The friendship she treasured the most…
was the one that broke her the deepest.
That school girl — the only one she trusted blindly — slowly began changing.
Not suddenly, but in small painful ways…
At first, she stopped sitting beside her.
Then she began hiding things, laughing with others but turning silent around her.
Soon, she realized her "best friend" was only using her…
for homework, notes, answers… but never standing beside her.
One day she overheard her own "friend" gossiping, mocking her introvert nature, calling her boring and replaceable.
That word hit like a slap:
Replaceable.
It wasn't bullying from strangers this time —
it was a wound from the person she trusted the most.
That day she didn't cry in front of anyone…
she just went home, laid still on her bed, and stared at the ceiling — wondering:
"Why does love… loyalty… always hurt me when I give it genuinely?"
She didn't know whether to be angry
or broken…
so she became quiet.
Her trust began shrinking.
She stopped sharing secrets.
She stopped asking for company.
She stopped expecting anything from anyone…
Except one person —
her childhood best friend, Ren.
Even though they weren't in the same school,
he somehow knew, without her saying a word,
that she wasn't okay.
A simple message from him: "You don't have to say it. Just tell me if you want me to stay."
And she realized…
Sometimes the most precious people
are not the ones who stand beside you in a crowd—
but the ones who understand you in silence.