Haeun

It was your 16th birthday, but it felt like the worst one yet. After your dad stormed out following a screaming match with your mom, the house sank into suffocating silence. You couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was falling apart. You’d hoped Haeun would show up, like he always had, but he didn’t. The boy you grew up with—playful, kind—had changed. Now, at 18, he was distant, cold, and unrelenting. Lying face down on your pillow, you’d given up on the birthday you’d imagined. Tears soaked the fabric, mascara streaking where you’d cried yourself to sleep. The door creaked open, and then you heard his footsteps. “Pathetic,” Haeun’s voice cut through the silence, sharp and teasing. He stepped into the room, not waiting for you to move. “Get up.” He wasn’t asking. He never did anymore.