Baram paced back and forth in front of a bench by her old flat, nervously biting her lower lip as she waited for the person she was supposed to meet.

“Baram.”

Hearing her name being called, Baram snapped her head towards the voice. Her expression was blank but there was clear tension in her shoulders. The new arrival casually sat down on the bench and looked at Baram, tapping the space next to him urging her to join him.

Taking in a deep breath, Baram sat down on the bench, though she made sure to maintain some distance.

“I’m surprised you called me to be honest. Have you changed your mind and decided to follow me to the UK after all?”

“This is my parting gift for you Jin. Or maybe for myself. Either way, it’s a parting gift,” Baram whispered softly as she turned to look at the male in the eyes.

“You can’t let go of me Baram,” Jin replied, his eyes dark. “You need me.”

“No, you need me.” Smiling bitterly to herself, Baram turned to look at the sky above them. “That’s why you haven’t allowed me to let you go. That’s why you still haunt me. That’s why I am finally putting my foot down.”

“What are you insinuating Ryu Baram?” Jin growled in a low voice, his chest trembling in the process.

“You can’t just do whatever you want in a relationship. You need to think about the other person.”

“So I was the one doing whatever I wanted and crashing you down?” Jin exhaled, his breath shaking though Baram was unsure whether it was out of anger or realisation. “You still loved me though.”

“That I cannot deny,” Baram hummed.

“And I loved you. I really did. Maybe I still do now. Maybe there are still some seeds from the past that can bloom,” Jin rambled on as he grasped onto Baram’s shoulders, forcing her to look at him.

“Did you really Jin?” Baram’s flat tone cut through Jin’s heart, stabbing at the fantasy of dominance he had previously felt over the girl. “Honestly, the more I think about it the more I’m convinced that more than loving me, you loved the fact that you could hurt me and I would stay. You loved how you could do anything to me and I would still love you unconditionally, I would still love you with every piece of my shattered heart. So tell me, did you really love me?”

Jin faltered, his hold on Baram loosening as he suddenly became unable to process her words. As much as he tried to deny it, it still resonated with him and he did not want to admit that she may have been right, because he did love her. At least in the beginning he did, that much he was certain.

“Sorry…?”

“Don’t bother Jin,” Baram hummed, pushing his hands off of her. “You know the process. Sorry turns into goodbye, and goodbyes make us strangers. In the end we become strangers with memories and I am ready to let these memories go. You should let go of them as well.”

“You said that you needed me,” Jin insisted.

“I did.” Baram agreed. “And now I’ve decided that I need to let go. It’s a work in progress, but I will get there eventually.”

Not waiting for a response from the male, Baram stood up from the bench and parted ways with Jin who had extended an arm towards her. He might be feeling furious, he might be feeling lost, he might be feeling betrayed, however that was no longer something that Baram had to take into consideration.

Strolling towards the tube station, a serene smile graced Baram’s face as she let the wind carry her back home, back to where she belonged.

・・・

Sitting on the bench on her balcony, Baram sipped on a gl