That night, Seo-yoon didn't turn on the lights.
She sat on the edge of her bed, her bag still beside her, her shoes still on, her room dim with only the faint glow from outside filtering through the window.
She hadn't moved much since she got home.
Hadn't changed.
Hadn't eaten.
Hadn't even tried to.
Her thoughts were too loud.
Too heavy.
Too much.
She leaned forward slightly, her elbows resting on her knees, her hands loosely clasped together.
For a while, she just sat there.
Quiet.
Still.
Trying to think.
Trying not to think.
It didn't work.
"It's your decision."
The words came back.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Seo-yoon let out a slow breath, her fingers tightening slightly.
"Then why did you say it like that…" she whispered.
Her voice sounded small.
Almost unfamiliar.
"If it didn't matter…"
She stopped.
Her throat tightened.
Something inside her chest twisted sharply.
She pressed her lips together, trying to steady herself.
But the more she thought about it
The worse it felt.
Because it wasn't just that moment.
It was everything.
The way he stopped waiting.
The way he stopped sitting beside her.
The way he stopped noticing.
The way he stopped saying anything at all.
Like she didn't matter.
Like none of it mattered.
Her breathing became uneven.
"Why did it feel like you didn't care…"
The words barely came out.
Her vision blurred.
She blinked.
Once.
Twice.
It didn't go away.
Her hands clenched together.
Tighter.
Her shoulders shook slightly.
"No…"
She shook her head, like she could stop it.
Like she could push it back.
But it was already there.
Already breaking through.
"I didn't want it to be my decision…"
Her voice cracked.
Soft.
Unsteady.
"I just…"
She inhaled sharply.
Her chest tightened painfully.
"I just wanted you to say something."
The first tear fell.
Quiet.
Unnoticed.
Then another.
And another.
Seo-yoon lowered her head, her hair falling forward, hiding her face as her shoulders trembled.
She tried to stay quiet.
Tried to keep it in.
But she couldn't.
Not anymore.
Her grip tightened against her own hands as the tears came faster, her breathing uneven, breaking.
"Why does it hurt this much…" she whispered.
The room felt too small.
Too quiet.
Too empty.
And for the first time
She didn't try to stop it.
She let it happen.
The tears.
The shaking.
The weight of everything she had been holding in.
Because there was no one there to see it.
No one to hear it.
No one to stop her.
And maybe that was the worst part.
Because the one person she wanted to see it
The one person she wanted to understand
Wasn't there.
And didn't even know.
Seo-yoon slowly leaned forward, her face buried in her hands as her breathing broke completely.
"I hate this…" she whispered.
Her voice trembled.
"I hate that it matters."
The words echoed softly in the room.
But no one answered.
And that silence
Hurt more than anything else...