Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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"Blind Date"
It had been forever since she last saw his face in person. He was her high school love, her first love but that all changed a few months before their relationship reached 2 years. Seeing him on T.V. gave her a sense of pride in a way, He was shining no matter what other people said.
Their story starts when they were both just kids, she's 3 years younger than him so she never really expected him to notice her especially since he was her older brothers friend. Despite that fact, they've always been so close and they loved every second of it. Growing up, they both got closer and closer and it was like she was a part of him so when he had finally asked her out (even though he was a senior and she was a freshmen) she said yes and it just felt like all his birthday and 11:11 wishes had come true.
Going into the relationship she knew that he had a dream and that was to become an artist and perform, he put so much work into it that she just had to admire him for it so when he told her that he had to leave their small town and move to the big city cause he auditioned for a company, she couldn’t discourage him but she never knew that would mean less time for her or no time for them at all actually.
She remembers that day so clearly… the day He ended things with her.
“Haeun…” He said as he entered her study room, her mom probably let him in.
“Omo! Oppa” she was surprised to see him but she was so happy at the same time, she ran up to him and hugged him so tightly. It had been about 3 months since she last saw him physically but she didn’t mind (at least that’s what she told herself).
“Oppa, how come you’re able to visit? Don’t you have to stay at trainee dorms or something?”
“Uh yeah… we were given the weekend off…” He didn’t sound like his usual self but she thought it was just the stress of training so she ignored it.
“Well that’s good, you seem worn out, oppa. You’re just staying for the weekend then? You probably want to see your family and spend some time with them and I totally get that but I have to ask! Can we have a date night this weekend? We don’t have to go out or do anything if you don’t want, I just want some time with you” she were rambling and she knew it. For some reason his surprise visit was making her nervous… she couldn’t even put a finger on why though.
“Haeun…actually…umm…” his voice trailed off, he knew what he wanted to say but was having trouble putting it in words that she would understand more clearly. “Haeun…the reason I’m here is…w-w-we need t-to talk” He stuttered, she knew he never did that unless he had bad news and she already hated where this was going.
He sighed as he took a seat on the couch across from her study desk. He refused to make eye contact with her for too long, all in all his whole behavior was just sketchy to her.
“Haeun…” He began, she remained silent. “You know how I feel about you, right? You know that I care so much about you and I only want the best for you. We’ve known each other for so long and…you’re pretty much the light of my life and…” He sighed. “And I… we’ve been together for almost 2 whole years, I want nothing more than to take this further with you but…” he sighed again.
She felt her heart slowly finding its way out of her chest, thoughts racing. Did she do something wrong? Was there something he wanted that she weren’t fulfilling in the relationship? She just didn’t understand.
Since she continued to sit silently across him, He sighed once more before beginning again.
"Haeun, maybe we’re just too young for this right now”
All she could hear was the sound of glass shattering cause if her heart could make a sound, that is exactly what it would sound like.
“Too young for what exactly, oppa?” she tried not to sound too hurt by what he just said.
“We’re too young for ‘us’ right now, Haeun. I mean we feel for each other and all but we…we’re just too young to be in a serious relationship” He stated, he may have looked like he was having a hard time but the words were flowing out of him so easily that she couldn’t help but wonder how long he had been planning this.
“Oppa, I don’t freaking understand where this is coming from! We were fine, when you asked me out 2 years ago you didn’t care about this bullshit you’re saying now. Why does it matter so much now?” she was just at a loss of words, her mind was all over the place. She was going over all things he had said in the past 2 years and how he had been acting the past few weeks leading up to this and nothing could have prepared her for this very moment.
“Haeun I…I-I…” the endless stuttering was officially bothering her.
“You what, oppa! Just say it!” she demanded, she wished she didn’t.
“I cheated on you!” his words came out of nowhere. She felt her world crash, her heart stopped and her mind was officially blank as she had no thoughts whatsoever.
Those 4 words broke her, He was her only love and boyfriend but that was it. He was her first almost everything. First friend, first love, first kiss, first to cheat and first heartbreak. People always said that the first one is always the worst one, she never forgets it and she thought they were just hung up until she actually had to experience it for herself.
She remembers the words she spoke to him before he had left that day and she faintly remembered his reply, she didn’t want to hear anymore of what he had to say, she wanted to end it and it’s over but she needed to say at least a few words even if it was hard to get it out through the sobbing.
“If we’re born again, if we love again. Let’s not do this again, let’s meet a little less, let’s hope a little less. Let’s not make many promises so even if we say goodbye we can turn away without much pain” she said in between sniffles and sobs but it was the best she could do at the time.
She just wondered how it brought her to this moment. She grew up and moved out of her parent’s house and into the big city for university. She realized that the world was going to continue to spin and so she had to stop tearing herself up about the whole situation and move on. She never really did move on though but she was able to pretend like she did and that was good enough for her because she never knew she were such a great actress.
Despite how much she hated blind dates, whenever her friends thought it was a good idea to set her up she let them; she figured she had nothing to lose even if she got stuck with somebody who was completely horrendous, she still gave it a shot.
What she never thought of was being set up on a blind date and being seated across her ex-boyfriend in a café after so long. She were overcome with emotion; hurt, love, pride and bunch of others all at once.
“Jaewon…I had no idea you knew Yena” she decided to break the silence.
“I…uh sort of did,” He admitted. “She mentioned she knew you and wanted to set you up…I didn’t mention our history because I wanted to see you.” Just like that day, he couldn’t look her in the eyes.
“I see…” she was processing, she didn’t know how to react to all of this. “Well then, I’m sorry to cut this reunion short but I have to go” she said as she stood up.
“Haeun please let me explain, you never let me back then” He pleaded.
“Jaewon, I don’t need to revisit our old and painful past just to hear you out after so long, I…this is all just too much for me, I need to leave.”
Before he could grab onto her wrist and ask her to stay one more time, she did what she does best when it comes to him. She ran away. What he didn’t know was that her past wasn’t in the past to her. She held onto everything, the good and bad; she didn’t know why but she just did, she secretly hoped to see him again one day but she never prepared herself for it and so when it happened she just ran.
As she entered her apartment, ready to just get over everything, she received a text from an unknown number with the last words he had spoken to her that day.
It read: “I’ll pray for your next love, that it won’t be like us, that it’ll be without pain. Please be happier than me -Jaewon”
That was all it took for the tears to start pouring, she felt the wound in her heart throbbing. That was how she spent the rest of her evening, she realized that he's always going to be that ‘one’, that "one" she'll never forget.
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