Here is Chapter 18: Hara's Ex – Jae-woon (approx. 1000 words):
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Chapter 18: Hara's Ex – Jae-woon
The limousine pulled away from the estate, its windows darkened from the world outside. Inside, silence hung thick, broken only by the occasional flicker of streetlights across Hara's pale face.
She leaned back against the leather seat, staring out the window, but her mind was far away. The evening had unravelled more than she could handle. Damian and her twin, Hena. Jae-woon, the man she thought she'd buried in her past, now back—richer, sharper, more confident than ever.
She closed her eyes. And in that instant, the memories flooded in.
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Four years ago.
The conservatory had smelled of violets and varnish. Jae-woon sat by the dusty piano, his sleeves rolled up, eyes closed as his fingers danced over the keys. Hara, seventeen and reckless, had tiptoed in through the side door of the art school, a scarf pulled low over her head to hide her identity. No one knew she came here—not her friends, not her family. Especially not Madam Seo.
Jae-woon had looked up, and his whole face had lit up with a crooked grin. "You're late," he'd teased, but she could hear the relief in his voice.
"I had to sneak past the driver," she whispered, laughing as she took a seat beside him. "Do you know how hard it is to lie to a man who thinks he's a ninja with binoculars?"
They were worlds apart—she from Seoul's most elite family, and he a scholarship student with calloused hands and dreams too big for his wallet. But in those secret hours, in that dusty old studio, she had felt like herself. Just Hara. Not a trophy. Not a pawn. Not Madam Seo's perfect daughter.
There were nights when they'd talked about running away, to Europe.
"Someday, I'll have enough," Jae-woon would say, cradling his violin like a lifeline. "Enough money. Enough courage. I'll take you far away."
She had believed him. With every stolen kiss. Every whispered promise. Every shared silence.
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But then came the day he disappeared.
She had waited at their usual spot with a packed bag and trembling hands. But he never came. Instead, it was her mother who arrived—stern, composed, and with a satisfaction in her eyes that chilled Hara to the bone.
"Forget the boy," Madam Seo had said flatly. "He knows better than to play with fire."
The next week, Hara was introduced to Damian Lee. Cold. Powerful. Calculated. A better match, her mother said. A merger of power and legacy.
And just like that, her world changed.
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Back in the present, Hara's jaw tightened.
"What a jerk," she muttered under her breath. Her fingers dug into her clutch, the diamond clasp biting into her skin. "You ran, Jae-woon. You said we'd leave together—and you ran."
But it wasn't just the betrayal that hurt her. It was what she lost in the aftermath. Her ability to love. To trust. To believe that anyone could want her—not her status, not her last name—but her.
The car slowed as they approached the Seo estate. Hara's eyes were sharp now, cold and focused.
She had fought too hard, sacrificed too much, to let her life crumble again. Hena's appearance was one thing—but Jae-woon? He was a reminder of everything she once wanted… and everything she could no longer have.
She pressed a hand to her chest.
"I won't lose Damian," she whispered to herself. "Not again. Not this time."
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Meanwhile, in a sleek hotel downtown, Jae-woon sat alone on the balcony of his suite. The city lights reflected off his wine glass, but he hadn't taken a sip.
He had seen the storm in Hara's eyes tonight. The shock, the anger, the grief.
And despite the years, the pain still lingered.
"I didn't run," he said aloud, to no one. "I was chased."
He remembered the night Madam Seo had summoned him. The cold room. Her diamond-studded fingers resting on a crystal glass of untouched wine.
"She's not your future," Madam Seo had told him. "And if you love her, you'll let her go. Or I'll make sure you disappear—along with your family's livelihood."
Back then, he didn't have power. He didn't have protection. He only had Hara—and the fear of ruining her life. So he had left. No note. No goodbye. Just silence.
But he hadn't stopped loving her.
And now, seeing her again, watching her fight for control in a world built on lies… it stirred something in him.
"Maybe I came back too late," he murmured.
But something about Hara's eyes tonight—something broken, something buried—told him the story wasn't over yet.
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At the same time, across town, Damian stood by his apartment window, watching the city breathe below. He held a photo in one hand—two baby girls in lace dresses, cradled in Madam Seo's arms.
Hena and Hara.
He thought of the girl with quiet eyes and trembling questions. The way she spoke with dignity even when she was cornered. The grief she carried with such grace.
And he thought of Hara—furious, desperate, hiding something.
The puzzle pieces were shifting. And he was going to find the truth.
No matter what it cost.