Luisa waved to her colleagues one last time before turning toward her car in the parking lot. Another school year had come to an end, but this time she'd been too preoccupied to worry about it.

She got inside her car and watched as most of the other teachers drove out of the parking lot, eager to start their summer break. She had nothing to celebrate or look forward to. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tighter as she thought about how quickly her life had gone off the rails.

Not three months ago, she and Seokjin had gone on their first date. After years of moving forward and backward, she thought they would finally be together. They had amazing conversation over dinner. He had looked at her with so much affection that she was sure he would tell her he cared about her just as much as she cared about him. Maybe more. Maybe he loved her.

But the date turned sour very quickly.

Seokjin came over to her place. She thought he was subdued the entire evening, but she chose to ignore it. She brought out a bottle of wine and noticed that he practically finished the bottle by himself.

As they sat on his couch, she snuggled up into his chest. His arms wrapped around her and squeezed her tightly.

"Lu," he whispered and kissed the top of her head. "You have no idea how much you mean to me. I never thought I could be this happy."

"You don't seem very happy right now," she replied teasingly. "Would you be happier in the bedroom?" She kissed his cheek and giggled.

She thought he'd laugh along with her, but instead his eyes grew sad. That's when her earlier misgivings had been confirmed. Something was definitely wrong.

She listened as he told her about the dozens of messages he'd received from Emily. Luisa remembered that her heart almost stopped beating. He told her that both Emily and her sister had been calling him. Emily was very ill, and she was freaking out, asking for him.

Luisa held her breath as he continued the story. Emily's sister Penny told him that Emily was in a very bad mental state, and she'd been calling out for him. She wanted Seokjin to be by her side because she was scared her cancer was terminal. She was refusing food and only wanted to see him.

Seokjin reached out for her, then he pulled back.

"What do I do?" he asked, his voice shaking. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to hurt her, but I don't want to give her false hope. I've also been wondering if the illness was the reason that she was so out of sorts for so long. Maybe she was feeling the effects, and I just broke up with her instead of finding out what was wrong with her. Damn it! What should I do? Tell me what you think."

Luisa swallowed painfully. "I can't tell you what to do, Jin. It has to be your choice." She pressed her lips together. "But it sounds as if she's in bad shape. I don't know. You all broke up very recently. If you can do something–anything–to help her, maybe...maybe you should. I'd hate to think that she's going through this alone. She must be so scared."

He turned his tear-filled eyes to hers. "But, Lu, what about us? What do I do?"

"I can't tell you what to do," she insisted. "Please don't put me on the spot."

"I'm the one who's scared," he mumbled. "Penny said their father wants me to stay with her, to go back to her."

"What?" Her heartbeat was painful in her chest.

He wiped his eyes. "He wants us to go through the motions of a relationship and all that to see if Emily snaps out of her depression."

"He wants you to get back together?"

He closed his eyes. "Yes. Maybe. I don't know. He's a big shot in our company, technically my boss." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "But I know that I won't ask you to wait for me if I go through this thing with Emily. It wouldn't be fair. I would never ask that of you." He turned away from her.

She looked at his handsome profile, feeling his pain and despair. She knew he was a good person, and he would not want to cause Emily any more distress. But this was so unfair and unnecessarily agonizing. How could he choose his own happiness over that of a sick person? Emily had been his girlfriend for a while. He must've cared for her. He still did, she was sure.

He hugged her, but she slid out of his arms awkwardly.

"It's probably better if we don't..." she struggled with her words.

"Yeah, okay," he nodded. "I'm sorry."

"No. You don't have to be sorry." She gulped. "It's probably a good thing that nothing happened between us. She needs you right now. I know that you'll want to help her." She paused, trying to keep her voice steady. "We are still...friends. Right?"

"Yeah, right." His voice was a low monotone. He had been so close to his heart's desire, and now it was gone. "You're a better person than I am. You stay so calm and see what needs to be done. You've always been so good."

She nodded, but she didn't want to be good. She wanted his passion, his wild abandon. She wanted him. She wanted to be loved, but what could she do? These were cards they'd been dealt. It was better not to dwell on it.

"This is how a heart breaks," he had whispered almost to himself before he walked back to his place later that night. That was almost three months ago. She had spoken to him only a handful of times since then. Each time had been more painful than the last.

"This is how a heart breaks," she repeated as she sat in her car in the nearly empty parking lot.