Before Si-hyun and Ye-rin met.

Chae-yeon arrived at her apartment and collapsed onto the bed like a doll with its strings cut.

"Si-hyun..."

Maybe because she had been crying so hard, her voice was half-hoarse. Her slightly cracked voice leaked out, laced with pain.

"I was wrong... I'll reflect and atone for it for the rest of my life, so please come back to me..."

No one was around, but her self-loathing continued. She pounded her chest with her fists, regretting and reliving her past wrongdoings over and over again.

Vrrr-

Her smartphone, which was in her pocket, vibrated strongly.

"Si-hyun?"

Quickly, Chae-yeon turned on her phone. When she checked the notification...

[Kim Si-hyun has changed his profile picture.]

It was a phrase associated with nothing but bad memories. What on earth had he changed his empty photo to? Her finger, about to click impulsively, hesitated in mid-air.

"I don't want to see it..."

She was sure the photo didn't include her. Most likely, it was of Ye-rin, who was currently dating Si-hyun.

Despite knowing it would hurt her to see, curiosity got the better of her. With her eyes tightly shut, she pressed the notification button.

"........"

She hoped it was a cute animal picture as she opened her eyes, but reality, unsurprisingly, was cruelly different.

Si-hyun's profile picture and background photo were filled with Ye-rin, and his status message indicated how long they had been together.

"Sigh… Haha..."

Chae-yeon let out a dry laugh as her phone slipped from her hands.

How long will her heart continue to be torn apart? The thought of Si-hyun and Ye-rin happily spending time together at school made her almost too scared to attend.

"It's too painful..."

It was too late to return to their past relationship. Si-hyun already had a new girlfriend, and there was no room for Chae-yeon to come between them.

The pure smile that was once for her, the gentle care, the reassuring presence... all of it now belonged to another woman.

"........."

Chae-yeon's eyes gradually lost their spark, growing dull as she struggled to accept reality. Not wanting to think about anything, she wished to drift into unconsciousness, slowly clearing her mind.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, she noticed the box Si-hyun had given her. It was filled with precious memories from when they were together as a couple. Chae-yeon picked up the Sky Blue Album.

Shff-

How many times had she looked through it? Just as her own Sky Blue Album was covered in fingerprints, so was the one Si-hyun had. It was creased and tattered, like an old rag.

"Si-hyun..."

Seeing this album made her feel just how deep Si-hyun's love had been for her. Alongside came an overwhelming guilt. As much as he had liked her, the damage she caused to herself became even greater.

"How can I ever repay all of this..."

The sin of trampling on his pure love.

The sin of resorting to control through coercion.

The sins of deceiving him — perhaps even a lifetime of living like a slave wouldn’t be enough to atone for them.

'Si-hyun wants me to disappear from his life...'

But deep down, she was a selfish woman. No matter how much contempt or pain she would have to endure, Chae-yeon wanted to stay by Si-hyun’s side.

“I love you... Si-hyun...”

Hugging the album made her feel a slight warmth in her heart. Thinking that it contained traces of their love, she wanted to keep holding it.

As tears threatened to spill again, soaking in the warmth of his love, and while she was about to wallow in self-pity—

Ding dong~

Someone was at Chae-yeon's door.

The visitor at Chae-yeon's house was none other than Sohui. Standing there with a pale complexion, Sohui saw Chae-yeon’s tear-streaked face.

“Ch-Chae-yeon...”

As soon as she found out Si-hyun was dating Ye-rin, Sohui rushed over, worried about Chae-yeon being heartbroken. Clearly, the shock had been severe, as Chae-yeon's appearance was a mess.

From her red, swollen eyes to her tangled hair.

Unable to bear the sight, Sohui slowly hung her head and kept her mouth shut, knowing that anything she said might upset Chae-yeon more.

“.........”

Chae-yeon looked blankly at Sohui’s subdued presence. On the verge of a breakdown, she briefly considered blaming Sohui for everything, hoping it might bring her some comfort.

But knowing that Sohui had done her best to help them reconcile, she couldn’t bring herself to blame her friend.

“Come in.”

“Okay…”

After letting Sohui into the house, Chae-yeon boiled water with the kettle. As she prepared instant coffee in paper cups, the two sat in utter silence.

When the silence had stretched to nearly five minutes—

“I’m sorry… I’m really sorry…”

Sohui began to cry. As she sat on the sofa wiping her tears, she spoke in a choked voice.

