Eunji tortures herself in the loneliness of her home, replaying her long awaited turned regrettable encounter with Kibum. 

As if she hadn't worried enough about seeing Kibum for the first time in several years, she had not made room for the image of him and someone else in her mind. 

The modelesque woman with kind eyes, a sweet smile and probably an even sweeter personality.

She had appeared so innocent and unknowing, genuinely awestruck by Eunji, that it made it difficult for Eunji to feel any malice towards her. 

"He's probably never mentioned me, but then again, why would he?" Eunji whispers to no one. 

It's that thought alone that hurts her to the core. 

Although illogical and impractical for Kibum to do so, Eunji interprets him not telling his latest love interest about her as some sort of shortcoming on her part. 

She had been a forgettable love. 

A love that was, at one point, center stage in Eunji's life reduced to a mere footnote in Kibum's. 

Eunji hugs herself tightly and sinks into the cushions of her sofa. 

She sobs silently, seeing faces flash inside of her mind from this terrible night. 

Voices blur until it's just a ringing, dizzying sound. 

It takes an urgent knock on Eunji's door to halt the noise. 

Eunji opens her flooded eyes to the darkness of the room, seeing only the silhouette of a man through the window. 

She stares in confusion, wondering who it could be at this hour, on this night?

It wouldn't have surprised her if Naeun had attempted to drop by and console her, or any of their other friends, but she can tell that the figure belongs to a man. 

She's staring long enough for another knock to sound.

The person outside seems courteous, trying not to knock loudly in fear that it would disturb Eunji's neighbors. 

Apprehensively, Eunji moves from the couch to the front door, tapping on the monitor next to it to see who awaits.

Her knees nearly buckle.

One trembling hand turns the lock and pulls the door in, revealing a distraught Kim Kibum.

He attempts to hide his nervousness behind a cool side smile, but they both know better. 

The only thing Eunji genuinely doesn't know is why Kibum is there. 

"Um..." is the only word Eunji manages.

"Can I come in?" 

Eunji side steps to allow Kibum to enter. He takes in the familiar living area, remembering the furniture being rearranged in a different way the last time he was there. 

He quickly returns his attention to Eunji who at first stands there awkwardly.

Realizing the growing tension, she gestures towards the couch for him to sit as she goes to pour two glasses of water.

They both settle into the tension, the darkness of the room being slightly illuminated by the lights from the lamp posts spilling into the windows. 

Kibum looks over to Eunji, who, despite the circumstances, attempts to make herself comfortable in a lounge chair across from him. 

"I'm not sure where to begin," Kibum starts, cutting the stillness with his words. 

"How about telling me what you're doing here?" Eunji asks, trying with every ounce to keep her words from sounding accusatory. 

Kibum nods. "Right, that would make the most sense." He shakes his head and runs his shaking hands through his hair. "Truthfully, I'm not all the way sure, but I felt surely that I needed to apologize to you for all of this."

Eunji shakes her head. "You're wasting your time if you came here to apologize, it wasn't your fault and you know it." 

"I know it's not exactly, but I can't help but feel responsible. I spoke with Taemin, and I'm disappointed in them both."

"If you spoke to Taemin, then you shouldn't be disappointed, you shouldn't even blame them. Just admit it, you're feeling sorry for me," Eunji sneers. 

"No, Eunji, that's not it -"

"It's okay, Key, I can handle it. You don't have to protect my feelings, you don't owe me that. I get you're trying to do the noble thing here and spare me some dignity, but I know you're having a good laugh at this. Taemin and Naeun only did what I instructed them to do, how is that their fault?"

Kibum responds initially with a perplexed expression. "I'm genuinely confused..." Kibum tries to assert but Eunji isn't interested. 

"It's my fault for assuming those letters held their meaning, so you don't have to blame them. You can tell me I'm a fool for going off on a limb based off of words you wrote but would never say to me." Eunji can feel the start of tears again but she refuses them.

Kibum's jaw hangs low with the realization of Eunji's words. 

"Y-you read my letters?" Kibum can hear his heart drumming.

Now it's Eunji's turn to be confused. 

