LETTER [정원]ᴇɴ⁃

5

On my way home, a sharp thought pierced my mind, I forgot my paper bag.

The one I dropped after Sunoo suddenly grabbed me and pushed me against the wall.

I had been so panicked, so desperate to escape him, that I'd left it behind without a second thought.

But that bag,

It held the dress my mother gave me.

The last gift from her. I couldn't lose it.

I turned around and ran back to the café, my breaths growing shallow with every step. As I reached the hallway, I skidded to a stop.

He was still there.

Yang Jungwon. His back was turned, but I could see the tension in his shoulders. His jaw clenched. He looked furious,
so angry that it made me take a step back.

But that wasn't what truly froze me.

It was her.

Lee Hana.

Standing behind him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

What, what is she doing?

"Honey, I'm really sorry," she sobbed.

"Honey?"

"Don't call me honey,"

Jungwon snapped, voice cold and distant.

"I'm not your boyfriend anymore."

And then, she hugged him.

From behind. Clinging to him like she still had a right to.

I stared in disbelief.

Boyfriend?

Lee Hana was the girl Jungwon liked? The reason he rejected every confession? My best friend?

The girl who smiled at me every day.

The one who said she didn't know him.

Who sat beside me as I wrote letters for him, who watched his videos with me like she didn't care.

And now I was watching her cry in his arms.

I was shaking. The tears came without warning, burning hot trails down my cheeks.

How could she?

Why must it be her?

Why is it always her?

I turned and ran, the pain in my chest growing tighter with each step. I didn't want Jungwon to see my tears. I didn't want him to see how badly this hurt me.

But the moment I reached the empty hallway, my knees gave out and I collapsed, sobbing quietly against the wall.

Everything inside me was breaking.

Lee Hana, how did it feel to watch me fangirl over Jungwon every single day, knowing you were the one he loved?

Were you laughing inside?

Did you think I was a joke?

I hugged my knees tighter, burying my face in my arms as the ache in my chest grew heavier.

What if she told him everything about me?

What if Jungwon now thought I was pathetic?

That I was just some silly girl chasing after someone who was never mine?

Suddenly, a hand grabbed mine, firm but careful. I gasped, startled, and looked up.

Jungwon.

He had followed me. He pulled me up gently and led me somewhere more secluded, shielding me from curious eyes.