Chapter 10: Handcuffed
written in third person's pov

"Please, Younmi. Just sign the contract and let us handle you again. We can raise the offer if you want. Name your price, and I assure you-"

"Are we seriously going to debate about this again? I already said no, Ms. Lee. You can't buy me with money anymore. That might've worked before, but not now. I already learned my lesson, so tell that bastard that I don't have any plans to return to the modeling industry. And if I ever did, I swear to never step foot inside that filthy agency again."

With an annoyed sigh escaping her lips, Younmi ended the call and immediately blocked the number.

"Ugh! Stop bothering me, for fuck's sake!" She whispered under her breath, rolling her eyes as she lightly tossed her phone on the table.

"Yah, Cho Younmi! Customers are waiting outside. Faster!" Upon hearing Changbin's voice, Younmi grabbed an apron and put it on herself, rushing outside the storage room to greet the customers with a smile.

"Welcome to Seolar Café! What would you like to order, Sir?" She asked in a bright and bubbly tone as if she wasn't irritated just a while ago.

"For a minute, Miss." Jisung spoke, fixing his spectacles with one hand as he scanned the menu.

Younmi couldn't help but stare at the man in front of him, silently admiring his features.

"I'll get one strawberry and banana milkshake, please." The customer said, pausing for a few seconds before adding another order.

"And two medium-sized cake pops. The one with many sprinkles."

Younmi smiled, thinking that his choice of drink and dessert was too cute for a charismatic man like him.

"Would that be all, Sir?" She asked, and Jisung nodded, immediately paying for his order upon seeing the amount on the pole display.

"Kindly find a seat and wait for your order. I'll serve them in a while."

The two of them exchanged smiles and proceeded on what they had to do. Younmi prepared the milkshake along with the cake pops, placing them nicely on a tray afterward.

After confirming with the receipt that the order was right, she carefully carried the tray and looked for her dear customer.

Aside from taking orders and preparing them, she also had to serve them today since four of their employees couldn't make it. One was sick, the other had to attend to a personal matter, and the rest were scheduled to check their branch in Gangnam.

With too much on her plate, Younmi could only wish that all customers would treat her with kindness and respect. She will really lose it if she encounters rude and demanding customers like she does on a daily basis.

Although she has not met such customers so far, Younmi crossed paths with people she wanted to avoid the most: her old colleagues.

Refusing to have another cold war, she tried pulling her cap down to hide her face, serving Jisung, who was sitting on the table beside them instead.

"Why is Mr. Yoon so desperate to bring Cho Younmi back into the industry? Yes, she's pretty, but the way she walks isn't impressive at all. It looks so awkward because it seems like she's limping. Why did that woman become a model in the first place when she can't even walk properly, let alone decently? What a joke!"

"I know, right? I don't get why our directors always want her to be the star of big events. I can acknowledge magazines, but runways? Even average girls outside the modeling industry can do way better than her. That bitch is such a disgrace to all models out there. I wonder what made our CEO think that she's special. Even other companies are in favor of her."

"Of course, she's favored. Don't you know that she slept with them? That's the reason for that idiot's success. She wouldn't have made it if she hadn't seduced all men in the industry. Such a fucking whore."

At this point, Younmi couldn't handle her rage anymore. With her teeth gritted in anger, she grabbed the milkshake she was serving and poured it on one of her colleague's face.

"What the fuck?!!" Haeun shouted, standing up to grab the barista's hair. The next second, both of them were pulling each other's hair, shouting cuss words as they induced violence for everyone to see.

"Stop! Please!" While everyone was taking pictures and videos, Jisung and Changbin were the only ones who tried to stop them.

However, none of the girls listened. In fact, Haeun's friends joined the chaos and started hurting Younmi too.

Fortunately, the security guards came and stopped the fight, forcing Haeun and her friends to stop their assault.

Jisung, on the other hand, helped Younmi stand up. The poor girl was burning with anger, sending death glares to her old colleagues.

"You don't know what I went through, Haeun. You don't know what I went through." Younmi said with nothing but rage, leaving the scene with his cousin, Changbin, following.

Both of them went to the storage room, and that's when Younmi broke down. She cried her heart out, hitting Changbin's chest as he engulfed her in a hug.

On the other hand, the security guards warned everyone to take the videos down, dragging her old colleagues out of the café afterward.

A barista then approached Jisung and apologized about what happened, cleaning the mess and assuring him that they would serve another drink.

