Slowly, carefully, almost reluctantly, Yona turned back to her. His expression was unreadable, yet there was something in his eyes that flickered—a hesitation, a momentary softness before the walls went back up.
"…What exactly do you want, Lena?"
His voice was quiet, tired, but beneath the exhaustion, she could hear the tiniest trace of something else. Something like longing—or maybe fear.
Lena's lips trembled, and the grip she had on the strap of her bag tightened until her knuckles turned white. Her eyes pleaded with him, though she didn't know how to find the words that would reach him.
"I tried… I really tried to come back to you. I kept hoping something would change. That you'd understand."
Her voice cracked on the last words, the pain of it all too much to hold in anymore. She wasn't just trying to explain. She was offering him her heart, her vulnerability, hoping he would take it, hoping he would see her again.
Yona stared at her for a long moment, his eyes searching her face. She could see the flicker of something in his expression—a hesitation, as if he was standing on the edge of something he was too afraid to fall into. But something in her—something about the way she stood before him, her voice shaking with emotion, her eyes full of pleading—pulled him in.
Outside, the sky rumbled again, and the rain began to fall. Not loud, but steady, filling the space between them with its quiet rhythm.
Lena took another step closer, her breath shallow. She didn't think. She just reached out, her fingers brushing against his hand.
The touch was light, but it sent a shock through him, like a spark igniting something that had been buried for far too long.
Yona's breath hitched. His eyes locked with hers, and for a moment, the world seemed to fade. It was just her, standing there, holding onto him with that fragile hope that everything could still be fixed. That maybe they could still be them.
Without thinking, he responded. His fingers closed around hers, the contact electrifying, like the world was shifting beneath them.
In that moment, he wasn't sure what he was feeling. Confusion, desire, fear. But all of it seemed to melt away in the warmth of her touch.
Lena's heart raced, and she held on tighter. She was lost in him again, in the way he looked at her now, not with detachment, but with something that was almost like longing. Her pulse thundered in her ears as she whispered, barely audible but full of meaning:
"Look at me, Yona. Please."
He did.
Outside, the rain poured down, but it was nothing compared to the storm inside the room. the one that had been brewing for so long, finally spilling over.
In that fragile moment, it seemed as though Yona might fall for her again.
-----------------
The room was quiet, save for the steady murmur of rain against the windows.
Yona's hand was still in hers. He hadn't pulled away, but he hadn't pulled her closer either. His fingers lingered, caught somewhere between instinct and restraint.
His eyes studied her, unsure. He was trying to make sense of it, of her presence, of her pain, of the way her touch lit something in him he thought he'd buried for good. Part of him wanted to trust it. To fall. But another part held back, afraid of reopening wounds he hadn't yet learned how to close.
"Lena…"he said her name softly, like it hurt to say. His voice cracked slightly, and that alone almost undid her.
But Lena stepped closer, her hands gently cupping his, not demanding, just there. Just open. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and there was something vulnerable in the way she looked at him now. Something bare.
"I don't care what you think you should feel," she said, her voice quiet but full of aching truth.
"I just want you to feel me ."
The room was still, the only sound the soft patter of rain tapping against the windows.
Yona's hand was in hers, but it didn't feel steady. It was tense, like a string pulled too tight, like he might break the moment if he moved too quickly.
He stared at her, lips slightly parted, struggling to find words. Then slowly, he pulled his hand back, not sharply, not with anger, but with restraint. With guilt.
"No, Lena…" he said, voice low and rough.
"This… this isn't right."
Lena's heart flinched at the words. Her eyes searched his, full of hurt, but she didn't move away. She just stood there, breathing in the quiet, bracing herself.
"You know I'm with Mia now," Yona continued, looking away. His jaw clenched, like saying it out loud made it real again. "I can't just… throw that away. Not like this."
But there was a tremor in his voice. Not uncertainty grief. The kind of grief you only feel when saying no to something your heart still wants.
Lena's voice cracked as she whispered, "Then why are you trembling?"
That stopped him. His eyes closed, and for a second, he looked like he was fighting a war inside his chest.
"Because you still have that part of me," he said quietly. "And I don't know how to take it back."
Lena stepped forward, her breath shallow, her heart aching so hard it felt like it might collapse under the weight of it.
"I know I hurt you, Yona," Lena said, her voice trembling. "I was stupid. I was reckless and selfish and I said things I can't take back. I broke something precious… and I know that's why you stopped looking at me."
Yona's gaze dropped to the floor. His jaw tightened, his hands curling into fists at his sides like he was bracing himself.
Lena took a small step forward, her voice cracking. "But I've changed. I have, Yona. I don't expect everything to go back to the way it was. I just…" She swallowed hard, eyes glistening. "I need you to know that the girl standing in front of you isn't the same one who walked away."
She looked at him, raw and wide open.
"I hated myself for what I did."
Yona stepped back, just slightly, like her words were too much. Too close.
But he didn't leave.
And Lena stayed there, waiting, hoping the boy she lost could still see the girl trying so hard to come back.
"I loved you, Lena," he said suddenly, the words spilling out like they'd been trapped too long. "You were the only one. You were everything. But ...."
She flinched, tears spilling now, hot and silent.
"I .....,"she choked."I had no choice"
"But you still did."
His voice wasn't cruel. It wasn't cold. It was devastated. That made it hurt more.
He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling shakily. "Do you know how hard I tried to forget you?"His voice broke on the last word. "To be okay without you? Mia… she was there when I needed someone. She's good. She's kind. She helped me breathe again."
