30 minutes and 30 years

2014

Sana woke up to sunlight on her hair. She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the blue sky outside her room.

She looked at the clock on the wall. 8:32. It's also 8:32 in Seoul. Jungwoo had family matters back in South Korea that he had to attend to. He told her he'll be coming home tomorrow. She opened her phone and looked at her messaging apps.

Momo: Sana, the iced americano is almost out of stock.
Sana: Is it okay if I buy tomorrow instead? I feel lazy today.
Momo: Sure! Take your time. The cafe isn't busy today.

She looked at her social media accounts. She wasn't the type to post a lot but she was the type to look at her social media every now and then. She finds it happy to look at other people's posts and constantly check up on them.

She looked at the news outlets, one by one each category. She was about to close her phone when an article caught her eye.

Football player Nakamoto Yuta and businesswoman Joy Park confirm that they are getting a divorce.

Her eyes widened. "Divorce?"

Ever since the wedding, they haven't talked a lot anymore. For some reason, they didn't talk as often as they did before, most of the time, but Yuta would still constantly check on her. It's been months since they last talked. Sana didn't bother anymore. She seemed happy now.

"Maybe it's a hoax," she thought.

She searched up both of their names on the internet, and their 'divorce' was all over the internet.

She decided to call Yuta, but after multiple attempts no one answered. She proceeded to text him, but before she could send it, someone knocked on her door.

"Who could that be? I didn't order anything?"

She went and opened the door.

To her surprise, it was Yuta.

Yuta looked like he came a long way with no sleep. His eyes were sore and his hair was messy, and for a famous footballer who earned millions of money, he didn't look like one.

He was there, standing in front of her door.

When he saw her, he felt the feeling he got when he was signed into the national team. It was happiness. Something he hadn't felt in months.

She still looks the same, he thought. She is still pretty and is always pretty, but he never told her. Whenever he hears the word beautiful, she is the first person to come into his mind. But she wasn't his definition of beautiful.

She couldn't move, for she was still in shock. If there was anyone to knock on her door, he would be the last one she'll think of.

She didn't know what to say and stared at him for a while.

"Hi." He said. "Can I come in?" He smiled, but sadness was evident in his eyes.

Sana shook her head and came back to her senses. "Oh. Yeah. Sure."

She proceeded to lead Yuta to the living room.

"Do you want anything? Coffee, tea?"

"I'm good." He sat on the sofa. Sana could tell he was stiff, and the atmosphere was awkward.

"Are you tired? You could sleep in my room for a while."

"No." He let out a weak laugh. "I'm not. I'm jet-lagged."

"Yuta, I'm sorry about your divorce."

Yuta sighed and looked down, "No, it's okay."

He looked around the house. It changed a lot. He looked at the shelves, the books his parents gave to her were still there. He also noticed cassette tapes on the shelves, and the first cassette he noticed was the The Smiths cassette tape. The one he gave her years ago for her birthday.