Changbin's POV

I sat on my bed waiting for the phone to ring and Ryujin's voice to fill the silence. It was something I looked forward to every night with butterflies crashing around in my stomach. It seemed no matter how long we were together my heart would never stop fluttering at even the slightest mention of her. I smiled and lifted my phone to check the time just as the screen lit up and my ringtone blasted at full volume through the room.

"Hey." I said falling onto my back, smile still in place.

"Hey." She replied, nervousness audible.

I sat back up. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Are you sick?"

She took a deep breath and let it out. There was some rustling before she spoke again. "Nothing really." Any semblence of nervousness gone, replaced by the calm, soothing sound her voice usually had. Did I just imagine it? "I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Do you want to talk about it?" 

"Not really. I'm really tired tonight... Can you come over tomorrow or because it's Saturday you have to help your mom with the cafe?"

"I should be able to come. I'll just tell my mom and she'll be fine with it."

"Thanks." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"I love you." I said trying to pour all the emotion I felt into those three words. The most important and meaningful words I'd ever said.

"Bye." Her voice was soft and smooth, but the harsh click that meant she hung up cut off her words.

I threw my phone onto the bed next to me and sighed happily. Without another thought I fell asleep, dreaming peacefully about our future.

*  *  *

The next morning I woke up as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. I rushed through breakfast and my chores. "I'm going out today mom. I don't know when I'll be back." I yelled before closing the door and running the few block to Ryujin's.

"Hello Changbin." Ryujin's mom said when she opened the door for me.

"Hello." I bowed deeply, loving the way she laughed. This had also become a routine, just like our nightly calls.

Mrs. Shin stepped out of the way and yelled upstairs to Ryujin. "Changbin's here." Ryujin appeared at the top of the stairs and motioned for me to come up to her room. She waited and we walked down the hallway together. My eyes were immediately drawn to Felix, Ryujin's best friend, sitting in the floor at the foot of the bed. All of his attention was on his phone as he scrolled through something.

"Felix." Ryujin said nudging his leg with her foot. He looked up and immediately put his phone away and scrambled to stand next to her. Our eyes locked and he looked awkwardly at the floor, fidgeting with his leather jackets' sleeve.

"I'm sorry." She said the nervousness I thought I had imagined last night straining her voice. She stood stiffly but immediately relaxed a little when Felix took her hand. Her eyes filled with tears and she leaned into him. I felt myself lean forward too, anticipating and fearing her next words.

"I've been thinking. She paused and took a deep breath "and I realized that my true love has been right next to me the entire time." She rushed, jumbling her words, making them almost inaudible. It took me a second to decode and process what she said. My heart crumpled and felt like it was being ripped into a million pieces.

"Oh." I said feeling my shoulders drop and my body learch forward, barely able to steady myself before I fell. "I wish you the best." I choked out, throat tight and teeth clenched. Before she could say anything else I turned and ran down the stairs, needing to be out of the house, away from the familiarity of it. My feet pounded loudly down the paved driveway of the two story house I had grown to love, that held the people I thought of as my second family. The farther I got the more betrayed I felt. Illogical thought popped up and bounced around painfully in my head, fueling my anger and making me dizzy.

When I finally stopped I realized I was in front of the bench my mom told me she met dad on. Later dad confessed and proposed on this bench. Mom said this was where she knew dad was the one she wanted to spend her life with too. Feeling heavier than ever I plopped down onto the bench and thought about my parents some more.

"It was there in an instant" she said. "The feeling of something much bigger than myself. It made my entire body feel warm and I'm sure I was as red as a tomato, but your father didn't care. He pulled me close and told me he'd never let go." I patted the bench just like she did when she told me. "It was all in this park, by this bench."

There had been several times when I was close to bringing Ryujin here, but each time I decided to wait until we were older. Now I was glad I did. My heart clenched again and the anger came back along with it. I thought, and had hoped that our love would be just like my parents. Beautiful, strong and everlasting. But I guess that was just wishful thinking.

