Can i love you ?

19

The official part accompanied me every day, with conferences and meetings, but it all ended by noon, and I could enjoy this familiar and necessary city. It felt like being with family. Yes, Seoul was very dear to me. Many consider it a noisy and distant city, but not me. There's something to attach to, something to enjoy, and something to remember.

I spent the second and third days surrounded by friends. It all started casually. Conferences are crowded, and that's where we met. We decided to sit together in a cozy cafe since it's not difficult to find such a place in Seoul. I wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea, to be honest, but that changed quickly. I got caught up in their lives, their stories, and reminiscing about the past. It happens. We have a lot in common: students, early careers, goals. I told them a lot, but I kept silent about my girl, my puppy. They understood I was in a relationship, but I didn't intend to share the details.

On the fourth day, something happened that I had been so afraid of. However, it didn't unfold as I expected. I was afraid of running into him at a meeting, but even in the morning, he was waiting for me outside my apartment. How did he know? Mutual friends, of course. I'm sure they meant well, but they shouldn't have interfered. He looked composed, just like before, but more mature and with serious eyes. Has he grown up? He was waiting for me with flowers, shifting from foot to foot in the cold. I was taken aback, but I gathered myself and walked past him. Did he not expect that? Well, too bad. I have my pride. I don't need you, do I?

"Minji, I beg you, please listen to me," he said, catching up with me. His voice. It's so familiar. But he's repulsive to me. Ever since that unfortunate moment when the world turned upside down.

"We have nothing to talk about," I replied, determined to leave.

"It's my fault. I behaved cruelly. But we were young! I was young! Please forgive me! I realized I don't need anyone but you! Give me a chance! Please," he almost whispered the last sentence.

"Forget about everything. It doesn't matter now. I love someone else," I said, putting an end to it.

We didn't see each other again that day. But I couldn't help the thoughts that crept into my mind, forcing me to dwell on topics that had ceased to exist for me a long time ago. And my thoughts went back to Yoohyeon. Her future. How foolish. Everything felt foolish. I was tired. I felt like the same person again, and I was so afraid of getting stuck in the past.

Saturday morning greeted me in the same way. He was waiting for me on the doorstep. Waiting with flowers: white roses. Why are you torturing me?

"Please, give me this day," his eyes pleaded. The gaze of an adult man evoked so much pity in me that I involuntarily nodded. He had trampled all over me in the past, and yet I pitied him? Why?!

On that day and the next, we walked together, visited places significant to us. Places that mattered to us. You know, something tugged at my heart when we passed the bridge where our lock used to be. Here we were walking together, yet so apart. It's all nonsense. But I used to think differently. Maybe that's how Yoohyeon feels now. A lot has changed for me since the betrayal of someone I loved. Strangely enough, we had a good time. He didn't annoy or bother me. We talked, reminisced a lot, and he asked for forgiveness. I even felt better. It was easier to think that he had truly repented and that leaving had changed him. It was easier to believe that.

When it was time to leave, he came to see me off. A certain doubt, trembling, and uncertainty emerged in my chest. With tears in his eyes, he asked me to stay, to give him a chance. He said he loved me. Not like before, but differently. He spoke a lot. And I stood there, continuing to think about Yoohyeon, about my girl.

Thinking about Yoohyeon brought me back to my senses. It snapped me out of the intoxicating stupor of Seoul and the memories that were unintentionally holding me back. My train was on the platform, seemingly waiting just for me. I stood next to him and thought about her. My phone chimed, catching my attention. I opened the message. It was from her. We hadn't been in contact all week. I didn't want to distract her from her studies, and I was absorbed in the city myself. After reading her message, I involuntarily smiled, and he noticed.

He sighed and said, "I will always love you. You've changed, just like me. If we could start from scratch, I'd give everything for that. Everything. But your heart is taken, I can see it. I wish you happiness, Minji," he said, smiling.

"Goodbye," I replied, retreating into the train carriage.

That's how my trip to Seoul ended. I closed the chapter on the past. I reclaimed a part of myself. And I'm heading to you, my girl. As soon as the train started moving, I replied to her message: "Never, my dear girl. Good night."

Hi!

This chapter may not be very long, but I believe their meeting should be written separately!

Perhaps her long-time love and Yoohyeon will meet in the future... Who knows? We'll see!

(edited due to grammar mistakes)