Our Story Ends Here
“Let’s talk about us.”
Ma Yeonseo stood in the doorway, her face calm as she demanded a conversation.
When did she get back?
I hadn’t noticed she’d returned from the US since I’d blocked her number. Frowning, I tried to send her away. “…We’ve got nothing to talk about.”
I even started closing the door to cut off the discussion entirely, but…
Thud!
She jammed her shoe in the gap and forced the door open.
Wh-what strength.
I could only watch silently as the door swung wide.
“Right here?”
“……”
Our eyes met across the open doorway. Realizing there was no stopping her now, I reluctantly let her inside.
“……”
“……”
A heavy silence filled the house. Ma Yeonseo glanced around at the unpacked boxes everywhere, then asked in a perfectly nonchalant tone, as if nothing had happened.
“You done unpacking?”
Her brazen attitude drew a curt reply from me. “You already know everything, don’t you?”
She didn’t argue.
“…Sorry.”
Instead, she lowered her gaze and apologized readily.
“...!”
It was an unexpected response.
“…I should’ve been by your side…. No excuses.”
“……”
“I get why you got mad at me back then, and why you said those harsh things.”
“……”
“So…. Let’s just pretend that stuff never happened.”
Like always, Ma Yeonseo didn’t throw a tantrum, get angry, or threaten me. She simply admitted her fault calmly and suggested we make up.
The old me probably would’ve swallowed my pride and let it go at her changed demeanor. But not anymore.
“…Yeonseo…”
I let out a deep sigh and looked her straight in the eye. Then I confessed the truth I’d buried deep inside for so long.
“I don’t like you anymore.”
We’d come too far to turn back.
“Everything I said before was real. Being with you suffocates me, and the stress burns me up inside.”
It was time for us to go our separate ways.
“…I’m sorry for the harsh words too. But…. I can’t take back what I said about breaking up. Sorry.”
Part of me wanted us to part with good memories at least. After all, she was my one and only first love.
“…It’s my fault, Yuchan…!”
But Ma Yeonseo wouldn’t give up easily. She suddenly grabbed my hand, her face pitiful as she begged desperately for forgiveness….
“I’ll do better from now on. Give me one chance. I won’t act on my own anymore…”
Maybe because my heart was already gone. Seeing her like that stirred nothing in me.
“…Yeonseo. You were already doing great. I just couldn’t handle it.”
Looking back, Ma Yeonseo had always been too much for me. Everything about her, from one to ten. Forcing myself to accept what was beyond my league had broken me.
“So no need to apologize anymore.”
“……”
I gently pried her hand off mine, and suddenly a vicious glint crossed her face.
“I…. I can’t live without you.”
“……”
“I’ll die.”
In the end, another threat.
“…Haa…”
Disappointment flooded me. She was always like this. When things didn’t go her way, threats came first.
“You…. You really disappoint me to the end.”
Frowning, I sighed deeply and spat out the bitter truth.
“…I shouldn’t have gotten close to you back then.”
Right then.
“……Huh?”
Her face flickered with agitation.
“…What did you just say…?”
“I’m done talking. Just go.”
Not wanting to continue, I stood abruptly and showed her out. Ma Yeonseo rose too, grabbing my wrist….
“What did you just say?”
Crunch.
Sudden immense force clamped down on my wrist.
“Ugh…! L-let go…!”
“Yuchan. I’m asking. What did you just say?”
Her voice dropped low as she interrogated me coldly. Startled, I looked at her—her once vibrant eyes were now icy dead.
She wasn’t right in the head.
“Kuh…!”
Panicking, I tried to shake her off, but no matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t. A mere ordinary guy couldn’t overpower an out-of-spec Awakener with brute strength.
“Y-Yeonseo…! Let go…!”
“…That’s not true…. You said I was the best….”
Her grip tightened as she muttered creepily.
“Yeonseo, please…!”
“You said I was the only one!!!”
Crunch crunch!
Sudden intense pain shot through my wrist.
“Arghhh!”
Screaming from the flashing agony, my legs gave out and I collapsed.
M-my wrist…!
Terrified by the worst pain I’d ever felt, I froze in fear.
“S-save me…!!!”