I don't know how long I sat there, numbly thinking about all the good times we'd had, my heart hardening to them all, twisting them into exactly what they were. Memories. By the time I made my way back home the sun was high in the sky and my stomach was growling loudly. I opened the cafe door and was greeted with the familiar smell of coffee and bread. The bell jingled as the door shut and I let the normality of everything wash over me. 

"Hey Changbin." Jeongin, my best friend, said from behind the counter. He was like a puppy, always needing something to do, so I got him a job here. We needed the help adn he needed to waste energy. It was the perfect fit.

"Hey Jeongin." I repled as happily as I could as I joined him. I snagged a muffin from the display and an apron from the hook quickly ate, tied the apron and got busy. The work kept my mind of Ryujin for a while and allowed me to calm down before I told my mom. 

Several hours had passed and it was time to close and lock up. I pulled out my phone with a smile, ready to call Ryujin. My smile quickly disappeared and my thumb hovered over her name.

"Aren't you going to call?" Mom asked coming up behind me and looking over my shoulder. I put my phone back in my pocket and turned to face her.

"Figuring out which college to go to won't be a problem any more." I said.

"Why? Did Ryujin say she'll go to Seoul University with you?" The hopefulness in her voice was unmistakeable and I couldn't help the bitter laugh that tore from my throat.

"We broke up mom." Saying it out loud hurt worse than keeping it bottled up and tears stung my eyes.

"What? But you were so happy together." Mom said, eyebrows furrowed, eyes narrow. Her hands rested on her hips, wrinkling the pink fabric of the apron she wore.

"I thought so too, but apparently I was the only one... She said she realized she loved Felix." I bit my lip hard to keep from crying. The metalic taste of blood filled my mouth and my lip hurt, but it was nothing compared to the hole in my chest.

"Her best friend?" Mom asked increduously, ripping off her apron and throwing it onto the counter. "I'm going to call her mother and make sure she knows what a who--"

"--Mom, stop. It won't make anything better." I said grabbing onto her arm before she could go upstairs and grab the phone.

"What are you going to do then? Do you want to transfer? I can arrange for a transfer." 

"No. I'm just going to ignore them. There's only one year of school left. I'll stick out and go to Seoul University like we planned. Okay?"

"Okay." She mumbled and grabbed my hand from her arm, patting it softly. "Remember that I'm always here for you."

"Thanks... I'm going to call Ji Woo."

"Alright. Then get some sleep. I'll make you some warm milk."

I nodded and followed her upstairs. We lived on top of the cafe in a small, but nice house. I went straight to my room and grabbed my phone, holding down one to call Ji Woo.

"What's up little brother?" She asked, answering on the first ring. There was loud talking and laughing in the background. 

"You got a minute?" I asked, not wanting to intrude on her personal life. College must be hard enough without a younger brother bugging you constantly.

"That sounds bad. What did that do?"

I laughed as tears rolled down my cheeks. Ji Woo's hatred for Ryujin had always irritated me. She thought I was too good for her and that one day she'd break my heart. "I should have listened to you." My voice cracked.

"Tell me what happened? Do I need to beat her up? Are you hurt physically?" She was just like mom when it came to situations like this and I felt a smile pulling at me.

I took a deep breath and let it shakily out. "She said she'd been thinking and realized her true love was right next to her the whole time."

"She dumped you for Felix?"

"Yeah." I nodded, feeling drained and out of energy.

"That should have had her figured out before she agreed to date you." She said loudly and grumpily. "Are you okay?" Her voice turned soft and gentle.

"It hurts." I whined, being childish and immature, letting her comfort me.

"You'll get through it." She said.

"I know." I mumbled, feeling immediatly better.

"I'll come over tomorrow and get your mind off it for a while."

"Thanks. You're the best." I smiled.

"I know."