Seo Hana stood outside the massive glass doors of Kang Corporation's legal department, her hands trembling.
She'd read the documents twice.Once as the scared, broken girl who had nothing.And again as the heiress who could finally take back everything stolen from her.
But no matter how many times she tried, the ink still bled into confusion.
"Sign it, Hana," Mrs. Kang's voice echoed in her head, soft but firm.
This was it.The marriage contract.A deal dressed in silk and promises—but beneath the surface, it was nothing more than a chain.
She bit her lip hard enough to taste blood.
Was she trading one cage for another?
Suddenly, the doors behind her pushed open.Kang Joon-Hyuk stepped out, his tie loosened, his gaze burning holes into her.
"You're still here?"His tone was cold. Tired. As if this decision meant nothing to him.
But Hana caught the flicker of hesitation in his eyes.That subtle crack in his armor.
"I can't decide," she whispered, clutching the pen so tightly it hurt.
Joon-Hyuk let out a sharp breath, his patience thinning."Then don't. Walk away. No one's forcing you."
That wasn't true and they both knew it.
Their families, the ghosts of their pasts—they were all watching from the shadows, suffocating them with expectations.
"I'm not like you," Hana spat, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. "You think you can just do whatever you want. Say yes to your mother. Sign papers like they mean nothing."
He froze.
"Don't pretend you understand me," Joon-Hyuk shot back, his voice lower, more dangerous.
Hana stepped forward, ignoring the fear twisting inside her.
"Then explain it to me, Kang Joon-Hyuk. Explain why you keep pushing me into this corner. Why you act like you don't care, but you're always there—saving me."
For a heartbeat, the air between them crackled.
He didn't answer.
And that silence… hurt more than words.
Hana turned on her heel, the marriage papers slipping from her hand, fluttering to the ground like a white flag of surrender.
"I'm done waiting for you to figure out what you want, Joon-Hyuk."
She walked away, leaving him alone with the unsigned contract.
But what neither of them saw… was the figure watching from the shadows.
A man in a tailored suit, holding a photo of Hana's late father.
Smiling.
Waiting.