She stood on the edge of Ku Dé Ta at Marina Bay Sands, looking down at the bright lights from Gardens By the Bay. The wind bristled her blonde hair while she stood at the skypark, lost in her own thoughts, oblivious to the many glances she was getting from other patrons. "Chaerin, you okay?" asked her friend, Seunghyun. She looked up at him and gave him a forced smile. "Oppa, I'll be fine." She wanted to be happy. She truly wanted to have fun, but all the bright lights seemed dim in her eyes, everyone looked the same. She could only see his face, when someone spoke to her, she could only hear his voice. The more she tried to forget him, the more he came back haunting her. Even the green Bottega Veneta nero crepe jersey evening gown she was wearing sparked memories of him. He told her that he loved the colour green on her.

She bit back her tears and made herself promise to try to forget him for the fifth time that night. She held her head up and forced herself to smile, walking back to her group of friends. "Guys, a toast to the lovely couple!" said Bom unabashedly, and her self-praise managed to get Chaerin to laugh. But someone sitting silently at the table noticed that her smile didn't reach her eyes. Her hurt was so apparent to him, yet he couldn't do anything to make it better. The merrymaking of the group went on for hours, and when it was time to leave, he noticed that she was no where to be found. He knew she was probably hiding somewhere, wanting to get away from all the banter of their friends. Chaerin's loss was greater than any of them could comprehend. The man was her light in darkness, she truly thought he was her saving grace. To be abandoned and left alone like that, only he could understand. 

"Ji ah, you coming?" asked Seunghyun.

"No, you guys go ahead, I'm meeting someone," he replied.

He needed to find her, he couldn't bear to think of her hurting by herself. She was too fragile. He let himself relive the moments when he too was hurting, envisioning the places he would have gone too when he was in that state of mind. He ran to the only logical place he could think of. The loudest and most crowded place in the entire hotel, a place where she would be surrounded by people - but would still be alone. A place where she could hide in a corner and could let her thoughts and emotions overwhelm her, where she didn't need to pretend because nobody knew her. Just as he expected, she was crouched under an empty table, not far from the crowd at the skypool. He silently stood behind her shaking silhouette. He wanted to approach her, to comfort her, to be her shoulder, but he knew that it wasn't the time yet. She needed to face her feelings. He stood there, waiting, silently watching. Promising to never let her get hurt again

Chaerin sat crouched, head in her arms, shaking uncontrollably as she let her feelings engulf her. She wouldn't let the tears fall, not yet. "I threw away my pride, all for you. My promise to forget you makes me cry again, can you hear me?" she voiced out her thoughts. "Without you I can't do anything, but you didn't need me," she whimpered. Tears threatened to fall as memories of their time together flooded her every neurone. She thought of all the little acts of affection, the long nights laying next to each other, the talks of the future. Every kiss, every smile, every laugh. A facade. She had thought that their forever would last, but his forever was a lie. Even though she wanted him to come back, wanted him to return, she knew that it would never happen. That "they" never actually existed.

The tears ran down her cheeks uncontrollably. Once she started, she just couldn't stop. She just sat there sobbing silently, even as a skinny man dressed in black sat down next to her, placing her head on his shoulders. "Chae ah, cry all you want. I know how you feel but oppa is here now, I'll take care of you." He hugged her and she let her tears flow, clutching his back tightly, grateful for his shoulder. She hated being vulnerable, but the look in his eyes conveyed so much more than she could have imagined. He didn't pity her, he understood her and he truly cared for her. She let herself stay like that for over ten minutes, with tears running down his black shirt, her face in the nook of his shoulders. He sat there silently, rubbing his hands up and down her back. She released herself from his embrace and gave him a tight, small smile as she looked into his deep brown eyes. Before she could say anything, he placed a small chaste kiss on her lips and felt her lips slowly curl upwards....