〈 Chapter 1 〉

 

The End of a Dominant-Submissive Relationship.

 

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In the last video, I got a lot of questions like this: ‘How do I become the one in control in a relationship?’ ‘What’s the secret to not being the submissive one?’

In other words, it seems like many of you want to be the dominant partner in your relationships.

On the screen, a relationship coach on MewTube, on the verge of hitting 500k subscribers, was reeling viewers in with a plausible-sounding topic.

Could this man, famed for his deep understanding of women’s psychology, offer a solution to Si-hyeon’s own pathetic romantic life?

Si-hyeon leaned toward the speakers, filled with anticipation.

First of all, it’s perfectly natural for a power imbalance to form between partners. Why? Because the level of affection each person feels is different.

One person can’t live without the other, while the other wouldn’t care less if they broke up. So what happens then? The desperate one is the one who clings, right?”

And the one who clings is the submissive one.

The description of the submissive one felt uncannily like a mirror held up to Si-hyeon.

The submissive one craves affection from the one with the upper hand and devotes themselves completely. But that actually poisons the relationship. In simple terms… It makes you look like an easy guy.

Pausing the video momentarily, he recalled his usual dynamic with Chae-yeon.

‘How is that my fault? I didn’t do anything wrong.’

She never apologized to anyone.

‘Mind your own business. You know you’ve been getting a bit too cocky lately, right?’

She always stood in the dominant position, looking down on him.

‘If you don’t like me, then break up. I don’t get how you can date me when you have so many damn complaints.’

A girlfriend who uses the threat of a breakup at the drop of a hat. Im Chae-yeon.

Her behavior, which he had previously dismissed as no big deal, had recently begun to weigh on him as a source of intense stress.

‘Why is she even dating me?’

He wondered if Chae-yeon—who spoke of breaking up as habitually as she breathed—even liked him at all. Her overbearing attitude made him skeptical about the whole relationship.

It was this realization—that things couldn’t go on like this—that had led him to seek out relationship advice videos of his own accord.

Tap.

The video resumed.

The continuous devotion of the submissive partner only makes the dominant partner more selfish. ‘I’m the one who messed up, yet he’s the one walking on eggshells?’ ‘He’ll do whatever I say with just one word.’ The submissive partner’s slave-like attitude makes the dominant partner arrogant. That’s the point.

‘I’m the one who made Chaeyeon that way?’

The thought that the very things he did to sustain the relationship and be loved had actually ended up ruining her…

The fact that it was a problem whether he treated her well or poorly sent Si-hyeon’s mind into a chaotic whirl.

‘I can’t let this go on.’

This hierarchy had to end.

Si-hyeon decided that if they were to ever have a healthy relationship, they needed to have an honest, heart-to-heart talk.

With that, he opened his social media app and tapped on Chae-yeon’s profile.

Me: Chae-yeon, are you having fun hanging out with your friends? (1)

Me: I sent you some spending money to your account, so use that to buy something tasty with them. While you’re at it, brag about your boyfriend too, haha (1)

Me: I love you ♡ (1)

Messages overflowing with affection.

Even just reading them, you could feel the warmth behind his words, but having gone unread for three hours, the messages had already gone cold.

Me: I have something to tell you. Text me after you’re done hanging out with your friends. (1)

Me: I’ll be waiting. (1)

Letting out a sigh, he sent one last message and turned off the screen.

Rrrk.

To clear his head, he opened the window. Though it was summer, the cool night air slowly dried the sweat beading on his forehead.

“Haah…”

The refreshing feeling washed over him. Leaning against the wall, Si-hyeon stared out at the night view fractured by the window screen.

Moths and various insects clung to the mesh, partially blocking his view, but the lights from the surrounding buildings still painted a dazzling scene.

‘How should I talk to Chae-yeon about this?’

Should he ask her to treat him with a little more care?

That he want them to exchange expressions of love, just like other couples?

Regardless of how he phrased it, given how Chae-yeon usually talks and acts, he figured a positive response was unlikely.

‘Just once… I want to hear her say she likes me.’

Had his goals sunk that low because he’d spent so long as the submissive one? Si-hyeon scoffed at his own modest wish in a hollow voice.

He was looking out at the scenery, trying to soothe his complicated feelings, when suddenly…

Ka-tok!

A notification blared from the speakers, which he’d left on maximum volume.

He’d assumed it was a reply from Chae-yeon, but when he opened the app the message was from a friend from high school instead.

