"A Delicate Romance Where Time Plays Its Part"
Once We Were Us is a romance that doesn’t aim to impress with big plot twists but with the subtlety of its emotions. It’s a film about time, memories, and above all, how love can remain alive even when it is no longer present in our daily lives. It tells a simple story — two young people meet, fall deeply in love, separate, and then reunite years later — but it treats it with tenderness and sensitivity, giving it real depth.One of the most beautiful aspects of the film is how it portrays the beginnings of a relationship. The youth scenes are bright, almost warm, with a spontaneous energy that feels authentic. Shared laughter, late-night conversations, and naïve dreams make the ordinary moments feel precious. It’s not dramatic declarations that leave a mark, but small everyday moments elevated by the direction. You can feel the fragile excitement of first love, a mix of innocence and ambition that makes everything seem possible.
The chemistry between Koo Kyo-hwan and Moon Ga-young is central to the film’s success. Their connection is natural rather than theatrical. They seem genuinely comfortable with each other, making their interactions believable and moving. The silences are as important as the dialogues. In the present-day scenes, their performances are more subtle and restrained. Gazes linger longer, smiles are more fragile, and you can feel the weight of years, choices, and regrets in every exchange. This evolution in their dynamic is one of the film’s strongest points.
The narrative structure, alternating between past and present, enhances the nostalgic feeling. Each memory sheds new light on their current relationship. The visual contrast is also well executed: warm, vibrant tones of the past against the cooler, subdued palette of the present. This emphasizes how the past always seems brighter in our memories, even if it wasn’t quite that way at the time. This duality gives the film a consistent bittersweet atmosphere.
Another particularly beautiful aspect is how the film handles dreams and personal ambitions. It shows how love, no matter how sincere, can be challenged by professional realities, social expectations, and the pressure to succeed. The film doesn’t assign blame for the separation; it simply shows how two people can deeply love each other while moving in different directions. This maturity in the writing makes the story feel realistic and emotionally resonant.
However, the film remains fairly traditional in its structure. Some situations may feel predictable to viewers familiar with Korean romances. The deliberately contemplative pace can feel slow at times. But this slowness also contributes to the emotional experience: it allows feelings to settle and gives the viewer time to reflect.
What makes Once We Were Us particularly beautiful are the quiet moments: a look exchanged on a train, a conversation interrupted by emotion, a smile hiding sadness. These small details give the film its sincerity. It doesn’t try to force tears; it simply lets emotions emerge naturally.
In conclusion, Once We Were Us is a gentle, melancholic, and mature romance. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it masters it with elegance. It’s a film about memories, timing, and what it means to love someone at different stages of life, leaving a delicate and lasting impression after the credits roll.
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An Honest Portrait of Love and Choices
I’ll start by saying that I did not watch the original Chinese film, so this review is based solely on the Korean adaptation.It’s rare to find movies that feel both deeply emotional and genuinely relatable at the same time. In that regard, Once We Were Us hits hard. If you’re expecting a simple, idealized romance, this may not be the film for you. But if you want something that feels closer to a real relationship ~ complete with its highs, lows, and complicated emotions ~ then this movie delivers.
One of its strongest aspects is the direction and visual presentation. The film shows a great deal of care in its cinematography and scenery, with clear attention to detail throughout. The story may not always take you where you expect or even where you hope it will go, but there’s a sincerity and emotional honesty that remains present from start to finish.
The cast also performs exceptionally well. The performances are strong across the board, and even supporting characters are given enough space to either shine on their own or help elevate the leads. This balance helps the relationships feel more grounded and believable.
Some viewers may struggle with certain choices the characters make. In a few moments, exploring their internal struggles more explicitly might have helped clarify those decisions. Personally, though, the film gave me enough emotional context to stay fully invested in the journey.
The OST complements the film nicely. It’s often subtle, but it appears at just the right moments to enhance the emotional weight of key scenes. The movie also makes powerful use of silence ~ certain moments feel especially heavy because the soundtrack steps back. These scenes highlight how pivotal the characters’ decisions are, emphasizing that sometimes people make choices not because they truly want to, but because they feel they have no other path forward.
