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# Chapter 49: The Fire Was Already Burning
The silence in Kang Liou’s car was suffocating.
Sea sat in the passenger seat, but it felt like she wasn’t really there. As if she were floating in mid-air, unable to locate her own body. His words kept replaying in her mind. I’m leaving the company. Leaving JYA. You need to come with me. They weren’t just sentences. They were a bomb. And Sea was sitting on top of it.
Kang Liou drove slowly along the Han River road. His hands gripped the steering wheel, but his eyes weren’t fixed on the road. He kept checking the rearview mirror. Glancing at the side streets. As if verifying whether someone was following.
“What are you thinking right now?”
He asked quietly. But that quietness wasn’t peaceful. It was the silence before an explosion.
Sea didn’t answer. Instead, she looked at her hands. The hands he’d dried with a towel. They’d warmed up again. As if that moment had happened seconds ago, not minutes. Her brain wasn’t functioning normally. Time had become scrambled, like a video with corrupted timestamps.
“Is this… real?”
Her voice was small.
“Yeah.”
“Isn’t that a breach of contract?”
“It is.”
“Settlement fees?”
“Possibly.”
“Legal problems?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
His answers came like reading from a checklist. But beneath that simplicity lay something deeper. As if he’d already calculated all of this.
“Are you insane?”
It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.
“Maybe.”
He pulled the car over on the left side of the Han River road. Where the river was visible. The Han looked gray in the daylight, as if it too were reflecting her mood.
He turned off the engine and looked at the passenger seat. At Sea. More precisely, at her profile, since she wasn’t facing him directly.
“Do you know what I did in Berlin?”
She didn’t answer.
“I played piano. Classical. My father made me. Since childhood. Five hours every day. Competitions, awards—that was my life. At twenty, I went to Berlin. To find better teachers. To learn real music.”
He gazed at the river. His words flowed like water that couldn’t be stopped.
“But that’s when I realized the music I was playing wasn’t real music. It was my father’s music. The music he wanted to make through me. And as I played it, I slowly disappeared. Like the sheet music was swallowing me whole.”
Sea looked at him. For the first time, she met his eyes directly. His face was as pale as the gray river outside.
“At twenty-three, I couldn’t sit in front of a piano anymore. My hands went rigid. Doctors called it psychological trauma. But they were wrong. It wasn’t psychological. It was my soul rejecting me. My soul gave my hands a veto.”
He looked at his own hands. The ones holding the wheel. He lifted them as if they were foreign objects.
“They still tremble. When I get near a piano, they shake. So I gave up those hands. I gave up music. I gave up my father’s music. And I came back. To Seoul. To JYA.”
“Then why did you come to a music company?”
“To punish myself.”
His answer was simple. Too honest. “Since I abandoned music, I decided to destroy it. For my father. So I joined JYA. Became his arms. Made music into a commodity. Ruined good music to fit the market. Turned real artists into ordinary people.”
He sighed and looked at her.
“And then one day, I saw you. At Club Underscore. You were singing. And that song… it was the music I’d lost. Real music. Music no one asked for, no one expected. Music that existed only to exist.”
Sea listened, but she didn’t believe him. Her singing couldn’t be that special. It was a song to make money. A song to feed her brother. That wasn’t real music.
“I planned to make you famous. To ruin your music to fit the market. I thought if I did that, I could punish myself even deeper. There’s no greater sin than killing real music. That was my plan.”
He stopped talking. Silence stretched between them—not a second, but an eternity.
“But as I got to know you better, I realized something. You were already dying. Your music was already fading. And I didn’t start it. It started long ago. By the system my father created. By poverty. By responsibility.”
He grabbed her hand suddenly, as if it were his last possible action.
“So I decided. If I don’t save you, you’ll burn slowly and disappear. And I couldn’t bear that. Losing you. Losing your music.”
Sea felt his hand. Warm. But that warmth created greater confusion than comfort. Because she didn’t know what to believe. Whether this man’s words were love or another form of manipulation.
“Did I lie to you?”
“I can’t tell.”
She answered. “You don’t even seem to know what you’re doing.”
It was intuition. And it was accurate.
“That’s true.”
He admitted. “I don’t know if I really love you or if I’m using you to save myself. If those are even different. But one thing I’m sure of.”
He squeezed her hand tighter.
“I need to get you out of JYA. That much is certain.”
Her phone rang.
Both of them heard it. A KakaoTalk notification. The sound shattered the moment, as if someone had thrown a stone at the window.
Sea pulled out her phone. She read the message from: Sky.
“Sea, what are you doing? Let’s meet tonight. I need to check on your tattoo. It should be completely healed by now. We’re closing soon. Come quick.”
Reading that message, Sea’s brain rebooted. She returned to reality. Or rather, reality pulled her back.
Sky. Her closest friend. The only person who could hold her back when she made insane decisions. But she was deceiving her right now. Planning something with Kang Liou.
“What is it?”
“Sky.”
She answered.
“Sky? Your friend?”
“Yeah. My best friend. She wants to check on my tattoo.”
