Wow hello everyone! Its been years but I've finally decided to finish this story. 

I honestly feel like I have lost all motivation for this story, and I haven't been on this website for years, but I went on and I saw so many comments asking me to finish this and I felt like the least I could do was finish this story so you guys are not left hanging. I'm actually so surprised by how many people are still enjoying and waiting for this story to update it so touching. Thank you all so much for all the support you guys are seriously so wonderful <3 

I had to go back and re read some bits to figure out what happened so I'm sorry if this chapter sort of skipped a bit in time to clarify basically their relationship has been bad for quite a while and Nayoung has officially given up on him now. (Feel free to comment if you are unsure of what has happened I can clarify to the best of my abilities) Also apologies if the writing seems different from now on because its been a long time and while I have not really written anything since I stopped writing this story, my writing has still changed. 

I'm sorry if this is not what you wanted or if this story doesn't feel the same anymore I'm trying my best! It's a short chapter and it's a bit jumpy and all over the place because I'm trying to gather my ideas and replan the rest of this story to make it more comfortable/ fitting for my current style and I'm still trying to warm up my writing engine! 

Thank you so much for your patience and I hope you enjoy reading!

(p.s. there is also a formatting problem so one letter is always bolded for some reason I don't know why) 

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‘Hey Kyungmi.’ The girl froze at the sound of her name. She felt her heart drop further into her stomach, she had been trying to prepare herself for this day. But she knew she wasn’t ready; she’d never be ready. She had hoped she’d be able to spend her upcoming birthday with him at least. The girl reluctantly turned to look at her boyfriend, stealing a quick glance before her eyes turned to the ground again.

Lu Han scratched the back of his neck, forcing himself to face the awkward atmosphere that had settled between the two. He didn’t think there would be a day where he’d willingly put himself in such a situation. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, he wasn’t the type. But Lu Han knew that he had to sort things out now. His parents had come over to visit earlier in the week, and the foul mood between Nayoung and him was so obvious his parents had to sit him down and have a ‘serious talk’ about their relationship and the marriage. They had brought up the divorce alarmingly often, so much so that he had an inkling of an idea about what his parents had in mind if he didn’t fix the problem and explain everything to them soon. He realised after that visit that telling his parents ‘it’s complicated’ was not a good explanation. No matter what, he had to get his life sorted out now.

‘Look, I think we really should-’

‘S-Stop!’ Kyungmi cut him off with a desperate yell, ‘Don’t say any more! Can you give me a few days? Please? I just need some time…’ the girl in a deep breath, gathering whatever little speck of courage she could muster. ‘Just until my birthday? It’s only a few days away.’

Lu Han couldn’t hold back the sigh that escaped his lips. ‘I don’t really think-’

‘Please. It’s my last request. Please?’

Lu Han bit his lip, the discomfort evident on his features. ‘...Okay.’

‘Thanks, Lu Han.’ Kyung forced a smile, but avoided eye contact. She didn’t want to see what kind of face he was making right now. ‘I’ll see you around then…’

She quickly stalked off and leaving the latter alone at the school rooftop.

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Lu Han waiting long enough so he was sure she had left before making his way reluctantly back to the cafeteria. He knew for a fact Kyungmi would not be there, she needed some time alone. He could almost picture it as if it were a movie in his head. She had probably teared up as soon as she turned away from him. She was crying right now. Alone in the bathroom stalls.  It suddenly struck him how apathetic he was towards the situation. The realisation was jarring. When did the adorably shy Kyungmi become the overly dependent Kyungmi? When had her timid personality change from being endearing to frustrating? When had her quietness become boring? The realisation of his own cold heartedness slapped him like cold bucket of water.

It wasn’t like he didn’t care at all. He did. It hurt him to see her upset, and guilt crawl up his throat because he knew he was the one that was causing the pain. He still remembered when he would be furious if anyone dared make Kyungmi cry. He was so protective. Even the slightest change in her mood sent him into a flurry of worry. But the emotions he felt back then were no longer there. It was strange how now, he was the one that had hurt her the most, but he wasn’t sad, he wasn’t in turmoil like he thought he would be.

More than anything he was relieved. Relieved that he no longer had to keep up this facade. Relieved he no longer needed to watch his words in case he upset her. Relieved that he would no longer have to stress about what to say and what to do during dates. It was like a heavy boulder he hadn’t known was on his shoulder was suddenly lifted and he was finally able to release the tension between his joints after years of pressure.

He slowly walked his way to the cafeteria, dreading the moment where he’d have to explain to his friends that he planned to break up with Kyungmi. He couldn’t hide it from them. As soon as they saw him they’d ask why only one of them had come back.

Only a few steps into the cafeteria and his prediction had already come true.

‘Hyung! Where’d Kyungmi go?’ It was the curious maknae.

‘Um.. I-’

A loud crash caught his attention. Lu Han turned to the source of the noise, unsurprised that it was Nayoung again. The girl had slammed her books on the table, glaring icily at an older girl who was standing beside her.