"I thought you said you spoke to Taemin?"

"I did!" Kibum exclaimed, "He told me he read the letters, but...he didn't say anything about you!"

Eunji's hands fly to as if she can take back the words that have already given her away. It dawns on her immediately that Taemin must have not disclosed the whole truth, but she might as well had. 

She moves her hands from her lips to her chest and shakes her head furiously. "Oh my god," she whispers. 

"So you read them then. You read my letters. Oh my god is right," Kibum struggles to catch his breath, as if he's been running around the entire time. 

Can't run from it now, Jung Eunji.

"I read the letters," Eunji says, nearly inaudibly. "And I had Taemin and Naeun help me to get you to show my tonight, thinking that those letters still held their weight. I got pep talks from Naeun but the truth is I didn't need them, I just needed a reason. A reason to think of you, any reason and I got it. I had this whole stupid thing planned thinking it would be as simple as locking eyes." Eunji lets out a spiteful chuckle. "Yeah, now I'm embarrassed." 

Eunji hangs her head low following her unintended admission. She fixates her gaze on a pesky scratch in one of the boards of the hardwood floor. 

Kibum only stares. 

That's all he can do. 

He had no idea. 

It wasn't his presence that had blindsided her at the theater.

She had been blindsided by Amandla's.

"So I guess it's all out there now. On the table. I suppose Taemin was trying to save me from humiliation."

Kibum realizes this and nods. 

That's all he can do in this moment. He doesn't feel as though he has the proper words; anything meaningful.

He wants badly to comfort Eunji, to hold her, to assure her that she's nothing to be embarrassed about. 

But he knows that won't help. 

Because while he doesn't look down on her in any way, he couldn't even imagine doing that, their reality is this: does the truth change anything?

As if she's reading his mind, Eunji speaks up. 

"I get your silence, and strangely I appreciate it. I don't think I'm able to stomach you telling me you're sorry." Eunji looks to Kibum, searching for his gaze.

He returns it, staring deeply into eyes he used to swim in. 

"I don't have many expectations at this point. You know my feelings after all of this time, where I thought I knew yours. You didn't come all the way here to tell me you still love me, did you?"

Kibum feels a slight pang in his chest; the question carrying such a heavy burden. 

He hasn't asked himself the question in so long: Am I still in love with Eunji?

He had spent so much time being in what he thought was a one-sided love.

Deeply grieving over the loss of it all, thinking he had lost that fresh air feeling for good. 

Now, here it is, an opportunity to get it all back.

But why is he feeling hesistant to take it.

"I wrote those letters for my own closure," Kibum begins with a whisper. "I was trying to move on with my life and felt myself still stuck, wondering what if, all the time. So I wanted to write those letters, not because I ever thought they'd see the light of day, but because I thought writing out all of my emotions would help me to learn what I was still holding onto. Those letters were all the things I wanted to say, I should've said. Words that ate at me because I had been too much of a coward to say them." 

Kibum sighs and leans forward, closing in the distance between him and Eunji. It's paining him to articulate these next few words, but he won't allow for cowardice to stand in his way a second time. 

"I wrote those letters to finally let go."

Eunji feels every cut from the sharpness of those words, like an arrow splicing wood for the first time. 

She doesn't need him to elaborate.

She knows very well what he's saying.

"That's it then, the truth of the matter. Serves me right for going against my better judgement," Eunji sighs and stands up from her chair, retrieves her now empty glass and opts for a beer instead of water this time. "This is where you leave me." 

She snaps the cap off of a beer can, takes a swig and fixes her eyes on the back of his head. 

She watches him as he sits in silence, back stiffening, hands clasping. 

It's like that between them for a few minutes. Eunji drinks and continues to take him in, Kibum ponders his next move. 

Finally he stands and looks toward the door, feeling as though nothing else but apologies could come next. 

He walks in silence and reaches for the knob, but turns to Eunji before letting himself out. "If it means anything at all, you were phenomenal tonight."

Heart breaking all over again, Eunji forces a smile on her face and watches as Kibum turns to leave, for the last time.