Sea touched below her collarbone. The tattoo there. A small matchstick-shaped tattoo. Sky had given it to her. And at the time, Sky had said: “This is you. Fire. Burn.”
At the time, Sea hadn’t understood. But now she did. Sky had already known. That Sea was consuming herself. And that she had to stop.
“Then go to her.”
“What?”
“Go to her. Now. I’ll handle things separately. I’ll talk to my father tonight.”
His voice turned cold again. As if the confession he’d just made never existed. As if he were transforming back from Kang Liou the person into Kang Liou the employee.
“But what are you going to tell that friend?”
It was a heavy question. Not simple at all. It was a test. A test asking who she really was.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
He looked at her for a moment, then laughed. Or rather, made a sound that resembled laughter. But there was no joy in it. It was the sound of despair.
“That’s an honest answer.”
He restarted the car and pulled out onto the Han River road. Destination: Sky’s tattoo shop. A narrow alley near Hapjeong Station. Two alleys past the entrance.
They didn’t speak during the drive. No radio. Only the engine and the city’s noise. Seoul at 3 PM. People working. Students in school. Everything appearing normal.
When he parked in front of the shop, he said one thing.
“See you in Jeju. Tomorrow morning.”
Sea heard him but didn’t answer. Instead, she got out of the car. Opened the tattoo shop door.
Sky was there. As if she’d known Sea was coming, waiting in exactly that spot.
“Hey, why does your face look like that? Did something happen?”
That moment, Sea realized how transparent she was. All her secrets were written on her face. And Sky was reading every word.
“Nothing.”
Sea lied.
Sky studied her for a long time. Then spoke.
“Sea. You’re burning right now. But that’s not good fire. That’s fire that’s consuming you. When are you going to stop?”
Sea couldn’t answer. Because that was the question she needed to ask herself. The question she should have asked during sleepless nights, alone in the darkness.
And the answer was already decided.
The fire was already burning. An unstoppable fire. And before it burned her away completely, it had to illuminate something. Who she was. What she wanted. What she lived for.
Kang Liou’s car was still outside. Engine off. As if it too were waiting.
And the plane to Jeju was preparing for departure tomorrow morning at 8:40. To carry Sea. To carry Kang Liou. To carry all their secrets into the sky.
Sea finally spoke to Sky.
“I’m going to Jeju tomorrow morning.”
Sky’s face changed. As if her worst fear had become reality.
“With who?”
Sea didn’t answer.
But the answer was already visible through the window.
[Volume 2 Complete]
# The Road to Jeju
## Part 1: The Weight of Silence
“Yeah.”
Sea’s voice was thin. Like something heard from far away. Like the voice of someone who had already left this moment. When Kang Liou heard that single syllable, he heard something breaking. Something inside him, very slowly, very quietly, collapsing.
“I don’t know what to say.”
She added. Through the window, the Han River gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. Dozens of boats floating on the water’s surface. Everything was moving, yet they couldn’t seem to move. As if time had stopped. Or as if time itself was crushing them.
Kang Liou watched her for a long while. His gaze moved slowly across her entire face. The slight tremor in her cheeks. The stiffness around her mouth. And everything in her eyes—fear, determination, and something neither of them could understand.
Then he laughed.
Or rather, made a sound resembling laughter. But there was no joy in it. It sounded like it came from the bottom of a deep mine. The sound of despair. The sound of something shattering completely. The kind of sound a person makes when the thing they’ve desperately tried to prevent finally happens.
“That’s an honest answer.”
His voice was low. Almost a murmur. But it sounded like a declaration to the entire universe. A declaration that everything he wanted was crumbling away.
He restarted the car. The engine roared to life. The air in the car trembled. The vibration seemed to seep into his very bones. Sea didn’t move. Her hands, her face, not even her eyes. She simply existed. As a passenger in this car. That was all.
Kang Liou pulled out from the Han River road. He turned the steering wheel, entering a narrow alley. The destination was already set—Sky’s tattoo shop. Near Hapjeong Station, among those complicated alleys. Two alleys past the entrance. A place most people didn’t know. But they did.
Neither spoke during the drive. No radio. Kang Liou reached for the radio button, then stopped. His hand hung in the air and came back down. There was no need for music. The engine sound was enough. And the city’s noise. Everything Seoul at 3 PM exhaled.
The hour when people worked. When students were in school. When lovers met at cafes. When everything appeared normal. When everything flowed as it should.
But inside this car, time wasn’t flowing. It was congealed. Like an insect trapped in amber, frozen in some moment from the past.
The traffic light turned red. The car stopped.
Kang Liou’s fingers drummed on the steering wheel. Tap tap tap. Rhythmless, purposeless tapping. Sea heard it and could read how anxious he was. How unsettled. But she couldn’t say anything. No words could save this moment.
The light turned green. The car moved again.
When they arrived near Hapjeong Station, the sun was still high. Just past 3 PM. The light was harsh. It pierced Sea’s eyes. The sunlight coming through the car window felt like it was trying to expose everything about her.
Kang Liou parked in front of the tattoo shop. Quietly. Precisely. As if that spot had been predetermined.
Then he said something.
“See you in Jeju. Tomorrow morning.”
