Love was our religion.

“I can’t do this anymore, Seungwan. I feel stupid. I keep telling myself over and over again that I love you but it’s not working out!” Mark exclaimed in a harsh voice, a mix of angry and frustration.

“We can’t live together if you can’t give me the same trust I give to you, Seungwan. I can’t live a life full with lies and bulls.” Anger boiled deep in his system, as hot as lava. It churned within, hungry for destruction, and he knew this time it was too much for him to handle. He looked mad, as mad as flies in a fruit jar.

He then grabbed on both of her wrists tightly before looking her right in the eyes. He squeezed them so hard that Wendy almost scream in pain. Wendy’s eyes were filled with terror when she saw the angry angel before her. Mark looked as if he was possessed by somewhat supernatural powers that held a strong grudge against their killer. It was as if he had gone completely insane. He looked terribly awful; his hair was all messy and undone; his tie loosely hanging on his neck with his button down white shirt coming untucked.

“Who are you? What happened to the Son Seungwan I used to know? Where is she now?” He stared into her eyes so deeply Wendy almost felt like she was stabbed by thousands of sharpened needles. She did not know how to respond to that question; she did not have an answer to it. She was scared. She was not sure where the old Wendy went to. She used to be so calm, so understanding but now she had turn into something she never thought she would be. She was a greedy monster, a possessive woman, too possessive that she did what she should not.

“Tell me, Wendy. Tell me.” He said in a desperate voice again, pleading for an answer. “Did you do it? Were you the person who had been scaring my female clients away?” His eyes were welled with tears; he knew she was going to say yes. Wendy muttered a ‘yes’ and nodded her head; her eyes were red and swollen from all the crying.

“I don’t want to lose you. Mark. They were all getting in our way,” she explained, secretly hoping Mark would understand her.

“This isn’t right, Seungwan. They are all no one to me but clients. Why did you do that? Why did you secretly use my phone to text them and sent threats? Why didn’t you tell me about how you actually feel? Things could have been clearer between us if you were honest with me, if you have told me sooner that you were the one who did this. You humiliated me, Wendy. I loved you and this is how you treat me?” He let go of her hands and collapsed to his knees before her. He really missed the old times. Wendy was different. She was no longer his Seungwan.

Loved. Mark said that.

“This is final, Wendy. I’m leaving.” Mark stood up almost abruptly and he took his keys, his phone and his wallet on the coffee table. He then dashed towards the main door and pulled the doorknob; his eyes started to cry again that he did not dare to face Wendy. He did not want her to know how much he was going to regret this decision. He did not want to leave her but after knowing she had done something he believed she would never do, Mark was confused and doubts started to build in him. Were they a perfect match? He remembered his friends told him that they were a beautiful couple but was that a lie?

“Mark! Wait, no don’t leave! I- I’m sorry…I know I’m wrong. Don’t leave me…Please.” She sobbed again; her tears went down her cheeks continuously. As much as she tried to hold it in, the pain came out like an uproar from in the form of a silent scream. The beads of water started falling down one after another, without a sign of stopping. It would not stop.

Without turning his head, his eyes fixed on the road in the dark; he held his tears and cleared his throat. The night was getting darker; there were no stars that night. “You’re crazy, Seungwan.”

“Crazy? I'm not crazy. And if I am, what’s so wrong with that? I am madly in love with you, and this is what I did. I love you. I want you to be by my side forever that I turned into a greedy woman. I can’t help it, Mark. I can’t! You told me that I should have told you sooner, and that I should have been honest with you. But where were you? You barely come home! When was the last time we ate together? When was the last time you make me yours at night?!” She screamed; her tired voice emerged deep and grainy into his ear.

“What makes you "sane" anyway? An obsession with making money? Do you even know what that is? Maybe you're the crazy one? Here, have one of my ing invisible unicorn and a spell book. Maybe you can ride the unicorn to a castle high up in the sky and find a spell for free diamonds.” She laughed sarcastically.

