PROLOGUE
I tightened my grip around my arm as I walked toward the SSG Officers' office, my fingers pressing into my skin hard enough to leave marks. The hallway felt longer than it should have, the silence stretching thin around the sound of my footsteps. My gaze drifted to the poster of student officials pinned neatly along the wall. I slowed down without meaning to, my eyes brushing over the familiar faces before forcing myself to look away again.
My breathing grew heavier the closer I got to the door.
By the time I stopped in front of it, my chest was already tight with nerves.
The office doors opened before I could knock. A girl stepped out, wearing a composed expression that didn't quite hide the irritation in her eyes. She looked annoyed—like something hadn't gone the way she wanted it to.
I quickly dropped my gaze before she caught me staring.
Maybe she had just come from him. Maybe I could ask if he was still inside.
But when I looked up again, she had already walked past me.
"Miss in the dress!" I called out before I could stop myself.
She paused mid-step and turned back, pointing lightly at her chest. "Me?"
I nodded and hurried toward her.
"Is Supremo still inside?" I asked, suddenly aware of how small my voice sounded.
She smiled easily and met my eyes. "Yes, he is. Why?"
For a moment, I forgot how to speak.
Up close, she was even more beautiful than I'd thought—perfect in a way that didn't seem entirely real. I forced myself to snap out of it before the silence stretched too long.
"I just… need to talk to him. Thank you."
"Do you want me to come with you?" she asked.
I hesitated for a second before nodding. Maybe having someone beside me would make this easier.
We talked idly about school as we walked back, though I barely processed anything she said. The moment we reached his office door, the tension I had managed to suppress came rushing back all at once.
My heartbeat pounded violently against my ribs.
My palms were damp with sweat.
"Go on," she said gently, opening the door for me.
I managed a small smile. "Thank you."
Then I stepped inside.
The air in the room felt colder somehow. Heavier. I remembered what she'd told me earlier—that the president was already in a bad mood—and swallowed against the dryness in my throat.
Each step toward his desk felt louder than the last.
There was no turning back now.
"What brings you to my office, Miss San Jose?"
His voice rolled through the room like distant thunder.
The chair turned slowly to face me. One look at his expression confirmed everything I had been warned about. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
He hated hesitation.
"If you have nothing to say," he said flatly, "you may leave."
I forced myself to breathe.
"I'm pregnant."
The words fell between us, heavier than I expected.
"I'm glad you know the rules, Miss San Jose," he replied calmly. "You are aware that your scholarship and funds will be stripped from you after this, correct?"
I frowned. "That's not what I meant."
His brows drew together slightly.
"I'm pregnant," I repeated, my voice shaking now. "And you're the one who got me pregnant."
He laughed.
Softly.
Coldly.
"Are you even sure you were a virgin when I fucked you?"
The world seemed to tilt beneath my feet.
I couldn't speak. Couldn't move.
"See?" he continued, settling back into his chair with an amused smirk. "You don't even know yourself. Many girls have come in here saying the same thing. So tell me—how exactly do you expect me to believe you?"
His words hit harder than I expected.
"But… why?" My voice trembled despite my efforts to steady it. "You promised."
"I made you feel special," he said, almost casually. "Actually, I've made a lot of girls feel special. Don't act like you didn't know what this was."
My chest tightened painfully.
"I warned you," he continued. "But you still took the risk with me and chose to believe my lies. So don't ask questions now."
He leaned back in his chair, his expression blank.
"How much do you want to make this go away?"
Something inside me snapped.
I crossed the distance between us before I could think better of it and slapped him across the face. The sound echoed sharply through the room, my own hand trembling from the impact.
In twenty years, I had never been this angry at anyone.
He didn't react.
Didn't even look surprised.
There was nothing in his eyes.
I tried to hold back the tears threatening to fall, but they slipped free anyway, blurring my vision.
"Ten thousand," I said hoarsely. "I'll leave."
If that was all I was worth to him, then I would accept it.
He reached for his wallet without hesitation and counted the amount I had asked for. Before he could say anything else, I snatched the bills from his hand and turned away, pushing the door open.
