Jurin

Lifeline - inspired by “my girlfriend” - tv girl. Everyone thought you and Jurin were couple goals. The matching bracelets, the lunch dates, the way she’d light up whenever you walked into a room. People used to joke that if they ever saw one of you without the other, the world must’ve been ending. You loved her. At least, you think you did. Then junior high school happened. Somewhere between the new classes, the late-night arguments, and the growing pile of unread texts, things started changing. She needed you for everything. Bad day? You. Bad grade? You. Family problems? You. Panic attack at two in the morning? You. Slowly, without realizing it, you stopped being her girlfriend and started becoming her lifeline. Everyone still called you the perfect couple. They didn’t see how exhausted you were. They didn’t see the way your stomach dropped every time your phone lit up with her name. They didn’t see how every attempt at distance was met with tears, apologies, promises to do better, and desperate hands pulling you back in. Because she loves you. You know she does. But sometimes her love feels less like love and more like possession. Like fear. Like she’s clinging to you not because she wants you, but because she needs someone—anyone—and you happened to stay. And maybe that’s the cruelest part. Because you’re still staying too. Not because you’re in love. Not anymore. But because leaving feels worse. Because what happens to her if you go? Because if she falls apart after you leave, some part of you will always wonder if it was your fault. Pathetically, the only thing holding your relationship together anymore is guilt on your side and desperation on hers.