…

Wendy strongly gripped on the half-emptied bottle in her hand, her eyes swiveling towards the back of her head in a distressed sense of headache. She stared at the empty space before her, feeling isolated in her own misery. She rested her body against the L-shaped red sofa, tilting her head towards the edge of the sofa as she took another long swig of the bittersweet substance that affected her wholly that night. Ever since yesterday, she became lonely, so she started drinking a bit, and then a bit more, and then she became lonelier as minutes passed by, because no one likes being around a drunk sober. She was never a drinker; in fact she had always limited her amount of alcohol to one glass once in a while.  She exhaled a sad sigh as the walls turned into strangers, faces she had never seen before making fun of her. The space that once offered her solace now just laughing at her.  The sofa that used to embrace her now looked as if it was disgusted by her.

As she took another sip of the dark substance in the tall glass bottle, bile rose in threatening to choke her. She quickly stood up and quickened her pace towards the bathroom downstairs but before she could balance herself she tripped over one of the stairs and fell down horribly. If it was in public, people would already scream in horror witnessing the event. Pain soon engulfed her body and mind that she started crying desperately and yelped for help despite knowing she was the only person in that huge house of theirs, now hers –alone. She was strong to finally stand up again; ran towards the bathroom and collapsed to her knees before the toilet. The sickness that she felt in her stomach now faded away, replaced by a stabbing pain of yesterday.

This was the taste of a break up.

She told herself not to cry but there were million of reasons to. Tears fell down her cheeks without a warning and before she knew it, her face was wet with tears she almost looked as if she had run around the neighborhood for ten times. She loved him. She never wanted to lose the future they had planned together. She laughed sadly at the thought of how a beautiful paradise once that was hers could change into a cold and dark place surrounded with hungry monsters ready to devour pains of a heartbroken.

She knew that the one world they used to live in together now had broken into two; she was the east while he was the west.  She could have used north and south instead but they were repelled from each other; not attracted to. She as the north and him as the south –that would not make any sense at all. She started to cry again but it was more than crying, it was the kind of desolate sobbing that comes from a person drained of all hope.

She knew she would not have him by her side for the rest of her life, but she was confident that a night would not harm anyone. It was a crazy idea but she was willing to do anything to feel alive again, even if it would not last a day.

…

It’s 8.40 and Wendy was already at the train station in Barstow –Amtrak Train Station. She sat on one of the benches quietly, waiting for the 9.28 train to arrive. She did not plan to get on the next train, but instead she was waiting for Mark. That morning, she woke up earlier than she always did just to take the 6.15 train to Barstow. There were only two trips to Barstow every morning and the earliest one was the one she chose to ride on. If they had ride on the same train, Mark would definitely saw her. The train was always crowded in the morning, so it would not be easy to have a serious talk comfortably, without any disturbance. Besides, he would definitely get off the train almost immediately that Wendy would not be able to run after him.

Wendy wanted to be prepared.

Mark always rode the train to go to work. He loved it that way. Less noise and less stress. He would not have to deal with the heavy traffic in the morning. Sometimes she wondered why Mark chose to take the job when he had to commute back and forth from Los Angeles to Barstow; from Barstow to Los Angeles every single day. By train, it usually took two hours and 23 minutes –a long wait just to get to work.

She actually thought that it would be possible Mark would not show up today. He might be somewhere else or he might be taking a car instead. Ever since he moved out and left the house, they never contacted each other again. Both of them did not try to fix their broken relationship and went on their own ways. Wendy wanted to give them another chance, but it was just too impossible. She actually realized that waiting for him at a train station since early in the morning was stupid.

But Wendy decided to give it a try anyway. She wanted to see Mark. She needed to talk to him.