The girl from earlier was still there.
Concern flashed across her face the moment she saw me, but I avoided her gaze entirely, brushing past her even as I heard her call after me.
I didn't stop walking until I reached the fire exit.
Maybe she was next.
She certainly looked the part—elegant, composed, everything I wasn't.
A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
My dignity was already gone.
The only thing I had left—
My hand moved instinctively to my stomach, resting there despite its still-flat curve.
There was nothing to see yet.
And yet—I could feel it.
I stopped walking when I reached the fire exit, the quiet of it wrapping around me like a fragile shield. The sound of my own breathing filled the empty stairwell as I leaned back against the wall, my grip tightening around the money still clutched in my hand.
Then I remembered her.
Maybe she was the next one.
She certainly looked the part—elegant, composed, everything I wasn't. Someone who belonged in his world. Someone who would never have to beg for scraps of dignity the way I just had.
A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
At least none of the other officers had been there to witness it. My place here was already precarious enough as it was. A scholarship student with nothing to her name.
Now, even less.
My gaze dropped instinctively to my stomach, my hand moving to rest there despite its still-flat curve. There was nothing to see yet. No visible proof of what had just happened.
And yet—
It felt like everything had changed.
I made my way to the restroom to wash my face, splashing cold water against my skin until the redness in my eyes faded just enough to pass for exhaustion instead of grief. The mirror reflected someone I barely recognized—someone hollowed out by something she couldn't undo.
I left the university soon after.
The walk to the nearest 7-Eleven felt automatic, my feet moving without thought. Inside, the fluorescent lights buzzed faintly overhead as I wandered through the aisles, grabbing things without really seeing them. Chocolate syrup. Ice cream—vanilla and chocolate. Frozen fries. Ketchup. Mayonnaise.
Cup noodles.
I paused with one in my hand, staring down at the packaging.
It had always been enough before. Quick. Cheap. Familiar.
But now—
My gaze dropped again to my stomach.
Slowly, I placed it back on the shelf.
Instead, I reached for eggs. Bacon. A few packs of vegetables that cost more than I wanted them to. If I was going to do this—if I was really going to keep this child—then I couldn't afford to keep living the way I used to.
The money in my pocket felt heavier than it should have as I paid at the counter.
I'd save most of it.
I had to.
The ride back to my apartment passed in a blur. By the time I unlocked the door, the exhaustion had settled deep into my bones. I placed the groceries in the kitchen before heading to the bathroom to change into something more comfortable.
A thin house dress was enough.
No one else was there to see me anyway.
My hair went up into a loose bun as I slipped into my sandals and made my way back to the kitchen. The routine of cooking helped—if only a little—as I started with the frozen fries, the quiet hum of the stove filling the silence of the apartment.
A few minutes later, they were done.
I dumped them into a large bowl and drowned them in ketchup and mayonnaise without hesitation. The craving had been sitting at the back of my throat since earlier, sharp and insistent.
Ice cream followed soon after, scooped into another bowl and buried beneath chocolate syrup and marshmallows.
Maybe I deserved this much.
A small celebration.
It wasn't every day someone found out they were going to be a mother.
On impulse, I reached for my phone and ordered a pizza from a nearby shop. My next paycheck wasn't far off anyway.
By the time the doorbell rang, I had already set everything up in the living room.
"Enjoy your pizza, ma'am," the delivery boy said with an easy smile.
I nodded, handing over the payment as quickly as I could under the weight of his curious gaze. The door shut behind him with a soft click, sealing me back into the quiet of my apartment.
I sank onto the couch and turned on a movie, letting the noise fill the space as I ate. Fry after fry disappeared between my fingers until there were none left, leaving only the melting sweetness of the ice cream behind.
Halfway through the film, the doorbell rang again.
I clicked pause with a sigh, irritation bubbling faintly in my chest as I pushed myself up from the couch. Slipping my flip-flops back on, I made my way to the door.
But the moment I opened it—my breath caught.
It was him...