[Free] Even So, Let's Try Believing in Ourselves One More Time—[Chapter 7] The Night When a Heart Tired of Love Begins to “Recover”

■1. The night you can no longer keep trying becomes the most important night

“I can't keep trying anymore.”
Everyone has had a night like that at least once.

Somewhere in your heart, you whisper, “Maybe I can't do this anymore,”
turn your phone face down, and crawl under the covers.
Even if you want to cry, the tears won't come.
I'm sure you've had a night like that, too.

But you know—
Strangely enough, that very night when you think, “I can't keep trying anymore,”
is the moment your heart begins its “true recovery.”

Sometimes, people can only realize what true kindness is
after they have reached their limit.
That is because you, having finally been able to say “I can't do this anymore,”
have finally proven that you can protect your own heart.

■2. Until you can think, “I want to be cherished” rather than “I want to be loved”

After a love ends, the most painful thing is
the moment you think, “Why was I the only one left behind?”

Even though that person is laughing,
it feels like only you have remained at a standstill.
No matter what you do, your heart doesn't feel any lighter.
Every time you see your ex's name on social media,
it feels like you're suffocating.

—But, in the midst of that time, you change little by little.
Instead of “I want to be loved,”
you start to think, “I want to be properly cherished.”

From being someone who smiled just to get someone else's attention,
you begin to reclaim a “smile that cherishes yourself.”

That change is the first step toward recovery.
From “someone who is sought after by others”
to “someone who can love themselves.”

■3. After losing love, people can finally hear their “own voice”

When we are in love,
we entrust everything to the other person's words.

We come back to life with a single “I love you,”
and our world ends with a single read-but-unanswered message.
In that cycle, our own emotions are constantly swayed.

But when love ends and you are alone,
a quiet time finally arrives.
And for the first time, you can hear the small voice inside you.

“Actually, you were pushing yourself too hard, weren't you?”
“You don't have to try anymore.”
“I get to decide my own happiness.”

Don't ignore that voice.
Because that will become the “foundation of your heart” so you don't lose yourself in your next love.

■4. Don't rush the time it takes until you can think, “I want to be happy”

The speed at which people recover from heartbreak varies.
Some people can laugh in three days, while others take three months.
There are even those who only find peace in their hearts after a year.

But no speed is wrong.
You don't have to think, "I need to get over this quickly."
Because the heart has its own pace.

The nights when you can't stop crying,
and the mornings when you force yourself to smile,
are all part of your "process of rebirth."

You don't have to rush.
Taking it little by little is fine.
The day you can think "I want to be happy" once again
will surely come.

■5. "Let's try to believe in yourself just one more time"

I think love is truly mysterious.

Even though you think "I'll never do this again" every time it ends,
as time passes, you find yourself liking someone again.

That is surely because humans are creatures that naturally seek "connection."
No matter how much you are hurt, no matter how much you are betrayed,
you cannot stop "loving."

That is exactly why you shouldn't try to force away your current pain.
It's okay to keep holding onto your sadness.
Just as you are, try to "believe in yourself" one more time.

Not "to fall in love again,"
but "to learn to love living once more."

■6. And the day will come when you can smile again

You don't have to completely forget someone from your memories.
You don't have to deny the feeling of "wanting to see them again."

Just try using today,
just a little bit, for yourself.

Drink coffee at your favorite cafe.
Tidy up your room for the first time in a while.
Listen to music while feeling the night breeze.

Such small actions
will quietly invite your "next happiness."

If you, who are tired of love,
have thought, "Let's try to cherish myself just one more time,"
then your recovery has already begun.

■7. Finally──You weren't unloved, you just "weren't a match"

When love ends, you inevitably blame yourself, thinking "I wasn't enough."
But love is not a "test."
It's not something where you fail because your score was bad.

You just weren't a match.
That's all there is to it.

You don't have to think, "Maybe it would have lasted if I had tried harder."
You did your best in that moment.
You loved properly, you were hurt properly,
and yet, you are still standing here.

So it's okay.
You are already prepared to meet your next happiness.

Afterword

To those tired of love.
You don't have to push yourself anymore.
It's okay to cry, to stop, or to miss someone.

But please, direct that kindness,
toward 'yourself' next time.

Because today's tears will someday become the kindness that saves someone else.
Your story is still in progress.
And you are the one who will write the rest of it.

—Come on, just one more time.
Let's try to 'believe in yourself'.

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