Kim Yooyeon and Kim Nakyoung started dating about a year ago. The two of them met on a random Friday, after Yooyeon finished up her chemistry presentation for university. It wasn’t anything grand—just a chance meeting at a café where Yooyeon complimented Nakyoung's smile.
“Hey, your smile’s really pretty” a short girl said, approaching Nakyoung just as she finished ordering her drink.
“Oh, thank you” Nakyoung replied awkwardly, her lips curling into a shy grin.
“My name’s Kim Yooyeon, by the way” the older girl introduced herself, her eyes crinkling slightly as she smiled.
“Kim Nakyoung. Nice to meet you,” Nakyoung said, a bit more at ease now, her curiosity piqued by the confident chemistry major standing in front of her.
After that the two girls started getting to know each other more, going on little dates on the weekends whenever Nakyoung didn't have dance practice or whenever Yooyeon wasn't tired from studying everyday. Eventually the two of them started dating after about 3 months, Yooyeon finally asked Nakyoung to be her girlfriend at a nice resturaunt she found on the internet on a random saturday.
Their relationship started off softly, like the first drops of rain before a storm. Nakyoung was Kind, confident, and carried herself like the world owed her something, while Yooyeon was quiet, methodical, and deeply afraid of things she couldn’t control.
But there was always something fragile in the way Yooyeon said, “I love you.” As if she was saying it not for Nakyoung, but for herself—to convince herself it was true.
Nakyoung noticed it early on, in the way Yooyeon’s gaze would linger a little too long on old photos she hadn’t deleted from her phone. In the way she would grow distant whenever Nakyoung would ask about her past lovers, or her past in general.
And yet Nakyoung still decided to stay, knowing deep down she wasn't the one Yooyeon truly loved.
Every little moment of affection, every stolen kiss, every night Yooyeon stayed over—Nakyoung held onto them like treasures, even as the voice in the back of her mind whispered: You’re only here because she can’t have her, She's only here to pass time hoping she'd find a glimpse of.. her.
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When Yooyeon met Nakyoung, it was around the date of when Seoyeon and Yooyeon broke things off. Seoyeon had broken up with Yooyeon, her excuse was that she just didn't love Yooyeon anymore atleast not the way she did in the beginning.
Yooyeon didn't take the breakup well, She tried many things to get over her first love, new hobbies, drowning herself in work, she even turned to drinking once, but none of it worked. She decided after a year she'd try to fill the gap Seoyeon left with someone else.. Kim Nakyoung.
She took Nakyoung on dates to places her and Seoyeon used to go to together, trying to recreate what her and her first love once had.
Yooyeon loved Nakyoung but not the way she loved Seoyeon, Nakyoung was perfect she took the world off her shoulders whenever times were hard, whenever times for Yooyeon were blue Nakyoung would turn the rain into rainbows. But no matter how much Nakyoung did Yooyeon still wished it was Seoyeon instead deep down. She was perfect but she wasn't Seoyeon...
No matter how perfect their relationship was Yooyeon couldn't help but feel it wasn't what she wanted, it wasn't working. She was confused and didn't know what to do anymore, Yooyeon didn't want to hurt Nakyoung but she also couldn't help but miss the presence of Seoyeon.
After awhile, one day she saw Seoyeon post on her story—it was another girl, Seoyeon looked happy, as the girl next to her placed a kiss on her cheek in the photo. Yooyeon couldn't help but feel her heart ache, and tears filled her eyes. Her mind was a mess as she thought of many things: Does she laugh the way I do? Do you ever see me in her whenever you look into her eyes? thoughts like that. She felt betrayed, but couldn't help but hope maybe one day Seoyeon would come back after things get hard and find her way to Yooyeon again.
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It was late one evening when Nakyoung stumbled upon it. Yooyeon had left her phone on the nightstand, the faint glow of the screen illuminating the darkened room. A name flashed across the notification banner—Seoyeon.
Nakyoung froze. She recognized the name, of course she did. It was the name Yooyeon always said a little too softly, the name she always avoided when Nakyoung asked questions.
“Why is she still here?” Nakyoung thought bitterly as she hovered her thumb over the screen. But she pulled back, knowing she wouldn’t find anything she didn’t already suspect.
Instead, she waited.
“Yooyeon,” Nakyoung said softly the next morning as they sat across from each other at breakfast. “Do you still think about her?”
Yooyeon’s spoon froze midway to her mouth. For a moment, it seemed like she would like she’d reach across the table, grab Nakyoung’s hand, and reassure her with those fragile words: “No, you’re the only one I love.”
But Yooyeon just lowered her spoon, her shoulders slumping slightly.
“I… I’m sorry, Nakyoung.”
Nakyoung felt her chest tighten, her worst fears solidifying into reality. But she nodded as if she understood. As if Yooyeon’s apology was enough to fill the growing void between them.
That night, Yooyeon kissed Nakyoung softly—too softly, like she was saying goodbye without words. And Nakyoung let her, clutching onto the illusion that maybe, just maybe, Yooyeon was kissing her and not the ghost of someone else.
Weeks passed, and Nakyoung started noticing the way Yooyeon’s eyes would glaze over during their conversations. The way she would stare out the window on quiet Sunday mornings, lost in thoughts Nakyoung couldn’t reach.
One evening, as they sat together on the couch, Nakyoung whispered, “Do you ever think we’re just… passing time?”
Yooyeon flinched.
“No, Nakyoung. That’s not—”
“But it is, isn’t it?” Nakyoung said, her voice trembling. “You’re still in love with her, Yooyeon. And no matter how hard I try… I’ll never be her.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
Yooyeon didn’t deny it.
The next morning, Nakyoung woke up to an empty side of the bed and a folded note on the pillow beside her.
“I’m sorry, Nakyoung. You deserve someone who sees you—not a reflection of someone else. Thank you for loving me. I’m sorry I couldn’t love you the way you deserve.”
Nakyoung pressed the note against her chest, her silent sobs filling the quiet room.
Outside, the world continued on, indifferent to the heartbreak unfolding behind closed doors.
And somewhere, Kim Yooyeon stared at her phone, at a contact labeled Seoyeon, her thumb hovering over the call button—wondering if she would ever find a glimpse of what she lost.
A year later, Yooyeon found out Seoyeon was actually battling cancer, and passed away a month before someone told her why Seoyeon had really left. She was devastated and angry she couldn't help but feel herself lose it, her heart ached more than it ever had, and her eyes drowned with tears as they fell down her face. why.. why didn't she tell her