Tell it to the Moon (A 500-Word Short Story Collection)

He Loved Me Not

I once had a boyfriend, a foreigner.  We met on a dating site online. We both loved music and movies. We both loved Kpop and Korean movies. As you might not know yet, he was my first boyfriend. In the virtual world, when we didn't meet in person yet.

As time went by, our friendship progressed into romantic love. We then started to call each other till we basically video call every single day for hours. Eventually, we exchanged 'I love yous.' We professed our feelings at the same time. Weird huh. It was a shocking moment. Who would love someone as dull, boring, and ordinary as me? But that's how love is.

We met in person on our first anniversary. It was the happiest moment of my life. Who would have thought I could have a boyfriend in real life? I was in cloud nine for a month of his stay here, or so I thought. I was so ecstatic with our time together, with my friends. We went to different places with my friends with who he became friends. He was a cool person. A very friendly and happy-go-lucky guy. Anyone would snatch him away from me as he was a good-looking guy as well. You wouldn't think he was a Kpop fan.

I could feel his love the first week that we met. We intended the whole week to get to know each other. I found out how clingy I was with him but I tried to hold back because I could sense he didn't approve of it. He wasn't touchy. I could feel his love that week but on the second till the fourth week, he started to get cold.

In the second week, he met one of my friends. She was with us since then. I noticed he always asked for her and I could feel he didn't like my company anymore. I didn't think much about it then but it started to bother me on the last week of his stay.

I wasn't in the picture anymore. I wasn't the one he loved anymore. I wasn't the reason for his visit anymore. I didn't stand out to him anymore. The man who I really loved who loved me in return had fallen out of love. The man who I thought would be my first and will be my husband was with another woman, happily. The man of my dreams was the reason for my nightmares at night. The nightmares that keep me awake and left me so down and depressed. Who would have thought that my first love was a failure?

Why did I hold onto the thought that someone would accept my hideous physical appearance? Why was I so hopeful that someone would look past my flaws and shortcomings? Why did I still hold onto the thought that someone would love me unconditionally? Why was I so hopeless romantic?

I was always the woman whom men would never want to be with, unfortunately.

Yuchae Moon
04Feb2021