Half past nine. There was still no sign of the 9.28 train. Wendy checked on the schedule screen and saw the word ‘delayed’ next to the 7.05 train, the one Mark always took. It was not a surprise; it was snowing heavily that morning. The long wait was tiring and Wendy unconsciously fell asleep. That was until the noise of the screeching sound of the wheels against the rail woke her up.

She brushed her swollen eyes and carefully examined the faces that walked out of the train. Wendy almost thought she had missed him when she decided to give up. She walked down the steps in hurry, to catch up with the next train to home, when suddenly she saw Mark coming from the opposite way with a coffee in his hand. He was dressed in proper work attire, walking with his head looking down.

She quickly ran as fast as she could and caught him at the corner, right opposite the underpass. She grabbed Mark’s arm and he wheeled round, startled. “Damn!” He snarled at her.

“What the do you want?” He said, almost shouting. His bark of voice sent shivers all over her skin but that did not stop her from saying what she planned to tell him.

Wendy backed away from Mark, holding her hands up. “Okay, I’m sorry,” Wendy said desperately. “I just need to talk to you,” Wendy explained. “Please,” she begged, hoping Mark would agree to listen to her even just for a minute.

“Okay, I give you five minutes. After that I’m leaving,” he blurted, his eyes looking at the crowd of people standing in the line to buy tickets. He did not want to look into Wendy’s eyes, worried that she might see the lies. Worried that she might be able to tell that he was longing for her. Only days passed since they shared every second together, but Mark already felt lost.

He wanted to tell Wendy. He really did. But he knew if he gave them another chance, it would not work. It would never be the same again. They were like two telephone lines that did not cross again one another. They were lacking in everything. They lack of communications and understanding. It would be hard to build trust again when it was never there in the first place.

“Okay. Five minutes then. Uh…” She stuttered nervously. She wanted Mark to agree on this even though it was the stupidest thing one would ever do.

“You just wasted one minute, Wendy. You need to consider the time. It’s ticking.”

“Dear God! Fine, I need you to spend a night with me. I want you to be mine for a night and after that I won’t look for you, ever again.” She finally blurted all the words she wanted to say. One last thing she need was Mark’s approval.

“What?!” he screamed at her. “Are you nuts, Wendy?” He rubbed his temple in frustration. “That would not trick me into loving you again, s- Wendy.”Mark slightly cursed himself inside for he almost called her ‘sweetheart’.  “We are over.”

“Please…Mark! Just a night! I miss us. I need the last us to be perfect! I know I sound insane but I promise you I’ll move on after this. Please…” She pleaded on her knees. She did not care if everyone at the station was looking at her. She was suddenly reminded of ‘The Lucky and The Damned’, a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was the damned and Mark was the lucky one. Mark did not have to kneel desperately in public and abashed himself like she had to.

Silence came in, leaving the two with no words escaping from their mouth.

“Fine, it’s just for a night then. After that, don’t look for me.” He finally spoke after minutes of silence. He did not want Wendy to keep kneeling before him desperately. He did not want Wendy to ruin her own dignity. He loved her. He did not want her to feel hurt. He did not want her to feel sad. He wanted the best for her. He needed to leave her, it was the best thing he could do. He failed on giving the happiness she deserved. He failed.

“Thank you.” Wendy stood up, tears welling in her eyes. “I’ll see you tonight outside your office. I’ll wait for you.”

…

Wendy sat on one of the chairs at the lobby, waiting for Mark. She pulled up her sleeve, peeking at the watch on her wrist. She had been doing that every five minutes, overwhelmed with anxiety. The comfy luxurious sofa was supposed to give her comfort but it did not help her with her anxiety at all. I should try to be more relax, she told herself. She folded her arms, feeling cold as the night closing in. The night was unusually cold that day and it was snowing. The snow was not as heavy as it was earlier but it could still make one freeze to death if left out with no hot packs or warm clothes.

