The courtyard still trembled with the echo of the vanished symbol, but Len barely cared about the strange crack. His thoughts circled only one thing — Arin's trembling voice behind the door and the whisper that haunted him:
"I don't want to lose you…"
Then why did she feel so far away?
Why did every word between them feel like walking on cracked ice?
Len returned to the cherry tree where moonlight fell in soft silver patches. The air was biting cold, colder than anything natural. His fingers tightened around Arin's folded parchment.
He finally opened it.
The handwriting was hers — steady, clean, the way she wrote when she didn't want emotions to show.
But each word pierced.
"Len, I'm sorry.
There are things I can't tell you.
Things I can't let you see.
It's safer if we stay apart… for now."
A long silence swallowed the night.
"For now…?"
His voice cracked slightly.
Why was she apologizing when he didn't even understand what he had done wrong?
Suddenly footsteps approached from behind.
Arin.
Her face was pale, eyes swollen, hand trembling slightly as she reached for the letter.
"You weren't supposed to read it tonight," she whispered.
He turned to her, hurt flickering in his eyes.
"You keep saying not tonight, not now. When is the right time, Arin? When everything is gone already?"
She flinched.
"Len… please don't make this harder."
"Then tell me the truth," he said softly, stepping closer. "Are you leaving me?"
Her breath caught.
For a moment, she didn't answer.
And silence… was already an answer.
Len felt his chest tighten like someone had slowly twisted a blade inside.
"Why?" he finally asked. "Did I fail you? Did I—"
"No," she said immediately. "You didn't do anything. It's me. I— I just need distance."
He shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense."
"I know," she whispered. "But I don't have another way."
Her shoulders trembled as she stepped back.
Len swallowed the rising ache.
"Arin… look at me."
She did — slowly, painfully.
"Do you want this?"
The words tore at him.
Her eyes glistened.
Her lips parted, but for a second she couldn't speak.
When she finally did, her voice was almost broken:
"I want you to be safe, Len."
"That's not an answer," he whispered.
But she didn't say anything more.
The distance between them felt heavier than the night sky above. Len finally exhaled shakily.
"Arin… tell me one thing. Just one truth."
His voice trembled.
"What changed?"
Her voice barely escaped her lips—
"…Everything."
A soft crack echoed in Len's heart.
She stepped further back, tears slipping silently.
"Len… if you stay close to me, you might lose far more than you can imagine. There's someone— something… watching us. And I can't let you get hurt because of me."
"What are you talking about?" he whispered.
She shook her head fiercely.
"I can't tell you. Not now. Maybe not ever."
"Arin—"
"Goodbye, Len."
The finality in her voice froze him completely.
She lowered her gaze.
She didn't hug him.
She didn't touch him.
She just… turned around.
And walked away.
Each step sounded like a falling stone.
Slow.
Heavy.
Breaking something inside both of them.
Len didn't call her back.
He couldn't.
His voice was locked somewhere deep in his chest.
He watched her silhouette fade into the dark hallway of the dormitory, swallowed by the shadows.
The painful part wasn't the walk away.
It was that she didn't look back even once.
The moon dimmed behind clouds.
Lanterns flickered weakly, as if mourning.
Len stood alone under the cherry tree, the cold wind brushing past him like a ghost. His vision blurred slightly, but he didn't wipe it. He just whispered:
"…If distance keeps you safe… I'll accept it."
Though his heart was shattering.
Across the courtyard, hidden within the deeper shadows, the faceless figure from before watched again, silently satisfied.
"Finally… the first thread snaps."
The lantern beside it flickered and died instantly.
Inside her room, Arin fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
Her voice cracked under the weight of her decision.
But she didn't reopen the door.
Not even once.
Not even when Len finally walked away — slow, defeated, each step echoing with a quiet heartbreak.
He didn't see her collapse.
He didn't hear her sobs.
He only heard his own heartbeat breaking quietly inside him.
As he reached the center courtyard, the sky trembled again — the same eerie hum from yesterday.
The strange symbol flickered faintly in the clouds.
Len looked up, unaware that the same crack had reappeared behind Arin's room.
A sign.
A warning.
A beginning.
And an ending.
His voice trembled in the cold air:
"…Arin."
The wind carried the name away like a painful whisper.
And just like that —
their bond shattered.
Their paths split.
Their hearts broke quietly in the night.
This was the end of Len and Arin…
At least for now.
Chapter Seventeen ends here.
The breakup is complete — painful, emotional, mysterious.
But nothing is explained clearly yet… because fate is still hiding the truth.
Now the story jumps TEN YEARS FORWARD.
Chapter Eighteen will begin with:
"Ten Years Later…"
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Chapter 18 coming soon.