I didn’t come back to fall in love again. I came back to forget.

The city still smelled like smoke and rain, like unfinished business. Neon lights bled into the night as engines roared somewhere underground. I shouldn’t be here, but my feet moved on their own, dragging my heart into a place I promised myself I’d never return to.

That’s when I heard his name.

“Heeseung’s here.”

My chest tightened.

The crowd parted as a black car rolled in, sleek and dangerous, like it owned the road. The engine cut off. Silence followed. Then the door opened.

And there he was.

Heeseung.

Older. Sharper. Still devastating in the way that made my pulse forget how to behave.

He looked up.....and our eyes met.

The world stopped.

I felt it then. That familiar ache. The one I buried years ago.

“Is it really you?” he asked, voice low, almost careful. Like I might disappear if he spoke too loud.

I swallowed. “Looks like you’re still chasing trouble.”

A small smile tugged at his lips, but his eyes didn’t smile at all. They never did when it came to me.

“I learned how to drive fast,” he said, stepping closer. “Not how to move on.”

The words hit harder than the noise around us.

I crossed my arms, pretending I wasn’t breaking. “Some of us don’t get a choice.”

He leaned in, just enough for me to feel his warmth.

“I never chose to stop loving you.”

My breath caught.

The crowd shouted for him. The race was waiting. The car was waiting. Speed was calling him like it always did.

But Heeseung didn’t turn away.

He stayed.

And for the first time since I came back, I realized..... maybe love wasn’t the thing that ruined us.

Maybe it was the only thing fast enough to save us.