She sat there quietly, taking a sip of the lemonade she had ordered at the lobby’s café. Quarter past ten. Mark texted her saying he will try to be early but he could not promise. Wendy could not recall how and when Mark started coming home late, but eventually she got used to it. Sometimes he would be back by 12, 1 or sometimes at 3 in the morning. He rarely finished his work at 21.00 though. He never managed to catch the 21.27 train to L.A. At first, it did not bother her at all. They would see each other at mornings and he would call frequently. Soon, he stopped calling and when they texted each other, their conversations became duller and duller. 

And…eventually she gave up on waiting. Doubts started to build inside her.

She looked into his phone logs, his messages and emails, searching for something that was not even there. She started feeling jealous, blocking and sending threats to every female clients or colleagues. Mark soon started to come home early, but he never looked happy when he did. Instead, he would complain and tell her that he was going nuts for keep losing his clients.

Who was the person to blame?

…

As Mark walked out of the lift towards the huge lobby, he immediately caught Wendy in his vision. She was sitting with half finished lemonade on the coffee table before her, humming to songs in a soft melodious voice. Her voice was his lullaby. But ever since he started coming home late, he never heard her voice at night again. Her voice was music, and grace, and the haunting feeling of knowing that her voice was brought out in a fit of rage, of pain. And he was the reason of the painful melody.

He paced towards her and tapped her lightly on the shoulders. Wendy turned around her head slightly, her face was lighted up, delighted to see him. “I almost thought you had left secretly,” she smiled softly.

Her smile shone like stars after dark. He stared at her perfectly aligned teeth and her plump lips smiling at him sincerely. He felt like time actually stopped to stare and admire her grace. Despite everything she had been going through, despite him being the reason of her pain, she still persisted to smile and be the one thing that brightened up even the saddest of days.

“I would never do that. You know me,” he smiled at her back, and that was the first smile he had given her ever since the fight. His smile was magical. It was one of the reasons Wendy fell for him.

“That’s why I waited.” She giggled. “Come on, let’s go.”

…

“So, where are we going?” Mark furrowed his brows together, glancing at Wendy who was walking by his side. They were holding hands, Wendy insisted to do so. Their fingers intertwined together, their cold skin touched but his warmth told her that she was safe with him.

“We’re breaking into a hotel’s café.” Wendy blurted out innocently. Her lips lifted into a smirk, she was sure tonight was going to be crazily wonderful like the first night they shared together.

“What?! Are you crazy? You did not tell me we would do such things, Wendy.” He began panicking, unsure of what he had got himself into. He did not want to get into trouble, especially if it would involve cops.

“Aw, come on. Stop being a coward! Besides, this is not your first time,” she winked at him. True, it was not his first time. This was exactly how they both fell in love. Mark was the bad boy and Wendy was the angel he fell in love with. They were in their senior year; Mark was the troublemaker of the school while Wendy was the teachers' favorite.

No one could explain how and why they both got together. They did not need an explanation though; love was just pure and beautiful.

One night was how long it took to make the two caught up in their own paradise; their love. It was late and the sky had turned darker when Mark saw Wendy coming out from the lab after she had finished with her lab work. They had a long chat and before they knew it, they were already hand in hand, hopping onto Mark’s car, driving towards the nearest hotel, breaking in to eat untouched delicious pastries. Wendy still remembered when Mark leaned closer and whispered to her that was how he found happiness in life.

Mark smiled at the thought of it, he remembered that Wendy was the reason he changed. He started studying seriously and graduated from high school at the same time as Wendy did. He studied in college, pursued his degree and now he got an amazing job.

He became obsessed with the world, and he started to care less about the people around him. When he wanted to spend more time with his loved ones especially Wendy, the image of money in his pocket, sweet, came flashing into his mind.

It was as if he was controlled by one of the seven deadly sins, greed.

But he did that because of Wendy. He wanted to buy her things, pamper her with the wealth of his own. But Wendy never wanted anything else but his attention and love. That was his mistake.

