Short Story Collection

Dear June (based on a poem, 'Falling Out of Love' by Yunseo Choi)

Dear June,

We moved.

My mom broke my phone because of 'you know' so I can't send you a voice message, but I wanted you to know that I'm sorry. I know this is stupid and I'm stupid, but I wanted to talk to you.

I don't when my feelings for you turned so sour. Maybe it was when I told you that you were confused. Or maybe when I asked you if you could keep it between the two of us?

I know I shouldn't have said either, but I was taught to hide everything 'wrong' with me, June.

I know the things I told you, hurt you. It's just I'm always being told the same things, and it hurts me too, but I thought it was supposed to. I know now that it's not and for that, I'm really sorry. I'm so sorry, June.

Even after giving you the cold shoulder, you climbed up to my room so many nights to knock on the window again and again, and I wanted to answer, but I just couldn't.

I used to admire you so much because you were so true to yourself. But I just became so jealous of you. You were everything I wanted to be. Everything I couldn't be. Ironically, at the same time, I still saw so much of myself in you. But I hated myself, so those feelings I had for you turned into hatred. How can I like you if I don't like myself?

When I finally got the courage to talk to you again, you looked at me with those eyes. That's when I knew it was over. You didn't like me anymore. But even though I lost you, I hope that it's okay for me to still think of you as my first love because I really did love you.

"I don't know when wide-eyed admiration/started to turn into one-sided hatred" (lines 1-2). But I do know that it obviously wasn't your fault. It was just me and my stupid problems.

I know it's selfish of me to ask, but can you knock one more time? Junny, I don't know what to do. I feel like I don't know anything about myself. I somehow felt myself the most around you and I messed it up and lost you along with myself.

There's so much more I want to say, but this will have to do for now. I hope that you forgive me for everything. I'll miss you. I loved you.

— Jacob

"How did I even get this?"

My brother Ethan walks into my bedroom, "Did you go through everything? What's wrong."

"It's a letter from Jacob..."

"Do I need to find him again? Who the hell sends letters these days?"

"No, his- It was years ago, and his phone was broken."