followed her gaze and his face changed—only slightly, but enough.
"This is Yeri," he said. "Yeri, this is Sia. She's… an old friend."
Sia tilted her head, eyeing Yeri like she was trying to solve a puzzle she already knew the answer to.
"You're even prettier than he described."
Yeri blinked. "He didn't describe me."
Sia laughed, smooth and unbothered. "Not with words, maybe."
Yeri offered a tight smile and turned before either of them could say more.
She didn't know why it bothered her.
It wasn't like she had any claim over Yunjun.
He wasn't hers. Not really. Not ever.
But still… that smile. That ease.
It was everything she'd been trying to find with him, and here it was—given freely to someone else.
She wandered into the garden. Sat beneath the same tree where she'd once overheard Soojin yelling into her phone.
Funny. That day had felt like the worst of it.
Now it felt almost simple.
Inside, Yunjun watched her go, a line forming between his brows.
"Did I say something wrong?" he asked quietly.
Sia plopped down onto the couch, kicking off her heels. "I think you forget how hard it is to feel like the outsider."
"She's not an outsider."
Sia raised an eyebrow. "She thinks she is."
Yunjun sighed. "She's… complicated."
"You love her?"
He hesitated. Too long.
"I care about her," he said finally.
Sia shook her head. "I didn't ask that."
That night, dinner was quiet. Too quiet.
Yeri kept her eyes on her plate. Soojin had said nothing all evening—just moved with the efficiency of someone still trying to disappear into guilt.
Yunjun tried to make conversation, but the warmth was gone from his voice.
Sia filled in the blanks with stories—about their school days, about Yunjun getting drunk off cherry soju, about a girl he once swore he'd marry at sixteen.
Yeri didn't laugh. She didn't even smile.
Finally, she stood up. "I'm done."
Yunjun looked up, surprised. "You barely ate."
"I'm not hungry."
"Yeri—"
But she was already gone.
Later, Yunjun found her in the hallway, sitting on the bench beside the window.
"Why are you avoiding me?" he asked quietly.
"I'm not."
He sat beside her. "You are. And I don't know why."
Yeri stared at the floor. Her hands were clenched in her lap.
"I just realized something," she said. "I don't belong in your world."
"What are you talking about?"
"You smile when you're with her. You laugh. You relax. You've never looked at me the way you look at her."
Yunjun blinked. "Yeri…"
"You don't have to lie," she whispered. "I'm not mad. I just… I don't want to be something you feel responsible for."
His voice was low. "Is that what you think you are to me?"
"A burden?" Her voice cracked. "Sometimes. Yeah."
He turned toward her, the words tangled in his chest.
"I didn't bring Sia here to hurt you."
"I know."
"I'm not in love with her."
Yeri looked up at him finally. Her eyes were glassy, tired. "Then what are we doing, Yunjun? Because it's starting to feel like we're stuck in the middle of something that never had a name."
Yunjun swallowed hard. "I don't know how to be good at this."
"Neither do I."
They sat in silence, the weight between them heavier than anything either had said.
Then—quietly—Yeri stood.
"I think I just need some space."
Yunjun didn't stop her. Didn't beg.
Just nodded.
As she walked away, it felt like something inside both of them cracked—but neither said a word.
Later that night, Sia found Yunjun alone in his office.
"She's hurting," she said gently.
"I know."
"She's not angry at me, you know. She's afraid of how she feels around you."
He rubbed his hands over his face. "I never wanted this to get messy."
Sia smiled softly. "Then maybe it's love."
And down the hall, Yeri stood in her room, hand against her chest like she was trying to hold something broken inside her still.
It wasn't jealousy, exactly.
It was fear.
The fear that this thing between them wasn't real.
That maybe it had always meant more to her than it ever did to him.
And that maybe—just maybe—
She was finally ready to let go.
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