Chapter 1: The Rose That Withered

They say a rose may be beautiful… but one should never forget the thorns wrapped around it.

An Ran understood that now.

Too late.

“The only regret I have… is ever falling in love with you.”

His voice trembled, fragile as glass on the verge of breaking. Every word seemed to scrape against his throat, as though even speaking hurt.

“I gave you everything… my heart, my time, my trust. I… I thought…” His lips parted, but the rest refused to come out. His thoughts tangled, collapsing under the weight of reality. “I thought I was enough for you.”

Silence answered him.

Cold. Unfeeling.

“Why did you hate me?” he whispered, his eyes reddened and swollen, tears clinging stubbornly to his lashes. “For what reason exactly?”

Before him stood the man who had once been his entire world.

Liang Chen.

Tall, composed, and distant as ever… but not alone.

Someone else stood beside him, held protectively within Liang Chen’s arm as if shielding him from danger. As if An Ran himself were something to be feared.

The sight twisted something deep inside his chest.

Still, he asked.

“…Did you ever love me?”

Liang Chen didn’t hesitate.

“No.”

The word fell cleanly, without warmth, without regret.

Like a blade.

For a moment, everything stilled.

Then, An Ran smiled.

A small, broken curve of his lips that didn’t reach his eyes.

“I see,” he said softly. “I understand.”

His fingers curled slightly at his sides, nails pressing into his palms, grounding himself in the pain.

“I regret it,” he continued, his voice steadier now, though it carried a quiet bitterness. “The day I met you… I regret it. I regret ignoring everyone who warned me about you. They said you were cold. Cruel.”

He let out a faint, hollow laugh.

“They were right.”

Liang Chen said nothing.

Did nothing.

That silence hurt more than anything else.

“Don’t worry,” An Ran added, lifting his chin just slightly, as if trying to hold onto the last fragments of his dignity. “I won’t bother you anymore.”

His gaze flickered briefly to the person hidden behind Liang Chen.

“Enjoy your love life.”

The way Liang Chen shifted—subtly, but unmistakably—to shield the other person from him… it felt like the final strike.

As though An Ran was something ugly.

Something dangerous.

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A quiet laugh escaped him.

Bitter. Empty.

Then he turned and walked away.

He didn’t know how long he walked.

Didn’t know when the sky darkened, when the clouds gathered, or when the rain began to fall.

Cold droplets soaked through his clothes, clinging to his skin like a second layer, but he barely felt it.

All he could feel was the hollow ache in his chest.

How foolish…

To believe he could ever win Liang Chen’s heart.

To believe that love, if given enough, would one day be returned.

“I really am… pathetic,” he murmured under his breath.

The world blurred around him. His vision dimmed, thoughts slipping into fragments.

He didn’t hear the sound of the car.

Didn’t see the headlights cutting through the rain.

A sharp screech.

A sudden force.

Then—

Pain.

It spread through his body in an instant, violent, and unforgiving, dragging a broken laugh from his lips.

So this is how it ends…

His body lay motionless, rain washing over him as warmth slowly drained away.

His vision flickered, fading in and out as memories rushed forward like a collapsing tide.

Faces.

Voices.

Warnings he had ignored.

And then—

His brother.

“Stop chasing someone who will never love you.”

“Brother…” he whispered weakly, tears mixing with the rain. “If I had listened to you… maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

Regret wrapped around him like chains, tightening with every breath.

“If there is another life…” His voice trembled, barely audible now. “I don’t want to meet Liang Chen again.”

A pause.

A fragile, broken thought.

“…It would’ve been nice… to see a red rose one last time.”

A faint, self-mocking smile touched his lips.

“What a disappointment…”

Darkness swallowed him whole.

“…Mm.”

A soft sound escaped his lips.

Light filtered through his eyelids.

Warm. Gentle.

Alive.

An Ran’s eyes snapped open.

He sat up abruptly, breath uneven, his heart pounding as though trying to escape his chest.

The pain—gone.

The rain—gone.

The cold—gone.

Instead, sunlight spilled across the room, quiet and ordinary.

Familiar.

Too familiar.

His gaze shifted slowly toward the window.

Outside, the hazelnut tree stood tall, its leaves swaying gently in the breeze. The faint scent of vanilla lingered in the air, just as it always had.

Just as it used to.

“…I’m back?”

His voice came out in a whisper.

Disbelief filled his eyes, followed by something deeper.

Something colder.

A slow breath left his lips.

Then he laughed softly.

Not bitter this time.

Not broken.

But empty.

“I see…”

His fingers curled into the bedsheet, tightening slightly.

“This time…”

His gaze hardened, any lingering warmth extinguished completely.

“I’ll make sure…”

“I never cross paths with Liang Chen again.”

Outside, the wind stirred.

And somewhere in the distance, unseen and inevitable—

fate quietly shifted its course.

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