Junhoe was the first.  

Young and blinded by love, they promised each other they would never leave each other.  But that’s what high school puppy love is.  They never went anywhere by themselves and they were always texting each other when they were apart.  It was the kind of love that you see in the movies: pure and sweet.  But they started to spread their wings, started to grow into their own skin.  They found their own circles and had to split their time between love and friendship.  Eventually the haze of love lifted and they realized they weren’t in love.  

Hanbin was the second.  

He was the guy that everyone knew but no one knew.  He was the guy her parents disapproved of.  He was the guy that made her heart beat faster and made her nervous all the time.  He brought out the adventurer in her, made her want to be bold and defiant.  Who can blame her?  It was that part of her adolescence.  She was still impressionable and thought she wanted “a bad boy.”  He’s the one that showed her how she still had so much to see in the world.  But they were young and neither of them knew their place in the world yet.  But theirs was a love that burned in a burst of flame and then fizzled out faster than you hoped.  

Chanwoo was the third.  

He was the summer fling every girl wanted.  Their love was swimming in lakes deep in the forest.  It was milkshakes at their favorite diner and long walks on the beach.  It was movie dates and cuddling on the couch after work at the local swimming pool.  It was gentle and sweet, like a nice sea breeze.  But they had to go back to school and they became distant.  They didn’t go to the same high school and Chanwoo worked on weekends.  She had dance practice and piano lessons on weekends.  They settled as friends and moved on.

Donghyuk was the fourth.  

They had known each other for a while, and little did she know, Donghyuk had admired her from a far for the last few years of high school.  They made it official while they were both attending a dance camp program before their first semester of university.  But it wasn’t meant to be.  They had different dreams and aspirations for college.  It sounds harsh, but they both thought that maybe they were just looking for a fling and knew they wouldn’t make it through the summer.  

Jinhwan was the fifth.

She thought he was a freshman like her, but was surprised to find out he was actually a junior.  He started out as her calculus tutor.  She had always struggled with math but he made it easier.  He was sensitive and caring when she had a rough day of classes.  As an RA, his single dorm became their hideout.  It was comfortable.  But she grew restless.  He was so understanding that she felt bad for leaving him.  He had that face that you just wanted to squish and hug close to you and never let go of.  But she was determined to find herself on her own.

Jiwon was the sixth.

It was sophomore year.  He was a year above her at university, but he acted like he was still in high school.  He partied maybe a little too hard sometimes, but something drew her to him.  He was crazy and calm all at once.  He would be out partying harder than the night before but drop everything for a phone call home.  Despite the hard exterior, he was warm and fuzzy inside.  She thought they would last forever.  But he graduated and couldn’t visit as often.  She would go to his apartment sometimes but he was busy with work.  So they drifted apart.  

Yunhyeong was the seventh.

They met in organic chemistry freshman year.  They were lab partners, but they didn’t keep in touch after the first semester.  She fell asleep during a lecture and his class was right after hers and she was in his seat.  They caught up and talked about their plans for the future.  It felt like they had known each other forever.  They laughed at the same stupid videos and liked the same music.  They finished each other’s sentences and made the same corny puns.  And she knew he was the one.  

Yunhyeong was the last.