Friend: [Photo]

‘Did he send some dumb meme or something?’

Contrary to Si-hyeon’s expectation, what his friend had sent was a photo of a moody, atmospheric bar.

Tap.

Curious, he opened and zoomed the photo.

The shot centered on a square table, and as he looked closer three decent looking adult men were sitting there.

‘I don’t know any of those guys.’

Why send this? Just as he was about to hit the back button to ask, a new message popped up.

Friend: Isn’t that girl sitting across from those guys your girlfriend?

His hand moved reflexively. Even before the shock of the message could fully register, Si-hyeon was already zooming in on the side opposite the men.

The result:

“No way…”

He found a back profile that was all too familiar.

He had spent over a year staring longingly at that very silhouette; there was no way he could be mistaken.

“No… it can’t be… it can’t…”

Even though he was already certain it was Chae-yeon, words of denial kept spilling from Si-hyeon’s lips.

His heart sank, his breath hitching in his throat. With his mind a total blank, he began to type.

Me: Where is that?

Friend: (Map) [Daegu Dongseong-ro, A Glass of Wine Tomorrow.]

Dongseong-ro. The biggest downtown area in Daegu and the go-to spot for the city’s youth.

Friend: I work part-time here. I went to take orders and saw her sitting there. From what I heard of the conversation, it’s obviously a blind date.

Me: I’m coming now.

He shoved his wallet and phone into the pocket of his jeans and stepped into a pair of black three-stripe slippers.

There was no telling what was happening at that blind date right now. The distance, which usually took only ten minutes, felt agonizingly far to Si-hyeon.

Si-hyeon took a taxi and got out at 2.28 Park, the starting point of Dongseong-ro.

As he sprinted across the central path lined with trees and benches, the cool night air brushed against his bare feet.

Perhaps because it was a rare sight to see someone sprinting through downtown in slippers, the gazes of the crowd fixated on Si-hyeon.

He didn’t care. He kept his eyes forward, charging through—until.

“Gah… shit…”

The front of his slipper folded under him, and he went crashing down.

His shin scraped harshly against the pavement. With every step he took afterward, the raw wound chafed against his denim jeans, making him wince involuntarily.

‘It’s not so bad that I can’t run…’

Si-hyeon ignored the passersby who approached to ask if he was okay, continuing his sprint with a pronounced limp.

Finally, he spotted the friend who had sent the message waiting in front of the shop.

“Where is she?”

When he asked, gasping for air, the friend pointed toward the back.

“That corner seat over there.”

As he stepped into the bar, the scene from the photo unfolded before his eyes.

An elegant atmosphere created by warm, amber LED lighting. Faces flushed from wine, conversations ripening.

Was Chae-yeon really meeting another man in a place like this? Faced with a reality he didn’t want to believe, Si-hyeon’s stomach twisted in knots.

‘There she is.’

Since the women were seated with their backs to the entrance, they hadn’t noticed Si-hyeon.

Among them was a woman with elegantly permed hair flowing down her back; Si-hyeon recognized her as Chae-yeon instantly.

“Is she fucking serious…”

Chae-yeon was sipping wine while fiddling with her smartphone.

If he calls now, will she actually pick up?

With the mindset of giving her one final chance, Si-hyeon dialed her number.

Ring… Ring…

Chae-yeon’s phone screen lit up bright white. Since she was looking right at it, there was no way in hell she didn’t know it was him calling.

‘Pick up. Pick up, goddamn it.’

While Si-hyeon waited desperately for her to answer, Chae-yeon stared at the phone for three seconds before casually pressing the volume button on the side.

The ringing stopped instantly. She then just left the phone abandoned on the table.

After more than a minute, the unanswered call finally disconnected, seeing her trample his trust like that made Si-hyeon’s stomach churn with pure disgust.

Me: Where are you right now? (1)

Ka-tok!

As soon as he sent the message, a notification rang from Chae-yeon’s phone.

After confirming the call had ended, she slid down the screen and checked the message this time.

‘So that’s how she’s been checking them…’

Since she only looked at the notification preview, it made sense why the “read” receipt never triggered.

Hiding himself beside the beverage fridge, Si-hyeon decided to watch Chae-yeon’s reaction until the bitter end.

Me: You’re taking a long time to reply. You’re not seeing another guy behind my back, are you? (1)

After checking the notification again, she scanned the interior of the bar.

