After the SAT, I come across a post online.

Someone posts, "If you could make a choice all over again, which major would you choose this time?"

The comments are filled with people wishing they had chosen a different major. They all have their own regrets.

One response stands out from the rest.

"I would choose literature. That way, he and I wouldn't have missed out on the four years we should have spent together because of that unwanted baggage."

I chuckle and am about to scroll past when I suddenly notice the profile picture and username. They are identical to those of my childhood sweetheart, Winter Andersen.

I click into the profile. Everything matches her current account exactly, except that the age is ten years older.

My heart sinks to my stomach.

This has to be her ten years in the future.

No wonder I am the only one celebrating when we are admitted to the same major. No wonder she zones out for so long after seeing my best friend, Simon Brown, receive his acceptance letter from the literature department.

It turns out I am the unwanted baggage responsible for so many of her regrets and disappointments.

Since that is the case, I quietly press "Accept" on the admission offer written entirely in a foreign language.

I shall end this mistake ten years ahead of schedule.

Gregory's POV

"You mentioned having unwanted baggage. Who were you talking about?"

In front of the screen, I took a deep breath and typed my question for Winter Andersen. Within seconds, her reply popped up.

"He was someone I grew up with. Well, technically, he's also my benefactor. His parents died saving me years ago. To repay that debt, my parents took him in and raised him.

"He'd been taking advantage of my family's guilt ever since. He followed me around every day, to the point that everyone thought he was a future husband my family had been raising for me.

"The truth was, I never wanted a burden like him in the first place."

I blinked. A dull ache throbbed in my chest as I thought of Mom and Dad, frozen forever in old photographs.

During a landslide years ago, Dad had shoved Winter out of the way and was crushed to death by a falling boulder. Mom had used every ounce of her strength to push Winter to safety. In the end, she was swallowed by the collapsing earth.

Winter had once told me that from that day on, I would become part of the Andersen family. She would stay by my side for the rest of our lives, treating me like an older brother.

In the end, it turned out I was nothing more than an annoying burden who used a life-saving debt to cling to her.

"I hate emotional blackmail more than anything. Congrats, OP, on finally escaping that nightmare. Forget the depressing stuff. We want the juicy romance! Tell us how you and your true love got together!"

Replies kept pouring in. After a long silence, Winter posted two short responses.

"It was simple. When that man and I were about to get engaged, I came clean.

"I told him that I'd already slept with the person I truly loved."

My fingers began trembling uncontrollably.

"Wow. That's some main-character energy right there. So, did the leech just give up? He didn't make a scene or anything?"

"Oh, he did," Winter replied. "But it didn't matter. I had leverage over him. The company he worked for belonged to my uncle. His grandma was critically ill and needed one final surgery. She was waiting on the last payment, and I withheld his bonus. In the end, he had no choice but to let me go."

Something inside me snapped. Even breathing became difficult.

How could this be? How could Winter use the only family I had left against me?

"Then, how far have you and your current partner gotten?" another asked. "Have you both settled down?"

Within seconds, a photo appeared in the thread. In the photo, two hands were clasped together, fingers intertwined. Matching bands gleamed on their ring fingers.

My heart sank instantly. The mole on that man's hand was identical to Simon Brown's. That sapphire bracelet on his wrist was the very one I was wearing right now.

The Andersen family had given Winter and me that pair years ago. They said it was a family heirloom passed down through generations, something that would keep its wearer safe.

"We'll each wear one. That way, we'll never be separated for the rest of our lives!"

That was the promise Winter had made while holding my hand all those years ago. Who would've thought she gave that forever to someone else?

I gritted my teeth and buried the dull ache spreading through my chest. Then, I sent the account a private message.

"Hello. I'm currently going through a similar situation to yours. There's someone standing between the person I love and me. I'd like to talk to you. Would that be okay?"

I needed to know what had happened over the next ten years.

It didn't take long for me to receive a reply.

"Of course. Though for me, it's not really a case of loving someone I couldn't have. The summer after finishing high school, I secretly signed us up for a couples' tour package. I went to Balora with him. By then, we'd already fallen for each other."

