She Was Like the Wind, Staying by My Side for Only One Journey

[Redemption + realistic + tragic ending + heartbreaking school romance]

“Gu Yan, if the wind ever stops, remember to look at the sea for me.”

Seventeen-year-old Su Wan has a secret: her heart is slowly failing.

She's used to swallowing pills in secluded corners, sitting out PE, and enduring her classmates' pitying looks.

Until Gu Yan discovers her secret

“Su Wan,” he says, snatching her pill bottle, his gaze sharp. “What are you hiding?”

He's the brightest star on the basketball court, yet he's willing to stop for her.

He remembers the dosage of every medication she takes, how she hates bitter things and needs honey in her warm water, and the words “extremely high risk of sudden death” on the diagnosis hidden under her desk.

“Shall we go see the sea on graduation day?” she asks with a smile, hiding her latest critical-condition notice.

He ruffles her hair. “It's a promise, Su Wan. You have to stay alive.”

Later, holding her icy hand, he finds the diagnosis in her pocket

“Class IV heart failure. Life expectancy: 3–6 months.”

Later, he stands alone beside her empty place in the graduation photo.

Later, he goes alone to the seaside they promised to visit together.

Amid the sound of waves breaking on the shore, he can almost hear her say:

“Gu Yan, look. The wind has stopped.”

“You were the longest summer of my short life.”

“And I could only walk part of the way with you, like the wind passing through this world.”