First and foremost, this is a work of fiction, and no correlation should be made with living people or incidents. The author doesn't support any of the ideology or the relationship— friendship or romantic— being presented in this story. This was merely written for entertainment sake, not to be followed and used as an ideal. There are many things that are wrong in this novel morally, and therefore, don't let this novel influence you.
A sigh of relief escaped from her mouth while she leaned back against the chair.
The corner of her red lips was curled up to a smile as she lifted up her glass of wine and took a sip out of it elegantly.
She looked as if she was finally free. After all, all the burdens were lifted off of her shoulder, and for the first time in years, she felt like this. There was nothing suffocating anymore.
Finally, satisfaction came to her, and there was nothing left for her to regret. Everything ended well.
Even if she had to die at this moment, she wouldn't be hating it for she, Min Yura, had achieved everything in life.
Right now, she could relate to a caged bird who had been set free after years.
Softly she placed her glass on the table, and her gaze moved to the man before her. His eyes stared at her intensely.
As expected, she wasn't able to read those dark eyes of it. Despite of having to spend all the time with him, he remained to be a mystery to her.
Now that she thought about it, this is part of his charms. The fact that no one was able to predict him added on to his allure.
Right now, she was able to discern a small frown that appeared on his face after a closer look.
The black hair of his was styled neatly, and he was dressed formally in a navy blue suit. From the noble air around him, one was easily able to guess his status.
A beauty mark sat below his left eye, accentuating his looks, and if it wasn't for the strong pressure one felt around him, they wouldn't be able to avoid looking away from him.
Everything about was like a magnet.
Pushing her chair back, Yura stood up. Her eyes appeared to be completely calm while she bowed at the man before her.
"This is our last meeting, President Ryu," she clearly said, "Thank you for everything. It was because of that I was able to achieve this, and nothing can compare to what you have done for me. In my heart, you will always be remembered."
After stealing one more glance of the male, she turned to walk away. Each of her steps showed how resolute she was.
"Wait up!"
Hearing the man call for her, she faced him. His chair was pushed back as he stood up, and she noticed how he was able to make his way towards her.
"Please don't take a step forward, President Ryu. I want this to be the last meeting between both of us. I beg of you to not make the things hard for me. I want to move on from the past. Forget about it and lead a peaceful life. I won't be able to do it if you are by my side," she expressed.
Once again, she moved away her gaze from him after exchanging her last words with him.
°°°
Min Yura was amazed at her courage to do so once she had exited the room, and a gleeful smile appeared on her face. Extending her hand towards her chest, she touched it.
Feeling her heart beat in it wildly, she felt invigorated, and for a second there, her mind went back to the days wehn everything was way too dull to her.
Back when she was sinking to the bottom of the dark abyss.
At that time, she hadn't expected to escape from it and end up getting to this point in life. Once she thought that she was forever destined a life trapped with sadness.
Looking back at the closed door behind her, her eyes were filled with gratefulness. She remembered about how Ryu Yejoon had made this new life possible for her.
The gratitude she had towards him wouldn't be erased no matter how much she wanted to erase the past.
Shaking her head, she started to walk forward elegantly while her mind felt completely free of thoughts. No longer did she feel as if she had to force herself to stay alert and feel anxious.
°°°
Opening the door, Min Yura stepped into her apartment and stared around it. A certain type of nostalgia hit her, and the rooms seemed to be exactly as how she has left them.
As Yura removed her shoes, a figure noticed her presence and peeked her head out from the kitchen to look at her. There was a infectious smile on her face while a twinkle was present in her eyes.
"Yura, you are early. I just started to prepare dinner for you; I doubt that you were able to eat anything with Ryu Yejoon," the girl said.
"Thank you, Mirae," Yura voiced out as she stepped into the kitchen.
The delicious smell of the food spread through the air, and it has been a long time since she has smelt Mirae's cooking. The warmth immediately filled her chest.
Moving her hands forward towards Mirae, Yura pulled her into a tight hug and whispered, "This is all over finally. I really missed you a lot."
Knowing the emotions the girl was feeling in this moment quite well, Mirae wrapped her hands around Yura and patted on her arm in order to provide comfort to her.
"Hmm, I know. I am really proud of Yura. Now, you can smile as much as you want without being worried. I am relieved that things went this way. Why don't we go on a small trip to celebrate this?"
Pulling back from the hug, Mirae stared at Yura with a questioning expression while she mumbled, "A trip?"