The young man took deep breaths, processing the intense scene that unfolded right in front of him.

He worriedly scanned the café to look for the barista who took his order a while ago, wanting to make sure if she's okay. Since she wasn't in his sight, Jisung decided to just focus on himself.

After managing to calm down, he took his phone out to surf the net as he patiently waited for his order again.

While doing so, he came across various news about Seungmin, his best friend's brother.

He kept scrolling and scrolling, seeing numerous articles that were damaging the reputation of HK's Apparel.

He was reading the articles and comments with a poker face when an Instagram notification suddenly popped up, making his eyebrows curve into a frown.

"Kang Inji?" Jisung opened his DMs, reading the messages with a confused face.

"Hey, Han! Almost a week has passed since you guys went to Korea, but Hyunjin hasn't updated me yet."

"I've been trying so hard to call him, but I can't dial the number. I also messaged him through his social media accounts, but he's not reading them."

"Please tell me he's okay. I miss my baby so much." Jisung cringed at the last sentence, immediately closing the said app.

He then went through his contacts, finding his best friend's name to give him a quick call.

"Hey, Jin! Are you busy?" He asked.

"Not really. The interview sessions just finished." Hyunjin said, answering from the other line.

"Oh, really? How did it go? Did someone meet your standards?" Jisung asked, making him smile.

"She exceeded them, Ji. Her attitude seems to align with mine, and her works are exceptional! I'm actually browsing her portfolio as we speak. I could stare at her sketches all day!"

"I'm glad you found a designer that meets your expectations, Jin! Congrats on that! Too bad I have something that will ruin your mood, though."

"And what could that be?"

"Your ex messaged me just now. She's looking for you."

"My what?!"

"Your ex, Jin! Kang Inji!" Upon hearing that, Hyunjin closed his eyes, heaving a loud, frustrated sigh.

"I didn't break up with her, you know?" He said, making Jisung's eyes widen in shock.

"No way! Are you serious?! You badly wanted to end your relationship with her, didn't you? How come you're still together? It doesn't make sense!"

"I was about to end it before coming here, Ji."

"Why didn't it end, then?"

"Because she didn't accept the fact that her behavior made me fall out of love and kept holding onto me until the very last second. She said she'll do better, that she'll change, and the same stupid crap I'd always fall for."

"You dumbass..." was all Jisung could say, shaking his head in disapproval.

"That wasn't the reason why I didn't break up with her, you idiot."

"Then what?"

Another sigh escaped Hyunjin's lips, frustrated as he answered, "Tears..."

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↻ A WEEK AGO, LAS VEGAS
written in hwang hyunjin's pov

Inji. Kang Inji.

She's been my girlfriend for almost a year now, and I have to say, our relationship was healthy-for the first few months, at least.

She was a sweet and caring girl who would always smile at me. She showered me with love and affection every day, and I honestly couldn't ask for more.

It was nice at first, but it became toxic as time passed by because she became possessive.

So possessive that I began to suffer and suffocate from her embrace.

"Kang Inji!" I half-shouted, giving death glares to my girlfriend as I walked straight to her.

"Babe, I-"

"Shut up!" I raised my voice, cutting her off before she could even say a thing, voice filled with anger and rage.

"Why did you do that to my secretary?!"

"D-did what?" She stuttered, breaking our eye contact, which fueled me even more.

"Don't play dumb, Inji! You know what I'm talking about!

"S-shh... L-lower your voice. People are staring at us." She nervously said, voice shaking in fear and embarrassment.

I gritted my teeth, grabbing her wrist as I harshly dragged her to my office.

"Hyunjin, calm down! Why are you so aggressive right now? You're hurting me!" Inji shouted as I locked the door.

I furiously took an envelope out of my pocket, showing it to my girlfriend, who only gave me a confused look.

"What's that?" She innocently asked.

"Can't you see?! It's a resignation paper! Yujin resigned this morning and reported what you've been doing to her lately!"

"Me? W-what do you mean?! I don't even-"

"Can you please?!!" I shouted in rage and frustration, cutting her off once again.

"I already checked the CCTV cameras and I saw you hitting her nonstop! You were pulling her hair, slapping her face, and throwing things at her!"

"Hyunjin, I-"

"Who gave you the right to hurt my employees, huh?! You don't even work here, for fuck's sake!"

"I- I'm sorry, okay?! She was just too close to you, and I hate it! I hate seeing other girls with you! It's driving me mad!"

