Bittersweet Romcom (2): She Loved
Ha-yoon loved. A girl named Ha-yoon fell in love. And then—
"Sniff... ugh...!"
Curtains fell on it today. With an unhappy happy ending.
A few hours earlier, the words of the person she'd loved echoed in her mind.
'You...—'
A high-pitched ring pierced her ears. It felt like Geon-woo had said something while looking at her, but she couldn't remember a thing.
Deep down, she'd already known. She'd sensed it instinctively—that he was pulling away just a little. So she'd tried to change. New hairstyle. Completely revamped her style of clothes. Brighter tone of voice, more energetic behavior.
But the more she did, the further he drifted. Her heart grew frantic, her vision narrowing straight ahead. And the straight-line sprint that followed—
"Ugh... ughhh...!"
The rumor had already spread through half the class. The truth that Park Ha-yoon had been dumped by Lee Geon-woo.
How the hell had it leaked? Ha-yoon had no idea. One moment, the rumor was just there, spreading like smoke.
But she'd gritted her teeth and endured. I'll hold it together till the end-of-day bell, then cry my eyes out at home.
But then— Lee Geon-woo. The sight of that bastard's face burst her tear ducts wide open.
His face was so damn serene. Like rejecting her hadn't changed a thing. He was chatting casually with the kids around him.
'Why am I the only one...?'
The question surged up her throat. If I break now, I'll look like a total idiot. Why does the one who dumps stay so unfazed?
Stuffing down those feelings, Ha-yoon slipped out of the classroom unnoticed and wandered aimlessly until she reached the rooftop.
'Ah...'
Her hand unconsciously gripped the doorknob. It creaked open with that familiar rusty screech.
The sunset blazed red. Too bright to look at directly—it stung her eyes, and tears came flooding out.
The dam holding back her emotions crumbled. The torrent swept away her crumbling reason.
She naturally peeled off her wristband. Dozens of scars marred her skin. How had it come to this? It definitely hadn't started with wounds like these.
She pulled a cutter from her skirt pocket. Fortunately, she'd brought it today to deal with loose threads since she'd forgotten her nail clippers.
"......"
Ha-yoon silently raised the blade. It glinted with a flash in the sunset light, scraping softly.
Just once. Just once— if she made a light cut, wouldn't it ease the pain even a little?
Reason had already fled. Her frail body tossed by the waves, her hand gripping the cutter rose naturally.
The moment it swung toward her wrist—
"...?"
Her arm stopped. It wouldn't budge. As if someone had grabbed it.
Ha-yoon slowly turned her head. Her eyes widened.
There stood Kang Sung-hoon. Her secret lunch-time ally.
Ha-yoon stared at Sung-hoon. Sung-hoon stared back at Ha-yoon.
"...Why'd you stop me?"
Her voice came out thick and wet. Tears streamed down, soaking her face completely.
Sung-hoon stayed silent at the question.
"......"
Ha-yoon tensed her hand on the cutter again. It didn't even twitch.
Seeing that, her emotions started boiling over. She couldn't tell what was what anymore. Complicated feelings faded into haze, leaving only the simplest, strongest one.
"...Why are you even here?"
She asked again. Sung-hoon chose silence once more. His grip tightened on her cutter arm.
What the hell did Sung-hoon want? Unfortunately, Ha-yoon's head wasn't working right, so she went with brute force.
"Let... go...!"
She attacked with raw strength. Tried her best to wrench free from his grasp. Punched with her fist, clawed with nails, pinched hard.
Nothing worked. Sung-hoon just held her cutter arm in an iron grip.
In the end, Ha-yoon tired first. She flung words at him in exhaustion, a messy mix of sorrow and irritation.
"Why are you stopping me?"
He'd kept silent until then, but finally spoke.
"You look like you're hurting."
Simple answer. Ha-yoon yelled at him, irritation flaring.
"Just leave me alone...!"
She hated them all. Lee Geon-woo, living peacefully after rejecting her. Sung-hoon, trying to make her feel better, even if just for a moment.
Ha-yoon shoved her wrist in his face. Scars that had started leaving marks sometime ago drilled into his eyes.
Her shout echoed across the rooftop.
"Look at this! I've been like this for ages!"
Thrusting her wrist forward, she near-sobbed.
"You look like you're hurting? That's bullshit! What do you even know?!"
