Which is more beautiful, memory or love? Memory, of course. Memory lasts longer, and that is why it is more beautiful. Love takes two people, but memory is fine alone. After love has passed, memory is the only place left for our lingering affection.
The memory of sitting side by side in the back row of an empty last bus, laughing endlessly all the way home over who knows what. The memory of sitting shoulder to shoulder on a dim bench near the apartment, talking about this and that, then suddenly falling silent and, in that awkwardness, kissing for the first time. The memory of meaning to sulk out of pride, then hating yourself for it and ending up crying alone. The memory of walking, after love ended, down roads that appear on maps and roads that don’t, roads where cars pass and roads where they don’t, roads lined with trees and roads where only the dark sky was visible — walking on and on.
When everything is over, the heart that loved must be returned like groceries past their expiration date, but the memory of having loved stays with us like a receipt. Evidence that we once possessed something. Just as we can say that a person without jealousy cannot love, a person without memory cannot produce proof of having loved.
— Kim Yeon-su, Love, You Say, Seon-yeong (사랑이라니, 선영아)