If melodrama is your thing, this is a film I can easily recommend. It’s an emotional ride, but one that feels sincere and grounded in the complexities of real relationships.
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This review may contain spoilers
It's a sad but real movie about real problems. Difficulties in relationships that can't always be overcome by a couple. That's what led their relationship to this outcome. Their main problem was that they kept their feelings and pain to themselves and tried to avoid conflicts, but the accumulated emotions eventually led to a quiet breakup.
Their reunion after 10 years really opened up the scars from their breakup, and they were deeply attached to each other. They had supported each other for so many years, and later became a couple and held on to each other, but the memories overwhelmed them.
I really enjoyed the acting. The actors' eyes were filled with love and regret. I'm not familiar with the actor's work, but MunKaYoung continues to amaze me with her versatile acting. At first, her character is quite unique and free-spirited, but over time, she becomes a calm and ordinary woman. I felt her pain, confusion, and rejection of the male main lead during his indifference. There was no point in clinging to this person. I believe that she made the right decision by letting him go.
Overall, this movie will make you think deeply. I highly recommend it.
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This movie... it's too heartbreaking because it's too realistic.
Personally, I watched Once We Were Us for the melodrama storyline, but I was left completely speechless. The story felt too real, too raw. And the most heartbreaking part is the closure of Eunho and Jeongwon's love story.For those wondering if this actually happened in real life, I can vouch for you that it truly exists. I’ve gone through something very much like what Jeongwon experienced, and that made the movie hit even harder :)
It feels like watching your own story unfold through someone else's eyes. Now, I understand why it breaks other people's hearts.
When we're living through something by ourselves, we often develop a kind of quiet acceptance just to keep moving forward. The pain becomes familiar, almost normal. So, it doesn't feel "tragic" to us anymore. It's only when you're placed in the audience seat instead of the main character's that you finally see the weight of what you've been carrying so calmly.
"Maybe it was heartbreaking after all... I was just strong enough to live through it."
And, perhaps some stories are heartbreaking not because we couldn't survive them...but because we did.
I have watched tons of melodrama movies and this movie deserves to be on the podium.
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This review may contain spoilers
a very realistic movie about two people who meet by chance and part ways by choice
was expecting to be sobbing and alldat but surprisingly didn't lol just shedded a few tearsa very realistic movie about two people who were together in the past and meet again after many years. there's a lot of small details and symbolism that keeps you thinking and the effects of the movie linger because of how much it reflects irl.
i understood the fl, and felt pretty devastated for her. for the fl, the relationship required way more sacrifices compared to the ml. before their relationship, him and his dad were her safe space, somewhere she could fall back to when things got rough. and if (when ig) they broke up, she lost that comfort. that's why she was so hesitant to start the relationship. and towards the end (of the relationship), it was sad to see the little details that he did. i.e. he moved the fan to face only him, and her enjoying the sunlight only for him to close the curtains on her. that small detail destroyed me. the symbolism was just insane. and the contrast to what he said before the relationship and that difference to now, with him shutting the curtains, was just heart wrenching (AND PEAK CINEMA).
in a way, the breakup was inevitable. they both had dreams and for them to stay together and maintain their lifestyle, they had to sacrifice their dreams for the future. without the breakup, he wouldn't have had the motivation to start coding his game again and she wouldn't have switched into architecture. when she left, she knew she deserved better, and similarly, he didn't chase her onto the train because he knew that her leaving was for the best and going after her wouldn't change anything.
the ending was good too. two different outcomes from the same breakup. and that stark realization that if he got on that train, she would've stayed with him.
acting from both koo kyo hwan and moon ga young was phenomenal. loved seeing him still silly and goofy but now, in a romance genre instead. he was so good. (watched for him too). and moon ga young, she was great as usual.
p.s. i still think it was a little weird of them to sit in a hotel room together and reminisce of the past lol even if they used to be together, its weird. especially for the ml cuz ofc the fl would get ideas since they were recalling the time they used to be together and especially talking about this in a confined space??? AND ONE MORE THING THE ML IS LITERALLY A MARRIED MAN NOW LIKE COME ON WHY ARE YOU SOBBING OVER AN EX RN YOU HAVE A WIFE AND CHILD AT HOME BFFR
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Boring.
