Chapter Twenty-Two – Eyes That Still Burn
(Amara’s POV)
It was like the world stopped the moment she saw him.
Joon-Ho.
He wasn’t just walking across campus anymore—he was arriving. The whispers followed him like a shadow, his name on everyone’s lips. “The heir.” “Daehan’s son.” “Rich boy.” Words that didn’t fit the quiet boy she had once met in the library, the boy who had made her laugh with small talk about music and Seoul traffic.
Her chest tightened as she watched him pass by, tall and unreadable, dressed in a way that suddenly looked sharper, more deliberate than before. The same face, impossibly handsome, but no longer the boy she thought she knew.
He looked untouchable.
And yet her heart betrayed her. It stuttered, raced, then clenched with anger. Weeks. Weeks of silence, of unanswered questions, of her lying awake thinking about the feel of his lips, the weight of his body against hers, the way he had left her without a word.
And now here he was, pretending she didn’t exist.
When their eyes met across the courtyard, Amara froze. Her books nearly slipped from her hands, her breath caught in her throat. For one wild, impossible second, it was like nothing had changed—the library, the party, the way he had whispered her name.
But then his gaze shifted, a mask sliding over his face, and he walked right past her.
Her roommate touched her arm. “Amara, are you okay?”
She forced a smile, but her voice trembled. “I’m fine.”
Fine. A lie.
Because inside, everything burned.
That night, she lay awake, staring at the ceiling. The university dorm room was quiet except for her roommate’s soft breathing, but her mind was anything but.
Why did you ignore me?
Why didn’t you say goodbye?
Why come back now, acting like you don’t know me?
Every question tore at her, leaving behind something raw and bitter. She hated him for it. She hated how easily he could avoid her gaze, how quickly he could step into this new role as if she had never mattered.
And yet, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
His eyes, his voice, the way he had looked at her that night like she was the only girl in the world.
Her chest ached with confusion, anger, longing, all tangled in a knot she didn’t know how to untie. She told herself she needed to move on. That Daniel, with his kind smile and steady attention, was safer. That her pride was worth more than chasing after a boy who didn’t want to be found.
But deep down, Amara knew the truth.
She wasn’t ready to let go of Joon-Ho. Not yet.
