The days after the rain felt strange — like the world was holding its breath. Everything looked the same, but nothing felt right. The classrooms where we laughed now felt empty. The rooftop where we shared secrets seemed too quiet, too still. Even the familiar scent of the ginkgo trees seemed faded, like a memory slipping away.
I found myself wandering through places we'd been together, searching for something I couldn't name. I talked to the wind, whispering your name like a prayer, hoping it would carry my voice to wherever you were now.
"Yuna," I'd say softly. "Are you there?"
Sometimes, when the breeze brushed my cheek or a sudden gust rustled the leaves, I felt like you were answering me. A quiet presence wrapping around me, comforting and sad all at once.
At school, I kept painting. Each canvas became a letter to you—our story in colors. Bright oranges and reds for the sunsets we watched, deep blues for the quiet nights, and soft yellows for the hope you held onto.
Seojin noticed.
"You're different, In-ha," he said one afternoon, watching me work. "There's a fire in your eyes. It's like… you carry something inside now. Something no one else can see."
I didn't know how to explain it. Maybe I was carrying both the pain of losing you and the light you left behind.
My friends tried to reach me, but I often pushed them away. Not because I didn't want their help, but because only you understood the depths of what I felt. Only you knew the silence inside me.
Nights were the hardest.
When the world grew dark and quiet, I'd open your notebook. Your words spilled out, raw and honest—the fears you hid, the dreams you never gave up on, the love you poured into every page.
I'd trace your handwriting, feeling close to you again.
Sometimes, I'd read your letters aloud, hoping to hear your voice one more time, even if just in my mind.
I realized that you weren't really gone.
You were everywhere—in the wind, the rain, the colors of my paintings, and the beating of my heart.
You were my echo. Soft, persistent, and endless.
You were the part of me that refused to forget.
Even when memories fade, love remains.
And ours was a song that would never end.
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