Love You Goodbye (ryeji)

6

What is love?

Love is something that stays with you, even when it hurts.

Love holds you close when everything feels like it's falling apart.

Love is like the gentle squeeze of a hand, the warmth of someone saying, "I'm here."

But,

Love is also the ache in your chest, the lump in your throat, the quiet pain you can't shake.

Love isn't always easy—it's both beautiful and hard.

Loving someone means staying, even when it's hard.

It means standing beside them when they're distant, when they won't look you in the eyes or say what's on their mind.

It's choosing to believe in them, to fight for them, even when they seem like they've stopped fighting for you.

Yeji didn't ask questions. She didn't push, even though she wanted to.

Yeji believed that,

Love meant trusting, even when you didn't understand.

Love meant forgiving, even when it hurt. It meant holding onto the hope that things would get better, that the person you loved would come back to you.

Because that's what love does. It makes you stay. It ties you to someone in ways you can't explain, even when your heart feels like it's breaking.

Love makes you believe in them, even when they've let you down.

Yeji had always believed love was enough to stay.

But now, for the first time, she wasn't so sure.

"Yeji?"

The voice cut through the haze in her mind, snapping her back to the present.

Yeji blinked, realizing she'd been staring blankly at the boardroom table.

Yeonjun, her project manager, was watching her with concern. His fingers lightly tapped the edge of the folder he'd been discussing moments ago.

"Are you okay?" Yeonjun asked, leaning forward slightly, his brows furrowed.

Yeji straightened in her seat, forcing a small smile that she hoped looked convincing.

"I'm okay," Yeji said quickly. "It's just... I've been stressed." Her voice sounded distant, even to her own ears.

Chaeryeong, who sat across from them, tilted her head.

"Do you think you need rest? You could file a sick leave if you need to." Chaeryeong's tone was gentle, and her eyes were filled with genuine concern.

Yeonjun nodded, chiming in, "Yeah, I agree. You don't look like yourself lately."

He paused, studying Yeji carefully before continuing, "Is it the wedding preparations? Have those been stressing you out?"

Yeji froze at the word, her heart sinking into her stomach.

Wedding.

The word echoed in her mind like a distant bell, heavy and out of place.

Her hands clenched on her lap, and she forced herself to nod, even though it felt like her head weighed a ton.

"Yeah... maybe," Yeji murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

Yeonjun smiled softly, as if trying to reassure her. "You could take a leave for a couple of days—two or three, even. I'll handle everything here and let the boss know. You need to recharge."

Chaeryeong nodded in agreement. "It'll do you good. You've been working too hard lately. No one's going to blame you for needing a break."

Yeji's lips twitched into a faint smile. She wanted to tell them that work wasn't the problem—that it was her thoughts, her heart, her everything that felt like it was slowly unraveling.

But she couldn't say that, not here, not to them.

"Thank you," Yeji said simply, standing up from her chair.

The cool air hit her as she stepped outside the building, her heels clicking against the pavement.

Yeji tightened her grip on her bag, her chest feeling heavy. The conversation in the boardroom replayed in her mind, particularly that one word:

Wedding.

She couldn't deny it anymore—things had changed.

Ryujin had changed.

As she drove, she couldn't stop her thoughts from spiraling.

She hated how easily Ryujin occupied every corner of her mind, how the memories of them used to bring her comfort but now only left her feeling empty.

She wanted to clear her head, to find something—anything—that could distract her from the ache in her chest.

When she spotted a small restaurant along the way, she decided to pull over. The bright, handwritten sign on the window advertised freshly baked bread and homemade stews.

It reminded her of simpler times, when she and Ryujin used to stop by places like this just to talk and laugh.

Yeji ordered a few dishes to-go, her hands fumbling with her phone as she paid.

Once she was back in her car, the bags of food sitting on the passenger seat, she found herself heading toward a familiar place.

Shin Pharmacy.