After confirming her boyfriend wasn’t inside, Chae-yeon—feeling the sting of her own guilty conscience—sent a reply.

Im Chae-yeon: What the fuck are you talking about, “another guy”? I’m just chilling at a friend’s house.

Me: Which friend?

Im Chae-yeon: Sohee.

Sohee was Chae-yeon’s long-time friend. They had known each other since middle school and were currently attending the same university.

And that very Sohee was currently sitting right next to Chae-yeon.

“Fucking hell, seriously…”

Even though he had given her the chance to come clean, Chae-yeon’s response was nothing but a pathetic disappointment.

Unable to endure the surging sense of betrayal, Si-hyeon finally sent his last ultimatum.

Me: Since when was Sohee’s house a wine bar?

Scrape!

Chae-yeon bolted upright from her seat, her head whipping around frantically.

And then, her eyes met Si-hyeon’s.

Witnessing his eyes smoldering with pure rage, Chae-yeon froze in place, her lips parted slightly open.

“What the… Kim Si-hyeon, how did you even know about this place?”

Chae-yeon’s cheeks were flushed red from the alcohol.

Seeing this up close made Si-hyeon’s brow furrow even deeper with loathing.

No matter how arrogant Chae-yeon usually was, she couldn’t keep her cool in this situation. As the distance between them closed, her pupils began to tremble.

“What the hell are you doing? You said it was just the girls, so why are there a bunch of guys sitting across from you?”

Barely suppressing the urge to flip everything over, Si-hyeon continued.

He shot a glance at the table she’d been sitting at and let out a scoff.

“Actually, don’t bother explaining. I think I get it. Three guys, three girls. All paired up, only a damn idiot would not to see what’s going on.”

Chae-yeon flinched, her body trembling slightly. Avoiding Si-hyeon’s gaze, she began to nervously rub her opposite arm with her right hand.

“I know what you’re thinking, but this is a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding, my ass. The fact that you’re even here means you’ve been cheating behind my back.”

“I’m telling you, it’s not like that.”

“Then go ahead, make an excuse. I’m listening.”

“Si-hyeon, Chae-yeon really didn’t do anything wrong. She kept saying she didn’t want to come, but I’m the one who dragged her here!”

“Doesn’t matter if you brought her or some other guy brought her. She should have refused until the goddamn end. Does it even make sense to come to a blind date when you have a boyfriend?”

From Si-hyeon’s perspective, Sohee was a problem for dragging her to a blind date knowing full well she was taken, and Chae-yeon was just as much of a problem for actually following along.

And since he’d witnessed the deception himself from behind, there was no way in hell he could see this situation in a positive light.

‘You evil bitches…’

While Si-hyeon trembled with suppressed rage, Sohee hung her head as if she was too ashamed to look at him, and Chae-yeon grabbed the hem of his shirt.

“Let’s just go outside and talk. What the hell do you think you’re doing in front of all these people?”

“Why? Are you embarrassed because people are staring? Well, that’s a relief. At least it seems you’re aware you did something shameful.”

“I told you it was a misunderstanding. I only came to fill the headcount. I had absolutely no intention of going on a blind date.”

“How the fuck am I supposed to believe that? I saw you look right at your phone when I called and ignore it because you were in the middle of a date. Do I look like a fucking joke to you, Im Chae-yeon?”

“It’s not like that, so stop jumping to conclusions. I was just…”

As Chae-yeon was speaking, one of the men sitting at the table finally opened his mouth.

“I don’t get why this guy is making such a scene when this whole mess happened because he couldn’t keep his own girlfriend in line.”

He had both hands shoved in his pockets, leaning back in his chair with a smug look. It was the guy who had been sitting directly across from Chae-yeon.

“What the fuck did you just say?”

Si-hyeon shoved his face closer as he asked, and the man widened his eyes and glared right back at him.

“Did I say anything wrong? Ms. Chae-yeon must’ve come out on a blind date because she’s not satisfied with her boyfriend.”

“You little bastard…”

The man’s words tore right through Si-hyeon’s already fragile state of mind.

On any other day, he might have brushed it off, but today it cut deep. Fueled by pure rage, Si-hyeon lunged forward and grabbed the bastard by the collar.

“What? You gonna hit me?”

Squeeze… 

His grip tightened on the man’s collar. The atmosphere turned vicious, like a fight could break out any second.

