Chapter 2: After the Silence
After Evan left, the city remained unchanged.
But Shijui's world was not.
The room felt emptier than before.
The wind through the window no longer brought peace—
every breeze carried Evan's memories instead.
Mornings no longer came easily.
She woke up, gave her mother her medicines,
did the household chores,
and then quietly reminded her heart that
life must go on.
People asked her,
"How is Evan?"
She smiled.
"He must be doing well… chasing his dreams."
No one ever asked—
And how are you, Shijui?
Nights were the hardest.
When the house fell asleep,
the silence found its voice.
She reread Evan's old messages—
every take care,
every I believe in you
slowly sinking deeper into her heart.
She could have cried.
She could have screamed.
She could have said that
she had chosen someone too.
But she chose silence.
Because some kinds of love do not ask to be heard—
they only ask to be endured.
One evening, her mother gently asked,
"My child… are you happy?"
Shijui paused.
Then came the same familiar smile.
"Yes, Ma."
But the truth was—
she wasn't strong.
She was only standing because she had no other choice.
Evan was far away,
yet his flight carried
Shijui's broken heart with it.
That was when she finally understood—
Some people are part of our story,
but not part of our destination.
And that day, for the first time,
Shijui said to herself,
"Maybe now it's my turn
to live for myself…"
But the journey ahead was not easy.
Because the girl who had always held others together
had never learned how to hold herself.
And this was where Shijui's real battle began—
life after silence.