Scarlet Bond : Cursed to Love

Episode -----10

The rain had stopped, but the mansion still smelled of wet stone and memory. Areum found Junseo in the library, alone. He stood before the fireplace, staring into the embers as if hoping they might burn away the past.

She hesitated at the doorway, torn page clutched in her trembling hand. "Junseo," she called softly.

He turned, surprise flickering over his face before it hardened. But when his gaze fell to the paper she held, something in him seemed to fracture.

"Tell me this isn't a lie," she demanded, stepping closer. "Tell me it's real."

He took the page from her, his fingers brushing hers — and for a heartbeat, silence wrapped around them like something sacred.

"It's real," Junseo whispered, voice raw. "I've read it before. But I didn't tell you. I thought… maybe love wasn't enough to break the curse."

"And now?" she pressed, her heart pounding so hard it hurt.

"Now," he said, meeting her eyes, "I think it might be the only thing we have left."

The words felt like confession, and for the first time, the distance between them felt small enough to cross.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Park. What does he want?"

Junseo's jaw tightened, shadows dancing across his sharp features. "He has documents. Records of how our families manipulated us from birth — arranged our paths, controlled every choice we thought we made."

"If he releases them?"

"It destroys everything," Junseo said. "The company, the council's trust… and your name, too. They'd call you the product of a curse and a conspiracy."

"And you still care about that?" Areum asked, voice trembling with anger. "About the council, the company?"

"I care about you," Junseo replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "Even if you can't believe it yet. Even if you hate me."

---

For a moment, silence fell. The fire crackled softly, the only witness to a truth neither had dared to speak aloud.

Areum stepped closer, so near she could see the exhaustion in his eyes. "All this time… did you ever really see me? Or was I just part of your burden?"

His answer came without hesitation. "I saw you, Areum. Even when I tried not to."

---

For the first time in years, the anger between them felt less like poison — and more like a wound, raw but healing.

Junseo exhaled, the weight of old secrets heavy on his shoulders. "I should have told you sooner," he admitted. "I was afraid."

"And I was afraid you'd never tell me," she said softly.

Their eyes locked — an unspoken promise lingering in the space between them.

---

Teaser for Ep 11:

Park makes his move.

Areum faces an impossible choice: protect her name or protect Junseo.

And the first hint of a kiss — or a betrayal.

See you in Episode 11!