Childhood Sweetheart Chose Her in the Fire, I Turned to My Savior

My childhood friend, Caelan, scolded me without mercy for no reason, even when I was the one who saved his beloved from a fiery inferno. As the flames swallowed everything, he didn't even glance back as he held her in his arms.

I didn’t have time to tell him that my leg was shattered, that I couldn’t move.

Later, he stood by my hospital bed, his eyes red and swollen. "I'm sorry, don’t leave me," he said.

...

Bryony, my rival, and I were trapped in the hotel kitchen. In saving her, I had gotten my leg crushed by falling debris.

The flames raged around us, thick smoke choking our eyes, noses, and throats.

Bryony sat beside me, sobbing helplessly, her voice full of regret. “I shouldn't have come here...”

“C-Caelan... help me...” I felt my life slipping away.

It wasn’t death I feared, but the thought of never seeing the person I loved again.

I don’t know how much time passed before the silver door was suddenly kicked open.

I struggled to open my eyes, “Cough...”

There, walking toward us like a divine figure, was Caelan.

“I’m so scared!” Bryony cried, throwing herself into his arms.

Caelan hesitated for a moment before reaching out toward me, his hand lingering in the air, as he gently comforted Bryony, stroking her long hair.

The look in his eyes as he gazed at her was one of deep concern and panic.

I sat in the corner of the kitchen, watching him lift her in his arms and carry her out. The last thing he left me with was a complicated glance.

“Caelan... my leg is broken...”

The thick smoke clogged my throat. “Cough, cough…”

When I tried to raise my head again, I could only see the edge of Caelan’s coat vanishing through the door.

The boy who had been by my side since childhood had abandoned me in a moment of crisis, saving another girl instead.

I touched my broken leg, slumping to the ground, and wanted to laugh.

But tears fell from my eyes, unbidden.

It hurt so much!

My body ached, but the pain in my heart was unbearable.

After I passed out, my soul seemed to float upward. What I saw was the younger version of myself, trapped in this hellish fire.

I felt helpless, powerless.

I also saw Caelan, when we were young, coaxing me with candy to take my medicine.

Two images intertwined: one filled with poison, the other with sweetness.

I should have known, should have understood.

The childhood sweetheart can never compete with the one who falls from the sky.

Caelan and I were childhood sweethearts.

From the time we were young, we did everything together.

Kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, even college.

We ate together, joked together, and grew up side by side.

Although Caelan was only a few months older than me, whenever I made a mistake, he was always the first to stand by my side.

He was more patient with me than my own parents.

My mind was full of memories of the times Caelan and I shared.

He took me to nearly every restaurant in the city, and we rode the carousel and Ferris wheel together when I was younger.

The Ferris wheel was supposed to symbolize happiness. But I had to wonder—was that a lie?

After all, if it weren't, why would he end up liking someone else?

When did I realize I was in love with Caelan?

I vaguely remember it was during a summer in high school, when I first experienced the stirrings of love.

I had stayed up late to finish a physics assignment and was nodding off during chemistry class the next day.

Suddenly, I was called on by the teacher to solve a problem.

I was completely confused.

I hadn’t paid attention in class, so how could I possibly solve it?

As expected, the chemistry teacher angrily sent me outside the classroom.

Then, without missing a beat, the teacher smiled and asked Caelan, the class monitor, to answer the question.

But Caelan, instead of answering, admitted that he didn't know the solution either and volunteered to stand outside with me.

The chemistry teacher’s face turned dark as our classmates burst into laughter.

Inside, the teacher continued explaining, but outside, there was only the sound of rustling leaves.

We stood together, looking at the old, towering sycamore tree outside the classroom.