As the murmurs of nearby customers grew louder, Chae-yeon grabbed Si-hyeon’s arm and shouted.

“Stop it already!”

“Get off me.”

Boiling with rage, Si-hyeon heartlessly shoved Chae-yeon’s hand away.

“Go ahead, Chae-yeon, let him go. I’ll help you cut ties with this guy once and for all.”

The blind date guy was practically begging for a fight, but Chae-yeon turned a venomous glare toward him and snapped.

“I don’t know why you’ve been acting all familiar with me, but you need to shut the hell up.”

The man looked stunned by her sharp rebuke.

Among the women there, Chae-yeon’s beauty was unrivaled. He had been acting out in hopes of impressing her, but seeing her razor-sharp reaction, he realized he didn’t stand a chance.

As a result, the man slumped back, losing his will to fight. Si-hyeon, forced by Chae-yeon’s persistent protests, finally let go of the guy’s collar.

“Kim Si-hyeon. Outside. Now.”

Chae-yeon stormed out of the bar. Since she was the one he needed to settle this with anyway, there was no way he couldn’t follow.

He stopped briefly to apologize to the friend who had tipped him off for causing such a scene, then chased after her.

* * *

Chae-yeon’s destination was the 2.28 Park he had passed earlier.

It was a spot with circular benches arranged around a central fountain.

Nearby, anti-heat sprinklers sprayed a mist of fine droplets into the air. Standing in the middle of it, arms crossed, Chae-yeon glared at him and said.

“Are you insane? Why the hell are you acting like such a goddamn thug? I told you to stop!”

“This never would have happened if you hadn’t gone on a blind date in the first place.”

“No! You think I went because I wanted to? Sohee begged me to come with her, so I just sat there. Is that such a crime?”

“Of course it’s wrong! It’s not like Sohee doesn’t have other friends—why did you have to go? If it were me, I wouldn’t have gone even if it was just out of basic goddamn decency.”

The justification that Chae-yeon had gone on the blind date, combined with the rage boiling in him, fueled Si-hyeon with the strength to stand his ground.

Normally, no matter how unfair the situation, he would have been the first to apologize. But today, he resolved not to show a single trace of weakness.

He knew that if he bowed his head even in a situation like this, he would never escape being the submissive one for the rest of his life.

‘I have to use this incident to change our relationship, once and for all.’

If Chae-yeon’s grievance was genuine, there was still room for understanding.

While Si-hyeon hadn’t believed a word out of either of their mouths until moments ago, seeing the way Chae-yeon had just shut down that blind date guy helped him regain a tiny shred of trust.

He took a deep breath. One. Two.

Calming his fury, controlling his emotions as positively as possible, Si-hyeon spoke with a hint of mercy in his voice.

“Apologize. Say you’re sorry, and I’ll let it slide just this once.”

Simply settling this with an apology was letting her off easy, but an apology from someone as insufferably arrogant as Chae-yeon would carry immense weight.

Up until now, she had always held the upper hand without ever uttering the words “I’m sorry.” If she were to apologize sincerely for this mess, wouldn’t that mean their relationship could finally change? That’s what Si-hyeon hoped.

“…ry.”

With her head lowered, Chae-yeon hesitated for a long time, her lips trembling slightly.

“You’re too quiet. What did you say?”

Si-hyeon pressed her to speak up. Her lips, which had been twitching open and shut, finally parted as she spat out the words.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not apologizing. Ever.”
“What…?”

Si-hyeon couldn’t believe his ears.

He was so dumbfounded that a hollow laugh escaped him involuntarily.

Going on a blind date when you have a partner is a massive betrayal—the kind that shatters the very foundation of trust in a relationship.

Even so, in a desperate bid to keep the relationship alive, Si-hyeon killed his rage and offered her the easiest way out.

A simple apology.

It was something Si-hyeon had already done dozens, even hundreds of times, swallowing his pride every single time.

Apologies that were hard to choke out at first had become second nature over time; there were even days when he felt grateful, thinking himself lucky that a situation could be settled with just a “sorry.”

But Chae-yeon, despite having done something truly unforgivable, refused to admit her fault until the bitter end.

Instead of admitting it, she narrowed her eyes and asked in a voice dripping with suspicion:

“More importantly, how the hell did you know I was there? Have you been stalking me or something?”
“Hey, Im Chae-yeon…”

The thin thread of reason holding back his rage was beginning to snap.