“Geez, come on, please…” Wendy had her eyes fixed on the once flustered man and waited for him to respond to her. He seemed to be lost in thought, too overwhelmed by his past. He finally nodded when Wendy kept tugging at his sleeves to annoy him.

“Only if you let me show you how it’s done.” He smirked mischievously, trying to scare the petite girl. But it did not work. Instead, her face was lighted up with joy.

“Sounds good to me.”

…

They both ran along the cold empty streets, her hand in his. Their finger intertwined together and it felt so real; she felt so alive. Holding hands were some kind of complex simplicity, saying so much but did so little. No effort needed to hold hands, none. The fingers were as if talking between themselves, expressing their thoughts, telling secrets they kept to themselves. It felt like words were coming out from his hand and the words embraced her with warmth. If Wendy could, she never wanted to let go of him, ever again, but Mark slipped out of her fingertips when they arrived at the hotel –a different one (not the one they broke into years ago), ten steps away from the main entrance.

There were two guards at each side, one with a curly hair and the other was a red headed. They both looked tired as if they had not slept for weeks. Perhaps they really did not get much of sleep.  They were both standing with their rods hanging by their belts. This was a bonus to them; super tired men in their 30s. She glanced at the man by her side and she knew he was thinking the same.

“Let’s try the back door.”

Wendy followed his footsteps and smiles came to their faces when they saw no lights coming out from the back door that led to the kitchen. No one was in there, everyone went home. Mark took the wire she had in her hand, (because she remembered how they got in before; the trick of a wire and so actually brought one) and not surprisingly unlocked the door swiftly. He was an expert after all. A bad boy he was.

They both stepped into the kitchen space and Wendy quickly rummaged through her bag for her phone. She took the phone out and the flashlight application before one of them stumble in the dark, waking the guards up. It was not too bright, not too dim either, just enough for them to find their way to the pantry.

Mark carefully pushed the door open and pulled her with him to the food storage. As expected, there were leftovers, plenty of them, from the dinner buffet Wendy assumed. On the long table there were a lot of foods but there were none of breads or muffins, it seemed like everyone loved them. There were only different kind of fruits including cherries, apples –red ones and pomegranates.

She wandered through the room, trailing her fingers across the tables. Her gaze fell on the counter where a small peach lied. The peach was perfectly fine (that was what she thought), it looks edible from the outside and when she took a bite, the flavor and the juice of the peach stained her tongue. When she wanted to take another bite, she noticed a small mould. The peach was rotten after all. The peach reminded her of herself. Tears started welling in her eyes. She did not know how, it just happened.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she started to compare herself to the lonely peach. They were no different –similar in many ways. Lonely but looked perfectly fine from outside. Yet no one wanted to know that she was actually breaking. No one did and no one would. She brought the ends of her sleeve closer to her eyes to wipe the tears. Luckily Mark was so engrossed in picking a fruit to fill his empty stomach. He was too busy to notice.

Mark took an apple and tossed it to Wendy almost suddenly that she barely caught it in her hands. “Geez, you should have said something before throwing an apple towards me, Mark,” she whined, slightly angry at Mark. He just laughed. “Don’t eyes speak? You always said that.”

“Yes, they do. But not always,” she huffed. Before she could even say anything more, Mark pulled her out of the pantry towards the door to the main hall. Mark stopped abruptly, causing Wendy to stumble and bump onto Mark’s chest. His scent –a mix of his favorite cologne, Bleu de Chanel and his sweat; smacked into her nose. She missed it, the days when he held her close to him.

“Keep your voice down and walk slowly, we don’t want the guards to start chasing us,” he reminded Wendy.

“I know. Don’t worry.”

They walked outside of the dining hall slowly and carefully made their way to the emergency stairs. They were about to sit on the stairs when they heard noise coming from the outside. A loud voice echoed through the main hall. “Who’s there?” Someone, perhaps the guard heard them though they barely made a noise.

