one
Wonyoung liked to think she was an understanding girlfriend.
She knew Yujin was busy. Studying medicine wasn’t easy, and neither was juggling her social life on top of it. Yujin had always been someone who attracted people—laughing loudly in crowded study halls, getting dragged into group dinners, being the first to say yes to spontaneous outings. Wonyoung loved that about her.
She just wished Yujin would say yes to her more often.
At first, it was small things.
Wonyoung had texted one evening, stretching in her dorm after a long day of lectures.
wonnie 🐰
hey, let’s grab dinner together?
yudaeng 💙
can’t, group study ran late
yudaeng 💙
next time princess ❤️
Wonyoung had sighed but smiled, brushing it off. Yujin was working hard, and that was admirable.
Then it started happening more often.
wonnie 🐰
movie night?
yudaeng 💙
meeting up with sunbae. i’ll call you later, okay?
yudaeng 💙
sorry babe
The call never came.
And still, Wonyoung understood.
But Wonyoung told herself it was fine. Yujin was busy. She had always admired how hardworking and dedicated her girlfriend was. It was one of the things that had drawn her in—how Yujin could juggle everything so effortlessly, always surrounded by people who relied on her.
So, Wonyoung understood.
And she waited.
For Yujin to call her first. For Yujin to make the plans instead. For Yujin to notice.
Some days, she did.
Like when Yujin surprised her outside her lecture hall, grinning as she slung an arm around Wonyoung’s shoulders.
“Missed me?” Yujin teased, swaying them side to side.
Wonyoung had only rolled her eyes, unable to fight back a smile. “I see you every day.”
“But not enough,” Yujin hummed, bumping their heads together affectionately. “Let’s go eat, my treat.”
And just like that, Wonyoung’s worries faded.
Because Yujin was trying… right?
Then there were nights when Yujin would text to say goodnight.
yudaeng 💙
sorry for today, wonnie. i really wanted to see you
wonnie 🐰
It’s okay, you’re working hard
yudaeng 💙
still… i’ll make it up to you, i promise
And Wonyoung believed her.
She wanted to believe her.
So she kept waiting. For things to go back to how they used to be. For Yujin to keep those promises. For her turn to come.
So Wonyoung held on.
She sent Yujin good morning texts first, because she knew her girlfriend had early hospital rotations and might not have time.
She sent reminders to eat, because Yujin got so caught up in her schedule that she forgot.
She told her it’s okay every time Yujin said, “I’ll call you later” and never did.
And sometimes, Yujin was there.
Like the rare afternoons when Yujin would suddenly grab her hand while they were walking on campus, swinging it between them with a lazy smile.
Like the nights when Yujin would send a photo of her medical notes with a caption that made Wonyoung roll her eyes.
yudaeng 💙
studying hard so i can be your rich doctor gf someday
Or the times when Yujin pulled her into a hug out of nowhere, her voice warm as she murmured against Wonyoung’s hair, “I missed you, princess.”
Moments like those made Wonyoung forget all the missed calls and unanswered texts.
They made her think: This is just temporary.
So she waited.
And waited.
And waited.
But her turn never seemed to come.
—
At first, Wonyoung told herself it was just school.
Medical students were busy. Yujin was busy. That was normal.
But then she started noticing other things.
Yujin wouldn’t respond to her texts—not because she was buried in books, but because she was out with a classmate or grabbing coffee with a sunbae.
She started seeing her girlfriend more on social media than in real life—stories of Yujin at dinner with her friends, hanging out with her extracurricular group, laughing with people Wonyoung barely knew.
Yet, every time Wonyoung tried to bring it up, Yujin would brush it off.
"You know how it is, Wonnie. They needed me for something."
"I'll make it up to you, promise."
"I just got caught up, sorry, baby. Next time, okay?"
But next time never came.
Wonyoung would stare at her phone, at the messages she’d sent hours ago—left on read, or worse, not even opened. Then she’d open Yujin’s story and see her smiling at a restaurant with friends.
It made her stomach twist.
Not because she didn’t want Yujin to have fun. Not because she wanted to be a controlling girlfriend.
But because she was starting to wonder—when did she stop being a priority?
