Love You Goodbye (ryeji)

1

'Scene 1; Take 3 ...And rolling...'

Yeji sat alone at the table, the soft hum of the restaurant's background music filling the space around her.

The candle on the table flickered, casting a soft glow over the empty chair across from her.

Her heart tightened as she glanced at the clock for the nth time. 

7:42 PM. 

Ryujin was supposed to be here by 7:00, just like they always planned for their anniversaries.
But now, the minutes dragged on, each one heavier than the last.

She adjusted the silverware nervously, her fingers playing with the edge of her wine glass, the liquid inside barely touched. Her gaze wandered to the elegant restaurant's walls, decorated with muted tones and low lights.

It was supposed to be perfect—the kind of place where they could reminisce, laugh, and celebrate another year of being together. But tonight, there was an undeniable silence hanging in the air, one that Yeji couldn't shake.

Her phone buzzed on the table, vibrating lightly against the cloth. Yeji's breath caught as she glanced down, hoping for a message from Ryujin, something—anything.
She unlocked the screen, her heart sinking when she saw the notification. It was just a work email and messages from her friends.

She clicked it open, but her mind was somewhere else. Her fingers hovered over the screen, itching to text Ryujin, but something in her gut told her not to.

Maybe she was overreacting. 

Maybe Ryujin was just stuck at work, or caught in traffic.

But deep down, Yeji knew that wasn't true. Ryujin has been distant lately, and it wasn't just about the work hours, or the sudden business trips that always seemed to pop up at the worst times. 

No, it was more than that. 

The tension in their relationship had been building for months, invisible to everyone else but painfully clear to Yeji.

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," Yeji muttered under her breath, trying to convince herself as she let out a small, bitter laugh.
But there it was again—the empty chair across from her. 

The anniversary they had been excited to celebrate, now hollow with the absence of the one person she needed most.

Her mind wandered back to earlier that day. Ryujin had seemed so distracted when she kissed her goodbye in the morning.

That was nothing new, of course. Work had been consuming her lately. Ryujin had just been promoted. 

But it was the way she looked at Yeji before leaving—distant, almost cold—that lingered in her mind now. It had made Yeji's heart drop for a moment, but she brushed it off.

Ryujin was busy, she told herself. She had every right to be preoccupied with her work.

But was it just work?

Yeji didn't know anymore.

A couple of weeks ago, Ryujin had come home late—too late, in fact. She had tried to explain it away, something about meetings running late, but there was an edge to her voice that Yeji hadn't been able to ignore. 

Ryujin had been slipping away, emotionally and physically. And Yeji had caught glimpses of it, little signs here and there, but she didn't want to admit it. She didn't want to face the truth that maybe—just maybe—Ryujin had grown tired of her.

Her chest tightened as she clutched her phone in both hands, eyes trained on the screen, waiting for that message from Ryujin.

The more she waited, the more she realized that Ryujin might not come tonight, and the thought of that filled her with an overwhelming sense of dread.