"Promise me, you'll marry me when we get older." Jaemin said to Hanuel and the young girl nodded happily to him with her tear-stained face.
"I promise!" She exclaimed as she giggled beside the young boy whom she loved the most.
They were still young, only seven years of age and their parents, who were close friends, found the two adorable. Jaemin and Hanuel were inseparable, it's how close they were to each other. Both their fathers were businessmen and helped each other in times of need, which brought the two families together.
The promise of marriage between the two was made after Hanuel was bullied by their classmates and Jaemin tried to protect her but ended up being bullied by them as well. But he didn't mind. He was tearing up but he comforted her, telling her how they were both so weak for letting others make fun of them. They're happy just by being together.
Their bond strengthened as they grow up. They hang out together most of the timeㅡmovie dates, coffee dates, strolling around the town or just chilling at home with lots of stories to tell. Everyone knows that one day, they will end up being together but things happened and their once unbreakable bond was broken apart.
It all started when a conflict between their parents arose. Both their parents instructed them to stay away from each other but the two didn't budge. They thought it was a childish act to involve them with their conflict. Jaemin and Hanuel continued to hang out but only at school.
Hanuel's family started to become messier. Her parents always fought with the reason she barely understood. They would yell, they would scream at each other and it affected her a lot but she never told Jaemin about it. All she wanted was to run away.
"Hey Hanuel, I heard your father stole money from the Na's." Saerom, her classmate, said to Hanuel as soon as she reached their classroom. All eyes landed on Hanuel who was exhausted from all the cursing she heard at home.
She was taken by surprise at Saerom's statement, causing her to stop by the door as she looked at her classmates who were all curious at what they heard.
"Who told you that?" She asked, her heart pounding as she only knew one person who knows about the issue.
"Haechan." Saerom said. "He said, Jaemin talked about it the other day. I thought you to are close, how can your father do that to them?"
Hanuel's face turned pale at the news. "No, Jaemin wouldn't do that." She mumbled as her hands started to shake. Still standing by the door, a few voices were heard and just then, the guys involved entered the room with the other door.
The silence greeted them and Jaemin, along with Haechan, stopped laughing as soon as they entered. Jaemin looked around and his eyes landed on the trembling Hanuel who was already looking at him.
"Han why are you just standing there?" Jaemin asked Hanuel with a smile but the latter didn't return the gesture.
"What's happening between our families should've stayed between us, Jaemin." She said, surprising Jaemin with her tone and the fact that she didn't use his nickname.
"What are you talking about?" He asked worriedly. Hanuel looked away from Jaemin as tears started to form and she turned to Saerom who was quietly watching their drama.
"Saerom-ah, my father will never steal money from anyone, especially to Jaemin's father." She stated and right then Jaemin realized what happened. "I hope you won't say such things about my father again."
And then Hanuel left without sparing another look at him. Jaemin was quick to follow her but as he caught up with her, she pushed him away.
"I never thought your parents are the type of people to accuse their close friends because of their loss." She spat as she glared at him. "Pathetic."
"Don't talk about my parents like that!" Jaemin raised his voice and it just made Hanuel feel a lot worse. "Hanuel, don't make me believe that you're like them."
"Like what?" She asked, tears were now falling from her eyes.
"A trash." He unknowingly said and her palm came in contact with his cheek, shocking Jaemin. It wasn't really his intention to say it but he was being carried away by his emotions. He was told how cruel Hanuel's parents are and he believed it, only because his parents told him so. He also noticed the change in Hanuel's attitude. She became rude, cold and ignorant.
"A trash." She repeated as tears continuously fell from her eyes. "Yes, Jaemin, I'm a trash and sorry for making you believe that I'm not."
Jaemin never get to see her after that. The next day, she didn't come to school and then they were told, Hanuel moved away. The once most special person for him, disappeared like a bubble and he started to hate her since she had once promised him, she'll never leave him. Later on he found out that Hanuel's family indeed betrayed them and he couldn't believe how Hanuel was said to be involved in it.
Years passed by and the two never really get to forget about each other. Everytime someone would mention Hanuel, Jaemin would get mad. He loathed her and so was her.
Hanuel moved to the city without telling anyone from her high school. She lived there with her parents but then they decided to have a divorce after finding out that her father was cheating on her mom, making her even more frustrated. She moved away as soon as she entered the university and that's where she met Renjun, who eventually became her lover.
She never heard anything about Jaemin since she left but she would be lying if she said she stopped thinking about him. Even if she's with Renjun, she couldn't help but be reminded of Jaemin whenever Renjun would do something Jaemin used to do for her. She hates him, it's what she believes but her heart was telling her otherwise.
After graduating from the university, their relationship started to fall. Renjun has been to busy with his work and he barely spends time with her. She didn't really mind since she knew his priorities but one day, her heart was once broken apart when she saw him with his colleague out on a date.
"My feelings for you had changed." Renjun explained. "I'm sorry, Hanuel but I love her."
She was hurt, of course, but she let him be. She was tired from all those heart breaks after all. Hanuel started to focus on her job as an assistant director at a famous film company. Everything was going well until her path came across with the same man from her past.
"Can't we just cast another actor to take the lead role?"
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