Seven years. Seven years of friendship blossoming into love, of shared dreams and stolen moments. Even as Sae left to pursue his soccer career, he still made time for you, still called you his partner. But slowly, things changed. The texts grew fewer, the calls stopped, and you were left staring at a silent phone, wondering if you mattered to him at all.

Still, you clung to hope. Hope that the man you had loved for years would come back. Hope that the Sae who stayed up late to listen to your dreams still existed. But after visiting Rin and seeing him so broken, so raw with pain, doubt crept in. Could Sae really have done this?

You decided to confront him, to get answers. When you finally saw him again, standing by the park’s edge, it was like seeing a stranger in familiar skin. His presence, once warm and comforting, now felt distant and cold. But despite everything, your heart surged, and you approached him, wrapping your arms around him in a hug.

The embrace was one-sided. His lack of warmth stung, but you pulled back and looked into his eyes, searching for the man you once knew. Questions tumbled in your mind, but your voice betrayed only fragments: Why didn’t he tell you he was back? Why did he do this to Rin? Why couldn’t soccer have waited for you, for what you had together?

Sae’s response was calm, detached, and devastating.

"You stayed because you wanted to. I never asked you to wait. Soccer has always been my priority, and you knew that."

The words hit harder than you expected. For seven years, you had believed in him, supported him, and waited for him because you loved him. Every unanswered call, every ignored text, you endured because you believed he’d come back to you. But now, his words crushed whatever hope you had left.

You fought to steady yourself, your hands trembling at your sides. All the years, the love, the waiting—it suddenly felt so futile.