"Yeah, I think a trip would be perfect for this moment. How long had it been since you have last enjoyed yourself?
We can go to anywhere you prefer and do anything you want. This is my gift towards you for hanging on to until now," Mirae expressed.
Clapping both of her hands together, she responded, "That sounds great. I have a couple more places to visit, and after that, let's go on a trip."
"Are you sure that you want to? Haven't you let go of the past?" Mirae vocalised— her voice showing her concern.
"Of course I did," Yura answered, "Don't worry. It's not as if I am depressed or something. You can call it something similar to curiosity. Just one last time I want to see them."
°°°
Picking up her spoon, Yura took a sip out of the spoon in front of her, and as the taste spread through her tongue, a content expression formed on her face. No words could describe how much she actually missed this.
"How did Ryu Yejoon react? After all, what you had between you two wasn't ordinary, and you really broke it off. He must have been shocked."
"I suppose so," she replied, "But I am glad that he did not push on the matter further.
In the end, this relationship between us was akin to a contract one— both parties getting into it for the sake of their personal goals. I am sure that he would want to break free from me as well."
"Ryu Yejoon could be irritating, but you know, he wasn't a bad man. At one point, I even thought that you had some kinds of feelings towards him and vice versa. Both of you relied on each other a lot."
Min Yura laughed and vocalised, "We were just too dependent on each other. I might have fallen for him though if we were different situations."
"Forget about it all then. Although you are grateful towards him, there is no need to think about him any longer. You might get upset about the past," Mirae vocalised, "I am just happy to have you back like this."
°°°
As Yura was seated on the bed, her eyes stared at the photo in her hand, and a smile spread through her face. Never had she imagined she would be able to calmly stare at this photo again.
In the picture, she was holding hands with an attractive young man while a shy expression was present on her face. One could easily decipher how the two of them was a couple.
"Lee Youngjae," she enunciated, "You never imagined that I will win at the end, did you?"
As she closed her eyes, a memory flashed through her eyes.
°°°
Cheerfully, Mirae opened the door to the classroom the course was being held at and stepped into the room. Her eye wandered around the room in order to search for a familiar figure.
Upon noticing him, a wide grin appeared on her face, and she made her way over to him. But something then caught her eyes, causing her to stop in her steps.
She saw how he was holding on to the hand of some other woman, and a sharp ache went through her chest. Taking in a deep breath, she shook her head and tried to calm herself down before making his way over to him.
She convinced herself that there might be a reason behind it.
“Youngjae?” she uttered, walking to stand beside him. Her eyes were on how he and her cousin, Min Jisoo, were still holding hands. She hoped that he would have a decent reason for this. Seeing how he did not respond to her caused her eyes to widen. She pulled her lips into a thin line, seeing how he was still concentrating on her cousin. It seemed that two of them were immersed in a world of their own. Concluding that he probably wasn’t able to hear her clearly, she repeated, “Youngjae? Youngjae?” Anxiety began to rise inside her while she extended her hand towards him. This was the first time she had seen him act in such a way. Over this period, he had been too sweet to her, and pulling a prank on her wasn’t something he opted for. She touched on his shoulder and shook it in order to catch his attention. It seemed that finally she was able to do so. But having him slap her hand away from his shoulder caused her eyes to dilate further, and staring down at her hand, confusion sho
Her words caused him to start laughing instantly. It was humorless. Nonetheless, it had no effect on Yura’s mood. “You are here to see me? Are you planning to ridicule and laugh at my current state? You must be feeling quite smug to see me this way, right? After all, you managed to win at the end,” he said. “You are right,” she responded, “I did win, but I don’t feel smug nor do I feel the need to mock at you. I don’t even feel pity towards you. My emotions towards you aren’t quite complicated. I am just grateful. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to see the true faces of so many people. So, thank you. What they did to me can’t compare to what you did to me. In fact, you helped me to see the bigger picture,” she honestly confessed. A look of disbelief was present in his eyes, and she knew that it was reasonable for him to feel this away about her words. Her right hand which held on to a lollipop was extended towards him, and she vocalized, “Here take it. This used to be yo