“Yuchan. Say it quick. Take back what you just said.”
“Kyaarghhh!!”
She twisted my wrist the other way, threatening murderously. If I didn’t answer soon, she’d shatter it entirely.
I-I have to answer.
My mind screamed to give her what she wanted. But.
“N-no!”
My fragile pride sealed my fate.
“Just kill me instead!!!”
I didn’t want to submit to her anymore.
“…You still haven’t come to your senses…”
“Kyaarghhh!!!”
Just before my wrist snapped, she finally released me. Realizing the power gap, I paled and crawled across the floor.
“H-heek…!”
“Yuchan. We’re not done talking yet.”
As Ma Yeonseo approached and reached out…
“D-don’t come closer!!”
Reflexively, I swung my hand and smack! slapped hers away.
Oh, shit.
Thinking I’d provoked her needlessly, I curled up, bracing for the pain, eyes squeezed shut.
…But.
Nothing happened, contrary to my fears.
“…?”
Lifting my head, I saw Ma Yeonseo staring blankly, shocked by the slap. Like a child caught committing a horrific wrong.
“…N-no…”
Her face clouded with panic as she preemptively stammered excuses.
“No, Yuchan…! I-I…!”
Her erratic behavior only fueled my fear.
“Th-that’s not…!”
Flustered and fidgeting, Ma Yeonseo cautiously reached out again, as if to explain.
But.
“Eek…!”
The searing terror etched in my brain made me flinch away instinctively.
“…Ah…”
She sighed softly, withdrawing her hand slowly, as if struck again. Trembling, she hugged her arms and apologized quietly.
“…S-sorry…. I-I’m…. Sorry…”
With that, Ma Yeonseo turned away from my frozen form and began gathering her things clumsily. She dropped items several times, her hands shaking.
“…Sorry…”
In the end, she fled with one last apology, vanishing.
“…Fuck…”
The worst breakup ever.
*
Click-clack…. Click-clack…. Click-clack….
Walking the cold street, Yeonseo recalled Yuchan’s terrified gaze looking up at her.
Not the eyes of someone gazing at a lover, but at a monster.
Every time she remembered that look, her chest ached like it was being shredded by a knife.
“……”
Why had it come to this?
Where did it go wrong?
Everything had been going fine. Just a little longer, and they could’ve gone back to how they were, loving each other.
—I shouldn’t have gotten close to you back then.
The moment all their built-up memories were denied, she lost her reason. One instant of rage had ruined everything.
If I’d…. just held back a little….
Yeonseo regretted her hasty actions. If she’d been more careful. If she hadn’t hurt him at all.
But regret changed nothing now. They’d crossed an irreversible river.
Both she and Yuchan.
It was truly over. Everything.
“……”
Facing reality, Ma Yeonseo wandered blankly toward the apartment filled with memories of Yuchan.
She stepped into the elevator and pulled out her phone, sending one message: If something happens, send a single red rose and a letter to Yuchan in my name.
[33rd floor.]
The elevator reached its destination.
Stepping out on the highest floor, she headed straight for the emergency stairs.
Click-clack. Click-clack. Click-clack.
Her steps up the stairs held no hesitation. There was only one way left to remain forever in Yuchan’s memories.
“…It’s cold…”
Standing on the windy rooftop, Ma Yeonseo gazed around with a forlorn expression. She removed her shoes and coat, placing them neatly aside.
The chill sharpened her mind.
“……”
Breathing white mist, she slowly approached the distant rooftop railing.
One step. One step.
As she neared, memories of Yuchan flashed before her eyes.
The moment she first sat beside him. The chance encounter that started their talks. Teaching him at his request. The first time he acknowledged her as a friend. Walking home together for the first time. Getting into the same school. The sadness when classes split. Anxiety at how handsome he was becoming. The first jealousy toward him. Their first kiss, first relationship. Their first date, the thrilling first time together.
Memories she’d never forget, even in death. They’d linger in Yuchan’s heart forever too. Fading perhaps, but never gone—like a scar. For life. Eternally.
Whoooosh—.
A fierce wind blew across the empty rooftop.
Moments later, a thud! echoed from below, followed by a scream.
Kyaargh!
And so, their love story ended.