While Si-hyeon’s voice began to tremble, Chae-yeon’s voice gained a surge of confidence, as if she had finally caught him in a lie.

“You’re always running your mouth about how much you love me, and now you’ve moved on to stalking me? Is that it?”

“Fuck! Just knock it off already!”

Si-hyeon’s efforts to resolve this peacefully went up in smoke.

The fact that she couldn’t even offer a simple apology for his sake made him feel more miserable than anything else.

Faced with Si-hyeon’s roar—the roar of a man who finally realized his own worth—Chae-yeon stumbled backward, asking in a tone of pure disbelief.

“Did you just… curse at me…?”

This was the first time in her life Chae-yeon had ever heard Si-hyeon curse at her.

He had always been gentle and kind to her, so seeing him enraged to the point of shouting felt almost like facing a complete stranger.

“You’d rather frame your own boyfriend as a piece of trash just to avoid giving a simple fucking apology, If it were you, wouldn’t you be cursing too?”

As Si-hyeon ran a hand through his hair and closed the distance between them, Chae-yeon pulled out her last resort.

“You’ve really lost it… Is this because you don’t want to be with me anymore?”

She thought, as she always had, that merely hinting at breaking up would calm his anger and beg for forgiveness.

“Are we even really a couple?”

“…What?”

Si-hyeon’s answer was far beyond what Chae-yeon had expected. Overflowing with frustration, he finally let his feelings spill honestly.

“Other couples can’t wait to express their love for each other, but in all the time I’ve been with you, I haven’t heard you say ‘I like you’ even once…”

Si-hyeon was the only one who had poured love into the relationship, while Chae-yeon accepted it as if it were her birthright.

Having grown used to the dominant position, Chae-yeon frowned slightly at his words and asked back in a tone that showed she genuinely didn’t understand.

“So what? Isn’t being able to date me enough for you? You’ve been doing just fine until now, so why are you making a scene all of a sudden?”

“Do you really think the way we are right now is ri… actually, forget it.”

Si-hyeon decided to change the question.

He brought up the one curiosity he had kept buried deep in his heart until now.

A question he had suffered over in silence, afraid that voicing it would make it irreversible.

“Chae-yeon… do you even like me?”

At Si-hyeon’s question, ripples formed in Chae-yeon’s once-calm eyes.

The hand holding her handbag began to tremble, and she did nothing but stare at him while biting her lower lip.

“Why can’t you answer me?”

She could’ve at least said she liked him, even if it were just empty words. But she couldn’t even bring herself to do that.

And because of that, Si-hyeon felt a wave of disillusionment wash over him.

For someone who had devoured everything he offered until the very end, yet refused to give back even a single grain…

“You selfish bitch.”

Muttering the words under his breath, Si-hyeon turned his back, filled with nothing but disappointment.

He began walking away from Chae-yeon, heading toward the bus stop.

One step. Two steps. Just as the pain in his shin he’d been trying to ignore began to surge, Chae-yeon’s scream echoed from behind him.

“Hey, Kim Si-hyeon! Are you really going to break up with me like this?”

Si-hyeon fought back the tears welling up in his eyes and merely turned his head.

Through his blurred vision, he saw the face of the woman he had truly loved.

“Yeah. Let’s end it here. I’m exhausted now…”

Love that isn’t returned — one-sided love — always wears you down eventually.

The passion that once burned so fiercely had consumed its fuel just as quickly.

Si-hyeon had tried to keep the embers alive by throwing more wood on the fire, but Chae-yeon’s cold attitude was like pouring ice water on the flames.

“Don’t you dare take another step… If you move, it’s really over.”

At her threat, his feet felt heavier.

The weight of the lingering attachment he still had left.

It was almost laughable that he still had feelings left for her after being treated so miserably.

‘Since we’re breaking up anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to rebel just this once.’

Si-hyeon started walking toward the bus stop again.

As he did, he visualized exactly where Chae-yeon was standing and raised his right fist.

‘What is he doing?’

Chae-yeon caught sight of his fist, which was trembling as if seized by tremors. As she focused on his strange, inexplicable gesture…

Whoosh.

Si-hyeon’s middle finger extended, thrusting upward toward the night sky.

“Hey!!”

Chae-yeon’s voice cracked in pure shock.

Hearing that sound, Si-hyeon, who had been shedding tears, spread a smile across his face.

With a feeling that was both satisfying and bitter, he brought his first love to an end.

* * *