She was holding on to a flower bouquet while she stepped into the cemetery. Stopping in front of the certain graveyard, she bent down to place the flowers in front of it before taking a step back. Then, she stared at the name engraved on the tombstone— Min Jisoo. A smile formed on her features as she extended her hand towards it. Rubbing the name, she said, “I am here to see you, Jisoo. Was it lonely these days without having anyone to visit you? I think this is my last time visiting you.” Min Jisoo, when she was unable to continue with her life anymore, committed suicide in order to end her life. Although one would think Jisoo did not pay for everything she did to Yura, Yura would beg to differ. If Jisoo thought that death was the only escape, that did mean that she reached a worse point than her. That was because Yura never wanted to kill herself after all that torment. She wanted to live on for the sake of revenge. The fact that Jisoo did not have that will meant that she was w
Two of them were inside Ryu Yejoon’s house. While Yura was seated on the chair, Yejoon came out with the dishes he prepared. She stared while he arranged the table. After that, he pulled the chair opposite to her in order to sit down. “Thank you for the meal,” she politely said before starting to eat. While she was about to pick up the fork, he questioned, “Did you really mean those words from the other day?” The slight fear in his tone was noticed by her, and that was how she even felt when making this decision. The feelings he had towards her was something she could relate to well enough. “Yeah,” she said, “I know that this is difficult on both of us, but this needs to be done.” “Why?” he asked— desperation present in his tone. “I believed you when you said that you don’t want anything to do with the past, but you visited Youngjae and even Jisoo. So, why is it a problem when it comes to me? You know very well how I wouldn’t be able to continue without you.” “I am the same as
Due to the amount of alcohol she had taken, Yura could feel herself becoming slightly drowsy. Nonetheless, she did not lose her senses completely yet. Her hand held on to a wine glass as she was seated beside Ryu Yejoon on the couch. Throughout the entire time, he stared at her in desperation. She knew how he wanted her to change her mind, and a part of her was really tempted. As he had suggested earlier, things would be simpler and happier if both of them got married. She wouldn’t need to worry about getting hurt, and both of them were enough for each other. There was no need for some other people beside themselves. But the bubble that they had built around them— Yura believed that both of them needed to escape that. If it wasn’t for her, she was worried about Yejoon. If things went wrong and something happened to her, she wanted him to live on happily and not lose himself completely. The thought of that broke her heart. She knew that she had made a lot of enemies from the next
Watching Youngjae pass through the empty corridor caused her to stand in front of him and block his way. These days, there were barely opportunities for them to meet alone, and he avoided any sort of contact with her. Finally Yura was able to spot him and stop him in his steps. Seeing how the hallway was completely empty caused relief to spread through her. She did not want anyone to interfere right now. His hands were tucked into his pocket while he raised his head to look at her. There were no emotions present in his eyes, and over this period of two weeks, it had become a norm for him to stare with those eyes at her. She couldn’t put into words how much ache that brought to her. “Youngjae, why are you doing? What’s happening between the both of us? Is it really over? Did you truly throw all of it away?” she questioned— desperation present in her tone. Despite of Jisoo’s words the other day, she had a hard time accepting the truth. One part of her argued badly that this had to
“You have been already watching him for years,” he said, “you know, I am starting to think that you have some sort of feeling towards him.” He extended his hand towards her and hugged her from the back. His words caused her eyes to widen for a while before she let out a chuckle. Then, she teased, “What is that? Is that jealousy in your voiced?” “Hmm,” he responded, “I get really scary when I am jealous. That’s why, don’t look at him anymore.” In that moment, she merely took his words as a joke, and while a smirk formed on her face, she turned to face him. Then, moving her hand forward, she pinched on to his cheeks and expressed, “Yes, yes, yes. I understand. Can you even be scary at the first place?” Laughs left her mouth after that. Taking that as opportunity, he moved his head closer to her and pecked on her lips softly. Taken aback by his actions, she pecked him on his cheek once he stood up straight. “On a serious note, you have nothing to be jealous about. You are the only
With a cheerful mood, Yura started to pack the luggage. Finally, she had settled on a destination for the trip and was quite excited about it. After all, this was her first time experiencing something like this. “Are you really fine with leaving that puppy at here?” Mirae questioned. Placing her clothes inside the luggage, she raised one of her eyebrows while she turned back to Mirae, questioning what she was trying to imply. “Don’t try to act oblivious. You know who I am talking about. I am afraid that man will get a panic attack. Did you see the amount of times he called and texted you? He even started to bother me right now. What have you done to the Ryu Yejoon?” Taking in a deep breath, Yura ran her hand through her hair and voiced out, “Don’t worry! I have gotten it all under my control. He might act like that in the beginning, but after a period of time, he will be fine. Isn’t it an improvement that he is not coming to meet me?” “That’s because you made him promise him tha