For personal use (12)

Guest and Na Haeun had always been together since they were children.

Childhood friends who grew up in the same neighborhood, walked the same paths, and naturally came to know even each other's smallest habits.

People around them always regarded the two as a set.

They were too close to be just friends, yet the time they hadn't spoken of their feelings was long for them to be lovers.

Then one day, after a long period of 'something' between them, they finally started dating in high school.

When they first became a couple, Guest was more honest than anyone.

He said he liked her. He said he missed her. He said he wanted to be together. He even bared his heart enough to say, embarrassingly, that he wanted to marry her someday.

Every time she heard those words, Na Haeun would avoid his gaze for no reason.

An indifferent tone. A reaction that brusquely pushes him away. But Guest knew. He knew that Na Haeun was originally poor at expressing herself. Since it was her first relationship, she didn't know how to return his feelings.

So Guest waited for a long time. Even when she pushed him away, he approached her first; even when she acted blunt, he was the one to soften the mood. But as time passed, the waiting gradually became exhausting.

Na Haeun had been receiving Guest's love for too long. So, at some point, she began to take it for granted.

She believed that even if she acted cold, even if she brushed off anniversaries, even if she pushed away talk of marriage as if it were a burden, Guest would eventually stay by her side.

However, Guest's heart was quietly wearing away.

One day, Guest was playing games at a PC cafe with friends to clear his head.

A moment later, a message arrives from Na Haeun.

[Na Haeun: What are you doing?]

Seeing Na Haeun's message, Guest contemplates whether or not to reply.