When I Loved You

“Where are you…” Muyeol roughly rubbed his dry face and looked at his phone again.

He stared at her pictures, his heart tearing apart at the sight. He looked at the pictures in which she pretended to be standing next to someone.

At that moment, he had an epiphany. He stood up, finally having a clue as to where she might be. Yiyoung had sent the last picture in which she was posing as if someone was next to her from Hallstatt. She hadn’t sent him any more after that.

“I want to get married here. Do you see the church behind me? I heard the church holds weddings. Let’s get married here. I’ll wait for you.”

Muyeol finally understood what Yiyoung meant by ‘I’ll wait for you’. She wasn’t waiting for the wedding, she meant she was going to wait for him to come pick her up.

The possible scenario completed itself in Muyeol’s head. Yiyoung was probably waiting for him in Hallstatt, already having chosen her wedding dress. She was probably cursing Muyeol for being so tactless. He should have let her know when he would meet her… And since he hadn’t, she wasn’t answering him.

“I’m coming to Hallstatt now. Did you prepare a wedding dress?” he immediately texted her.

As if she’d been waiting for him to text, Yiyoung instantly replied, “I’ll prepare it now.”

Muyeol clenched his fist as his assumption turned out to be correct.

“On your way here, I want you to complete the pictures I sent you. Make the invisible person visible. Everything will be ready by then, I think.”

“I don’t have the talent for that. And I have no time, I’ll be in a hurry.”

“How did you figure out the answer?”

Muyeol suddenly choked up at her question.

“Isn’t it beautiful? I hope you and I get to be together in those pictures,” Yiyoung added.

Tears rolled down Muyeol’s cheeks. He wiped them away and responded without hesitating, “Okay. I’ll do as you say. I’ll call you when I leave.”

“The stockholders’ meeting is tomorrow, right? I’m sorry for telling you that I’d be there before the meeting.”

“If I’d realized it earlier, I would’ve been with you by now.”

“You love me so much.”

“Yes, I do. I will find you. Because I feel I’ll die otherwise.”

When Yiyoung didn’t reply, Muyeol called her. But she didn’t pick up the phone.

“Sorry,” she suddenly texted, “If I hear your voice now, I might become weak again. I might just go straight to the airport because I’ll want to see you.”

“It’s dangerous, so don’t do that. I’ll be there. Wait for me. I’ll record tomorrow’s meeting and send you the video. You shouldn’t forget to congratulate me.”

“Okay, I will.”

“Are you alright there?”

“Yes, but I’m never going to eat potatoes again. Buy some ramen and bring it here.”

“I will.”

“I miss you so much. I cried everyday. I was nervous, thinking you would tell me that you wanted a divorce.”

“No, you did not.”

“I’m telling the truth. What about you?”

Muyeol caught his breath as those emotionally heavy moments flashed by in his head. “I didn’t feel anything. You know my personality.”

“Oh. Okay, sir. So I was the only one crying everyday. But it’s fine since you’re going to come here. I’ll wait for you.”

“Okay. Wait for me. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

Muyeol raised his head after sending the last text. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, a mixture of happiness and sadness displayed in his teary eyes and the corner of his lips that were slightly raised. With the exception of when Yiyoung was hurt, Muyeol had never cried like this before.

Another drop of tear dripped down his cheek, but Muyeol didn’t wipe it this time. It wouldn’t matter, with the way endless tears were making their way down his face. The wall that surrounded the ocean in him had broken down, and its shattered remains surged out along with his tears.

Muyeol buried his face in his hands, his shoulders trembling as the tears continued to fall.