The sunset dipped lower, stretching their shadows long. Sung-hoon said nothing. Just quietly watched her.
"..."
That silence pissed her off more. Ha-yoon ground her teeth.
"Why won't you say anything? Just say something... "
No answer. Instead, Sung-hoon's hand moved. In an instant, the cutter slipped from her grasp.
"...Huh?"
Too sudden—she couldn't even react. Sung-hoon glanced down at it briefly, then let out a short breath.
And— he brought the blade to his own wrist.
"Hey—!"
Ha-yoon's eyes flew wide. The blade grazed across. Not deep. But a clear mark remained.
A moment later— red droplets beaded up slowly.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Ha-yoon screamed near the top of her lungs, her body moving first. She lunged at Sung-hoon.
"Are you insane?!"
She grabbed his wrist. Familiar motions. Pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, pressed it to the wound.
Her hands shook. But her movements were astonishingly steady.
"...Why'd you do something like that."
Her voice trembled. Sung-hoon looked down at her for a moment. Her eyes were completely soaked.
The eyes that had raged at him moments ago now quivered with something entirely different.
"..."
Brief silence. Then Sung-hoon spoke.
"You seem experienced."
Ha-yoon's hands froze.
"What?"
"At stopping the bleeding."
"..."
Ha-yoon said nothing. Just kept pressing the wrist firmly.
After a few seconds, the blood stopped flowing.
The sun sank a bit more. Quiet settled over the rooftop again.
And Ha-yoon spoke first.
"What if you'd died?"
Her voice held anger. But something else mixed in clearly.
Sung-hoon thought for a moment.
"I wouldn't."
"How do you know?!"
"Human life is tenacious."
"Sounds like you've died and come back."
Ha-yoon clenched her teeth.
"You're really crazy."
Short silence, then Sung-hoon spoke again.
"...Feeling better now?"
Ha-yoon didn't get it.
"Huh?"
"Than before."
His gaze turned to her.
"Are you feeling a bit better now?"
Ha-yoon paused. And in that instant, she realized it.
The impulse that had filled her head moments ago—she had no memory of when it vanished.
Ding. The bell rang softly, announcing the end of classes. The sound every student awaited, signaling the school day was over.
But neither moved.
The standoff lasted a few minutes, then Sung-hoon held up the rooftop key.
"I'll hide out somewhere, so once the other kids are gone, sneak out. I'll lock up and return it after."
With that, Sung-hoon headed down the rooftop stairs. Ha-yoon stared blankly at the scene, then muttered dazedly.
"How the hell do I clean this up?"
Suddenly, she felt like transferring schools.
The next day.
Ha-yoon made it to school without issue. She'd expected a scolding for sneaking out, but the homeroom teacher just smiled like it was nothing.
"You were helping Sung-hoon, so no problem."
"...Pardon?"
"No need to be so embarrassed. Students should help each other and grow together."
Clear misunderstanding. But Ha-yoon didn't correct it.
The teacher's smartphone screen showed a text from Sung-hoon. Something about him feeling sick and her taking him to the nurse's office.
That sealed it for Ha-yoon. Sung-hoon had covered for her.
At the same time—
"Ha-yoon. You okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You know, that thing."
Her friend approached cautiously, eyes flicking toward Lee Geon-woo. Obviously about getting dumped.
Ha-yoon brushed it off casually.
"Shit happens. You get dumped sometimes in life."
"Huh? You used to say you couldn't live without him. Big change."
"You'll get it once it happens to you."
"This girl...!"
Ha-yoon bantered and joked like always. Being dumped by Geon-woo barely registered in her mind anymore. Her top priority had shifted.
And that priority—
"...Not here?"
She wasn't in sight. Should be in the class, but no sign of her.
"What? Looking for someone?"
"Uh... no? Just felt a presence."
"...Nothing there? Ha-yoon, you awakening psychic powers or what?"
Ignoring her friend's nonsense, Ha-yoon thought quietly.
"Anyway, she'll be up on the rooftop at lunch, right?"
Meanwhile, at the library.
For some reason, stacks of books piled up at the entrance. Sung-hoon headed toward them.
He spotted a girl struggling with a few books and waved.
"Here to help."
Hearing that, the girl peeked at Sung-hoon. Like a cat scouting around, she looked him over once, then Yoo Na-ri spoke to Kang Sung-hoon.
"Thank you. I was worried about handling it alone."