My grip tightened around my phone. A vacation in Balora…

Winter had told me that for her graduation trip, she wanted to be alone, to enjoy the freedom and peace by herself. The truth was, she had gone to the island I had always dreamed of visiting… with Simon.

I sat there in a daze for a long time. Eventually, I returned to the chat window and sent a message to the present-day Winter. "Winter, did you choose the same major as me because you genuinely wanted to?"

She replied promptly, "Duh. Didn't Mom and Dad say I was supposed to stay by your side forever?"

Right. She was supposed to, not because she wanted to. Somewhere along the way, Winter had had a change of heart.

A smile of relief hung on my lips.

I clicked the confirmation button and accepted the admission offer. None of this mattered anymore. From this day forward, I didn't need Winter Andersen's company anymore.

Gregory's POV

Winter came home from her so-called solo vacation three days later. At the dinner table, she handed me a tiny box and said it was a gift. I opened it and found a bookmark inside.

"Huh. Did you and Simon go to the same place?" Mrs. Andersen asked, leaning over to take a look. "He stopped by today, too. The gift he brought Gregory is the same as this one."

Winter's hand froze around her cutlery. For a brief moment, panic flashed across her eyes.

I, however, kept eating without looking up. "It's fine. I don't mind getting two of the same thing."

A cheap bookmark was still a cheap bookmark. Having one or two made no difference.

Winter stared at me, momentarily stunned.

Before she could say anything, Mrs. Andersen said, "You're right. I have to say, the three of you are tied together by fate. You'll be attending the same college, while you and Gregory will be in the same major—"

"Mom, Dad," Winter interrupted her. "I might switch majors after freshman year."

Those words felt like a stab in the heart. Future Winter had told me that whenever she mentioned switching majors, I would go silent and sulk for days.

"He'd pull a long face, and my parents would immediately start lecturing me and bringing up what happened back then." She had written. "So, for all four years of college, I was stuck with him, like some piece of gum I couldn't scrape off my shoe."

I suppressed the throbbing pain in my chest.

This time, though, I looked up with a smile and met Winter's eyes. "Sure. I think you should, too. After all, it's important to choose something you genuinely like."

The air went still. Mr. and Mrs. Andersen's words died in their throat. Winter didn't look nearly as pleased as I had imagined she would. Instead, her face darkened.

After dinner, she followed me into my room. "What did you mean by that at the table?"

I looked at her, perplexed. "I thought I was clear. If you don't like your major, you can switch anytime. I won't expect anything more than I should from you."

Winter frowned, her expression darkening further. "Gregory, you… What ticked you off this time?"

The old me would never have treated her with such propriety and distance, as if she were a stranger.

A trace of irritation flickered through her beautiful eyes. "If you've got something to say, just say it. Stop acting like a teenage girl and dancing around the issue. I'm not interested in your guessing game. Why can't you be more like Simon? He's straightforward and doesn't beat around the bush."

My fingernails dug into my palms so hard that I nearly broke the skin.

Simon's call came in right then, perfectly on cue. "Winter, I burned down the kitchen again! Can you come over and take a look? I swear there's something wrong with these ribs!"

His loud, obnoxious voice rang out from the phone. Without hesitation, Winter turned and walked out of my room. I stood there watching her back as she left, my mind drifting back to a week ago.

Last week, Mr. and Mrs. Andersen had been away on a business trip. I was cooking at home when a boning knife slipped and sliced my finger open. Blood spread across the cutting board.

At the time, I only wanted Winter to hand me a bandage. To that, she said, "Please. You're a grown-up now. Can't you act like an older brother for once? Do you really need me for something this small?"

In the end, I went to the nearby clinic alone with my hand still bleeding and got it bandaged. Winter never showed up. But with Simon, she only needed one call to drop everything for him.

I stood there quietly, lost in thought.

Ten minutes later, I saw Simon's post on his social media. "Sometimes, the most beautiful thing is right before your eyes."

The photo showed Winter standing in a kitchen, wearing an apron, her expression soft and gentle.

"Damn, Simon. Is that your girlfriend? Quick, spill the tea," one commented.