Started watching this movie because FL won the best actress award. I've seen her in other dramas, where for me she has no talent at all. I wanted to give it a chance. I realized that no, is not better. Just a frighteningly thin body and a girlish behavior in all roles I don't consider her a talented actress. She can wear sexy dresses, but she doesn't own those either, her behavior is so strange... I never considered awards, because they started to be subjective. If she is a good actress I feel sorry for all the talented actresses in Korea. There are so many other absolutely talented actresses. And so much praise for mediocre.Plus this movie is boring. Not because is slowly as I like slowly movies . Doesn't have salt and pepper. I don't recommend it. You can relate as is a real life story and may resonate with you. a chapter of a love story, which closes with a chance meeting in the future. But honestly, I was left with nothing, in terms of insight.
Yap, is not my kind of tea. Story, actors.
It remind me also of the movie Past Lives from 2023. This one is great, slowly, mature, and deeply emotional exploration of love, fate, and longing. Honest storytelling.
The original cdrama me and them one is better. Invest your time in a good movie, a good drama. Give your time to better, to real acting. Surch for cinematography, for talent, for art.
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Hubungan harus saling berkembang
Ngeliat ini ada nyesek yg gabisa dijelasin. Beberapa spoiler ada yg bilang kalo film ini ngajarin kita kalo beneran ada yg namanya cinta di waktu yg salah, tapi.. pas liat film ini langsung, pandanganku malah engga ke arah itu, engga sependapat. Ini bukan cinta di waktu yg salah, tapi emang orangnya aja yg salah/blm tepat. Bayanginn ajaa, si Jeongwon mati2an hidup apa adanya, usaha iya, pekerja keras iya. Tapi pasangannya? nihil. Iya, tau, cowonya juga usaha, tapi menurutku engga berkembang, hanya berfokus pada satu hal. Sedangkan arah hidup dan perjalanan hidup itu panjang dan berliku banget, engga selalu yg di gebu2kan harus bgt tercapai, namun bisa dg hal lai atau dg jalan yg lain utk sampai di tujuan tsb. Toh, utk mencapai 10 engga harus dengan 5+5, namu bisa dg 7+3. Khalayaknya rezeki, mau diusahain kek manapunn, kalo udah rezeki pasti dateng juga, yg nentunya juga dg ada usaha ikhtiarnya, ya!Oiya, disini btw Eunho menurutku terlalu egois sih, krn terlalu fokus pada diri sendiri dan berputar problematikanya sendiri. Sedangkan hidup terus berjalan, orang akan tinggal dan pergi, musim akan silih berganti. Namun Eunho tetep berdiam sendiri, padahal saat itu udah didepan mata ada Jeongwon. huft, sayang sekali. Tapi namanya juga penyesalan sih yaa. Pas udah nyesel, baru deh ada pergerakannya.
Dan teruntuk Jeongwon, menurutku dia wanita yg gigih sih, bahkan sampe sebesar dan sesukses ini dia keren udah mau bertahan sejauh ini. Padahal dia tumbuh mandiri (tanpa orang tua dari kecil).
Kalo sama2 ngeliat flashback sih gaada akhirnya, tp kan semua orang udah punya cerita dan perjalanan masing2. Jadi cukup jadi pengalaman pernah jadi 'rumah' yg menyenangkan, yg engga selalu berporos utk waktu yg lama aja~ Diluar sana kayaknya ada yg relate gini, siapapun itu semoga mereka let it flow dan terus melanjutkan perjalanan mereka masing2, menemukan kebahagiaannya masing2.
Intinya, mau dipaksain bagaimanapun memang orangnya aja yg blm tepat, mau mengubah alurpun.. emang blm jodoh aja.. mau dipaksain kayak gimanapun juga susah dan gabisa, khalayak sifatnya manusia aja sih.. nanti bisa balik lagi ke stelan awal. jadii mending masing2 aja~
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This review may contain spoilers
If you don't mind a sad ending...
First I was impressed by the actress since so far in ger career she felt very wooden.I'll admit, I'm not a fan of melodrama or sad ending in general. My life is already awful at it is, I want to dream joy, not get slap with reality which this movie does brilliantly.
