The silence in the kitchen was shattered by the raw honesty in Rinwoo's voice. He turned off the water and finally turned to face Taekyun, his expression no longer neutral, but etched with a cold, painful clarity.
"How could I forget my past?" he said, his voice low and steady. "I pretended not to know you because I didn't want Jihoon to know anything about us. There is no 'us' anymore."
Taekyun flinched as if struck, but he absorbed the blow with a slow, resigned nod. The confirmation was a pain he had expected, but hearing it was a different kind of agony. He straightened his posture, a flicker of his old dignity returning to mask his devastation.
"I see," he whispered. "I'm... glad you're happy now. Truly." He meant it. The sight of a vibrant, healthy Rinwoo was worth any amount of his own suffering. "I should leave now."