Simon quickly shut it down." The hell are you talking about? That's my bro's girl, dude. Don't talk shit."

I stared at his over-the-top denial and let out a bitter laugh. Then, I sent a message to Future Winter.

"If the person who clung to you had let go from the beginning and let you be with the person you loved, would you be happier now?"

This time, she didn't reply instantly. She stayed silent for so long that I thought she had gone offline.

Then, a message popped up.

"I don't know if I'd call it happiness, but at least I wouldn't feel so guilty. If things had been different, he probably would still be alive now."

Gregory's POV

My breath hitched. The blood in my veins ran cold.

I would've been alive? Did that mean I would be dead ten years from now?

I forced myself to stay calm and cautiously tested the waters with Winter, asking how I had died, but she didn't seem interested in hiding anything. Her replies came in rapid succession.

"Because he was stubborn.

"After I forced him to call off the engagement, his grandma died. But it was just an accident.

"The day my man went to see her, he accidentally let it slip about us. She got too worked up and didn't make it through the emergency."

A chill ran through my body. She was talking about Simon visiting Grandma, who was the only family I had left in the world.

"Of course, he didn't mean it. He only wanted to invite her to our engagement party."

I couldn't hold back anymore. "And you believed whatever he said?" I asked, my heart breaking,

She didn't seem to mind. "Of course. I know him. He's straightforward and doesn't have any tricks up his sleeve, unlike that person."

My hands went slack.

Fine. Simon was straightforward and generous, the kind of person who wore his heart on his sleeve. Meanwhile, I was nothing more than a rat in the gutter, always calculating and scheming.

"And what happened next?" I asked.

"He lost it after that. He tried to go after my man.

"I lost control and shoved him. He lost his balance and fell into the path of a car changing lanes.

"There was blood everywhere. He almost didn't make it."

Winter's replies were concise, but each one struck me like a blade driven straight into my heart.

"I felt a bit of regret afterward, so I tried to take care of him. But after he woke up, his mental state deteriorated.

"So, I had him sent to a psychiatric hospital. But then…

"Last week, he suddenly relapsed and killed himself in the hospital."

My screen dimmed after a few minutes of inactivity. By then, I was already in tears.

So that was my ending, huh?

I could barely breathe. Cold sweat broke out all over my body. My hands wouldn't stop trembling, and waves of nausea kept rising in my throat.

In the end, I bolted out the door and rushed to the nursing home.

…

Grandma was sitting peacefully by the window, basking in the sunlight. When she saw me, her eyes crinkled with a smile. She opened her mouth, like she was about to say something.

I cut her off in a hurry. "Grandma, I've thought it through. I want to study abroad instead. Would you come with me?"

No matter what, I couldn't leave her here alone.

Grandma froze for a moment, not understanding what was going on. Still, she nodded. "Well, of course, Gregory. I'll follow you wherever you go. But what about Winter? You two—"

"She has nothing to do with me anymore, Grandma," I said firmly. "You must remember this from now on. I don't like Winter, and I am never going to marry her."

She looked at me in confusion, but still agreed in the end. The weight in my chest finally lifted. I let out a breath of relief.

After chatting with Grandma for a while, I got up to leave. To my surprise, two figures blocked me at the door.

Winter's expression was gloomy as she stared at me. My heart tightened. I had no idea how much she had heard.

Beside her, Simon spoke first. "Gregory, did you and Winter have a fight or something? Is that why you said you don't like her? Come on, don't argue anymore. If you're upset, just take it out on me."

He even spread his arms wide. "Here. Punch me. Let it all out."

The moment he stepped forward, Winter immediately grabbed his wrist in panic. "What are you doing? Your injury hasn't healed yet."

A small bandage sat on Simon's finger. I lowered my gaze, looking at the thick bandages that had wrapped around my hand for a week. It was still bleeding through the gauze.

Winter followed my line of sight. She looked somewhat awkward before clearing her throat. "Let's talk at home. Your hand—"

"No," I cut her off, looking up at her with a faint smile. "You heard what I said. Let's stay out of each other's lives from now on, Winter."