And when Wonyoung saw Yujin the next day, grinning at her like nothing was wrong, pulling her into a loose hug and pressing a quick kiss to her temple—
She told herself she was just overthinking.
So she let it go.
Again.
—
Wonyoung told herself she wasn’t jealous.
She had no reason to be. Yujin was her girlfriend. Yujin loved her.
But it was getting harder to ignore the feeling in her chest every time she saw Yujin with someone else.
She wasn’t even hiding it anymore.
“Sorry, babe,” Yujin had said one afternoon when Wonyoung asked if they could get dinner together. “I already made plans with my groupmates. We’re meeting up to review for the exam.”
Wonyoung nodded, forcing a smile. “That’s okay. Good luck.”
And it was okay.
Until she opened Instagram and saw Yujin at a restaurant—not just with her classmates, but with a whole group of people from her extracurricular club.
Wonyoung stared at the photo, the way Yujin was leaning toward some sunbae, laughing at something. She wasn’t even looking at her phone.
But she still hasn’t replied to me.
The thought made her throat tighten.
It wasn’t even about school anymore. It wasn’t just the stress or the workload. Yujin had time —she was just choosing to spend it with everyone but her.
And when she finally got Yujin on the phone later that night, all she got was a lazy, “I told you, I got caught up. You know how they are, they kept dragging me to stay longer.”
"You could've told me."
"I didn't think it was a big deal, Wonnie."
It wasn't a big deal.
Wonyoung let out a soft laugh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yeah. Nevermind."
—
Wonyoung wasn’t angry.
Not yet.
But she was tired.
She was tired of sending messages that took hours to get a reply—if they even got one at all.
Tired of staring at her phone, waiting for Yujin’s name to light up the screen, only to see a message from someone else.
Tired of calling, just to hear Yujin’s voice sound distant, distracted—like she was in the middle of something more important.
"Hey, babe."
"Hey, where are you?"
"Ah—sorry, I’m with my friends. Can I call you later?"
"…Yeah. Later."
But once again, later never came.
And when they did meet—when Wonyoung finally got a piece of Yujin’s time—she still felt like she was waiting.
Yujin would check her phone mid-conversation, laughing at a message before Wonyoung could even finish her sentence.
She’d nod absentmindedly, her eyes flickering toward the group of people she spotted across the café instead of at Wonyoung.
She’d be there, right in front of her, but still so far away.
And Wonyoung hated it.
Because suddenly, being with Yujin felt like chasing after her.
Like she had to fight for her attention, her time, her love.
And Wonyoung didn’t want to fight for something that was supposed to be hers.
So she just smiled, laughed at Yujin’s half-hearted jokes, and pretended it didn’t hurt when Yujin kissed her forehead before leaving early for something else.
—
Wonyoung started to keep count.
She didn’t mean to. It just… happened.
One. Two. Three.
How many times had she asked Yujin to hang out?
"I have a study group today."
"I promised my sunbae I’d help with something."
"I’ll make it up to you next time, Wonnie."
Four. Five. Six.
How many times had she waited for Yujin’s goodnight text, staring at her phone until her vision blurred, only to wake up to nothing?
Seven. Eight. Nine.
How many times had she told herself it was okay?
That Yujin was just busy. That she was overthinking. That love wasn’t about counting who gave more, who reached out first, who cared more.
But no matter how much she tried to ignore it, she felt it.
She was always the one reaching out first. Always the one adjusting her schedule, making time, waiting.
And Yujin?
Yujin was slipping through her fingers.
And the worst part was—she didn’t even seem to notice.
Didn’t notice how Wonyoung’s texts had gone from playful to careful. From I miss you to Are you free? to Nevermind, you must be busy.
Didn’t notice how Wonyoung’s smiles were thinner now, her laughter softer, her presence quieter.
Didn’t notice how Wonyoung had stopped asking as often.
Because she already knew the answer.
"Next time, Wonnie."
Wonyoung swallowed, staring at her phone’s dim screen.
Next time.
She was starting to wonder if that time would ever come.
—
Wonyoung wasn’t the type to complain.
