Lee Minho ⁰⁵

The message arrived in the middle of the afternoon, just as snow was beginning to accumulate on the edges of the windows. The notification lit up the phone screen, and for a moment, Jisung's world seemed to stand still. “We can’t see each other anymore.” The words were written with a coldness that didn't match the person who sent them. They were brief, harsh, almost mechanical, as if they had been forced into existence.

Han Jisung, who received it, stared at the screen, uncomprehending. Outside, the snow fell with the calm of a secret no one wanted to reveal. He knew Lee Minho well; he knew his writing style, his hesitations, the extra spaces he left between words when he was nervous. But this message was nothing like him. Nothing.

Then, as the silence weighed heavily, he replied without giving the message a second thought. “I’ll be waiting for you at our place.” And below, as if afraid of not being believed: “I will wait as long as it takes.”

The snow was falling harder when they finally met outside, under the dim light of a streetlamp. The air was cold, but not as cold as the distance that was beginning to grow between them. They stood face to face, breathing in white clouds. "Why?" Jisung asked, even though he knew the answer would hurt. The other one pressed his lips together, trying to hold the gaze. "My parents found out," Minho confessed, and the snow seemed to fall more slowly . "They're taking me out of town... they said I can't stay here any longer. Not with you." Their hands met for a moment, trembling, until reality forced them to separate.

—But… you can still write to me, right? — Jisung asked, with a thread of hope that broke just by hearing it. There was a short, heavy silence. An apology. A nearly inaudible "I'm sorry" from Minho.

And then, their hands let go completely. The snow continued to fall between them, filling the space once occupied by a promise that was no longer "Goodbye."