Lee Minho 𓃠 To The guy with a Black Umbrella

C h a p t e r 𓃠 32

A Quiet Goodbye

The night was a blur. One minute, I was laughing with Yuna and Yeji, drowning my sorrows in the pulsating beat of the music. The next, I found myself outside, the cold air biting at my skin, and Minho was standing there, looking at me like I was the only person in the room.

I don't know how it happened, but somehow we ended up in the same cab, then at Hyunjin's house, both of us too drunk to care about the consequences. We stumbled inside, barely managing to make it up the stairs to the guest room. The distance between us seemed endless, yet there was a strange pull, a connection that neither of us could deny.

But neither of us said anything. We were both too far gone, and the silence between us was almost comforting, like it held the weight of unspoken things. In that moment, I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I couldn't shake the feeling that this might be my last chance to make peace with everything.

The next morning, the sunlight streamed in through the curtains, and I woke up in a strange bed. It took me a moment to register where I was. I looked over to see Minho still asleep beside me, his face relaxed, his breathing steady.

A million thoughts rushed through my mind. How had we ended up here? What did this mean? Why had we let everything spiral out of control like this?

But as I watched him sleep, I realized something. I realized that none of those questions mattered. This was the last time I would ever see him. And for the first time in a long time, I accepted it. I accepted that this was the way things had to end.

I had spent so much time running, so much time wondering if I was making the right choices, but in that moment, it all clicked into place. I couldn't keep pretending that we were the same people we once were. Our paths had diverged, and I was about to take a new one.

I looked at him one last time, my heart aching with a mixture of love and sorrow. The decision was clear now. I had to leave.

I was already halfway out the door when I stopped. The weight of my decision hit me all at once. I wasn't just leaving him. I was leaving everything behind. The past, the memories, everything we had—or thought we had.

I turned back toward the bed.

Minho was still asleep, unaware of the storm that had been brewing inside me. He was innocent in all of this, but I couldn't let myself stay.

I walked back to the bed, my heart heavy with the finality of it. I leaned down slowly, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead. He looked so peaceful, so unaware. And for a brief moment, I wanted to stay.

But I couldn't.

I kissed him on the forehead, a soft, lingering kiss that was more of a goodbye than anything else. The kiss said everything I couldn't say out loud—the love I still felt, the regret, and the sorrow of what we would never have.

I pulled away, my chest tight. I reached for my bag, grabbing the picture we had taken together months ago, the one where we were both laughing, carefree.

On the back, I wrote a note in shaky handwriting.

"Minho, I'm sorry for everything. I will always love you."

I left it on the nightstand, the words hanging between us, unspoken yet clear.

And then, I left.

It was too late.

 I didn't look back as I walked down the hallway, my footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. My heart was pounding in my chest, but I couldn't stop myself. I had already made the decision, and there was no turning back now.

I reached the front door of Hyunjin's house, the cool morning air hitting me as I stepped outside. It felt like everything was moving in slow motion. The world was waking up around me, the distant hum of the city filling the silence, but inside, I was frozen. My hands were shaking as I gripped the strap of my bag, the weight of the decision weighing heavily on me.

I could hear the faint sound of a door opening behind me, but I didn't turn around. I couldn't. I couldn't bear to face him again, especially not now, not after everything that had happened.

As I reached the street, I pulled out my phone and dialed the number I knew by heart. Sana. She picked up after two rings.

"Julie?" her voice was thick with sleep, but there was a hint of concern underneath it. "What happened? Where are you?"

"I'm leaving, Sana," I whispered, trying to steady my voice. "I'm really leaving."

There was a long pause before she responded. "I thought you might. Are you okay?"

"No." I let out a shaky breath, the tears I'd been holding back threatening to spill. "I don't know what I'm doing. But I need to go. It's time."

"Do you want me to come to you? I can be there in ten minutes."

I shook my head, even though I knew she couldn't see it. "No. I need to do this on my own. I have to leave before he wakes up. I... I can't face him."

Sana sighed on the other end of the line. "I get it. But Julie, you don't have to do this alone. I'm here. And when you're ready, we'll figure it out. You don't have to carry everything by yourself."

"I know," I whispered, fighting the tears that were welling up in my eyes. "Thank you. For everything. I just... I have to go."

"Okay," she said softly. "Just promise me you'll be careful. And take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will," I said, though I wasn't sure if I could keep that promise. "I'll talk to you soon."

I hung up before I could say anything else, staring at the phone in my hand. The weight of it all was suffocating, but I knew it was for the best. The choice had been made, and now, there was no turning back.

Minho's POV

I stood there, staring at the empty space where Julie had been just hours ago. My hands were shaking as I reached for the note she left behind.

The words she wrote were simple, but they tore at my soul.

"Minho, I'm sorry for everything. I will always love you."

I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to fix this, how to undo the damage. I didn't even know where she had gone.

But I knew one thing for sure.

I stood at the door, my hands resting on the frame as I tried to gather my thoughts. The note she left behind was still clutched in my hand, the words blurry through my tears. I had no idea how it had come to this. One minute, I was holding her, wishing for things to be different, and the next—she was gone.

I stumbled backward, sinking down onto the couch, my head in my hands. I had pushed her too far, said too much, and now it was too late. The pain of losing her hit me harder than I ever expected, the realization that I might never see her again.

She was leaving. And I had no idea how to fix it.

Julie's POV

I walked down the street, my eyes focused on the pavement in front of me. My feet carried me forward, but my mind was somewhere else—back in that room with Minho. The image of him, sleeping so peacefully, his face so innocent, haunted me. I wanted to scream at myself for doing this, for running away when everything I ever wanted was right there.

But then I remembered why I was leaving. I couldn't stay. I couldn't live in that fantasy anymore. The one where we could go back to how things were before everything fell apart.

I felt a soft breeze blow through my hair, and I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to push the cold away, both from the air and from within. The ache in my chest hadn't lessened, but the further I walked, the more I realized that this was my path. I had to face the future, even if it meant walking away from him.

I had already said goodbye to Minho. He just didn't know it yet.