A Confession of Love

The apartment felt quiet—too quiet. The warm yellow light washed over the living room, and the lingering trace of Owen’s gentle massage on the back of Ailine’s neck still clung faintly to her skin. The air hung heavy, as if waiting for something left unsaid.

Ailine held the arm of the sofa, trying to calm her racing heart.
She drew in a breath.

“Owen…”

Her voice nearly trembled.

The man stood behind her, slightly leaning forward, as if still focused on her long hair spilling down her back.

“Hm?”

“Let’s… go out again.”

Every sound in the room vanished in an instant.

Owen froze.
He didn’t move.
As if time itself stopped for him.

Ailine waited, breath tight in her chest. She knew she had stepped forward. Not much, but enough to make her chest feel hollow with nerves.

“…Owen?”

She turned around.

And she saw it—
that look.

Gentle… and wounded.

Owen slowly withdrew his hand. He stood behind the sofa, yet the distance felt like entire continents separating them.

“Ailine…”
His voice was quiet.
Too quiet.

There was a long pause. Only the ticking of the clock continued, mercilessly.

Then Owen finally took a breath—deep, heavy—one she had never heard from him before.

Ailine stood up, facing him directly. The sofa remained a barrier between them.

“Owen? Why are you silent? I’m asking you to go out with me again.”

Owen lifted his head slowly. His gaze wavered with uncertainty, as if he wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly.

“Why do you want us to go out again…?” he asked softly, but with a weight behind it.

Ailine gave a small, nervous smile. “Of course because I’m in love with you.”
She lowered her head for a moment, then lifted it again with newfound courage.

“Not falling in love again… but the same feeling. One that stayed for more than ten years.”

Owen swallowed.
He knew her feelings. He felt them.
He wasn’t oblivious.
But something in his eyes seemed fractured—fragile, like something he never intended to let anyone see.

“Does it have to be like that?” he whispered.

“What do you mean?”

“Dating.”

“What’s strange about dating… for two people who are in love with each other?”

“…” Owen fell silent again. His breath barely audible.

“I’m sure you feel the same way about me… don’t you?”

Ailine looked at him—
with a certainty built from every kindness Owen had shown her.

But all she received back… was silence.

Silence sharp enough to wound.

“…Owen?”
Her voice weakened. “N-No?”

Owen closed his eyes.
“…I’m sorry.”

One word.
One word that shattered her entire world.

Tears spilled—silent but devastating.

Owen instinctively reached out to wipe them, but Ailine stepped back. The sofa between them felt like an unbreakable wall.

“Ailine… I’m sorry…”
His voice cracked.
“I… can’t.”

Ailine tried to hold in her sob, her chest tightening. “Why?”

“I just can’t.”
He shook his head without looking at her.
“I don’t want you waiting for something I can’t give.”

That was all.
No reason.
No explanation.
No room for further questions.

“…I want you to be happy,” he added softly. “And… you might hate me if you knew everything.”

Ailine stared at him—confused, hurt. “I don’t understand. Hate what? If someone is in love, shouldn’t they accept everything about the person they love?”

“I know. Most people do. But I’m not like that.”

“I truly don’t understand, Owen!”
Her voice rose, hoarse, breaking under her tears.

Owen flinched.
He hated seeing her cry because of him. But he still chose the painful path.

He gave a faint, bitter smile. “It’s better this way.”

“Owen, I am AILINE SU, A TOP SUPERSTAR OF COUNTRY Z, CONFESSING MY FEELINGS TO YOU! AND YOU’RE REJECTING ME?!”

“I’m sorry…”

“You’re horrible!”

“I’m sorry…”

“Leave!”

Owen stepped closer, wanting to calm her, wanting to reach for her trembling hand.

“Ailine… we can still be friends—”

“Friends? There is NO such thing as friendship between a man and a woman!”

Owen fell silent.
So it really was impossible.

“Go! GET OUT OF MY LIFE, OWEN!”

Shame, heartbreak, anger at herself—all of it burst inside Ailine’s chest. A part of her desperately hoped he would refuse to leave, but pride and pain pushed the words out before she could stop them.

“Go!” her voice cracked. “Leave, Owen! Don’t come back! I don’t want to see you again!”

And as if the world understood—
CRAAAAAACK—
Lightning struck, followed by a torrential downpour.

Even the sky seemed to agree.

Yet Ailine didn’t truly want him to leave.
She only wanted to salvage her remaining pride.

But Owen nodded.
Without protest.
Without begging.

“All right.”
His voice was almost a whisper.
“Take care of yourself. Please get enough rest tonight. You get cold easily—keep a blanket in your car or turn on the heater. Don’t push your body too hard.”

Ailine’s breath hitched.

“You have a tumor,” Owen continued softly. “It’s small and harmless, but you must get it checked every month… don’t ignore it.”

His words were too gentle.
Too caring.
And that only shattered her heart further. As if he was rejecting her, yet loving her in the only way he dared to.

Owen looked at her one last time—
a long, heavy gaze, as if memorizing her face.
Something inside Ailine twisted; she knew this wasn’t indifference. This was a goodbye filled with a pain he refused to explain.

Then he turned, opened the door, and stepped out.

“I’m leaving. Take good care of yourself…”

The door closed.

Ailine remained standing there.
Waiting.

“H-He really left…?”

One minute.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.

She waited for Owen to return.
To knock.
To come back and say he’d changed his mind.
To say anything.

But Owen did not return.

Not even when night fully fell.
Not even when the rain grew heavier.
Not even when the city lights dimmed and the apartment grew colder without his presence.

Owen never appeared again.

And only then did Ailine realize:

She told him to leave…
and he truly left.

This time with no sign of ever coming back.
No hint that he might return.

As if…
he never would.