One year passed and their first year anniversary was just around the corner when things went in a different direction.

The apartment they were supposed to move in together was in a mess with unopened boxes and other furniture still misplaced; his personal stuff was left out while some of her boxes were placed in the middle of the living room with others placed in their alleged shared bedroom.

The kitchen was in its own mess with paper bags, plastic utensils and paper plates, and even a half empty bottle of red wine was peacefully resting on the counter by the sink.

There was no point in unpacking anymore.

This new home was made for two people and now she was on her own.

Luckily, she hasn’t sold her old place yet, so she decided to go back and pretend that this move never happened.

Or in this case, almost happened.

Baggy sweatpants hanging on her lower body, a vast hoodie covering her upper body, Hyemi coated herself with Byunghee’s clothes as she sat on the couch, her knees brought up against her chest with her arms wrapped around, and hid her face in the space in between, letting her tears stain the fabric of the pants.

Just like every couple, they would bicker here and there but this fight was what marked the ending of their fairytale relationship.

And she hated herself for it.

She had pushed him away the moment he slipped on his tongue the topic of marriage. From there, everything came tumbling down.

With this subject, everything else that he had been buried inside of him in that last year was thrown her way, leaving her defenseless with his every hit.

It went as far as bringing up the one that had occupied her heart before he took his place, as far as to think that this past year was simply a rebound based relationship with no depth nor meaning.

It devastated her so that Byunghee was thinking this way but she couldn’t blame him, because what he was saying was partly true; she would still think about Changsun from time to time, and it would caught her heart in an unexpected leap.

“Is it because you don’t want us to get married? Is it because you still love that other man? Was I some kind of replacement?”

“I just don’t want to have that kind of commitment hanging over my head. It has nothing to do with you, Byunghee.”

“What if I were to change your mind?”

“My own parents tried and they didn’t succeed. Even Minyoung tried-”

“But I’m me. Your boyfriend, who loves you. Don’t you see a future for us?”

“Why can’t we have a future without having freaking wedding bells ringing?! Why are people so insistent on marriage?!”

“Okay then. No wedding bells. No rings, no dress or ceremony or anything else related to that. Would you still want to spend your future with me? To at least, I don’t know, have a family of some sort?”

She stared at him, his last words passing through one ear before ringing inside her brain. It was tense and waiting for her answer was becoming unbearable. “Hyemi, p-please, answer me. What are you waiting from me? What do you want with me?”

Did she even envision a future with this man?

There were moments during their relationship where she would imagine him being the One, to the point where she saw him as the father of her hypothetical baby.

But it still didn’t give her an answer because right as she would see Byunghee, Changsun would pop in the equation, replacing him.

“H-Hyemi-”

“I don’t know! I don’t know, okay?! I-I… I don’t know…”

He dropped his head down, his shimmering eyes staring at the floor. He held in the tears the best he could but the moment she had softly spoke up his name to get his attention, the tears rolled down his cheeks one by one. Looking back up at her, he picked up his jacket that was resting on top of one of the boxes and wore it as he was making his way towards the door, ignoring her calls.

“Byunghee, please, let’s talk about this!”

“There’s nothing to talk about. There isn’t even anything to talk about anymore. It looks like you’ve already made up your mind… I’ll come and pick up my stuff later.”

“A-are you breaking up with me?”

“Goodbye Hyemi.”

And that’s when he walked out; the door shutting closed right behind him.

She tried calling him several times but he never picked up, which led her to stay immobile on the couch through those last hours.

The silence was soon interrupted with a beeping sound coming from the front door. She lifted her head up, her eyes red and swollen, from her endless tears, gazed towards the door as it hesitantly opened to reveal Byunghee stepping inside. As he closed it back softly, Hyemi quickly got up from her seat, ready to jump in his arms, but found herself standing still and only stared at him while hesitating on what to do.

