Chapter Two – The Past That Broke Us
1172 Words
Talia had once believed memories faded with time.
She was wrong.
Because the moment Shin’s lips left hers, the past came roaring back like a storm she'd been trying to outrun for three long years.
It was their last night together.
Back when they were just teenagers — reckless and in love, hearts full of stupid hope.
They were in the school gym, long after hours, the lights off, the world forgotten. He was lying next to her on the floor, fingers tangled in her hair, whispering plans about Tokyo universities and shared apartments and forever.
“You and me,” he’d murmured against her temple, voice soft and certain. “We’re going to take on the world, Talia.”
And she’d believed him. With every piece of her foolish heart, she had believed.
Until the next day.
Until the day his mother called her into that cold, echoing office at the Akiyama estate. The woman hadn't bothered with lies or kindness. Just steel words and a single warning:
> “End it. Or you’ll end him.”
Talia hadn’t even had time to ask what she meant before a folder was slid across the desk — full of Shin’s father’s financial connections, political deals, fragile reputations. Things she couldn’t fully understand.
> “He’s the heir to an empire,” the woman said with quiet cruelty. “You’re a distraction. One phone call, and everything he’s worked for crumbles. Can you live with that?”
She couldn’t.
So she made the worst decision of her life.
She walked away.
---
But she didn’t just disappear.
Not right away.
It was raining the day she ended things. One of those relentless summer downpours that soaked you to the skin no matter how fast you ran.
They met behind the old library — their secret place. Shin had come without hesitation, eyes lighting up the moment he saw her, rain dripping from his lashes.
“Talia,” he said, smiling like nothing in the world could touch them. “You’re drenched—”
She didn’t let him finish. She kissed him. One last time. Her hands trembling against his jaw, her heart cracking with every beat.
He kissed her back — until he felt the tremor in her lips. Until he tasted salt through the rain.
When she pulled away, he frowned. “What’s wrong?”
She couldn’t look at him. “We need to break up.”
Shin froze. “What?”
“I can’t do this anymore.”
“No. No, Talia, what the hell are you talking about?”
“It’s over,” she forced out. Each word gutted her. “You have your future. I don’t want to hold you back.”
His voice broke. “You’re not—Talia, you’re everything. I don’t care about the future if it doesn’t have you in it.”
“You’ll thank me one day.”
“I’ll never thank you for this,” he snapped. “You’re running. Why? What happened?”
She didn’t answer. Couldn’t. She took a step back, water sloshing in her shoes, raindrops clinging to her lashes.
Shin reached for her. “Tell me what’s going on. If it’s something I did—”
“You didn’t,” she whispered. “You were perfect.”
“Then why?”
“Because loving you will destroy you.”
It was all she could give him. All she dared.
Shin stood there in the rain, fists clenched, teeth gritted. His voice shook as he said, “You’re a coward.”
Talia didn’t argue. Maybe she was.
She turned and walked away, leaving behind the only boy she ever loved — soaked, stunned, and shattered in the rain.
---
The bar's air felt heavier now.
Talia pulled herself away from the memory, breath ragged, heart pounding.
Shin hadn’t moved. His forehead still rested against hers, but his hands had clenched at his sides, like he was fighting the urge to pull her closer—or push her away forever.
She stepped back first. Needed space. Needed air. Needed him not to look at her like she was both the love and the ruin of his life.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Shin laughed. It was low and humorless. “Sorry? Is that what you brought back with you? A pocketful of regret?”
Talia’s jaw tightened. “You don’t know everything.”
“Then tell me, damn it!” His voice rose, drawing a few curious glances from the nearby tables. “Tell me why you disappeared like I meant nothing to you. Give me one good reason not to hate you.”
She flinched. “You think I wanted this?”
“You didn’t have to leave. You chose to.”
“I was protecting you!” she snapped before she could stop herself.
Silence.
It hung between them like a blade.
Shin’s eyes narrowed. “From what?”
Talia’s lips parted. The words sat on her tongue like fire. But fear still had claws in her chest.
“If I told you… it would change everything,” she said softly.
His gaze didn’t waver. “Then change it.”
---
Three years ago, she had walked away because she thought it was the only way to protect him.
Now? She wasn’t sure who needed protecting anymore — him, or herself.
She turned to leave, the tears threatening again.
But Shin caught her wrist. Not roughly — just enough to stop her.
“You don’t get to run now,” he said, voice raw. “Not after that kiss. Not after showing up like some ghost in my damn life.”
“I didn’t plan this.”
“No. But you showed up anyway.”
She yanked her hand free, blinking back tears. “Maybe I should go.”
“Maybe I should let you.” His voice was ice now. His walls slamming up like they never fell. “But I won’t. Not until I get the truth.”
Talia backed away, every step heavier than the last. Her heart screamed for her to stay, to fall into his arms and sob the truth until he held her like before.
But she couldn’t.
Not yet.
And Shin didn’t follow.
Not this time.
---
Later that night, in her quiet hotel room, Talia sat curled at the edge of the bed, fingers clenched in her blanket, the taste of his kiss still lingering on her lips like a sin she never stopped craving.
Her phone buzzed once — a notification she ignored. For a moment, she simply stared at the blank screen, fingers twitching with the urge to type something. Anything.
She thought of calling him. Of texting. Of saying the one thing she’d never dared before:
> “Your mother forced me to leave you.”
But her phone stayed cold in her hand.
Instead, she stared out the window at the city lights and whispered into the dark:
“I never stopped loving you, Shin.”
- Writer
