The balcony door slid open with a soft scrape. A cool breeze drifted in, brushing past the curtains and carrying with it the faint scent of the night city—distant car exhaust, blooming jasmine, and something faintly metallic.
Roy followed Sudou Hanato out onto the small balcony. The view stretched far—rooftops glowing under the streetlights, the hum of life still lingering beyond the high-rise.
Hanato reached into his jacket and pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes.
"You sure?" he asked, shaking the pack toward Roy.
Roy shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Nah. I'm riding this tipsy wave clean. No smoke to ruin the aftertaste."
Hanato chuckled, lighting one with a soft flick and an exhale of white breath into the night.
For a moment, they stood in silence. It wasn't awkward—it was the kind of quiet shared by old friends who didn't need to fill space.
But then Hanato spoke.
"You remember what I told you..... About me and Jieun?"
Roy turned slightly, cautious. "You mean... not having sex for over a year?"
Hanato nodded, took another long drag, and looked out into the city. "Yeah. That."
The ember at the end of his cigarette glowed as he spoke again, quieter this time.
"I never told you the whole truth, though. There's something else. And I honestly don't know why I'm telling you now. Maybe it's the wine. Maybe I'm just... tired of carrying it."
Roy tensed, sensing the shift in tone. He already felt like he was about to hear a secret he shouldn't be listening to, but curiosity got the better of him.
"Alright. Shoot."
Hanato glanced back toward the sliding glass door. The muffled sound of laughter from inside reassured him. He leaned in slightly, voice low.
"I think I was attracted to her mother."
Roy blinked. "What?"
"Not Jieun's real mother," Hanato clarified, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Her stepmother. She's only ten years older than Jieun. Her dad married young. Then remarried younger."
Roy's brow furrowed as he pictured her—older, sexy, with a killer smile, curves in all the right places, and that kind of scent that pulls you in without warning. She looked like the type who knew exactly what she was doing.
"Wait… are you seriously telling me—?"
"That I had an affair with her?" Hanato cut in, looking Roy dead in the eye. He felt kinda felt strangely comfortable after saying.
"Yeah. I am."
Roy stared at him, stunned. He glanced back into the apartment, where Sofia and Jieun sat chatting, completely unaware. He leaned in closer, lowering his voice.
"You're joking."
Hanato shook his head. "No. And I wish I was."
"Jesus, Hanato."
"I know." He took a long drag, exhaling through his nose.
"It wasn't planned. It wasn't like I chased her. It just... happened. Jieun had gone out of town. Her stepmom came over to drop off something. We talked. Drank. One thing led to another."
Roy ran a hand through his hair, unsure what to say. "Was it just once?"
Hanato hesitated. "More than a dozen of times."
Roy exhaled sharply. He felt this guy was something else. "What the hell, man... Does Jieun know?"
"I think she suspects something," Hanato said, his voice low. "She's been... different lately. Quiet in a way that makes you nervous. And she avoids leaving me alone with her stepmom now."
Roy shook his head slowly. "Why are you telling me this?"
Hanato looked down at his cigarette, almost as if searching for answers in the ash.
"Because I don't know what to do anymore. Because I don't even know why I did it. Was it lust? Boredom? A way to feel something when my own marriage had gone numb?"
He turned back to Roy. "Or maybe it's because I needed to feel like I still had control over something. Even if it was the wrong thing."
Roy leaned against the railing, silent. The air between them was thick with tension now, the kind that lingered after a door had been opened too far.
"I'm not here to judge you," Roy said, his voice low but steady. He knew no one was perfect—least of all himself. Everyone had their mess, their secrets. He looked out into the distance, the city lights flickering in his eyes, then finally spoke again.
"But you need to figure out what the hell you're doing, man. Do you love Jieun?"
Hanato didn't answer right away.
"I do. I think I do. But sometimes… I feel like I've already broken something I can't fix. And the worst part is, I still want to keep seeing her."
Behind them, laughter rose again, soft and innocent, from inside the apartment.
Roy looked back through the glass at Sofia's smiling face. For a brief moment, he wondered how thin the walls between people really were—between love and betrayal, trust and silence.
Hanato flicked the ash from his cigarette and said quietly, "Thanks for listening. I don't expect forgiveness. I just... needed someone to know."
Roy nodded slowly, his stomach uneasy—not from the wine, but from the weight of what had just been shared.
As the night deepened, neither man spoke again for a while.
Park Jieun and Sofia sat curled into the couch, their glasses nearly empty.
Their laughter had faded into giggles, and now into the hush of two women feeling the wine settle deeper into their skin—and their truth.
Outside, through the sliding glass doors, Roy leaned on the railing beside Hanato, who lit a cigarette and stared out into the night sky.
But inside, something was shifting.
"Let's play a game," Jieun said feel tipsy suddenly, a lazy grin stretching across her lips. "Not a drinking game, just a talking one."
Sofia cocked an eyebrow. "I don't trust you when you say that."
Park Jieun giggled. "No, really. It's simple. Say something crazy you've done. Something no one else knows."
Sofia made a face. "You first."
Park Jieun hummed, swirling the last drops in her glass.
"Okay… one time in college, I got so high at an art show that I mistook a fire extinguisher display for a performance piece—and gave it a standing ovation."
Sofia snorted. "That's just embarrassing."
"I said crazy, not glamorous," Park Jieun said, grinning. "Your turn."
Sofia thought for a second. "I once got into a screaming match with a swan at a lake. I was heartbroken and drunk, and it stole my sandwich."
They both broke into laughter, the kind that shook their shoulders and left tears in their eyes.
"I love that we're so messed up," Sofia gasped between giggles.
"Speak for yourself," Jieun said, wiping her eyes.
"I'm an elegant mess."
There was a beat of silence, warm and open.
Then Sofia tilted her head, her smile dimming.
"Okay. Real crazy now?"
Jieun eyed her warily. "Oh god. Here we go."
Sofia's gaze dropped to her glass. "I had a threesome. With Roy and Samantha."
The air flattened between them.
Park Jieun blinked. "What?"