He took small steps her way, gazing at her with pain in his eyes. He could see her mess of a state, from the flying strands of hair that were barely holding onto the tied bun in her locks, to her tear stricken cheeks until he looked down at his clothes on her body, his heart slightly fluttering at the sight.

He loved it whenever she had something of his on her, even something small like a scarf or a hat, or even a piece of jewelry.

Once they were close enough, her head was hanging low before feeling him lift it up by her chin so they could look at each other. He sported a sad smile across his lips and the sight broke her heart.

“You’re not c-coming back… are you?” He leaned in, and softly placed his lips onto hers, giving her the sweetest kiss. “You deserve to have a happily ever after Hyemi… I’m just not the one to give it to you.”

“D-Don’t leave me Byunghee. Pl-ease-” New tears were resting in the corners of her eyes, blurring her vision in the process as her voice broke through her words. She didn’t want to believe that it was coming to an end. What could be described as the best year of her life, and all because of him, was ending today. “Don’t l-lea-ve-”

He calmly shushed her, kissing her once more, and rested his forehead against hers. His eyes closed, he breathed in deeply with his voice trying to soothe her. “It’s going to be okay… Everything is going to be okay.”

“No i-it won’t, n-not without you. Byunghee, we’ll get married if that’s what you want, but please don’t leave me.” She held his arms by grasping tightly onto his shirt, her cheeks wet from her soft sobs.

“It’s not about that anymore. It’s just… I don’t want to be your second Hyemi-”

“You’re not! St-stop saying that!” She pushed him away, allowing distance to finally separate them. She wrapped her arms around herself and turned her back on him; he stepped closer, his hands on her shoulders. “I am. You may not know it yet, but deep down… I’m not the one for you. You have someone else and no matter how long you want to deny it, you still haven’t given up on him. A-and… it’s okay.”

She shook her head, not wanting to accept what he was saying. “I-It’s not okay. It’s n-not-” She turned around and spotted the line of tears in his eyes, sending a thud straight to her breaking heart. “I love you Byunghee, I want to be with you.”

“I know you love me but you’re not in love with me… Maybe you were but at some point, it changed and I don’t blame you.” He gently caressed her cheek, and she leaned into his palm finding comfort in his touch. “For what it’s worth, you were the best thing that’s ever happened to me Park Hyemi. And I love you for that.”

She tried suppressing her sob but the moment he dropped his hand, letting the warmth dissipate, she softly cried. She sensed him pulling away and before he went any further, she grabbed onto his shirt and pulled herself back in, her hands holding him by his jawline where she met his lips, kissing him with every vibrating fiber in her being. He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, his eyes shut tightly as tears quietly rolled down his cheeks. He was starting to break it off but at that same second, she stopped him, not ready to part.

From her back, he slid his hands up to her cheeks, finally pulling away. He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering the caress, and let her go completely as he stepped backwards gently. She looked at him with such a broken gaze, it would’ve been enough to make him stay but he couldn’t.

He loved her enough to make her happy and he knew that she wasn’t going to live that happiness with him around.

It was killing him but he had to do it.

Not just for her, but for himself too.

He tugged one corner of his lips into a small smile with his hands in his pants pocket, while he gazed at her softly. “I guess I’ll see you around then…”

“N-no Byunghee. Pl-please-” She had taken more steps towards him, putting back the small distance that had separated them just seconds ago. “It’s okay, Love. You’ll be fine without me. Everything will be okay. I promise.” He pecked her cheek one last time, making her close her eyes, and turned his back as he made his way towards the door.

Feeling his warmth dissipate, she opened her eyes just as he opened the door. He gave her one last glance and simply walked out without another word.

‘I’m so sorry…’

Silence seeped through right after a faint click from the closing door.

She couldn’t even hear her own breathing; it was as if she had gone deaf. She felt numb, unable to move, as she stood paralyzed in her spot, her eyes staring at the door. Any more and she could be drilling holes into it.

His last words were repeating themselves over and over again, and slowly the more she was hearing them, the less sense it was making, and it was driving her crazy. He was easily letting her go as if nothing had happened between them in this past year.

