Then, on the third day, she woke up screaming.
"Soo Min-ah! Where are you?!"
Her frantic cries echoed through the hospital room, causing her mother and best friends, Park Kia and Im Eun Ae, to rush toward her. They held onto her, trying to calm her down, but Yuna was out of control.
"Kia, where is Soo Min?" she asked, her voice trembling. "I had a horrible dream… I dreamt that Soo Min he was…" Her words broke into sobs. "Please, call him. I need to hear his voice. I need to see him." She grabbed Kia's hands desperately.
Kia swallowed hard, her own eyes filled with tears. She couldn't bear to say the words, but she had no choice.
"Yuna…" Kia tightened her grip on Yuna's shoulders, forcing her to look into her eyes. "Soo Min is gone. He's dead. Please, for God's sake… accept the truth."
Yuna froze.
Her mind refused to process Kia's words.
"No…" She shook her head violently, her tears falling like a storm. "No! He can't leave me! He promised he'd never leave me!"
She broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Kia and Eun Ae held her as she wailed, her cries filled with unbearable pain.
The next day, after Yuna's discharge from the hospital, she stood at the entrance, staring blankly ahead.
"I want to see Soo Min," she whispered, her voice void of life. "Please… take me to him."
Her mother, eyes filled with sorrow, gently stroked her hair. "Okay, my baby. Let's go."
A few hours later, they arrived at the cemetery. The air was cold, the sky a dull gray, as if mourning with them. Yuna walked forward, holding a bouquet of white lilies, each step feeling heavier than the last.
As she reached Soo Min's grave, memories flooded her mind his laughter, his warmth, his promises.
She collapsed onto her knees in front of his gravestone, her fingers tracing his name carved into the cold stone.
"You promised me," she whispered, her voice trembling. "You said you'd never leave me… But you broke that promise, Soo Min. You left me alone in this cruel world."
Tears streamed down her face as she clutched the flowers to her chest.
"Why…?" Her voice cracked. "Why did you leave me? I hate you! I hate you for leaving me like this!"
She sobbed uncontrollably, her body trembling.
From a distance, her mother and friends watched in silence. Yuna's mother instinctively took a step forward to console her, but Eun Ae gently held her back.
"Aunty… let her grieve," she said softly.
"She needs to let it all out," Kia added. "Only then can she begin to heal."
Three months passed.
Yuna had locked herself in her room ever since returning from the cemetery. She refused to talk to anyone. She refused to go to school. She barely ate.
Her mother would knock on the door every day, pleading with her to come out, but there was never an answer.
Kia and Eun Ae visited daily after school, trying to talk to her, trying to convince her to move on but nothing worked.
Finally, after countless failed attempts, Kia made a decision.
She picked up her phone and dialed a number.
"Soo Min's mother," she whispered. "Please… come help Yuna. She won't listen to anyone. But maybe… she'll listen to you."
That evening, Soo Min's mother arrived at Yuna's house, her eyes filled with sorrow.
"Where is she?" she asked.
Kia led her to Yuna's room.
Soo Min's mother knocked on the door, her voice breaking.
"Yuna… my daughter."
Silence.
"Please don't do this to yourself," she cried. "Soo Min wouldn't want this. He wouldn't want to see you like this, suffering alone. Please, open the door."
More silence.
Then… the sound of the lock clicking.
The door creaked open, revealing Yuna.
The moment she saw Soo Min's mother, all the emotions she had buried deep inside came crashing down. She threw herself into her arms and sobbed, finally letting go of all the pain she had held inside.
Soo Min's mother stroked her hair, her own tears falling.
"I've already lost my son… I can't lose my daughter too," she whispered. "Please, Yuna… don't do this to yourself. Move forward. Not for me, not for anyone else… but for yourself."
Yuna nodded weakly, burying her face in her embrace.
That day, as they all sat in the living room, sipping tea and reminiscing about Soo Min, Yuna made a decision.
"I'll go back to school," she said softly.
A small but hopeful step forward.