I thought that day would be just another peaceful one.
The warm scent of freshly brewed coffee and toasted bread filled the room as I prepared my breakfast. I picked up my phone to check the latest news that had come up while I was asleep.
At least, I believed everything was normal—until I read the headlines that dominated the real-time search rankings.
“What... What is this?”
JM Group heir Park Jimin spotted on a romantic date with a mysterious woman.
Cheating scandal? JM Group heir caught seeing another woman despite engagement.
Were JM Group's Park Jimin and YJ Group's Lee Yeo-joo nothing more than a show couple?
The moment I saw the headlines that I couldn’t believe even with my own eyes, I froze. My coffee cup slipped from my trembling hand and crashed onto the floor.
With a sharp shatter, the hot liquid splashed onto my leg, but I didn’t even flinch. I was too focused on reading the articles one by one, my hands shaking. I ignored the dozens of messages piling up on my phone and immediately dialed the number saved as speed dial 1—my fiancé.
Or rather, I tried to call him.
Ring, ring—
My phone buzzed with an incoming call. It was my mother. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and answered in the most composed voice I could manage.
“Mom...”
“I won’t say much. Come to my private office at the company immediately. Jimin’s already been called in. There’ll be reporters outside, so dress in dark, formal clothes.”
And with that, she hung up without another word.
She must’ve been furious. Without even cleaning up the broken cup and spilled coffee, I rushed to get ready.
Click, click—
The white flashes of cameras fired endlessly.
With a cold, expressionless face, I bowed politely a few times to the reporters calling out to me, then headed straight into the building.
They bombarded me with questions:
"How do you feel?"
"Did you know beforehand?"
"What happens to the engagement now?"
"Is the affair real?"
I calmly repeated one answer:
“I have no comment at this time.”
I pressed the elevator button for the CEO’s floor, where my mother’s office was. As the numbers ticked upward, I sighed softly. Everything already felt exhausting.
Inside, Park Jimin was already seated on the sofa, staring at the floor. My mother stood by the glass window, overlooking the sea of reporters below. When I entered, she turned, looked at me briefly, then fixed her icy gaze on Jimin.
“No excuses. Park Jimin, I’m deeply disappointed in you.”
“I’m sorry. I promise to be more careful from now on...”
“That won’t be necessary. There’s no ‘next time.’ Scolding you further will only worsen relations between our companies. This is over.”
Jimin looked up in shock.
“What... What do you mean?”
“You brought shame to our group. Did you really think we’d continue the engagement after this scandal? The decision has already been made with JM Group. We’re announcing that the engagement ended before your relationship news broke. It’ll protect both of our images.”
“It’s over. You may leave.”
Jimin sprang to his feet.
“No, this can’t be! This isn’t right!”
But my mother didn’t spare him a glance. He staggered toward the door, then paused and looked at me with pleading eyes. But I kept the same firm expression I had shown the press. I couldn’t afford to show weakness.
Fifteen years of engagement—gone in a single morning. As the door closed behind Jimin, our memories flashed through my mind. Though my face stayed composed, tears spilled uncontrollably. I quickly wiped them away. I couldn’t afford to appear vulnerable—not here.
My mother handed me a plane ticket.
“Go to the U.S. for a while. Let the rumors die down. While you’re there, forget about Park Jimin.”
I took the ticket in silence, nodding faintly after composing myself, and left the office.
“Yeo-joo….”
I had spent a long time calming down inside. It was a good decision.
As I stepped out, Jimin—who had apparently waited all that time—approached me immediately.
If he had seen me crying, it would have been far more humiliating. He was, after all, the man who cheated on me.
I glared at him coldly.
“It’s not what it looks like, Yeo-joo, I—”
“I have nothing to say to you. And I don’t want to hear anything from you, either. Don’t talk to me again.”
As I turned to walk away, Jimin grabbed my wrist desperately.
That moment of weakness in his trembling voice—had he not held me back, I might’ve faltered.
But instead, I harshly pulled away, keeping my eyes forward and my steps firm.
“Yeo-joo~! Haha...”From childhood to now, his smile had always been warm. Even blurred by tears, I could still see it in my mind.
But this was it.
This was our final goodbye.