The part where they kinda lost me is when we learn he has a daughter. Yes it's realistic that in 10 years stuffs happened but you can't drop a kid twist and then have him sobbing asking 'what ifs'. For all we know he has a partner at home with a young daughter.
I wish they didn't leave each other again after meeting on the plane and I wish he didn't have a family and I wish he didn't wish he had fought for their relationship while knowing he has a toddler.
If they separated peacefully both acknowledging that they were different people and their love was great but they changed too much it would have been, in my opinion, a better ending than what we got.
Also it's messed up to close the movie with a letter from his now-dead dad.
Good movie but it made me upset and I should have read reviews before watching it.
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This review may contain spoilers
When Love Meets Reality
Once We Were Us follows two former lovers who unexpectedly reunite on a flight to Korea ten years after their breakup. Through flashbacks, the film reconstructs the evolution of their relationship—from youthful university romance to the moment reality finally caught up with them.The story itself is fairly conventional, but the film finds its real strength in the performances of Moon Ga-young and Koo Kyo-hwan. Their chemistry feels natural and grounded, not only emotionally but physically as well. Small gestures of intimacy—hugs, touches, casual closeness—help the relationship feel believable in a way many romantic dramas struggle to achieve.
Interestingly, the film also reveals something about Moon Ga-young as an actress. For years she has often appeared somewhat restrained in K-dramas, but here it becomes clear that the rigidity may have come more from the format than from her abilities. In this film she feels noticeably freer and more natural.
What ultimately sets the story apart is the reason behind the breakup. There is no dramatic betrayal or tragic event. Instead, the relationship slowly collapses under something far more common: financial instability and the emotional toll it brings.
Because of that, Once We Were Us ends up feeling less like a classic romance and more like a reflection on how time, pressure, and economic reality can reshape even the strongest relationships.
Sometimes love is real.
But life can still weigh more.
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The Architecture of Goodbye
I need to confess something upfront: I’m a devoted Makoto Shinkai fan. I’ve watched everything he’s created, and while each film has carved out its own space in my heart, 5 Centimeters Per Second holds a particularly potent place, not because it gives me closure, but because it reframes separation as something that can still hold meaning, even beauty. It taught me early on that an ending doesn’t need to look “happy” to feel right. It understands that sometimes love transforms you into your best self precisely because it ends, not in spite of it. So when I stumbled upon Once We Were Us, a Korean remake of the 2018 Chinese film Us and Them, starring Mun Ka-young and Koo Kyo-hwan, I knew exactly what kind of emotional devastation I was walking into. I wasn’t here for a fairy tale. I was here for something quieter, something that would sit with me long after the credits rolled.It also didn’t hurt that I was already completely sold on Mun Ka-young. After My Dearest Nemesis, I’ve been keeping a close eye on her work, and this drama felt like another opportunity to see just how far she could stretch. At the same time, Once We Were Us served as my first real introduction to Koo Kyo-hwan, especially with We Are All Trying Here sitting on my watchlist like a ticking clock of anticipation. So in a way, this drama felt like a crossroads for me as a viewer, familiar comfort on one side, curious discovery on the other.
Let me start with the leads, because chemistry this electric deserves immediate recognition. Koo Kyo-hwan plays Lee Eun-ho, and this was my first exposure to his work. I walked in with zero expectations and walked out convinced I’d just witnessed someone become inseparable from their character. Koo Kyo-hwan steps into the role of Lee Eun-ho with a kind of quiet sincerity that sneaks up on you. Eun-ho is the kind of character who spends his entire life swimming against the current, not in a dramatic, heroic way, but in that painfully ordinary way where life keeps asking for compromises he doesn’t want to make. His dream of building his own game feels like a fragile anchor, something he clings to while everything else shifts around him. When his father falls ill and derails every carefully laid plan, Kyo-hwan plays the devastation with such understated sincerity that it feels less like acting and more like witnessing. The scene where older Eun-ho slowly unravels while listing all the “what-if scenarios” for their relationship? I wasn’t ready. Nobody is ready for that kind of quiet destruction.