But it wasn’t true and she knew that.

And the worst part was that she actually knew why and it only made her crumble down. She took a look around at the mess in the living room and her heart took a leap when she noticed just how many boxes were labeled with his name on it. That’s why she hated giving her heart out, because she knew it was going to break anyways. Despite how hard she prayed to have a happy ending, to have a different ending than her parents, she was afraid; right now, fear was staring her right in her face, tearing her heart in two.

She took a seat on the couch, still in a trance of having a man just walking out on her, with their future following him behind. She didn’t know if he was being selfish, or if she was the selfish one; or maybe he did the right thing by leaving because maybe that’s how things were supposed to be. Maybe he was supposed to make her realize what she’s been hiding for the past year, that his presence was just a constant reminder of something that has been missing even though she forgot about it, or partly; she got herself falling into something new, she found a new comfort zone and didn’t want to get away from it.

Her mind was in a haze until that zone disappeared, bringing back old anxious thoughts and endless futuristic holograms, the scenarios changing over and over again and all because of the two men that had her heart beat abnormally. She loved both of them, she knew that at least, but just like Byunghee had said, who was the one she was in love with?

She agreed to the begging request of her friends and followed them for a girls’ night out.

In need to get out of the funk she’s been in for the past two days since her break up, Hyemi reluctantly granted the girls wishes and was now getting ready; she didn’t put much effort into it from the hair to the make up and even her outfit, and the moment she had opened the door to her friends, they all reprimanded her while forcing her to change and helping her out to ‘properly’ fix herself for the night.

The night hasn’t even started it and she already wanted it over.

And just like she had predicted, the outing wasn’t of her taste. She couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable; the air of the club was suffocating, the crowd all stuck together was giving her claustrophobia, and the incessant loud noise from the people’s voices to the music was the cause of an imminent headache.

She didn’t want to disappoint her friends and hid her discomfort through the excessive drinking. Glass by glass, she kept shoving her drinks down , ignoring the haziness that came with it and instead, let her eyes wander towards her surroundings filling her view through an empty gaze.

For some reason, it the life out of her. Everything she was looking at, the vibrant atmosphere she was dragged into left her to be the big elephant in the room, the only one that wasn’t fitting into this present picture.

Choked, she wanted to get out.

She quickly chugged her last sip, picked up her purse, and stumbled her way up and out of the club, forgetting about the group that she was tagged along to.

The contrast between the clatter of the inside and the peaceful quiet from the outside made her lungs breathe again as a sigh of relief and content escaped through her dry mouth. She took her heels off and held onto them as her feet started walking, her physical self mindlessly wandering the empty streets while she was lost in her thoughts, the chaos emphasizing on her existent headache.

Soon enough, by being on her own with just those thoughts sent an emotional rush to her heart, her view blurring from tears that started to fall down her cheeks. She let them be, not having the energy of wiping them away. It wasn’t just about the break up anymore, but the guilt that roamed inside of her, the reason why the man she loved had walked away from her.

Repeating the scene over and over again, it made her feel a sense of déjà vu, except that she was playing Byunghee’s part while Changsun was in her shoes, begging for her to stay and figure things out.

Maybe it was the effect of the alcohol, but anger was overcrowding the hurt she was baring and she needed to get it out.

He woke up from the annoying thuds coming from his front door. He angrily ruffled his black hair as he walked down his hallway towards the main entrance. His eyes glanced at the clock on the wall and groaned when he saw it was close to three in the morning.

The heavy knockings showed long gaps in between, as if who ever was disrupting his sleep was being lazy.

The last hit was the strongest – just like the first one – making him jump in surprise. Once he opened his door, he spotted nobody standing in front of him. He was about to go back inside when he heard a tired whimper. His eyes gazed down and spotted a young woman sitting in front him, half asleep, and almost laying down on the floor. Her dress was hiked up a little bit past her mid-thighs, her hair was partly covering her face, and her shoes were nowhere on her feet, but instead were by his.

