Although she would always wish him the best, whether it was with or without her, she could've never imagined that seeing his happiness would utterly tear her apart. The way his smile made his eyes tinder, the way his arm relaxed when swinging her hand back and forth, the way his jokes made her laugh until she cried…

While watching the couple cheerfully interact with one another on their romantic stroll, underneath the gentle glow from the park lights, she felt herself bleed as her mind couldn't stop imagining herself in the other woman's stead. Instead of some meek, young girl who recently became an adult, it should've been her. 

Remember who made the choice, her brain whispered, which was the final drop that made the cup overflow. 

Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she quickly turned around and left. She placed a hand in front of to try to dampen her sobs, keeping anyone else from knowing, her mind flooded with memories, which brought her back to…

2 years earlier

…her first day in university. It was when they had met for the first time.

She, the new student on campus with too many books in her arms, had accidentally dropped everything on the floor. Another student had bumped into her in their own rush, without apologizing or even looking back to see if she were alright. With a sigh, she bent onto her knees and began to gather everything spilt. Though she wouldn't make it to her first class on time, she would at least haven't forgotten a single item in her room, in case she would need it. 

He, on the other hand, was the sophomore who was in a hurry himself. Despite his lack of time, he still stopped. He came running through the empty corridor when he passed her, but halted on his ways. Facing ahead, he jogged backwards and spun around. It made her giggle, only for her smile to vanish into shock when she realized what he did. 

For one, he helped a stranger to gather her stuff when she hadn't asked. Secondly, considering the hour and that all students began at 8.30, it meant he went out of his way although he couldn't afford it. He most certainly didn't gain anything but more stress.

They said nothing to each other. However, they occasionally lifted their gazes from the floor and made eye contact. It made her shyly smile and break their contact, which made him gently snort and grin. A minute later, when all her literature and papers were gathered, he assisted her as they eventually rose slowly. 

"Thank you very much," she muttered, slightly awkward due to the silence between them. 

He shrugged, "Not a problem. Where are you heading?"

Hearing the question, her instincts had immediately suspected that he was up to something. But, it still had come as a shock when he offered to follow her to class, carrying half her pile of textbooks. That was when she learned that he was a sophomore named Taecyeon who studied computer science as well and that he was one of the few older students who assisted her professor during his lectures. 

"Money, socializing and valuable experience with humans and computers," was he explanation when she wondered why. 

Immediately impressed and curious with him, before they snuck into their mutual classroom, she had insisted that she bought him lunch to show her gratitude. As the kind soul he was, he had strongly declined her offer. However, she had inherit her father's stubbornness and stood her ground. When he finally agreed, her joy made her squeal loudly enough to silence the class and gather everyone's attention…

2 years later

…which still had her grin at her own ridiculousness, despite her tears. The memory would always bring her warm feelings and tingles whenever brought back. How could she possibly forget? 

As she continued her fast walk through the quiet city, heading towards her dorm on campus, more and more flashbacks took over and demanded attention. Others, thoug