Jungwon lay awake in his empty apartment, the ticking of the clock on the wall marking each second of the sleepless night. The conversation with Seoyeon replayed endlessly in his mind, every word she had spoken cutting deeper than the last. The weight of her absence was suffocating, as if the air itself had grown heavier since she left.
He had hurt her beyond repair, and now she was gone. The guilt gnawed at him, but there was no way to undo the damage he had caused. The choices he had made had shattered the only life he had known, and now, all that was left was a hollow void.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand, and for a brief second, hope flickered inside him. Maybe Seoyeon had sent a message, maybe there was still a chance to fix things. But when he glanced at the screen, it wasn't Seoyeon—it was Yoonah.
"Are you okay? I've been thinking about you."
Jungwon stared at the message, his mind swirling with confusion. Yoonah had been the spark that reignited his heart, the one who made him feel alive again. But now, after everything that had happened, even Yoonah's presence in his life felt uncertain. What was he to her? And what was she to him, now that Seoyeon was gone?
He typed a response, but his fingers hovered over the screen, unsure of what to say. The words felt meaningless, hollow, as if they could never bridge the gap between the mess he had created. Before he could send anything, there was a knock at the door.
Jungwon hesitated. It was late, and he wasn't expecting anyone. But part of him already knew who it was. Slowly, he got up, walking to the door and opening it to find Yoonah standing there, her expression filled with worry.
"Jungwon," she said softly, stepping inside before he could respond. "I was worried about you. I know tonight must have been hard."
He closed the door behind her, the familiar ache in his chest intensifying as she moved closer. Yoonah reached out to touch his arm, but Jungwon took a step back, putting distance between them.
"I told her," he said quietly, his voice strained. "I told Seoyeon about us."
Yoonah's eyes widened, and for a moment, she looked relieved. "You did? How…how did she take it?"
Jungwon shook his head, his jaw clenched as he fought to keep his emotions in check. "She's gone, Yoonah. I hurt her, and now she's gone. I don't think she's coming back."
Yoonah's relief faded, replaced by a mix of guilt and hesitation. She had wanted this, wanted Jungwon to be honest, but now that it was real, the reality of it weighed on both of them. She bit her lip, her eyes searching his face for something—reassurance, maybe, or a sign that things could still be okay.
"I'm sorry," Yoonah said softly. "I know this is hard. But I'm here for you, Jungwon. I don't want you to go through this alone."
Jungwon looked at her, the woman who had turned his world upside down. But now, standing here with her, he couldn't shake the feeling that something had shifted. It wasn't just about Seoyeon anymore. The betrayal, the lies, the guilt—it had tainted everything, even his relationship with Yoonah.
"I don't know what I want anymore," he admitted, his voice raw with uncertainty. "Everything feels…broken. I thought being with you would make things clear, but it hasn't. It's only made things more complicated."
Yoonah's expression faltered, and for the first time, Jungwon saw the cracks in her confidence. She had always been so sure, so certain of their connection, but now, even she seemed uncertain of where they stood.
"I didn't want to complicate things," she said quietly. "I just wanted to be with you."
"I know," Jungwon replied, his heart heavy. "But now everything's a mess, and I don't know how to fix it."
Yoonah stepped closer, her eyes pleading. "We can figure it out, Jungwon. Together. We don't have to know all the answers right now."
But Jungwon shook his head, stepping back again. "I don't think it's that simple, Yoonah. Seoyeon's gone, and…I don't even know if we can move forward after this. Everything feels different now."
Yoonah's face fell, the hope in her eyes dimming. She had fought so hard for him, had believed that they could build something out of the chaos, but now, standing in the wreckage of his broken relationships, it felt like there was no clear path forward.
"Are you saying you don't want to be with me?" she asked, her voice trembling with vulnerability.
Jungwon didn't answer right away. He didn't know how to. There was a part of him that still cared deeply for Yoonah, a part that had been drawn to her fire and passion. But after everything that had happened, he wasn't sure if he could trust himself to make the right decision.
"I don't know what I want," he repeated, his voice cracking under the weight of his indecision.
The silence that followed was heavy, filled with the unspoken realization that maybe, just maybe, there was no way to untangle the web they had spun. Yoonah looked at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, but she didn't say anything more. She simply nodded, as if understanding that the void between them was growing too wide to bridge.
"I'll give you space," Yoonah whispered, her voice barely audible. "But I hope…when you figure things out, you'll let me know."
And with that, she turned and left, the door closing softly behind her.
Jungwon stood there in the silence, the emptiness in his heart growing by the second. He had made his choices, and now he was left to face the consequences. But as the night stretched on, one truth became painfully clear:
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to fix things, some cracks are too deep to mend.