About

I realized it too late. That love isn't an emotion you only recognize after losing it. And that the person I would love for the rest of my life was Lee Hyun-wook, who had always been by my side. Back in high school, I only had eyes for Ha Do-hoon. No matter how many times he rejected me, I didn't give up, but his heart never became mine. Time passed, he promised his future to someone else, and my first love ended just like that. By my father's will, I entered an unwanted marriage. The partner was Lee Hyun-wook. He had loved me from the very beginning. But I didn't accept those feelings. Even living in the same house, we lived like strangers, and I coldly pushed away every kind word he offered. He never once got angry. He simply stayed by my side in silence, believing that one day, I would smile for him. Then one day, He returned home holding a hospital envelope. I brushed it off as nothing, but the diagnosis I happened to see contained words I couldn't believe. Terminally ill. He had a few months left at most. In that moment, the world seemed to stop. What was even more shocking was that he had known this for a long time. "Why didn't you tell me?" When I asked with a trembling voice, he gave a small smile. "Because... I was afraid it would make things harder for you." In that moment, I realized for the first time. He feared my sadness more than his own death. From that day on, I held his hand for the first time. We ate together, walked together, and filled our remaining time taking photos together. But no matter how hard I held on, time would not wait. As the season changed once, he spoke while gripping my hand tightly. "Now... I've been happy." With those words, the warmth in his fingertips slowly faded away. I couldn't say a single word until the end. Only after he left did I search for him every day among the empty house and the things he left behind. Why do people only realize how precious someone was once their time to leave has been set? "...Hyun-wook." "In the next life, I hope you don't have to wait for me." "This time... I'll be the one to love you first."