His voice was flat. A tone completely stripped of emotion. Like an airplane boarding announcement. But that short sentence contained everything. Decision. Destiny. And the declaration that there was no going back.
Sea heard him. Heard it clearly. It was imprinted on her brain. But she didn’t answer. She couldn’t open her mouth. If she did, everything would collapse. Everything she’d built so far.
Instead, she got out of the car. She reached out and opened the door. The handle was cold. The metal’s chill traveled up her fingers. As if someone were pulling her, coldly, decisively.
The air outside was hot. The city’s heat, the pavement’s heat, the sun’s heat all converged in one point and enveloped her. It was hard to breathe. The air itself felt thick.
She opened the tattoo shop door.
## Part 2: What Sky Sees
Sky was there.
As if she’d known Sea was coming, waiting in exactly that spot. Wearing a black apron. Colored tattoo bracelets wound around her thin arms. And that expression—the one that hadn’t missed the moment Sea walked in.
The shop was filled with a distinctive smell. Ink. Disinfectant. And something else. A smell that made this place seem separate from reality. Another world entirely.
Tattoo designs covered the walls. Dragons. Butterflies. Flowers. Letters. Geometric patterns. And several abstract forms. All things that would remain on skin forever. Permanent choices. Things that, once inscribed, could never be erased.
“Hey, why does your face look like that? Did something happen?”
Sky asked. Her voice tried to sound light, but deep concern flowed beneath it. Sky was good at reading people. Especially Sea. They’d known each other too long, too deeply.
Sea looked at the mirror. The one on the shop wall. Her face was there. It was a stranger’s face. As if it belonged to someone else.
That moment, Sea realized how transparent she was.
Every secret was written on her face. Saying nothing wouldn’t help. Hiding wouldn’t matter. Fear in her eyes. Decision around her mouth. Traces of tears on her cheeks. All of it crystal clear. As if marked with a highlighter.
And Sky was reading all of it. Whether Sea spoke or not. Whether she denied it or not. Sky’s eyes had already seen through everything.
“Nothing.”
Sea lied. Knowing she was lying.
The lie that came from her lips was false, but that falsehood spoke louder than truth. The lie cried out like truth. The denial confirmed like affirmation.
Sky watched her for a long time. Without blinking. As if trying to fix Sea with that gaze. To keep her from drifting away.
“Sea.”
Sky said her name. This time, she was serious. All playfulness gone, all defenses lowered. Only truth remained in her voice.
“You’re burning right now. But that’s not good fire. That’s fire consuming you. When are you going to stop?”
Sea couldn’t answer. She opened her mouth, then closed it. No sound came out. As if her throat were being strangled.
Because that question was one she needed to ask herself.
A question she should have asked over sleepless nights. In front of mirrors. In the darkness alone.
And the answer was already decided.
The fire was already burning. An unstoppable fire. It wasn’t fire that came from outside. It was fire burning from within. Fire burning in her bones, in her blood, in the deepest place of her soul.
And before that fire consumed her completely, it had to illuminate something.
Who she was.
What she wanted.
What she lived for.
Until those things were revealed, the fire wouldn’t go out. No, it seemed like the fire would burn even brighter.
Through the window, she could see Kang Liou’s car. Still parked outside. Engine off. Its gray body reflecting sunlight. As if it too were waiting. For something to end. For something to begin.
Sky moved closer. She placed her hand on Sea’s shoulder. A warm hand. But that warmth felt cold.
“Sea, please tell me. What happened?”
Anguish was evident in Sky’s voice. The despair of being able to read someone but unable to open their heart.
Sea felt the weight of that hand. Sky’s hand. How many tattoos had that hand inscribed? How many people’s decisions had that hand permanently marked on skin? And now that hand was holding Sea.
That moment, a flight announcement passed through Sea’s mind.
Tomorrow morning at 8:40. A plane to Jeju.
Where was that plane now? Probably in the hangar. Preparing to carry hundreds of people. And it was preparing to carry Sea.
To carry her.
To carry Kang Liou.
To carry all their secrets into the sky.
“I’m going to Jeju tomorrow morning.”
Sea finally spoke. Her voice was small. Almost a whisper. But that small voice shook the entire tattoo shop.
## Part 3: The Beginning of Catastrophe
Sky’s face changed.
The color drained from it. As if someone were sucking the life from Sky’s face. Her eyes widened. And in those eyes, it was crystal clear that her worst nightmare had become reality.
“With who?”
Each word came separately. Not like a question. Like an accusation.
Sea didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked out the window.
Kang Liou’s car was there. That car visible beyond the glass. And the person inside it. Two hands on the steering wheel. The face hovering above them. The face waiting for her.
The answer was already outside that window.
Sky saw it. Following where Sea looked, Sky also looked out the window. And understood everything.
The shop’s lights flickered white. Like a signal. A signal that something had ended.
Sea’s chest ached. Not just her chest. Everything hurt. As if she were being torn apart alive.
And tomorrow morning’s plane was still preparing.
To carry her.
To carry Kang Liou.
To move all of them into the sky above.
[Volume 2 Complete]