Reminiscence

07. The Ending

September, 2023

"I should really go home now," Minji said to herself. She had spent almost a day walking through the campus and reminiscing all the memories still in her head about her ex-boyfriend. It's a stupid thing to do, right? So long as she knew, reminiscing will not change anything.

Well, maybe that wasn't right at all.

"Hey, Minji! It's Minji, right?" 

It's Yeonjun. He smiled and waved his broad hands, approaching Minji faster as she waved back shyly. 

"What are you doing here?" 

"I-I suddenly missed the foods here, I guess."

Yeonjun laughed, "really? but I think I can see it from your eyes that it's not the food that you miss."

"Yeah, kinda." Minji finally had no choice than admitting it. Whatever reasons she tried to come up with, will never mean anything to Yeonjun. He knows very well.

"I'm sorry for what happened. But I think you have to know this. That bastard, he was dying, Minji. He almost died. He broke up with you because he didn't want you to be sad."

"What?" Minji realized that the truth, however painful, had the power to reshape her understanding of the past. "He was sick all the time, but he never told me anything?"

"He's stupid, exactly. I told him thousand times to just tell you the truth, but he decided to make you hate him. He wants you to believe that he was a freaking bastard and doesn't deserve any forgiveness. He wants to die silently."

"He should have told me..." She whispered, her eyes welling up with a mixture of compassion and regret. "How is he now?" 

Yeonjun smiled. "He's fine as hell now. I didn't think he could survive, but he did anyway. He's coming back to this city today, if I'm not mistaken. Sooooo my advice is, go find him where you think he may be in."

"Okay thank you," Minji nodded, she hurried and ran as fast as she could.

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting hues of pink and gold across the serene beach. A gentle breeze carried the scent of the ocean as Minji strolled along the water's edge, trying to find someone.

Lost in her thoughts, she noticed a figure in the distance, standing near the water. As she approached, the familiarity of that silhouette stirred a mixture of emotions within her. There, looking out at the sea with an unreadable expression, stood Beomgyu—the cheerful boy she had once loved.

"I've missed you, Minji." He has the same smile, kind of smile that makes Minji go down for her knees. Except now, he looked more mature and it melted Minji's heart more. 

"You could have told me about everything, Beomgyu. We could have faced it together. And yeah, I've missed you too."

"I know, and I regret not being honest with you. But here we are."

Minji, feeling a surge of courage, reached out and gently touched Beomgyu's arm. "Life has a funny way of bringing people back," she said, her voice carrying a mix of emotions. "Would you like to walk with me?"

He smiled, the warmth in his eyes deepening. "I'd love to."

As they strolled along the moonlit shore, the conversation flowed naturally, like the tide lapping at their feet. Minji's heart fluttered with a mix of emotions—fear, hope, and the warmth of a love that had never truly faded.

Beomgyu held Minji's hand, "Minji, would you like to ... start it all over again?"

The beach, witness to their past and now the stage for a potential future, held its breath as Minji tried to answer Beomgyu's question. The ending, like the horizon that stretched before them, remained open, waiting to be written by two hearts willing to take a chance on love once more.