“If I hadn’t suggested the blind date, none of this would’ve happened… It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry, Chae-yeon!”

Without a word, Chae-yeon poured water into the paper cups. Then, placing them on a tray, she approached Sohui and said softly,

“I’m also at fault for not strongly refusing the blind date. So, don’t blame yourself too much.”

“But…”

Chae-yeon put the tray on the floor and gently rubbed Sohui’s back. She didn’t want her long-time friend to feel distressed since she felt her own guilt was punishment enough.

“Chae-yeon…”

Soothed by Chae-yeon’s gentle touch, Sohui was overwhelmed with emotion. Soon she broke down and cried in Chae-yeon’s embrace, while Chae-yeon patted her back, consoling her.

After quite some time, Sohui’s trembling subsided, and she sniffled as she asked, “Has the treatment been going well?”

Thanks to their phone conversations, Sohui was aware of Chae-yeon’s trauma and knew she was undergoing psychotherapy during the vacation period.

In response to Sohui’s question, Chae-yeon nodded and replied.

"If it's about the trauma, I've managed to overcome it... That's why I confessed to Si-hyun on my way here, but he rejected me harshly..."

Chae-yeon's expression turned gloomy rapidly. It felt as though Sohui accidentally kept stepping on mines everywhere she went. Quickly, Sohui clapped her hand over her own careless mouth.

In a resigned voice, Chae-yeon continued, "Si-hyun changing his profile picture is probably his way of firmly telling me not to approach him anymore... It's over between us, meaning I shouldn’t even dream about it."

"Chae-yeon..."

As Sohui looked at her with a sympathetic gaze, Chae-yeon clenched her fist tightly and said, "But I'm not planning to give up. I've fallen for Si-hyun too deeply to give up now..."

‘Was she implying she planned to win Si-hyun back from Ye-rin?’

Instead of cheering her on, Sohui was filled with worry.

If this had been before they were dating, there might have been a chance... But since Si-hyun and Ye-rin, who already matched so well, are together now, the likelihood of them breaking up seemed extremely slim to Sohui.

If she failed to win him back, Chae-yeon would only end up more heartbroken, and even if she succeeded, she would be labeled as someone who stole another's partner.

Either scenario was bound to be toxic for Chae-yeon.

"Sigh..."

Letting out a shallow sigh, Sohui pondered whether to support this or not. Perhaps encouraging Chae-yeon to quit now might be the right choice for the long-term future.

'But I was the one who caused them to break up... I could never tell her to give up...'

Fearful of being cut off if she said such words, despite knowing it wasn’t the right choice, Sohui decided to support Chae-yeon's love.

Determined to comfort her if she failed and to stand by her if any negative rumors spread if she succeeded.

'Chae-yeon, no matter what happens, I'll be by your side...'

At that moment, Sohui, who cherished their friendship, made up her mind to take responsibility for the trouble she caused until the end.

Buzz-

Both Chae-yeon and Sohui's phones vibrated simultaneously.

'Oh, could it be...'

It felt like a familiar situation. Breaking out in a cold sweat, Sohui checked her phone, hoping it was just a notification from their chat group...

"..."

Seeing Si-hyun's name mixed in the notifications, she gasped. Hastily entering to check, she found it filled with photos of Si-hyun and Ye-rin looking sweet together.

'I can't let Chae-yeon see this!'

Before she could process the headache from the unpleasant situation, Sohui tried to prevent Chae-yeon from seeing her phone.

"Sniff... sob..."

But it was too late. Chae-yeon had already seen it and was crying as she looked at her smartphone. With every scroll, more affectionate moments between Si-hyun and Ye-rin filled her screen. Unable to bear it, Chae-yeon turned off her phone with trembling hands.

"Chae, Chae-yeon, are you okay?"

At Sohui's concerned question, Chae-yeon slowly shook her head.

"...Sorry, I think I need to rest in my room first."

Chae-yeon tossed her smartphone onto the sofa and walked weakly to her room.

Once inside, she locked the door and hugged the Sky Blue Album tightly.

"Where are the photos taken with me? Why are only those kinds of photos being posted..."

Feeling like the traces of her time with Si-hyun were disappearing, her attachment to the album in her arms grew stronger.

"I made a mistake… Please stop now…"

Every time she closed her eyes, the images of Si-hyun and Ye-rin looking like a couple haunted her, causing her distress. Chae-yeon, who had already messed up her neatly arranged hair,

rustle-

Tried to cover up the memories she had just seen by reminiscing through the photos in the album.