“- Hyungwon ?”

I smiled from relief as I felt Hyunwoo’s presence beside me. I wasn’t alone, and he was here for me. As he always had been.

“- She said he… Wonho’s here.

- Wait ! Hee interrupted. It’s not like he’s at the beach, I’m only here with my boyfriend. He’s just back in town, you know.”

Hyunwoo still grabbed my hand and squeezed it, to reassure me. My heart was pinching in my chest, but I decided I didn’t have to feel stressed out about it. There was a chance we would never run into each other anyways, as the neighbourhood was pretty large. Fields everywhere, and then the beach. We could avoid each other as much as we wanted.

Hee gave me a weird look, as if she was trying to guess what was going on between us two.

“- We broke up two years ago, I told her.

- I know, she answered with a pitiful smile. I’m sorry I… just thought it would be better for you to know.

- It is. Thank you. It’s just that I’m a bit tired so I think I’ll head home instead.

- It was nice to see you again. I’m glad you’re doing okay. See you later then ! In two years maybe, she joked.

- Yeah, I let out a laugh. Maybe.”

I walked towards the parking lot where I left my car, followed closely by Hyunwoo. I knew he wasn’t going to leave me alone until I would told him to go away. Which I didn’t want to. We drove silently and arrived at his home. I parked, and he waited until I would say something.

“- Can you sleep over tonight ?” was the only thing I could murmur. He immediately agreed, and told me to wait in the car as he needed to grab some stuff first. I nodded, and watched his back enter his house.

I was alone.

I still couldn’t believe that he was back. He had told me to wait for him, two years ago, but I thought it was just a way to give me hope. Somewhere in my heart, I knew he would never come back. Or maybe I wanted to believe it. I wanted to believe that the man who broke my heart wouldn’t break it again.

It was weird to think that he was there, in those streets. That at any point I could run into him, and greet him, or ignore him. Because those were my only choices.

He had became a stranger.

Hyunwoo came back in the car, and looked at me intensely. He eventually stopped, and I started driving again, towards my house this time. The ride was still very quiet, but it was not unusual for us, so it wasn’t awkward. It was more comfortable.

It’s not until we were both laying in my bed that we started talking.

“- I know you think you’re not ready to meet him, but I think you need to. You need to end this pain, Hyungwon. You need to put a closure to your relationship. And the only way for you to do that is to talk to him.

- I know. It’s hard.

- I understand that.

- I’m so lost, Hyunwoo. I don’t know what to do. A part of me wants to encounter him and hear his explanation, but a part of me wants to punish him for what he did.

- Only you can decide, he murmured. But whatever your choice will be, I’ll support you.”

A few minutes later, as I didn’t respond, he fell asleep. I was left alone with my internal war. I didn’t get that much sleep that night, rocked by Hyunwoo’s light snoring. I eventually came down to one decision.

That I wouldn’t let Wonho break my heart again.