Lena's shoulders trembled. She nodded slowly, even though it tore at her.
"I'm not asking you to forget her,"she whispered. "I'm asking if you still see me. Not the girl who left, not the mistake me. The girl who changed for you ."
Yona looked at her. Really looked at her.
And for a breath, he said nothing.
Then, quietly, almost brokenly:
"I see you."
His voice cracked around the words, and he looked down, like even admitting that was too much.
Lena stepped forward again closer now , and without hesitation, she gently reached for his hand again. This time, when their fingers met, he didn't pull away.
His breathing quickened. He didn't look at her. He couldn't.
But his hand tightened in hers.
The air between them pulsed with unspoken words. Yona's hand was still wrapped in Lena's, warm and trembling. He hadn't pulled away.
He couldn't.
And Lena, she stood so close now, her eyes searching his, not with desperation, but with a plea. A silent "see me again."
His heart thundered louder than the storm outside.
And then—
The door creaked open.
Yona flinched.
Lena turned, breath catching in her throat.
In the doorway stood Mia, her school uniform slightly damp, an umbrella in one hand, her other clutching a folded cardigan. Her cheeks were pink from the cold, her hair sticking to her face in the rain.
She had come back for him.
Her eyes landed on them , on Lena, still holding Yona's hand, and on Yona, frozen in place with guilt in his eyes.
She blinked, stunned for a moment, as if trying to understand what she was seeing.
"I...."she began, voice quiet, confused. "They said you hadn't left yet. I went home to get my umbrella… so we could walk together."
She held it up slightly, as if that simple gesture could undo what she was seeing.
But her voice faltered when she noticed the way Yona hadn't moved away. The way Lena was still so close.
"Yona," she said, slowly now. "What's going on?"
Yona opened his mouth. But no words came.
The silence that followed said enough.
Mia's gaze hardened, not angry, not yet. Just hurt. Just unraveling.
"You didn't even call me," she whispered. "You let me run through the rain… and this is what I come back to?"
Lena let go of Yona's hand then quietly, gently, but not with shame. There was no more pretending. She stepped back, but her eyes didn't waver.
Yona took a shaky breath, eyes on the floor.
"Mia… I didn't plan this. I didn't ask her to stay. I just…"
He paused, the words breaking apart in his mouth.
"I saw her. And everything I buried just… came back."
Mia looked between them, between the history in their silence and the tension in their closeness. Her heart cracked, but she nodded slowly.
"You still love her,"she said, and it wasn't a question.
Yona didn't answer.
And that said everything.
She didn't cry. Not yet. But the look on her face was like someone realizing they'd lost something they never really had.
"I brought you the umbrella," she said numbly, placing it by the door.
Then she turned and walked away, this time slower, with purpose, but her back was straight, as if holding herself together took every ounce of strength.
Yona took a step forward, something in his chest twisting violently.
"Mia… wai..."
The word broke halfway through his throat, too soft, too late.
She didn't turn around.
And Yona just stood there, arm half-raised, as the door clicked shut behind her , leaving nothing but the sound of the rain and the weight of what he'd just lost.
Yona watched her go.
And beside him, Lena whispered,
"I'm sorry."
But he couldn't speak.
Not yet.
Because his heart was no longer in one place. It was split between his first love, the one who shattered him and now stood trying to piece it all back together, and the girl who had walked through the storm for him, only to be met with silence.
And he didn't know who he was without either of them.
"Just… go," he said, barely above a whisper. His voice was raw, frayed at the edges.
Lena's breath caught. She stepped forward, shaking her head. "But Yona..."
"Just go!" he shouted, head bowed low, his voice cracking under the weight of everything grief, confusion, the ache of being torn in two.
He couldn't even look at her. He didn't want her to see him like this.
Lena froze, lips parted in shock, chest rising and falling as tears welled up in her eyes.
And this time , slowly, silently she obeyed.
-----------------------
As the door closed behind Lena, silence swallowed the room.
Yona stood there for a heartbeat longer, then his knees gave out.
He dropped to the floor, kneeling, head bowed low until his forehead touched the cold tile. His hands trembled. His eyes shut tight.
And then—
He slammed his fist into the floor.
Hard.
Once. Twice.
"Why…?" he growled through gritted teeth. "Why does this have to happen again?"
His voice cracked at the end, fury tangled with grief.
"Why…?"
The sound of the storm outside grew louder, the windows shuddering with the wind. But inside, nothing moved, just Yona, breaking quietly in the center of the room.
Then—
His phone rang.
The sound cut through the silence like a blade. Sharp. Unwelcome.
He didn't move at first.
Then slowly, as if waking from something heavy and cruel, he reached for the device lying beside his notebook.
The screen lit up.
One new message.
His thumb hesitated before unlocking it.
The message was simple. Cold.
"She doesn't belong to you."
Yona froze.
His breath caught in his throat. He looked up, suddenly alert, eyes darting around the empty classroom.
There was no one.
No sound but the rain.
No presence but his own.
And yet, it felt like something was watching. Like the words on the screen carried more than just a warning. A threat. A truth.
His fingers tightened around the phone.
Anger surged again, but underneath it, guilt festered.
He thought of Mia's face as she left. Of Lena's voice trembling with regret.
He buried his face in his hands, torn in every direction, and still, that message burned behind his eyes.
She doesn't belong to you.
Then who did?
To be continue...