Chapter 12: Fragments That Linger

“You said you might feel sick.

Pressing here helps a little.”

“I know.

You showed me this before, Doyoon.”

It was when we almost burst from eating what Seha made, right.

After he started dating Kwon Seha, Hae-soo spent almost all of his time with him.

When Hae-soo entered his break period and Seha had a bit more time, they traveled or went on dates like anyone else.

Because of that, he also met Doyoon, Seha’s closest friend, quite often.

If all those meetings had only been Doyoon tagging along as Seha’s friend, Hae-soo would not have come to rely on him this much.

In the end, Doyoon was the one who shared memories with Hae-soo that Seha no longer had.

Maybe that was why Doyoon had to bear some of Hae-soo’s lingering pain as well.

Thinking of all the times he had poured out his frustrations in front of him made Hae-soo feel ashamed.

“I wondered if things might have been better if I had met someone else.”

“…Did you?”

“That was the first thought I had.

If Seha could promise marriage to someone without me even knowing….”

“…….”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have waited.

Maybe I shouldn’t have hoped or clung on….”

Even if he had waited five years, half of it had been nothing more than Hae-soo’s own stubborn attachment.

The reward for holding on so desperately was that the person he shared memories with had become nothing more than a memory himself.

Tears fell one by one onto Hae-soo’s thigh.

The emotions he had held back in front of Seha finally spilled out.

“I just kept thinking and did nothing.

What am I even doing.

It’s ridiculous….”

His pale face showed no expression as he cried.

Even without blinking, hot tears continued to fall.

It was pitiful.

And foolish.

“Shall we go somewhere together.

Or maybe study together.

Even memorizing the names of flowers on the street will make days pass quickly.”

As if he was not flustered at all by the sudden shift in mood, Doyoon placed a hand on Hae-soo’s face.

Like this was something he had always done whenever Hae-soo’s emotions spiraled because of Seha.

“What about reading those scripts piled up over there together.

We can do it playfully or seriously.

Acting is what you’re best at.

Time will pass quickly like that too.”

Doyoon kept talking.

His lips did not stop moving as he looked into Hae-soo’s eyes.

It felt like he was trying not to give him any space to fall deeper.

His gentle words wrapped around Hae-soo.

Breathing life into his small, broken world.

These were things Doyoon had tried countless times before.

But only now did Hae-soo truly listen.

“You used to like cars.

You could teach me too.”

“Doyoon.”

“Anything is fine….”

“…….”

“Don’t live someone else’s life anymore.

Show new things to the Hae-soo who only knew the past.”

Just like before, depression might come without warning.

The future was still uncertain.

Yet something that had long drifted shapelessly inside him began to take form.

“Meet new people.”

“Not just the same ones.”

“Go out.

Study.”

“Do the things you used to like.”

“The things I used to like….”

It had been a long time since Hae-soo remembered what he liked.

But there had definitely been something he once loved deeply.

Doyoon was not telling him to start now.

He was telling him to find what he had lost.

Hae-soo’s tearful, dazed face gave nothing away.

Still, Doyoon could not let go of hope for his happiness.

Thud.

The car door closed.

But the engine did not start.

Silence filled the car for several minutes.

“I feel like I’m the one who’s going to get sick….”

It felt like a heavy stone pressed down on his chest.

The dinner had been uncomfortable.

Both his mind and body felt it.

A familiar headache crept in.

Whenever he tried to read Choi Hae-soo through his own eyes, his brain reacted violently.

As if rejecting it.

And within that pain, there was always a faint voice.

Murmuring.

Blended.

Fragments of something lost.

Memories.

He hated it.

Even shaking his head could not clear it.

He did have another appointment.

He should have left immediately.

But he remained seated, trying to steady his breath.

“Let’s talk after we eat.”

“Can’t you take me home?”

Hae-soo’s voice lingered in his mind.

He could not push it away.

Soon, through the rain, he spotted Hae-soo walking slowly.

Even through the distorted mirror, that pale face was unmistakable.

Yet nothing felt resolved.

If anything, things felt more complicated.

“Congratulations on your wedding.”

That was all Hae-soo had said.

Despite everything.

Despite barely being able to stand.

Despite pretending not to be hurt.

“…Ha.”

This was necessary.

For both of them.

Hae-soo would learn to live.

And Seha would no longer suffer from memories his body remembered but his mind did not.

He checked the time.

Almost nine.

It was time to leave.

He started the engine.

And drove away.

It felt like a subconscious world.

The ground beneath his feet shifted between warmth and cold.

The surroundings changed constantly.

The sea.

A living room.

Fragments of places.

It was a dream.

It made sure he knew that.

Then a familiar scent reached him.

He inhaled deeply.

Step by step, he moved forward.

Carefully.

Like a child searching for someone.

“Hae-soo.”

At the sound of his name, everything changed again.

And there it was.

A familiar scene.

“Hae-soo.

You said five minutes.

Do you know how long it’s been.

An hour and thirty minutes.”

That voice.

That tone.

That place.

And the back he had always wanted to embrace but never could before waking.

It was the person Hae-soo loved.