1 Chapter 1

Jeongsan, Korea

5:45 PM-September 30, 2018

The afternoon sky, filled with an endless blanket of white, gradually enveloped the city with its dull colour; making the wind much colder as it embraced everything in its path. The fiery hues of the autumn-stricken trees and the soft chirping of birds had followed the citizens wherever they went.

In a park, a young woman had been sitting quietly on a bench. She stared at the endless water rushing down on the fountain made of stone; her dark oak-coloured eyes seemingly listless.

The ebony locks she possessed had flown freely with the wind, exposing the porcelain nape of her neck to the cold weather. Han Soo-yeon exhaled, licking her flushed pink lips as she placed her delicate hands inside the warmth of her pockets.

Getting fired from her job had not been an easy idea to grasp at that moment. Wanting to clear her thoughts, she chose to linger there; unemployed and pitifully worrying about what would happen next.

She seemed to even hear the booming voices of her parents, yelling at her for being so careless. Soo-yeon could faintly see it; two angry faces, their harsh words telling her how much of a disappointment she had been. As minutes ticked by, she found herself wishing to go home, covered under the pillows of her comforting bed and heavily sleeping the day away.

But Soo-yeon could not leave just yet. She had been waiting for someone.

"What's taking him so long?" she murmured, her irritated eyes soon scanning the texts in her phone.

Her fiancé, Park Yeon-jin.

Soo-yeon's thoughts once more were clouded, with his image in mind. He had been recruited two years ago to be an idol of XY Entertainment, a well-known company with elite models. When he had accepted, their relationship gradually fell apart. Their meetings went from daily to only seldom, his time was divided, and the calls they had became shorter.

Their days of happiness had ended long ago and what remained had been nothing but a distant memory now. When Soo-yeon tried to look back, everything seemed as though it had been part of a long dream.

"Nothing lasts forever. People come and go," she muttered. The words that left her lips felt bitter, but they reassured her for what was about to come.

Through the years, they both had grown too busy with their lives, that was all there was to it. Soo-yeon also had hopes and dreams, and would naturally disregard anything that distracted her from fulfilling them.

She made sure he was aware of that, and yet he still chose to work things out, sprinkle her with his love, as if the end of their relationship was not near and that she would stay.

She knew he had felt it too.

"Han Soo-yeon, there you are!" A smile as bright as the sun had interrupted her thoughts, but all her mind could focus on was the weight of everything else.

His charcoal eyes laughed into hers, as though he had no worries in the world. Soo-yeon almost envied him right then and there. The locks of deep brown on his head grew tangled from the wind, yet she made no move to even them out.

Five years ago, she would have ran all the way; showering him with tender kisses, along with the sweet curve of her lips that would make him laugh in return. But now, only this tense and suffocating air had haunted both of them.

"You're finally here," she sighed, her words cold and distant as she stood up.

A bouquet of flowers, petals as blue as oceans and skies, found themselves being placed into the palms of her hands.

'Happy fifth anniversary!' were the short words that had been written elegantly on the card.

Yeon-jin chuckled while ruffling her hair. "I got you these, along with a movie if you're up for it." She felt his gentle fingertips place a flower on the back of her ear.

Soo-yeon grew quiet. His touch that used to send butterflies no longer had its effect. Only a faint frown grew on her face.

"Yeon-jin, I need to tell you something," she said, shifting uncomfortably under his stare.

Before she could explain anything else, he hugged her tightly. Just embracing her, as though it would be the last one he would get. She felt that it had been almost childish of him to do so.

"That flower really suits you!" he revealed, laughing as their embrace came to an end. His lips, pressed into a small smile, slightly faltered as he extended his hand.

"Let's walk to the train station, then you can tell me what you want," Yeon-jin said, his voice holding a finality to his words, as if he knew where their conversation would be going.

Soo-yeon hesitated at first, but she soon decided to entertain his little wish; taking his hand in hers despite not wanting to. Thus, they began walking, breathing in the air of the busy city streets. The rough hand that enveloped her own seemed to tighten as he found their way through the crowd.

It felt different.

The way his chest would rise every time he inhaled, the way his eyelashes would flutter, and the way the corners of his eyes would crinkle whenever he laughed too much; such little things that once made her pulse quicken, they all felt so different now.

What a pity.

In her heart, Soo-yeon had no place for him anymore. If one were to ask when she had realized this, she herself would not know the answer. Perhaps it was meant to turn out this way from the start. It would be best for both of them, she thought.

Yeon-jin halted in his steps. His strong back grew stiff and tense as he turned to face the woman that had been so dear to him.

"Hey, remember that tree over there?" he asked. His smile had returned, but it did not reach his eyes. They both turned their heads to the same direction.

A mighty tree came to view, its leaves were bright; orange flecked with burning red. Around it stood a bench, where an elderly couple had been sitting on. Their hands, although wrinkled, held tightly to the other.

Their smiles were what truly placed a hole in Soo-yeon's heart. She could almost imagine that picture of Yeon-jin and her growing old together, but then she reminded herself: they would never grow old together.

"What about it?" Soo-yeon asked, pretending to be unbothered by the couple.

"It was where I first asked you out, silly," he said. His voice almost had a strain to it, he himself not expecting that she would forget. "In high school, I remember wishing hard and struggling to find the biggest bouquet of blue flowers ever."

If Soo-yeon thought it had been foolish of him to bring up such a memory now, she did not show it.

Instead, she wondered why he would always buy her things that would disappear quickly. Especially those blue flowers. At first it seemed sweet, but now, it felt repetitive as he gave it to her constantly. It felt like such a waste to care for something that would die off fast.

"Any reason why you care for things that don't last very long? Seems like a waste of time to me," she told him truthfully as her eyes stared at the bouquet within her delicate grasp.

"Time flies quickly, Soo-yeon," he said, shrugging as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "the very fact that they don't last long is already a reason itself."

The more they talked, the more delusional he seemed in her eyes. Now that she had a better look, they were too different for each other.

"What was your wish?" she asked, continuing the conversation.

"Isn't it obvious?" came his reply, the charming curve of his lips revealing itself once more, "to date you."

Soo-yeon paused for a moment, listless eyes gazing into his.

"I see," she murmured, her voice seemingly far away.

Time had flown too quickly, and it would never stop, even for them. This bitter thought had unknowingly bothered Soo-yeon, more than she could ever hope to understand.

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