The radio fell silent.

For three seconds, nobody moved.

The entire staff room seemed frozen in time.

Logan stared at the manager through the radio.

“What did you say?”

The manager’s voice trembled.

“I said we found a body near the drainage grate in the deep area.”

The color drained from Logan’s face.

“No.”

It was barely a whisper.

Then he laughed.

A forced laugh.

“That’s impossible.”

Mia slowly lowered the fork in her hand.

“Logan…”

He looked at her.

His eyes searched for reassurance.

“She’s pretending.”

But even he no longer sounded convinced.

Kevin appeared at the door.

His face was pale.

“Logan.”

The moment he saw Kevin’s expression, something inside him collapsed.

“Tell me she’s fine.”

Kevin remained silent.

That silence answered everything.

Logan grabbed his shoulders.

“Tell me!”

Kevin looked away.

“They are trying to remove the body now.”

The room became unbearably quiet.

Mia covered her mouth.

“Oh my God…”

Logan released Kevin slowly.

His mind refused to accept what had happened.

Because five minutes ago, Sophia was still the woman he accused of creating drama.

The woman he told everyone was too emotional.

The woman he believed would eventually come back and apologize.

But now…

She could not come back.

Not this time.

Outside the window, rain continued to fall.

The same rain that had covered the sound of the wave machine.

The same rain that had hidden Sophia’s final moments.

Logan walked toward the pool area like someone who was no longer awake.

Every step felt heavier than the last.

When he arrived, several employees stood around the edge of the pool.

Nobody spoke.

The moment Logan saw the rescue team’s expressions, his heart sank.

He looked toward the water.

And for the first time in five years, he was afraid.

Not of losing an argument.

Not of Sophia being angry.

But of losing her forever.

A rescue worker approached him.

“Are you Logan Carter?”

He nodded.

“Relationship with the victim?”

The question should have been simple.

But he could not answer.

Because suddenly, he realized he did not know what Sophia was to him anymore.

A girlfriend?

A colleague?

Someone who had always been there?

Someone he had abandoned over and over again?

His lips moved.

“She…”

His voice broke.

“She was my girlfriend.”

The rescue worker looked at him with a strange expression.

“Was?”

Logan froze.

He did not know why he had used that word.

Maybe because deep inside, he already understood.

There was no future tense anymore.

Only memories.

Only regret.

Only everything he had refused to see.

Later that evening, the investigation began.

The park cameras showed everything.

They showed Mia stepping behind Sophia.

They showed the deliberate movement.

They showed Sophia falling.

They showed Logan running toward Mia.

They showed him holding the life preserver.

Not toward Sophia.

Toward Mia.

They showed him leaving the wave pool.

They showed employees warning him.

They showed him ignoring every single sign.

And finally…

They showed Sophia disappearing beneath the water.

Nobody spoke when the footage ended.

The manager looked at Logan.

“You were responsible for safety today.”

Logan lowered his head.

The sentence destroyed him more than any accusation.

Because it was true.

He had not failed because he lacked the ability to save her.

He failed because he chose not to.

That night, Logan returned to the staff room alone.

Sophia’s locker was still there.

Half-open.

Inside were the things she had left behind.

Her spare whistle.

Her rescue gloves.

A small notebook.

He opened it without thinking.

The first page contained training notes.

The second page contained emergency procedures.

Then he reached the last page.

His hands started shaking.

It was a message written two days earlier.

“Logan,

I don’t know when we became strangers.

I don’t know when protecting someone else became more important than protecting me.

I kept waiting for you to remember the girl who stood beside you before Mia came back.

But maybe that girl disappeared a long time ago.

Tomorrow is our anniversary.

I bought matching clothes.

I wanted to believe we could start again.

But if you abandon me one more time…

I think I will finally understand.

Love should not feel like waiting for someone to choose you.”

Logan dropped the notebook.

For five years, he had believed Sophia would always return.

No matter how many times he walked away.

No matter how many times he chose Mia.

No matter how many times he hurt her.

Because Sophia always forgave him.

Always.

Until the fifth time.

Until the final time.

His emergency watch suddenly turned on.

A notification appeared.

“Sophia’s device disconnected permanently.”

Logan stared at the screen.

Then something strange happened.

A small voice beside him whispered.

“Transfer preparation complete.”

Sophia looked down at him from the corner of the room.

She watched him crying beside her belongings.

For the first time, she saw regret on his face.

Real regret.

But it came too late.

The system appeared.

“The male protagonist has recognized the consequences.”

“Emotional attachment detected.”

“Final transfer available.”

Sophia looked at Logan.

The man who once promised to protect her.

The man who had forgotten that promise.

She waited.

Not because she wanted revenge.

Not because she wanted him to suffer.

But because she wanted to know one last thing.

Could a person regret losing something they never truly valued?

After a long silence, she spoke.

“Show me.”

The system responded.

“Show you what?”

Sophia looked at Logan.

“How he lives after I’m gone.”

Because this time…

She would not return.

And Logan would finally have to experience the world without the person who had always come back.