“Damn it. Quick, let’s go upstairs.” Mark pushed her back gently, gesturing her to move first. They started running upstairs, Mark was one stair behind her, following and protecting her at the same time. When they reached the seventh floor, Wendy felt tired that she collapsed to her knees.

“I’m tired,” she breathed in and out greedily, as if she was dying. She always went to the gym before but not until Mark left her all alone, crying in her sleep.

Mark opened the door slightly to take a peek of the corridor and the hotel rooms. His eyes landed on a woman dressed in a black dress and an apron coming out of a room. Mark assumed she was just done cleaning the room. At an instant, an idea came into his mind.

“Wait here.” Wendy nodded; she knew Mark would not leave her. He ran down the stairs and disappeared from her sight. Ten minutes passed and when he came back, there was a key in his hand. He then offered his hand to pull her up. Wendy smiled to herself when she realized Mark did the same thing he did five years ago.

“Looks like you’re still good at stealing huh?” Wendy giggled.

Mark grinned and winked at her. “A skill never dies.”

…

Wendy walked straight towards the bed and rested her back against the soft mattress. She pressed her cheek to the cool, velvet pillows. It was so comfortable she almost fell asleep. The comforter was thick and irresistibly soft, like a billowing cloud we often saw in the blue skies. Her eyes watched Mark walked towards the sliding doors and opened the curtains, revealing a large swimming pool before their eyes.

“Wow, I didn’t expect this. No one told me they have an outdoor swimming pool on the seventh floor. Quite fancy, eh?”

Wendy nodded along, she never knew about this too. “Yeah, surprisingly.” They kept silent for a while until Mark suddenly spoke. “Do you want to join me?” he raised his left eyebrow slightly, his lips lifted into a meaningful smile.

“What do you mean?” She furrowed her eyebrows together, completely clueless.

“I want to go for a swim.”

“What?!” She exclaimed, almost screaming at the idea. “You can’t be serious, Mr. Tuan.” It was so dumb of Mark to think they should have a swim in a cold night, especially when they were never welcomed to be here in the first place. It had stopped snowing but it was not a weather to be outside in the water. The thought of cold water against her bare skin terrified her.

“It won’t be long. Please?” He sat beside Wendy, pleading her to agree with his idea. “We’ll just jump in with our clothes on. It won’t be so cold.” He held her hand and rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. “But our clothes will get wet!” He laughed and stared into her eyes. “It’s fine. We can just wear bathrobes while drying them.” She finally nodded because she knew she would not win. She wanted to ask him why he was so eager about it but she chose not to.

“Ugh, fine. But what if we get caught?”

“We won’t,” he assured her. “I promise.”

…

The water was quite cold, but not too cold like Wendy expected. Perhaps it was because the heater was just turned off. Some of the heat might have not escaped into the thin air just yet. Wendy looked up to the sky and saw the moon smiling at her. Of course, it was her imagination but she chose to believe it really did. She wanted to think that the moon was happy for her that night. The dim lights by the pool were flickering like an old burning candle. When she inhaled, she could feel the vapor of the toxicating chlorine embedded itself on her nasal hairs.

Wendy clung onto Mark, wrapping her arms around his neck as his strong arms held her waist tight. She was floating in the water. They were both smiling as they spun around and around in the water. It was as if they were dancing. It was beautiful. They were so harmonized with each other although no words were spoken.

Mark slowly brought Wendy’s petite frame closer to him and wrapped her tighter. He started kissing her, again and again. Her arms reached up and tangled around his thick, strong neck. When their lips parted, she had pulled away and arched up into his broad chest, his strong arms lifted her up. As Wendy’s gaze fell onto Mark’s eyes, she remembered how much she missed his deep stare and his touch. She remembered how much she missed his eyes.

There was something solemn swimming in his eyes. She always felt safe when those eyes stared into her soul. Their stunning, deep brown held a truth that his face could not hide from her. She knew Mark was breaking too. She knew Mark missed her too. The despairing chill that they conveyed made her feel heartbroken. It was too painful.

