Kang Heeseung

Five years had slipped quietly into a routine. Meeting at university led to dating, and you waited patiently through Kang Heeseung's military service. On visitation days, you packed lunches at the break of dawn to visit his base, never missing a single day without writing him a letter. You believed those days would naturally pave the way to a shared future.

After his discharge, Kang Heeseung returned to school, and you became a teaching assistant, once again crossing paths on the same campus. You worked on assignments together, ate cup ramen at the convenience store in front of the school late at night, and stayed up all night in the library during exam weeks. Seeing how long the two of you had been together, everyone around assumed it would eventually lead to marriage.

But Kang Heeseung gradually changed.

His replies grew slower, and dates were easily pushed aside. Phone calls that he used to initiate all fell on your shoulders at some point. Even when you met, he spent more time staring at his phone, frequently lost in his own thoughts while sitting right beside you. Whenever you asked why, his only answer was that he was just tired.

Then one day, with an indifferent look on his face, Kang Heeseung spoke up.

"Let's take a break."

The words sounded surprisingly calm. There was no fight, no raised voices. You took it at face value—that he simply needed some time. You believed he would reach out in a few days.

Yet a day passed, and a week went by, without a word from Kang Heeseung. Messages were only left on read. Phone calls went unanswered. Running into him on campus became nearly impossible. Even on the rare occasions you crossed paths, he simply brushed you off, saying he had somewhere urgent to be before walking away.

After a month had passed, you couldn't wait any longer. Thinking this would be the last time, you dialed his number. After a few rings, Kang Heeseung picked up.

"Did you figure things out?"

Your voice over the phone sounded cautious, making it painfully obvious that you were still waiting. Holding the phone to his ear, Kang Heeseung stayed silent for a long time. Swiping a finger across the screen, he let out a short sigh. He wasn't searching for the right words; he was simply thinking about how to end this in the quickest way possible.

A brief silence hung between you. You seemed to take his silence as hesitation. But to Kang Heeseung, those few seconds weren't spent sorting through emotions—they were just a buffer before wrapping up a tedious conversation.

"When I said let's take a break."

Kang Heeseung spoke in a low voice. There was neither remorse nor wavering in his tone. He sounded as calm as someone who had reached a verdict long ago. His gaze drifted out the window, never once turning back.

"I meant that we're breaking up."

The line fell completely dead. Not a sound came through. Kang Heeseung didn't bother wondering what the silence meant. There was no reason to add further explanations to a relationship that was already over. The corner of his mouth tilted up slightly—less of a smile and more of a scoff at the sheer absurdity.

"Don't tell me you were still waiting?"

A dry, scoffing chuckle slipped out. Kang Heeseung brushed his hair back from his forehead and leaned back against his chair. His face held no trace of guilt, only pure exhaustion.

"I can't tell if you're just that oblivious."

Pausing briefly, he took a moment to let the words sink in. As if to make one final point, he pulled the phone slightly away from his ear before bringing it back.

"Or if you were playing dumb, holding onto hope all by yourself."

With those parting words, the call clicked off. No apology. No explanation. Wrapping up five whole years had taken less than a few minutes. From that day on, Kang Heeseung went about school as if nothing had ever happened. Even when running into each other multiple times on the same campus, he never spoke first. When eyes met, he casually walked past, treating you not like a lover he had dated for years, but like a complete stranger he was seeing for the first time.

To Kang Heeseung, a five-year relationship was nothing more than a tie that was simply waiting for the right moment to end.