And then there’s Mun Ka-young as Han Jeong-won, who, quite frankly, doesn’t just act here, she devours the role whole. I’m just going to say this plainly, she is absolutely unleashed here. I’ve loved her work before, but this role lets her operate at a different altitude entirely. Jeong-won is an orphan who never felt belonging anywhere, which crystallizes into a dream of becoming an architect so she can literally build the home she never had. It’s such a beautifully empowering motivation, this idea that she’ll create belonging through her own hands rather than waiting for it to be given. Ka-young devours this character with micro-expressions that do more emotional work than entire monologues in lesser dramas. There are entire scenes where the emotional weight rests solely on her control of her micro-expressions, the slight tightening of her jaw, the way her eyes hesitate before settling on something painful. One scene in particular still lives rent-free in my head, the fight near the end where chaos unfolds in the background while the camera refuses to leave her face. No swelling music, no dramatic cuts, just the raw, unfiltered processing of emotion with her facial muscles and expressions alone that carried the entire weight of that moment. It’s a masterclass in restraint and trust. And that pier kiss scene, where she finally communicates her fear of the relationship before they kiss? One of my favorite kiss scenes this year for sheer emotional honesty and visual beauty. Both actors are perfectly cast, and their chemistry does the heavy lifting that makes it effortless to care about their relationship even when they’re just friends sharing their dreams with each other.
I also want to shout out Shin Jung-geun as Eun-ho’s father. His relationship with Jeong-won becomes one of the film’s most affecting side stories. He warms to her immediately and becomes the father figure she never had, which makes the letter he writes her after the main relationship collapses hit like a second emotional nuke. Jung-geun brings genuine gravitas to the role, and that scene between them illustrates something the film understands deeply: the real human cost of a relationship ending extends far beyond the couple themselves. When love reshapes lives, its absence leaves craters in unexpected places.
The plot itself walks familiar ground. Right person, wrong time. Two people meet by chance, fall in love against the backdrop of youth and ambition, then watch life throw curveballs that slowly pull them apart. But here’s the thing about familiar themes: they’re not cliche when they’re executed with this much care. The film explores how dreams and reality collide, how love alone isn’t always enough when circumstance and growth pull you in different directions, and how sometimes the most loving thing you can do is let someone go so you both can become who you’re meant to be. It doesn’t mean you stopped loving each other. It just means that chapter closed so new ones could begin.
What makes this story devastate so effectively is the slow erosion rather than explosive conflict. Yes, there’s one major fight where voices finally rise and words cut deep. But the real heartbreak accumulates in the margins, in details that unfold in the background while life continues in the foreground. A miniature model house discarded when they move to a smaller apartment. An armchair they bought together that no longer fits in their downsized space, left outside to weather the seasons. Sunshine symbolism that becomes a spoiler if I say too much. These micro-moments pile up silently, and by the time the final separation arrives (on a subway platform, because this film knows exactly what it’s doing with its train imagery), you’ve seen it coming from a mile away, you know it’s inevitable, and it still hits like a freight train.
The cinematography is gorgeous and deliberate. The film uses a color-grading choice that matters narratively: colourless black and white for the present timeline when they’re dissecting why their relationship failed, full vibrant color when we slip into the past. This isn’t just aesthetic flair, it’s woven into the story’s emotional architecture in ways I won’t spoil. The back-and-forth structure between present and past gives every scene additional context and weight. You’re always watching the love story with the knowledge of its ending hanging overhead, which makes every joyful moment ache just a little bit more.
But the film’s greatest strength is its masterful use of negative space and silence. So many scenes unfold without any musical assist, trusting the actors and the moment to carry the emotional load. When the music does appear, it enhances rather than manipulates. My personal favorite is After Time by HANA, used early in the film, which serves as subtle foreshadowing if you’re paying attention. This restraint in scoring is what separates earned devastation from manufactured sentimentality. The film doesn’t tell you when to cry. It just creates the space for tears to arrive on their own. The rest of soundtrack deserves praise as well. Tracks like My Gift by O.WHEN and Closer by Jungkook bring lighter moments to life, while By Your Side by Jukjae and Once We Were Us by Kim Jang Woo and Kim Tae Min carry the emotional weight when needed
If there’s anything to note as a potential drawback, it’s not so much a flaw as it is a matter of expectation. This is, at its heart, a melodrama. And the ending reflects that. The idea of a “happy ending” here doesn’t align with traditional definitions. For me, it worked beautifully. It felt honest. But if you’re expecting reconciliation or a clean break that leaves no lingering ache, this might not land the way you hope.