"You are mad, Inji! A fucking mad psycho! Your possessiveness is too much! Most of my female employees are retiring because of you and your stupidity!"

"Stupidity? Hyunjin, I was-"

"I've had enough, Inji. I'm breaking up with you." I said in a weak and exhausted voice.

I'm tired. I'm so damn tired of this relationship already. I can't stand her attitude any longer, which leaves me with no choice.

"No, no, no! Take it back!" Inji shouted, looking at me with demanding yet pleading eyes, but I chose to ignore her.

I went out of my office, going straight to the parking lot with Inji following, crying and begging for me to stay with her.

She ran as quick as possible, hugging me tightly from behind.

"Leave me alone, Inji! You're the one who pushed me to do this." I coldly said, trying to remove her hands around my waist.

"I'm sorry!" She cried out, face buried behind my back as she tightened the hug.

"Let go." Although I said it in a stern voice, a hint of sadness and disappointment were still present.

"Kang Inji!" I warned, making her sob harder.

"W-won't you e-even ask me... why I'm l-like this? W-why my attitude s-suddenly c-changed?"

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath after hearing what she just said. "Tell me, then."

Why am I even giving her a chance to explain?

"M-my sister's boyfriend c-cheated on her w-with his co-worker. I... I g-got anxious, t-t-thinking you w-would do the same to me. T-that's why I-"

I heaved a loud sigh, cutting Inji off by turning around to face her. She was crying so hard that she couldn't even speak properly.

I don't want to admit, but it's breaking my heart.

I hate seeing and hearing someone cry like this.

"Shh..." I hushed, trying to comfort her as I hugged her back.

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I'll apologize t-to Yunjin as... well! I'll kneel and even kiss the floor if I have to!" She said, sobbing hardly on my chest.

"I- I'll d-do better, Hyunjin. I promise! I'll change... I'll bring the old Inji back... The old Inji you loved... So please..."

I can't even remember how many times she said this to me, to the point that I have no idea if she's being sincere right now or not.

"Please... Please don't break up with me. I can't bear to lose you, Hyunjin. You're all that I have."

Here I am, wiping her tears like a damn idiot.

I don't love her anymore, do I?

Tears... I hate how I'm so weak for this crap. I hate how she's using my weakness as her ultimate weapon. I hate her. I hate her so much, but why?

Why can't I leave her like this? Why does it seem like a part of me still wants her? Just why...

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↻ PRESENT TIME

"Hyun- oh my god! Hyunjin, is this really you?" I heard Inji exclaim from the other line.

I merely hummed in response, forcing myself to smile.

"Thank god, you finally called! I thought something bad happened because you weren't responding to my messages. I was worried sick!"

For the first time in a while, I heard my girlfriend's sincere and caring voice.

"I'm sorry. The long flight tired me out, and I was too busy preparing for the launching of HYUN.E's foreign branch. Some family matters had been stressing me out as well."

"Couldn't you squeeze in a bit of time for me? It won't even take you five minutes to update me if you've landed, eaten, or whatever you're doing there."

I could tell from her tone that she was upset. I'm glad it didn't sound like a bitchy complaint that I've been hearing from her for the past months, though. I guess she's really trying to bring the old Inji back, huh?

"I'm sorry, babe. I'll make sure to do so next time, but please understand that I can't do it as often as you want. I have lots of important things to do regarding my work."

"So I'm not important, huh?"

My eyebrows immediately furrowed after hearing what she said.

"Not important? When did I say so?"

"You're making it seem like your company's more important than me, Hyunjin. I hate it. I hate it so much."

Oh, god! Here she goes with that jealous and possessive attitude of hers again.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but it is. I told you how much HYUN.E meant to me before we started dating, haven't I? It is and will always be my priority over anything or anyone else, so please..."

"But I-"

"Kang Inji." I warned, cutting my girlfriend off to avoid further arguments. "Are we seriously going to fight over my company again?"

"N-no... I'm sorry." She said, softly apologizing from the other line.

I heaved a long sigh, resting my back on the swivel chair as I shut my eyes. "I have some work to finish. Save my new number. Let's talk when I'm not busy anymore."

"Sure, babe. I'll wait for your call. Don't stress yourself too much, okay? I love you." She sweetly said.

Ending the phone call just like that would be rude, so I decided to respond, reciprocating what she said.

"Love you too."

Now that lacked a bit of emotion, didn't it?