Looking carefully at the figure, he finally recognized Hyemi. He faltered in his steps, trying to figure out what to do; he ended up taking small steps towards her and crouched down next to her, holding himself with his hand on the wall by her head. With his other hand, he carefully pushed some strands of her hair out of her face, his fingers caressing lightly her tear stained cheek.

With a simple sigh, he picked up her shoes and her purse before picking her up in his arms, walking back inside his loft. He made his way towards his bedroom and gently placed her on his bed. He pulled up his bed sheets to cover her with warmth and once he had her tucked in, he simply leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, pulled away and quietly walk out towards the other bedroom of the apartment, where he tried to get back to sleep the best he could.

The next morning came by quickly, hitting Hyemi straight in the face. She frowned and groaned at the sudden discomfort. She grabbed onto the covers to pull them up and hide under the sheets, and the mere gesture completely woke her up in shock. She sat up so quickly, sudden dizziness filled her head with a heavy pounding constantly hammering her brain. She cursed under her breath from the pain and held her head, resting her forehead against her palm.

“Good morning.”

Looking to the side, her heart stopped when she saw her ex-boyfriend leaning against the frame of the door while he held up two cups of coffee. A small smile appeared at the one corner of his lips as he walked inside his bedroom and towards his bed, sitting at the edge while handing her one of the mugs.

An awkward silence found its place between them with Hyemi looking down at her drink while he took a sip, his eyes set on her.

“I-I’m sorry to have bothered you. I don’t even know why I came here.” Her stare was still down her coffee; she never felt this embarrassed, which out all her courage of looking at him in the eyes. “It’s okay… It’s good to see you.”

Her heart squeezed at his last words.

“Hyemi…” He gently tilted her head up by her chin, wanting to finally be able to look her in the eyes. “Why did you come here?”

“I-I don’t know Changsun… I was out with some friends last night, I got drunk and I don’t know, I guess I walked here. I don’t really remember. I should go-”

“Don’t, please. L-Let’s talk…”

“Talk? About what?” She placed the mug on the nightstand next to her, and turned back to him waiting to see what he wanted.

“Once upon a time, there was this prince who lived in his own small castle. He was well by himself because he didn’t realize how lonely he was until he met a beautiful princess. He was so in love with her, he was willing to give up his own kingdom if it meant that they would be happy together. But then she left him… He didn’t know why but something told him that it was his fault until a bird revealed to him the real reason the princess walked out… Minyoung told me about why you broke up-”

“So?”

“So, I want you to come back. Why you came here? I don’t know, but you are here now and I don’t want to miss my chance to be with you again.” He stopped what he was saying when he saw her eyes shimmer. Noticing his stare, she turned her head to the side, letting her tears fall as the lump in became too much to keep down. “W-why are you crying?”

“I h-hate you.”

He was completely taken aback by not just her words but also by the tone in her voice. “W-what did I-I do?”

She turned her head back to him, angrily whipped her tears away before she hastily got up, stumbling herself out along the way, and picked up her shoes and her purse while putting aside the heaviness of her headache. “You’ve ruined my relationship with Byunghee. Because of you, he left me!”

“Why am I too blame?! I did nothing! I haven’t seen you for this past year! How the hell is this my fault?!”

She ignored his irritation and was about to step away when he quickly caught onto her. She tried to pry herself off from his grasp but he steadily held on, pulling her closer to him. “Let go.”

“Not until you tell me why I am to blame.”

“Because you ed me up that’s why! You’ve ruined my happiness with the only man I love! You couldn’t leave me alone, you had to destroy everything, you had to-”

“I ruined your happiness?! What about me?! Why are you blaming me when you’re the one that left?!! You didn’t even tell me why at the time! You just walked out! And as if it wasn’t bad enough that you left, Matilda hates me! Things got worse because of you so don’t you dare blame your on me!”

