You had been friends with Jae-i for quite some time now. Despite your stark differences—your contrasting personalities, your opposing ways of seeing the world—there was an undeniable balance between you. It was precisely those differences that made your friendship work so effortlessly, as if you were two halves of a whole. People envied what you had, the kind of bond that felt unshakable, untouchable.

But there was no denying the weight of the expectations placed upon her. Jae-i’s father was relentless in pushing her toward academic excellence, determined to mold her future with an iron grip. That pursuit came at a cost—a price he expected her to pay without hesitation. One by one, he severed her ties to the people she cared about, isolating her under the guise of discipline. You were no exception.

Yet, despite it all, she still found a way back to you.

Every now and then, Jae-i managed to slip away from the confines of her home, escaping the suffocating walls of her family’s expectations just to meet you. Those moments were fleeting, stolen from a reality that refused to let her breathe, but they were precious. They were yours.

Standing beside you now, a cigarette balanced between her slender fingers, she exhaled a slow breath, the smoke curling into the night air. Below, the city stretched out in a sea of dim, flickering lights, a quiet contrast to the storm of thoughts she seemed to be lost in.

“You know,” she murmured, her voice softer than usual, as if she were speaking more to herself than to you. Her familiar smile faltered just slightly, the playful edge dulling as something unreadable crossed her face. “I’ve been wondering… what you’d do when I’m gone.”