June 2013.
The scorching sun had poured down mercilessly, turning the asphalt highway into a shimmering ribbon of heat that seemed to ripple and dance beneath the tires. Inside the sleek sports car, the air had thickened, heavy and stifling, pressing down on Jin's chest like a physical weight. The odometer needle had hovered stubbornly just above the speed limit, yet Jin's grip on the steering wheel had not faltered. His eyes remained locked on the black SUV ahead — the vehicle carrying the love of his life, always just out of reach, like a fading mirage.
His fingers trembled as he dialed her number again, hope and desperation twisting painfully inside him. The phone had rung, each tone echoing his pounding heart — but once more, she had rejected him silently, refusing to answer. Jin's knuckles had whitened, his voice barely more than a whisper in the tense, suffocating silence that filled the cabin.
"Answer, please…" His voice had cracked, a sting of tears blurring his vision.
The world outside had blurred past, the relentless sunlight slicing through the windshield in sharp, unforgiving beams. His heart had thundered louder than the engine as he waited, trembling, until the sudden ping of a message shattered the heavy quiet. Without a second thought, Jin had snatched the phone, his eyes darting anxiously between the glowing screen and the road ahead.
His breath had hitched as he read the words slowly, painfully, letting each syllable carve deeper into his soul:
"We are too young for love. I'm only sixteen. Let's give our parents a chance to be happy. They deserve it."
The car's momentum faltered; the speed dropped steadily as Jin's world fractured beneath the weight of her message. He had pulled the sports car to the shoulder, the tires crunching sharply against the gravel as numbness seeped into his bones.
Ahead, the black SUV had shown no hesitation. It disappeared around a distant bend, swallowing her whole — indifferent to his presence, leaving Jin stranded on the endless stretch of sun-baked highway.
She had left him there. Alone. As if he had been nothing but a ghost in her past. Not the girl he had loved with everything inside him — the girl who had once promised forever.