‘I told you to get lost didn’t I?’ Nayoung turned and stood up, approaching the other girl with threatening steps. ‘Then why are you still here?’

‘I-I just wanted to-’

Nayoung cut her off sharply, ‘I don’t care what you want. Just turn around, and-’

Lu Han felt himself stop himself in his tracks. His immediate reaction was to approach the quarrel, but part of him hesitated. How long had it been? Weeks? A month? He couldn’t even remember the last time they had eaten a meal together. A distance had grown between them, a wall that had slowly built up between them until they could no longer see or hear each other. They were almost like strangers, and so when he saw Nayoung yelling at the other girl, he didn’t know if he could intervene. He forced a few cautious steps, intimidated almost, by the girl who was now both familiar and unrecognisable. Lu Han told himself to man up, it’d be best to stop this before it escalated any further, if not for his sake, for the poor girl who was victim to Nayoung’s frustrations right now.

‘Nayoung.’ Lu Han had stepped in, grabbing the girl’s wrist to turn her attention toward him. “I need to talk to you.’

He felt the girl roughly pull her wrist out of his grip, but she reluctantly followed him despite deep scowl on her features. He took them outside to a secluded area of the school. It was a small corner just behind the school cafeteria that no one walked past.

Nayoung kicked her feet against the asphalt grudgingly, refusing to look up from the ground to look at her husband, ‘There, you stopped me from creating some big commotion. Happy now? Can I leave now?’

Lu Han’s words were suddenly caught in his throat. This wasn’t like her. She wasn’t looking at him like usual. And it almost sounded as if she was avoiding him. ‘I-I wanted to talk to you.’

‘I don’t have anything to say, and I don’t particularly want to hear anything from you.’

Lu Han knew something was wrong. She still hadn’t looked up from the ground. There was a subtle slump in her shoulders; her usual proud demeanor had faded. She looked small. Her usual angry tone wasn’t there. There was no disgruntled mumble, no hostility in her voice. It felt empty, cold almost, and it unsettled him. It didn’t feel right.

‘Hey… Are you alright?’

‘And what does it matter to you? Shouldn’t you be with Kyungmi? Won’t she break out into a fit of tears if she see you here with me?’

Lu Han laid a gentle hand on her shoulders, ‘Look at me.’

‘Don’t touch me.’

The coldness in her voice stung, and when she shook his hands off for the second time Lu Han felt a tight pang in his chest. She rejected him, and the realisation sent a cold shot of electricity through his spine. It surprised him how much it hurt.

‘I just want to talk to you.’

‘About what? About Kyungmi? About how she is the one you care about? About how I’m absolutely nothing compared to her and no matter how hard I try that will never change? About how someone as horrible as me can never be good enough for you?’

Nayoung’s voice was thick with a feigned contempt. She spat the words out bitterly, like there was glue stuck in . But Lu Han could hear the slight tremble in her words. He wanted to say no. That wasn’t what he thought of her. He wanted to tell her she was wrong. But the weakness in her voice scared him, and he wasn’t able to get a word out. It was like someone had clamped a hand over his throat and was forbidding him to say what he felt.

‘You don’t have to tell me again She rolled her eyes, desperately trying to mask the evident insecurity in her tone, ‘I already know okay? I have a horrible personality. I can’t compare to Kyungmi. You don’t care about me. I already know I’m a nuisance to everyone.’ Nayoung took a shaky breath. She hated herself for being so weak. She told herself to get angry at Lu Han. She told herself to raise her voice. To be strong. But she no longer had the energy keep up the facade. She felt like a fool every day. Setting herself up for failure after failure. And it was harder day by day. It had reached a point where she felt like she was drowning, like she had finally sunk to the bottom of the sea and couldn’t swim back to the surface.It was painful. It was suffocating.And she was tired of it all. She couldn’t even masked the despair in her own voice. And even as she mustered up all the remaining courage she had left, the words still came out as soft as a breath of wind, ‘I give up now. Happy? I’ll leave you alone. I’ll get out of Kyungmi’s face. I’ll disappear from your sight. I don’t want to do this anymore.’

Her words hurt him. Each sentence was like a nail twisting in his chest. They were so cruel. And it pained him more to know that they were his own words. Everything she said to him were things he had said to her; In his moments of frustration and anger. Hearing them now, without the heat of an argument to cloud his judgement, he was disturbed by his own heartlessness. Nayoung had always seemed so indestructible, like no matter what he said she was unfazed, and he had taken advantage of that. The anger he felt toward himself and his own shortcomings had twisted into insults, hateful remarks. He had vented his personal frustrations out on her, and he couldn’t hate himself enough for it.

‘Wait, Nayoung-’ He couldn’t finish his sentence. The words were lodged in his throat, and he only watched as the girl turned to leave. He needed to tell her she was wrong. He was wrong. He needed to say something. Anything. Before it was too late. But his feet refused to move.

His heart was hammering in his chest, the sound of his own heartbeat deafening in his ears. He clenched his fists, the rush of emotions felt like chains crushing his chest. And it hurt. More than he expected.