THE SLOW BLOSSOM OF US

A Broken Heart

Now Minjun had no other choice — he had to distance himself from Sisanda. Cassy kept complaining endlessly that if Minjun didn’t stop seeing Sisanda, she would break up with him. He didn’t want to be seen as the bad one in the relationship, so he gave in to her demands, even though his heart felt heavy and uncertain.

It had been almost two long, silent months since Minjun started avoiding Sisanda. Their friendship, once so alive and comforting, was now sinking like a ship in deep water. Sisanda could feel the distance growing, and there was nothing she could do to save it.

She was heartbroken. Each day, she locked herself in her room, surrounded by memories that refused to fade. She thought about every moment she had shared with Minjun — the laughter, the conversations, and the warmth of their friendship. Those memories were now her only comfort and her deepest pain.

She tried explaining to Cassy that there was nothing beyond friendship between her and Minjun. But no matter how many times she spoke, Cassy never believed her.

Time moved on slowly. Sisanda tried to move forward, to breathe without the weight of sadness pressing on her chest. Then, one afternoon, she met Jaemin, Minjun’s best friend. He was in a rush, almost running, because he had a date with his girlfriend, Shriana.

“Hey, Sisanda,” he said quickly, catching his breath. “Can you please do me a favor? Minjun forgot his laptop at my condo, and he needs it urgently tonight to complete an important project. He must submit it before midnight. Please, can you take it to him?”

Sisanda hesitated. Her heart tightened at the mention of Minjun. Part of her wanted to refuse — to protect her already bruised heart. But she couldn’t. Kindness was part of her nature. No matter how hurt she was, she couldn’t ignore someone in need.

“Okay,” she said softly. “I’ll take it to him.”

But Cassy, who had overheard everything, was nearby. The moment she realized Sisanda was going to Minjun’s place, a dark plan formed in her mind. She saw this as the perfect chance to push Sisanda away from Minjun forever.

“I’ll make sure this is the last time she ever steps near him,” Cassy thought bitterly.

That evening, Sisanda arrived at Minjun’s condo. The night was quiet, the air cold, her heart beating nervously. When she knocked, there was no answer.

“Jaemin said Minjun has to complete an important project… I can’t just leave the laptop outside,” she whispered to herself. “I still remember his passcode. Let me just leave it inside.”

Her hands trembled slightly as she typed the familiar code. The door opened, and the familiar scent of Minjun’s home made her heart ache even more. She walked in quietly and placed the laptop gently on the table.

“I hope this helps you, Minjun,” she whispered before leaving.

But she didn’t know that Cassy had been following her all along. Cassy’s anger burned like fire when she realized that Sisanda still remembered Minjun’s door code.

“She still knows his code? Perfect,” Cassy hissed.

After Sisanda left, Cassy entered the house like a shadow. Her eyes glowed with jealousy and rage as she opened the laptop and deleted the entire project file.

“Let’s see how Minjun reacts when he finds out,” she murmured with a cruel smile. “He’ll never trust you again, Sisanda.”

Later that night, Minjun returned home in a hurry, ready to finish and submit the project. But when he opened his laptop, his hands froze — the project was gone. Completely gone.

His heart began to pound in panic. He searched every file, every folder, but it was nowhere to be found. Sweat ran down his neck as fear filled his chest.

He called Jaemin right away. “Hey, Jaemin! The project — it’s gone! Did you move anything?”

“What? No!” Jaemin said, shocked. “I didn’t even open your laptop. Sisanda brought it back for you. I was already rushing for my date.”

Minjun’s mind went blank. Sisanda? He didn’t want to believe it. But who else could it be?

The next morning, things turned worse. Minjun’s chairman was furious. The project had been worth billions — the company’s pride and future. The chairman had trusted Minjun more than his own son, and now that trust was shattered.

Minjun tried to explain. “Sir, I don’t know what happened, please let me fix this—”

But the chairman cut him off coldly. “You won’t quit, but I am very disappointed in you, Minjun. You’ve lost my trust. You’ll stay in the company, but forget about the promotion.”

Those words hit Minjun harder than anything. He felt his whole world collapsing. After work, filled with anger and confusion, he went straight to Sisanda’s school.

He found her sitting under a tree, lost in her thoughts.

“Sisanda,” he said sharply. “How could you do this to me after everything I’ve done for you? Even now, I still can’t believe you did this.”

Sisanda blinked in confusion, standing up. “Wait, Minjun, what are you talking about? I’m lost… it’s been so long since we talked and now you—”

“Stop pretending!” Minjun shouted, cutting her off. His voice echoed through the schoolyard. “Just because I said we should take a break from our friendship, you decided to ruin my life? How could you delete something so important? Do you know what that did to me? To my company?”

His voice broke with anger and disappointment. Students nearby began to gather, whispering and staring.

Behind them, Cassy stood hidden among the crowd, smirking proudly. “No one messes with me,” she whispered to herself. “You’ll regret ever standing in my way.”

Minjun continued shouting, tears of frustration almost forming in his eyes. “You were jealous of my relationship with Cassy, right? But she’s my girlfriend! How could I ever choose someone like you — someone so evil — over her? Don’t ever contact me again. I don’t want to see your face, ever!”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Sisanda frozen in place.

Her chest tightened as tears poured down her cheeks. The pain felt unbearable. She could hardly breathe. The one person she trusted most had turned against her — without even giving her a chance to explain.

She ran out of the school, her heart breaking with every step. That night, she couldn’t sleep. Her pillow was soaked with tears.

“How could he think I would do something so cruel?” she whispered to herself again and again. “I was only trying to help him.”

When Shriana came to her room after hearing what happened, she found Sisanda sitting on the floor, crying silently. Shriana hugged her tightly.

“How can he accuse me of something like this, Shriana? Even if I hated him, I’d never do such a thing. I wasn’t raised that way. I didn’t even hate him — I understood when he said we should take a break, but this…” Sisanda sobbed, her voice trembling against Shriana’s chest.

“I know you didn’t do anything wrong,” Shriana said softly, her eyes filled with pity. “Minjun doesn’t deserve your love and trust if he could accuse you like that. He knows you too well to believe this lie. Tomorrow, I’ll talk to him.”

“No, don’t,” Sisanda said weakly, shaking her head. “I don’t want things to be awkward between you two. It’s fine… maybe he never valued our friendship after all. He said he doesn’t want to see me again, and maybe that’s how it should be. Let him believe whatever he wants. I know I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Shriana held her tighter, whispering, “You don’t deserve this pain, Sisanda. One day, the truth will come out.”

But for now, all Sisanda could do was cry in silence — her heart broken, yet still too kind to hate.