Dear. My Darling | Gongfourz / Taehan

Chapter 49

The days following their breakup were a blur of emptiness, a void that neither Taesan nor Leehan seemed capable of filling.

They moved through the motions of their lives as if they were ghosts—going to work, meeting with people, smiling when expected—but everything felt distant, detached, like they were merely playing a role in a life that didn’t belong to them anymore.

Leehan sat in his apartment, staring at the small aquarium in the corner of the room. The water was calm, the fish swimming gracefully in the soft light, but his eyes were fixed on nothing, lost in the silence that filled the space around him.

The world outside seemed so loud—people walking by, cars honking, the hum of life going on without him—but here, inside, it was all stillness.

The aquarium, once a comforting distraction, now only reminded him of everything he had lost.

His phone buzzed on the coffee table, the screen lighting up with a message from Jaehyun.

Jaehyun: "How are you holding up?"

Leehan stared at the message for a moment before unlocking his phone. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, but no words came.

He didn’t want to talk about it. Didn’t want to explain how he was feeling—because the truth was, he wasn’t sure how to feel.

Sad? Angry? Relieved? It all felt like an exhausting cycle that never really ended.

The breakup with Taesan had broken something inside him, and despite all the anger and resentment he’d felt in that moment on the beach, there was still a part of him that wanted to call him, to hear his voice again. But he couldn’t.

He couldn’t bring himself to reach out when everything was already so broken. He had walked away for a reason. But it didn’t make it any easier.

In the darkness of his room, Leehan lay back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. The silence was suffocating. The air felt thick with everything they had left unsaid, all the things they could never take back.

He had told himself that walking away was the right thing to do, but deep down, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Had he been too quick to give up?

Was there a chance they could’ve made it work if they just tried harder?

Or had it been inevitable from the start?

A knock at the door broke his thoughts.

“Leehan?” It was Riwoo, his voice muffled through the wood. “Can we talk?”

Leehan slowly pushed himself up from the couch, rubbing his eyes. He hadn’t spoken to anyone since the breakup, hadn’t even left his apartment.

He wasn’t sure if he was ready to face the world yet, but he knew he couldn’t keep hiding forever. Taking a deep breath, he walked to the door and opened it, meeting Riwoo’s concerned gaze.

“Hey,” Riwoo said quietly, stepping inside when Leehan didn’t respond. “You okay?”

Leehan didn’t answer at first. He just stood there, his heart aching as the weight of his emotions settled in. He wasn’t okay. Not by a long shot.

But how could he explain that? How could he put into words what it felt like to lose someone you thought you would never have to live without?

Riwoo sat down on the couch, patting the seat next to him. “I’m not going to push, I promise. But I can tell you’re not alright. Whatever happened... it’s okay. You don’t have to face it alone.”