So-eun and Joon-ho had been together since their first year of college. Their love blossomed quickly, and within a month, they became inseparable. They shared dreams of the future, spent hours talking about everything and nothing, and found comfort in each other’s presence.
Joon-ho was So-eun’s safe place, and she was his brightest light. They believed they would always be together, no matter what.
The Beginning of the End
In their fourth year, everything changed. What used to be effortless turned into constant fights. Joon-ho had started to struggle with an internal battle, and one evening, he finally voiced his thoughts.
"So-eun, I don’t think we should be together like this anymore."
She frowned. "What are you talking about?"
He hesitated before saying, "Our relationship… it’s not right. It’s haram. We should wait until marriage."
So-eun’s heart clenched. "Joon-ho, we’ve been together for years. We love each other. Why are you saying this now?"
"I’m scared," he admitted, looking away. "I want to be with you, but I also want to do things the right way."
"So you’re saying everything we had was wrong?" she asked, her voice shaking.
"It’s not like that," he sighed. "I just think we need to step back."
The Endless Fights
So-eun couldn’t accept it. She had built her world around him, and now he was trying to rewrite their love story.
"Let’s just go back to how things were," she begged.
But Joon-ho shook his head. "We can’t."
"Why?!" she snapped. "How can you throw everything away just because you’re scared?"
Every day turned into a fight. She cried, she reasoned, she pleaded. But no matter what she said, his answer remained the same.
One night, after yet another argument, Joon-ho said, "Let’s just be together… without a tag."
So-eun’s eyes burned with frustration. "So, you still want me, but just without the label?"
He nodded hesitantly.
She laughed bitterly. "Isn’t that the same as haram?"
Joon-ho fell silent.
The Final Goodbye
That night, So-eun made her decision. No matter how much she loved him, she couldn’t accept a love that wasn’t fully hers. She wanted commitment, security—a love that stood strong even in the face of doubts. But Joon-ho wanted something else.
The next day, she sent him a message.
"I will never marry you. And even if I never marry anyone, I will never come back to you."
Joon-ho stared at her words for a long time, his hands trembling. He wanted to reply, to fix things, but deep down, he knew—this was the end.
Living Like Strangers
They were in the same class, sat in the same lecture halls, and passed by each other in the corridors. But So-eun behaved as if nothing had ever happened between them. She laughed with her friends, focused on her studies, and carried on like Joon-ho was just another classmate.
It killed him.
Every time he saw her, he wanted to reach out, to tell her he missed her. But she never looked at him the same way again. She never brought up their past, never asked if he regretted it, never showed even a flicker of pain.
She had closed the chapter of their love, and Joon-ho was left staring at the pages, wishing he could rewrite the ending.
But some stories don’t get second chances.