Her eyes were wide open, shocked and partly scared about his abrupt outburst. He had held onto her wrist until he simply let her arm drop by the side of her body, an exhausted sigh coming out of his mouth. He was intently staring at her, his eyes on the verge of piercing a whole through her soul. She felt a rush of shivers running down her spine, a mixture of emotions coming together, as her heart was beating to fast.

She didn’t realize she had held her breath until he looked away from her. He was walking away until he stopped at her soft apology, back to back. He slowly turned around while she was still facing the other way, her eyes shut tight while she tried to keep a steady breath. She had no energy to cry but the guilt that was still lingering just kept growing and it was taking such a toll on her, her anxiety was reaching a new level.

She slightly jumped once she felt a hand on her shoulder. That same hand gently trailed down her arm until fingers mingled to hold each other. Her breath staggered, a quiet sound escaped her lips as it shook through her tongue. Nostalgic warmth rippled from the outside always the way to the inside, setting on fire every speck of her being.

All of a sudden his anger had vanished when he heard her small voice, as she said sorry to him. It left a thump in his heart. Despite the irritation he had felt, he never stopped missing her.

He never stopped loving her either.

He stood in front of her, his eyes lingering while she had her head down since she couldn’t face him, too afraid to look at him. He called out her name gently and ended up lifting her head so he could take a proper look at her face. He took in everything that his eyes could see, making his heart beat strongly against his chest. From her eyes, to the ruined make up, to her nose and her cheeks, he finally glanced at her lips and lingered as he started to approach slowly towards them without even noticing.

The thing that brought her back to reality was feeling his lips pressed gently against hers. Out of instinct, she sunk into the feeling as it easily swallowed her from the inside out; it rippled in shivers that ran across her skin, her heart stopping for a moment its beating before resuming once he slowly pulled away. There was barely an inch separating them when she leaned in quickly to kiss him again, a frown on her face as confusion overtook her; there was just something about the swirling emotions inside of her that needed to be understood.

“Everything will be okay. I promise.”

Those words echoed faintly in her mind as her lips were busy dancing with his to try and get a hold of the dying spark that had struck between them just one year ago. She was getting away from the overwhelming feeling when he stopped her from pushing herself away; he held her tightly against his chest, his hands cupping her cheeks and caught her lips once more.

She didn’t fight him.

She simply let herself fall into the bliss that grew into the pit of her stomach, the same sensation that she had whenever he was occupying her thoughts. Either near or far away, there was always something that hit her and it always came in the most unexpected ways.

“Everything will be okay.”

Slowly, that’s how things were turning out to be.

Things seemed to be turning out okay. Things seemed to be fitting right into their places just as he hugged her strongly with his arms holding her around her body.

It wasn’t Byunghee but maybe that was the point.

And maybe, just maybe, he was right about everything after all.

Maybe she was in the arms of her happily ever after.

Maybe she was meant to have her happy ending right here.

She couldn’t put her finger on it but there was just something about Changsun that left a mark, something she couldn’t erase for the life of her during this past year. She simply learned how to live with it and maybe that was wrong on her part. Maybe she should’ve done things differently and go back to him instead of running away.

After all, she didn’t break up with him because she didn’t have feelings for him anymore.

She did it because she was forced too.

Nothing was stopping her now. There wasn’t any excuse she could use to push herself away.

And its not like there was any need of one either…

Because everything felt just right.

“And they lived happily ever after!”

The sudden voice of the little Matilda brought both adults back to reality. Their heads shifted towards the door and sudden heat crept up in Hyemi’s cheek at the embarrassment of her state while Changsun simply smiled, his arms still enclosing the woman’s figure. Matilda giggled happily at her sight. She had her arms in the air, celebrating the supposed reunion she got to witness and was delighted to see that her favorite couple was back.

As for Hyemi, she shyly smiled at the little girl before turning her head back to her father; her heart skipped a beat when she noticed that he was staring right back at her with a loving gaze through his eyes. She stared at him for what felt like hours when it was just a few seconds.

Because that’s when she knew…

Everything was going to be okay.