Relationships begin and end every day. For every person accepting a confession from their crush, there is someone who is having their heart broken. You were so sure this would never happen to you. You had survived a year doing long distance. Nothing could break what you had, until it did. Saying it was the worst day of you life was an understatement. But you held your head high as you left that house forever. The tears threatened to spill the entire way but you didn't let them fall until you were safe in your own home. 

It took exactly 158 days for you to start feeling like yourself again. The first few months you isolated yourself from the world until you were forced out because of work. You wouldn't know how many times he called because in your haste to escape the house after being thrown away you blocked and deleted his number. You also avoided his group members as much as you could. But on that 158th day you decided enough was enough. You made your way to work and put on your bravest face. You knew one of them came in everyday. You had seen all the members except him. Once your shift began you braced yourself for the worst. To your surprise your positive attitude had stuck around. That was until he walked in, the ex's best friend. Who at one point and time you considered to be your best friend. But when relationships end, the friendships that came with them did too....right?

As soon as he spotted you his eyes opened impossibly wide. You smile as he walks over. Internally you're panicking. 
"Long time, no see." He says with a smile.
"Yup. It's been awhile. What can I get you?" You reply.
He places his order and you start making it. Once you take it to his table he asks you to sit. 
"Minseok, I'm busy."
He frowns. "Please. I need answers for myself. Not him. He hasn't told any of us his reasoning."
Minseok is very careful not to bring up his name. You sit down and sigh. 
"Okay, ask away."

The both of you sit there as once you finish your shift and talk for a couple hours talking. You wanted to ask about him. But you didn't know if you could handle it.
"How is he, Minseok?" You finally ask.
He laughs. "I knew you wanted to know and the answer is terrible. But he's stubborn."
"Why did he do it?" Minseok sighs and answers you. 
"I can't answer that because none of us know. He barely talks to us."
You can feel the tears coming. That's when it happened. The door swung open and several boys walked in. You instantly recognized him. He knew your schedule and he knew you shouldn't be here right now. Minseok sees you panic and tries to calm you down. He whispers "I'm sorry. This is my fault. I kept you here." You shake your head. 
"No. This is was meant to happen. It was time." 
Once the boys reach your table they all recognize you and jump to give you hugs. Minseok gives them the look and all of them scatter. You're stuck face to face with him. 158 days down the drain the minute you make eye contact with him. You start to cry and turn to run. He grabs your arm and turns you around to face him. He pulls you into his arms. You start to sob.
"Please don't cry."he whispers. 
You push him away. Finally allowing your anger to come out. 
"WHY? why did you dump me Jongdae? You promised. But you threw me away like nothing. Like the previous 2 years meant nothing to you." 
Now it's his turn to cry. He tries to hug you again. 
"No. You don't get to do that. You don't get to dump me and think you can come back. You broke my heart. For no reason at all." You sob out.
He drops to his knees. "Please hear me out. I know I made a mistake. But I was scared. I can't explain here. Please come to the dorm."
You reluctantly agree. You ride with Minseok. No words are exchanged. Once you pull up to the house every memory made there comes flooding back. Minseok helps you out and once you walk in you hear talking. You greet the boys you hadn't seen at the coffee shop and follow Jongdae to his room. 
You sit and stare at each other for what seems like forever. 
Finally he starts talking. 
"First all I'm sorry. I don't think I could say it enough for me to forgive myself, let alone for you to forgive me." He pauses for you to respond but you just look at him. He continues. "I told you I would explain. I never wanted to end things. But we got too comfortable and pictures leaked. I was told if I wanted to keep them private I would end things with you. The company said that if they came out it would ruin my career. When I said I didn't care, they threatened you." You audibly gasp. 
"Dae, why didn't you tell me? I would have understood." He shook his head. "Nope. That was another stipulation. I could never tell you and none of the members could either. And just so you know, you're a hard person to get ahold of." He laughs. You get up and walk over to him. He stands up and just looks at you. You hug him. It shocks him at first. But he hugs back. You pull away. 
"But what happens now? We still can't be together." He frowns. "You don't think I would come to you without a plan. SM is not going to do anything. They've finally given me their blessing." You smile at him. "But how?" He just laughs harder. "Let's just say, if they had said no. EXO wouldn't exist anymore." 

You were still a little hesitant to open up again. Jongdae could sense this and pulled you into him. "I know it's going to take time but I promise I will make everything up to you." You squeeze him tighter and he kisses the top of your head. "Jongdae, I need a little time. My heart still hurts." He pulls back. "Take all the time you need. I'll have Minseok take you home." You hugged you one more time and you kissed his cheek. At first the ride home was quiet. You finally spoke. "Minseok. I don't know what to do. I want to trust him. But I'm still hurt." He smiled. "Listen to your heart. It will tell you what you should do. Just take your time." 

It has been 3 weeks since that night. You hadn't spoken to Jongdae. You felt bad for making him wait but your heart wasn't telling you anything. You laid in bed for hours and nothing. You decided to pull out your Jongdae box. It had every letter he sent you when you were abroad. You picked a random letter. What you read had you jumping out of bed to find your phone. You texted Minseok asking if Jongdae was home. When he confirmed you got dressed and rushed over. You knocked cautiously and Minseok opened. You hugged him. "You were right. My heart held the answer. Thank you." You ran up the stairs and opened his bedroom door. Jongdae jumped off his bed and looked at you. "You look upset. Is everything okay?" He whispers. You take a deep breathe and start to speak. "My heart held the answer the whole time. My mind definitely doesn't agree but I listened to my heart." He had a confused look on his face as you began reading the letter. "155 days down, only 210 to go. I know we can do this. Just think about great our future will be. Married. Cute house and huge yard for our kids. I love you. I love you more than you could ever know. Thank you for standing beside me. You are my soulmate. Nothing and no one will ever tear us apart." You didn't realize that tears were streaming down your face. He hugs you. "I meant every single word of that. I'm sorry that someone tried." You pull away from. "You're my soulmate. This was just a bump in our road to our future."