The Lost Deal

Kim Seulgi POV :

I can feel my patience slipping away.....

I can see Seoul Station ahead, but instead of relief, a wave of panic begins to settle in. I need to get there, but there is no time for either. My car comes to a stop near the station. Before I can think twice, I open the door and step out, my mind focused on only one thing.

PARI.

I check my phone.

Only fifteen minutes

remain before the train leaves for Busan.

I glance toward the side and back of my car. A few black cars are approaching. Then I look at my driver. He is already coming after me, probably trying to stop me.

But I don't want to waste this chance...not this time. I leave everything behind and run.

I run as fast as I can, holding on to the faint hope that I will reach the right platform in time—that I will find her before she disappears from my life again.

I rush from one platform to another, but my hope begins to fade with every passing second. The tension inside me grows unbearable.

“PARI!” I shout.

No response.

I keep running, refusing to slow down. I reach the last platform with my hope almost broken, my hair dishevelled and my breathing uneven.

Then the station announcement echoes through the air.

Ten minutes remaining.

I grip the railing as I make my way towards the stairs, breathing heavily. People turn to look at me.

For a moment, I must look exactly like what I feel like—

a lost child desperately searching for someone who means everything to her.

I’m lost. The tension is overwhelming, and my weak body can barely bear the pain. My eyes wander from one stranger’s face to another, but hers is nowhere to be seen. I’ve lost all hope, and I’m about to give up.

Then my heart stops.

I smile..

A faint spark of hope returning. I start looking around, but instead of leaving Seoul without me, my steps slowly turn toward her.

I see her.

“PARI!”

But she doesn’t hear me.

For a moment, I think I’m imagining things. She is standing there, but she looks completely different from before. There is a strange expression on her face—something distant, almost unfamiliar.

My smile fades.

But I ignore every negative thought.

I rush toward her...carefully removing the AirPods from her ears before pulling her into my arms, holding her as though letting go would mean losing her all over again.

“Pari… please, please don’t leave me.”

I’m just about to continue when...

suddenly

she pushes me away so hard that I fall onto the floor of the platform.

I stare at her in shock. It’s hard for me to believe what has just happened. For a moment, I can only look at her.

Then she look at me with a cold expression.

My eyes are filled with tears....and my voice...It has already turned into a cry.

Her cold expression hit me harder than I expect.

I feel the tears roll down my cheeks, and seeing her like this—so different from the person I remember—leaves me completely stunned.

“I’m sorry for what I said before, and for everything that happened today. What happened to you?”

I look at her, confused.

“Why?”

She wipes her tears and says,

“You are asking me " Why" Miss Kim huh?...tell me why are you acting like you’re so innocent? just shut up, you spoiled brat. You’re nothing but a filthy little—”

I freeze...my expression changes instantly.

“I hate you. You’re just a stupid—”

Her words continue, each one cutting deeper than the last.

“From now on, you are no one to me.”

I’m in shock. My heart feels completely broken. My inner voice is continuously asking me...

Why?

What happened to Pari?

Why is she hurting me with these words?

Why?

The moment seems to stop for us.

For once, my eyes don’t leave hers.

But this time, her eyes are filled with hatred.

For me?

Seriously?

Why?

The silence break...

When the last horn of the train comes out, my mind snaps back to reality. I'm sitting there in shock, overwhelmed by everything that has just happened.

I say, “Pari, what did I do? What happened?”

I try to hold back my emotions, but my eyes fill with tears. I look at her, desperately searching for an explanation. She snatches her hand away and pushes my hand from the floor of the station.

I’m still sitting there, staring at her.

I look toward the train.

“Pari?”

The doors close.

She doesn’t look at me even once.

Her back is the only thing I can see as she walks away, her short hair and long black coat moving with every step.

I struggle to stand.

The train is leaving.

I stand up and start running alongside the train, beyond the yellow line, calling her name.

“Pari for the last time please"

The train begins to pick up speed, carrying her farther away from me with every passing second. I reach desperately toward the closing glass door, trying to get her attention, but it is already too late.

“Pari, wait!”

I keep running for as long as I can, my voice breaking as I call her name again and again. My feelings are playing with fire, and my obsession has reached its breaking point. The train moves slowly, but she still doesn’t look back at me for once.

I run after the train as fast as I can, but it is already pulling away. I keep calling her name, hoping that just once, she will look at me.

But she doesn’t.

The train disappears, leaving me behind on the platform.

I finally stop.

My legs give way, and I sink to my knees.

I break down, overwhelmed by everything I’m feeling. My face burns with tears, and my thoughts become impossible to control. I remember her yesterday—the light in her eyes, the warmth in her smile.

And now…

I can’t understand what happened. I try to pull myself together, but the tears keep coming.

People around me begin to notice, but I barely register their presence. I’m too lost in my own thoughts.

My mind keeps returning to the same question.

What happened to her?

I look at the empty tracks and then at the platform where she had been standing only moments ago.

My eyes are red and swollen.

I open my mouth, struggling to breathe steadily, and whisper gently the last word that remains in my heart.

“Pari…”