Things were going well.
Not perfect.
But better.
Kang Min-Jae was attending college.
Trying.
Moving forward… slowly.
And every night—
she was there.
Han Seo-Yeon.
Talking.
Laughing.
Staying.
For the first time—
life didn't feel completely empty.
Until—
one day—
everything changed.
The Message
It was evening.
Min-Jae was sitting alone—
phone in his hand.
Waiting.
Like always.
Then—
a message came.
"My parents found out."
His heart stopped.
"…what?"
No reply for a few seconds.
Then—
"About us talking."
His grip tightened.
"…are you okay?"
He typed quickly.
The Fear Returns
No reply.
Minutes passed.
His mind started racing.
Old thoughts returned.
Fear.
Not the small kind.
The deep kind.
The kind that comes from losing things before.
The Call
Finally—
his phone rang.
He picked up instantly.
"Seo-Yeon?"
Her voice was different.
Lower.
"…yeah."
"What happened?"
"They saw my phone."
Silence.
"They were angry."
His chest felt tight.
"…are you okay now?"
"…yeah. It's fine now."
But her voice didn't sound fine.
Something Inside Him Breaks Again
Min-Jae didn't hear everything she said after that.
Because his mind—
went somewhere else.
Back.
To the past.
Loss.
His brother.
His family.
His friends drifting away.
Everything he ever held onto—
eventually left.
The Thought
"What if she leaves too?"
That thought—
hit him hard.
Too hard.
Fear Over Logic
She was still talking.
"It's okay now, they just warned me—"
But he wasn't listening.
Because fear—
was louder.
The Decision
That night—
after the call ended—
he sat alone.
Thinking.
Not calmly.
But desperately.
"If I stay…"
"Something will happen…"
"I'll lose her…"
He couldn't handle that.
Not again.
So—
he chose something else.
Running Before Losing
The next day—
he didn't message.
Not "good morning."
Not anything.
She Messaged First
"Why are you not replying?"
He saw it.
Didn't open.
Didn't reply.
Days Passed
More messages came.
"Min-Jae?"
"Did something happen?"
"Why are you ignoring me?"
Each message—
hurt.
But he didn't respond.
Because in his mind—
"If I leave first… I won't feel it when she leaves."
Lying to Himself
He told himself—
this was the right thing.
That he was protecting her.
That he was protecting himself.
But deep inside—
he knew the truth.
He was running.
Again.
The Last Message
One night—
a message came.
"If you don't want to talk, just say it."
He stared at it for a long time.
His fingers moved.
Stopped.
Moved again.
Then—
he locked his phone.
And stayed silent.
End of Something Important
Days turned into weeks.
Her messages stopped.
Calls stopped.
Everything—
stopped.
And just like that—
she was gone.
Not because she left.
But because—
he did.
End Line
"He didn't lose her…
he let her go himself—
because he was too afraid to lose her later."