I’ll be honest: after watching Once We Were Us, I couldn’t resist checking out the original Chinese film Us and Them for the complete comparative experience. Personally, I connected far more deeply with the Korean remake. While both films share the same bones (similar plot beats, symbolic imagery, structural choices), the Korean adaptation resonated with me on a level the original didn’t. It stays faithful to the source material while carving out its own identity within the kdrama space. The emotional beats hit harder for me here, perhaps because of how well the performances and visual language align with my own sensibilities. I wouldn’t say one replaces the other. They feel more like parallel experiences, each offering a different shade of the same story. If you’re curious about Us and Them, it offers a completely different emotional texture, but don’t expect the same impact. They’re telling the same story with fundamentally different values.
Ultimately, Once We Were Us understands something crucial about separation narratives: writing an ending where love dies but life flourishes requires absolute mastery of both characters. The audience needs to see both people’s dreams, struggles, and growth as equally legitimate and compelling. If one character gets blamed for the relationship’s failure, the whole structure collapses into resentment instead of acceptance. This film achieves that difficult balance. When Eun-ho and Jeong-won part ways, you’re not angry at either of them. You’re celebrating who they became because of each other, even as you mourn what they lost. That simultaneous smile-and-cry response? That’s the proof the film earned every tear.
This is an easy recommendation from me, but with a gentle warning attached. This isn’t a drama you watch casually. It asks for your emotional investment, and it will take something in return, especially if you appreciate stories that trust their emotional complexity and respect their characters enough to let them grow apart with dignity. Just come prepared with tissues, because happy endings come in many forms, and this one will absolutely wreck you in the best possible way.
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Some Goodbyes Stay Forever
I did not expect Once We Were Us to affect me this much. I started watching it thinking it would be another emotional romance film, but it turned out to be much deeper than that. It is not just about love, it is about timing, memories, regret, and the people we become after losing someone important.What I loved most about this movie is how realistic it feels. The characters do not act like perfect movie characters. They feel like real people carrying pain, confusion, and feelings they do not know how to express properly. Their chemistry feels natural, and even the quiet scenes say so much without needing too many words.
The movie has a very soft and melancholic atmosphere. Every scene feels beautiful in a simple way, especially with the cinematography and background music. There were moments where I had to pause because some scenes felt too real. It reminded me that sometimes the hardest part is not losing someone, but learning how to live with the memories they leave behind.
The acting was also one of the strongest parts of the movie. Both leads delivered their emotions so naturally that I never felt like I was watching acting. Their expressions alone were enough to show heartbreak, longing, and the pain of unfinished feelings.
What makes Once We Were Us special is that it does not try too hard to be dramatic. It is emotional in a quiet way, and that is what makes it hit even harder. It leaves you thinking about your own past, the people you once loved, and the things you wish you had said.
For me, this movie deserves a 9/10 because it is beautiful, emotional, and unforgettable. It is the kind of film that stays with you long after it ends.
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FLASHBACK
Seperti melihat 'Kita' di sana.Cara 'Kita' saling berkenalan, cara 'Kita' menyemangati, cara 'Kita' membuat kebahagiaan, cara 'Kita' merasa kecil, cara 'Kita' berkonflik, cara 'Kita' berpisah, cara 'Kita' bangkit, cara 'Kita' bertemu kembali, cara 'Kita' bertakdir.
-Kamu mencintaiku, Aku lebih mencintaimu.
-Kamu selalu menemukanku. Katamu 'Kita' berjodoh?
-Kamu melepaskanku, Aku mengikhlaskanmu.
-Andai aku menahanmu, apa kita tidak akan putus?
-Andai aku menerimamu kembali, apa kita akan kembali bersama?
-Tanpamu dunia tetap berwarna, tetapi hatiku kelabu
-Kamu bukan rumah, tetapi terima kasih karena pernah menjadi tempat singgah.
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