After being dumped by a girl he loved, Kim Ju-won ran away to the US from Korea. Park Jia dumped Ju-won because he was too young for her: 4 years younger than her. Four years later Ju-won returned to Korea, did whatever it took to get her back while...
The touch of her hand still delivered an electric shock to my whole body and butterflies on my stomach. I didn't know when I would get used to her touch. Back then when we were together, there might not be butterflies from her touch anymore, but her touch still made my heart beat faster.
I never wanted to let go of her hands.
The sky went from black to grey, which meant that the sun was rising. I should be hurried. My first plan was to see the sunrise with Jia.
We sat inside the car, side by side with the warmer on. After such a long time, I thought it would be awkward sitting in the car like this, just the two of us, in silence, like old times. But it felt comfortable and warm.
I could just turn on some music but I enjoyed the silence. It felt more intimate. My right hand was opened, welcoming Jia's hand.
"Hold my hand," I asked her.
"But you should drive," she denied.
"I can drive with one hand," I convinced her. She stared at me.
"I promise it will be safe."
She looked hesitant for a second but put her hand on mine eventually. I held it gently while trying to hold back myself from the fireworks that flamed inside of me.
We drove in silence, but not the awkward kind of silence. It was more of a peaceful one and I knew we both enjoyed it. Jia liked to drive in silence, or with some soft music. Her eyes always looked at something far away and she always seemed to get drowned in her own world. I always let her. But this time, I hope I was there in her imaginary world.
"Here we are," I told her when we arrived. She looked kind of shock when she realized that we were in the Han river. Yet she didn't say anything.
I opened the door for her, offer my hand for her to hold. She seemed a little uncomfortable with the idea of us in the Han river, but she still had not said anything and just followed my lead.
"Oh wait," I asked her when I forgot something. Jia only wore that short dress and the morning weather was cold. I rushed back to my car, grabbed my coat and came back to her.
"Here we go." I put my coat on her. "It's cold, you should wear it."
She still looked kind of lost, like she was thinking of so many things. It took her a second late to realize what I did. She blushed from my gesture.
"Thank you," she said in a soft voice. I nodded.
We walked slowly, holding hands. I promised myself that I would hold her hand for the entire day because I didn't know when I would have the chance to hold her hand like this after today. The whole view was in front of me but I was just staring at Jia the whole time. Even in the dim light of dawn, she looked so beautiful.
I was in my world, admiring her beauty. She was in her world, only God and she knew what she was thinking. And we suddenly arrived at Hangang Bridge. I could praise myself because we were right in time. The sun was rising, gilding the sky with different shades of pastel colors: pale pink, lilac, blue, orange. A small moon peeked behind colorful clouds, spreading its silvery light, adding more beauty to the dawn.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
As the sun rose higher, goldish light spread all over the place. The wind blew a little blowing Jia's hair. The goldish sunlight reflected on her face, accentuating the shape of her face and the color of he eyes. The sunrise was beautiful but with Jia's standing here, I could admit that Jia was way more beautiful than the sunrise. She stood still with the wind blowing her hair. I could smell the scent of her shampoo, light and sweet, had not changed after all this time.
I couldn't help myself but put my arm around his shoulder. I couldn't appreciate the view as planned because I couldn't take my eyes off her. I could tell she was not enjoying the view as well. Her eyes lock at something far away.
"What are you thinking?" I asked her to break the silence.
She finally made a move. She turned her face towards me. "Why are you bringing me here?" Her voice cracked as she was holding back her tears.
My arm squeezed her gently to comfort her. "We ended her," I started. I had to take a deep breath once before I could continue. "This is where you broke up with me, saying I was too young." I could remember clearly how painful it was. "I thought, we were having a nice sunset date, you never know how excited I was after a long time of not dating outside. To my surprise, you cut us off right instead. I was too shocked to even ask why, everything seemed to stop moving and I found myself lost. Like, I was floating in a strange infinity space. I don't remember how long I just stood here but when I collected all my consciousness, I was here all alone. You were gone. "
Tears were built up in Jia's eyes. Was it painful for her? But how come? She was the one who ended us, not me.
I let go of my arm from her. Then, I gently grab her face. She looked up at me, lips shaking.
"Don't cry," I wiped her tears gently. "It doesn't hurt so much anymore, especially when you're here with me."
"But I can't be with you."
"I don't care, I'm just gonna make a perfect date today, make today as memorable as possible. And I want to make peace with myself. It was ironic that Hangang Bridge was one of my favorite places to visit, but ever since that day, I hate it so much I don't want to see it anymore.
"But today, I am making peace with it, with the past." I let her head lean on my chest. I hold her tightly. "It ended here in the sunset, but I'm starting over here now, in the sunrise." I kissed her head. My heart reacted in a strange way from that, like it was clenching. "I wanted you, I have always wanted you and I want you too right now. But I'm done being selfish, if you can't be with me, then it is what it is. I just want to make you extremely happy today."
Even though Jia's face was buried on my chest, I could tell that she started crying. I could feel her tears traveled through my shirt.
My heart hurt seeing her like this. In this beautiful bridge with the gold sunlight glowed and reflected on the river, I understood that I love her too much that I just wanted to make her happy, with or without me. As much as it hurt me, but if let go of her was the only way to make her happy, then I'd gladly do it.
I held her tightly with my eyes closed. The day was just starting but it felt like a farewell already. To be completely honest, I wanted to cry too. This might be the real breakup now when both parties let go of each other. It was way more painful than the last time but strangely it was also accompanied by a relieving feeling, like I was finally letting go of something that I held for dear life but was not meant for me.
"I love you, Park Jia," I whispered. "I love you that much that only your happiness matter. I let go of you, my love."
And Jia started to cry hard she was out of breath.
