All We Ever Had (One-Shot)

She ran her delicate fingers over the bruised copy of the photograph. There were stains from where her tears had fallen, and it was crinkly and wrinkled from the various times she'd crumpled it up into a ball, thrown it, and then reopened it again. The picture was taken in black and white, and the smiling couple looked back at her with undeniable joy and happiness. Happiness she'd never experience again in her life, she was sure. 

That photograph. 

It brought back an endless amount of memories. Too many that she couldn't handle, and she broke down, her knees becoming weak beneath her, collapsing onto her purple carpeted floor. A hot salty tear trickled down her cheek and fell into a puddle on the photograph. 

A stranger had taken it for them. She could quote him saying, "I saw the happiness and love radiating off the two of you, and I just had to take a picture. Take it and cherish it forever." At first she thought he was referring to the picture, and then she came to the realization that there was another meaning behind his words. 

The night at the carnival. The night she knew she had truly fallen in love with that boy. 

They'd been been friends forever. They were in elementary school, and he had been new to the class. "Seohyun?" she can remember her teacher saying. "Will you show Kyuhyun around the school, be his mentor?" 

The boy grinned, his eyes concentrated on hers. "Sure," she had giggled, and that was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. She met his brothers, and every weekend they all had a play date. They were inseparable. 

Middle school was awkward. They were all growing up, and Kyuhyun was starting to have girlfriends, leaving Seohyun in a position she didn't want to be in. She still spent time with his brothers but not Kyuhyun as much. They started to drift apart, and Seohyun made new friends and started to find herself obsessed with music. Day in and day out she'd be playing song after song, and she found her passion. 

Kyuhyun and Seohyun hadn't talked in 3 years when he finally asked her on a date. She could clearly remember the confusion, excitement, and nervousness as she said yes. Would things be different? Awkward? Good? She wasn't sure. But she was sure she didn't want to end up being another one of his girls. 

She didn't know what to prepare for, but threw on a yellow plain dress with purple flat shoes and then straightened her hair and did her light makeup to the point of perfection, surprising herself by how much she wanted to impress him and look good for him. 

It ended up being the best date of her entire life. She'd never laughed so hard, had such good conversations, or been so happy with anyone but him. When they were together, no time had passed and they were just in the moment. Seohyun knew that since the moment they'd met that first day, she'd been in love with him. But it took one date to realize that, to realize the feelings she'd had for him all along that she'd tried to deny vehemently. 

It took a lot of strength to not just stare at him all night. He had the most beautiful smile that could light up a whole room, and his eyes were pools she couldn't seem to escape when she was looking into them. The way he touched her, even when he was accidentally brushed against her while they were walking side by side, ignited thousands of butterflies in her stomach. 

She introduced him to her love of music, and he picked it up quickly. Quicker than she had, and he had surprising undeniable talent. He started to participate in auditions and within a year he was signed. No one was a bigger fan of him more than Seohyun. She was there for every performance, rehearsal, practice. She was his biggest motivation, and sometimes even performed with him, making beautiful melodies together. 

Gone, gone and gone. 

She'd never see him again. She didn't even know how to get control of herself, everything was crashing down around her. She was absolutely, without a doubt, in love with him. And he was gone. 

His words were on repeat through her head, I'm sorry, we can still be best friends, I'm never going to forget you. She should've known better. Nothing ever lasts forever. 

The two young souls in the photograph stared back at her with giddy smiles, mocking her and teasing her. Telling her she'd never love anyone again. 

They were together for 2 years after the night at the carnival. She was even expecting a proposal - their relationship was nothing short of perfect. She wasn't expecting him to announce that he was going on a worldwide tour for a year, and that it was just going to be too hard. 

More hot tears welled up in her eyes, and she couldn't breathe. Why did life have to be this way? Why couldn't it be, for even just a second, perfect? 

Her phone buzzed, and she stared at the screen, expecting it to be her mom or her best friend Sooyoung again, worrying about her and making sure she was eating and sleeping. They hadn't stopped hounding her the past week. 

Instead was a name she knew all too well. She stared at it in shock, letting the voicemail pick it up. She wasn't ready to talk to him. Why was he calling anyways? 

But it started vibrating again and again and again. Finally, wiping the tears from under her red, swollen eyes, she pressed the answer button. "Hello?" she tried to say clearly without her voice cracking from the tears. 

"Hey Seohyun-ssi," she heard his voice say softly. "I know you want to hang up on me right now, but please just wait and hear me out." 

"Go ahead, Oppa..." she sighed. She started staring at the picture again, then tossed it on her bed, refusing to look at it anymore. 

"Look, will you just do me a favor real quick? It won't take long at all, I promise," he urged. How could she ever say no to him? 

"What is it?" 

"Look outside your window." She looked towards her window, not sure what to do. 

"What?" 

"Real quick. Please," he pleaded. 

She walked over to the window and opened it cautiously, looking out and not sure what she was going to find. 

"Seo Joohyun, I'm in love with you!" she heard a voice exclaim, and looked down to see Kyuhyun standing on the street below the window of her apartment, a bouquet of red roses in hand. Her favorite. 

She closed her phone shut. "Kyuhyun oppa, what are you doing?" she yelled. "Aren't you supposed to be on tour?" 

People suddenly recognized Kyuhyun, but he ignored them. "Seohyun, I'm in love with you, I've been in love with you since I first laid my eyes on yours, and I haven't stopped. And I can't leave you like this, barely having you is better than not having you at all and I've realized that the past week without you. Because it's been pure and utter hell. I need to be with you Seohyun, you complete me, and you've made me feel a way I've never even imagined I could feel. Please, forgive me and let me have a second chance. But if you can't, I understand. I just had to let you know how I feel." 

Seohyun stood there in shock, not sure what to say. Millions of thoughts were rushing through her head, and just the sight of him being there instead of halfway across the country made her speechless. 

Kyuhyun looked down dejectedly and bit his lip. Seohyun sighed and ran from the window and out the door of her apartment, skipping down the stairs as quickly as she could. Kyuhyun's eyes met hers when she emerged from the building, and she ran over to him, wrapping her arms around the nape of his neck. "I love you too," she whispered, and he leaned down and kissed her passionately, getting lost in her and the moment. The crowd around them cheered and Seohyun grinned. 

"You're mine forever," Kyuhyun whispered before kissing her again. "Forever. I'm never leaving you or letting you go."