They missed each other, but it was too late to turn back.

She looked away; she could not bear it. What was usually strength now showed weakness. What used to be joy now showed only grief. Mark hugged her, his face buried in her neck. Wendy could not see, but she knew he was crying. It was so wrong of them, to never try to understand each other. Tears started to spill from her eyes too, knowing they were both at fault.

…

“I'm going to miss the way you held me in the morning.”

...

It was almost three in the morning when they finally settled themselves on the queen sized bed. Mark was still embracing Wendy, keeping her close to him. It was the last night of theirs, so not a second should be wasted. Mark chuckled as he remembered how he wanted to look like he would not give in, yet now he was the one who was glad having her beside him.

Wendy sat on the bed between Mark’s long legs, staring into the empty space, her back resting against his chest with his arms about her neck. Wendy took his hand and intertwined their fingers together. The night was ending and she wished the time would stop. His hot breath was so warm against her skin; she wished the night would last longer.

“Mark?” Her soft voice echoed through the room. “Are you asleep?”

“No, Seungwan. I’m not.” He responded. Wendy could not help but smiling at the fact that Mark called her Seungwan again. She missed hearing her own name slipped out from his mouth.

At the same time, Mark remembered the first time he called her by her real name. Her name rolled off his tongue like a marble rolling around the floor.  Soon after, he could not get her out of his head, she was so beautiful, and her name was a piece of art. “You do know that when someone is asleep they can’t reply to you right?”

“I know. I can’t stop asking that question though. It’s a-” Before Wendy could even finish her sentence, Mark cut her off.

“It’s a habit of yours.” Mark knew her well. They had spent years together, of course he would notice that. He knew her better that she knew herself. “Yeah,” she laughed awkwardly.

Wendy broke his hug; she turned around and sat before Mark. “Mark…” Wendy cleared before moving on. She knew what she was going to say would not be able to change a thing. She knew she would regret it. But still she chose to tell him. “I…I don’t want this to end…”

“Seungwan…” Mark held her hand and kissed the tip of her fingers. “You know we can’t. This is the last time. After this, you won’t be seeing me again. Believe me, Seungwan. This is for the best of us. I’ll be moving on and you should too.” He let out a deep sigh.  The sigh was resigned and weary. It signalled the end of deliberate effort and the beginning of passive deterioration.

“Some stories don’t have happy endings.”

“I’m sorry.”

Mark pulled her closer and held her gently, cupping her face with one hand. He leaned down and softly kissed her forehead, then the tip of her nose and the next thing she knew, he had slammed his lips to hers and nearly knocked all wind from her lungs. Her body flushed with heat. The heat seemed to travel through her veins, warming her. She instantly missed the lovely heat curling within her. She missed his warmth and gentle lips. She missed him.

When he broke the kiss, Wendy wanted to scream for more. The kiss was too short for this last night of theirs. She missed him so bad and she knew he missed her too. It was lucky of her to meet the right person at the right time but now here they were, meeting their unlucky fate.

Once that first tear broke free, the rest followed in an unbroken stream. Wendy bent forward where she sat on the bed and pressing her palms to the Mark’s chest, she began to cry with the force of a person vomiting on all fours. It would not stop even if she tries her best. She started hitting Mark’s chest again and again, angry and upset of him.  

The muffled sobs echoed through the room. Mark held her tight, letting her cry out her pain. The world soon turned into a blur, and so did all the sounds.  The taste. The smell. Everything slowly faded away. The last painful emotion slammed against her before she lost the feeling of feeling. Blackness surrounded her, and she fell into the unconsciousness. She could not remember when and how she fell asleep. But she heard him.

“I love you, Seungwan.”

When she woke up, he was long gone.

…

The next day: March 4, 2016. 7.05 a.m. He was no longer boarding the train.