She never wanted to be the clingy girlfriend, the one who asked for too much, the one who needed constant reassurance.
But this wasn’t just her being needy, was it?
"Do you even realize how much you’ve been brushing me off?"
Yujin barely looked up from her notes, scribbling something down. "Wonnie, I told you—medical school is a lot. I don’t have as much free time as before."
"I know that," Wonyoung bit the inside of her cheek, willing herself to stay calm. "But you make time for other people. Your club, your friends, your—" She stopped herself, exhaling sharply. "I just… I don’t feel like I’m part of your life anymore."
That made Yujin pause. She glanced up at Wonyoung, blinking as if the thought had never even crossed her mind. Then, to Wonyoung’s frustration, she let out a breathy chuckle. "You’re overthinking."
Wonyoung felt something in her chest tighten. "I’m not."
"You are." Yujin gave her that look—the one that always made Wonyoung feel like she was being ridiculous. "You know I love you, right? I don’t have to text you every second to prove that."
It wasn’t about the texts. It wasn’t even about the calls.
It was about how Wonyoung felt like she was chasing after her own girlfriend. Like she was grasping at something that kept slipping away, little by little.
"Forget it," Wonyoung mumbled, standing up from Yujin’s dorm bed.
Yujin sighed, grabbing her wrist before she could walk away. "Don’t be like that, baby. You know I’ll make it up to you."
Wonyoung swallowed.
This wasn’t the first time she heard that.
And for some reason, she still wanted to believe it.
She let Yujin pull her back into a hug, let herself close her eyes and pretend that things were fine, that Yujin would realize it herself.
That she wouldn’t have to beg to be seen.
But as she sat there, feeling Yujin’s arms around her yet still feeling so far away —she wondered how long she could keep hoping before it finally broke her.
—
The next few weeks felt like the same cycle.
Wonyoung would ask to meet, and Yujin would say she was busy.
She’d text her, and Yujin would respond late—if at all.
Wonyoung would try to call, only for the call to go unanswered, her message reading delivered without a reply.
It was always something. Always an excuse. And every time, Yujin would reassure her, "Next time, I swear. I’ll make it up to you."
But Wonyoung was getting tired.
Still, she kept trying.
Maybe she was just overthinking, as Yujin always said. Maybe Yujin really was just busy. She didn’t want to be that girlfriend—the one who didn’t trust her partner, the one who couldn’t handle a little space.
So Wonyoung convinced herself that maybe she was just imagining it all.
Maybe it wasn’t so bad. Maybe it wasn’t something to fight over.
It’s okay. She can wait. Yujin will realize it soon enough.
But each time she had to wait for Yujin to call her, to message her, to actually look at her like she was the only one in the room—it felt more like wishing than waiting.
One evening, they were sitting in a small café, and Wonyoung was trying, really trying, to hold onto that last thread of patience. She smiled at Yujin across the table, holding her hands out in front of her, waiting for the familiar warmth of her girlfriend’s touch.
But Yujin didn’t hold her hand. Instead, she picked up her phone and started typing something.
“You said you were going to try and take a break tonight.”
Wonyoung’s voice was soft, but there was a small sting behind it, like she couldn’t quite hide the hurt anymore. "I know you’re busy, Yujin, but can’t we just… can’t we have tonight? Just you and me?"
Yujin looked up, her brow furrowing slightly, almost like she was confused. "Wonnie, I’m just checking on something. It’ll take five minutes, I swear."
Wonyoung nodded, trying to keep her smile in place, but it wasn’t working anymore.
It was like Yujin was still there, but not really. She was always somewhere else.
"I miss you," Wonyoung whispered before she could stop herself.
"What?" Yujin asked, glancing up at her for a moment before going back to her phone. "Sorry, I missed that."
Wonyoung’s heart sank, and for the first time, she felt the weight of the truth press against her chest. She hadn’t wanted to say it out loud, but now… now, it was too late.
She did miss her. She missed her so much it hurt. But she was starting to wonder if Yujin even noticed anymore.
"Nothing," Wonyoung said, dropping her gaze to the table, pretending she didn’t feel the tears threatening to burn behind her eyes. "It’s fine. Don’t worry about it."