Letting Go

The Act of Letting Go

People often say that a man will give his all to be able to win the heart of a woman he fell in love with. However, there will be times that when a woman finally allowed herself to open up to him, and fall hard, his efforts will slowly drop, ignore her at some point, and eventually fall out of love.

Jisu always knew that it could be true to some people. But she had seen a lot of men who has given – and keeps giving – their all even though they already got the girl, and kept on loving her with all his heart. And she believed that her boyfriend was one of those men.

Their love story is actually quite ordinary, yet extraordinary on its own at the same time. Jisu never planned to fall for this man named Minho in the first place. Although falling in love with someone isn't exactly in anyone's plan for most of the time. You just fell, unexpectedly.

The couple first knew each other through social media; Twitter, to be specific. Jisu never liked the idea of dating a man she met online. She had been hearing how she shouldn't trust the people on the internet, and she was also determined to not date anyone she met there.

But Minho somehow cracked her resolve.

For Jisu, Minho was a very great companion, a good friend. They clicked like two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly for each other.

Minho was also very sweet, and a gentleman. His personality showed the second time they met in person, on the day of Jisu's favorite group's showcase – the first time they met, they only saw each other from afar, simply because Jisu was a coward and she had run off the moment she saw Minho standing on the other side waiting for her.

On their second encounter, however, Minho was not attending the showcase with her. He said he had work in the area, so he decided to drop by to meet Jisu at the venue, and Jisu had nowhere to run off this time. And so, they met.

They talked for a while outside the venue before Jisu went inside for the main event. Minho had waited for her until the showcase had ended. They then decided to have dinner after, going for some Italian – pasta – Jisu's favorite dish. Minho then suggested to drop Jisu home, since it was already late and the venue was pretty far from her home, and it was actually Jisu's first time coming there.

It was an emotional roller-coaster ride for Jisu, just because she was having mixed feelings about the situation. On one side, Jisu was thankful someone could accompany her on the road she was not familiar with. She didn't exactly know where the railway station was, and a girl walking alone at night, looking for the station, would be quite dangerous.

On the other side, though, Jisu was scared. Scared because it's the first time she had spent this long with a man she just met, in a place she barely knew, and it was pretty late. She kept asking herself; what if going with Minho was just as dangerous as walking alone at night, or maybe even more? What if Minho did something awful to her? So, Jisu put her guard up.

Nonetheless, Minho didn't overstep his boundaries. He kept his distance from Jisu, making it comfortable enough for her even though it couldn't entirely shake her fear away, but it was quite evident that Minho was keeping her safe.

The entire way home, Jisu just kept staring at Minho's back, being watchful of his movements. Minho also helped Jisu cross the road – while that was not quite necessary, Jisu appreciated it. Perhaps her heart melted a bit because she liked the feeling of being protected, that she had someone she could rely on.

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"I like you."

Minho's voice resonated through the phone. It's his first time saying those words, on Christmas Eve – after three months of knowing each other and three meetings outside of Twitter, and their routine texts and occasional phone calls. The third time being at Jisu's graduation, where Minho decided to drop by with a Mickey Mouse flower bouquet – Jisu's all-time favorite cartoon character.