Mutual Love Is the Kind That Stays

“Love, if someone asked you to choose between ‘the one who loves you’ or ‘the one you love,’ what would you choose?”

I asked my boyfriend absentmindedly while jotting down notes in my notebook. It wasn’t even related to what I was writing—I just suddenly wanted to hear his thoughts. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe I just wanted reassurance. Either way, I waited for his answer, pretending to be focused on my pen gliding across the paper.

“Hmm… honestly, that’s a tough question, love… but alright, let me think.”

I nodded, though my hand never stopped writing.

To be fair, I didn’t know the right answer either. Choosing the one I love means risking pain if they don’t love me back. Choosing the one who loves me means possibly settling for something I don’t truly want. Neither seemed like a win-win situation. That’s why I was curious—what would he choose?

“Uhmm... maybe I’ll choose both. Want to know why?”

That made me stop writing. I lifted my head and looked at him, waiting. He had that thoughtful expression on his face, the one he wore whenever he was about to say something serious.

He shifted closer, gently tucking a few strands of my hair behind my ear. His touch was light, like a whisper, but it sent warmth to my chest.

“We don’t have a second subject now anyway, so let’s talk,” he said with a small smile before continuing.

“If I choose the one I love, but they don’t love me back, then I’d only end up hurting myself. No matter how much love I pour into them, if their heart belongs to someone else, my love alone won’t be enough.”

I bit my lip. That was true.

“And if I choose the one who loves me, but I don’t love them in return… then they’d be the one suffering. Even if I try my best to love them back, it won’t feel real. It won’t be fair. Love should never be one-sided, love.”

I stayed quiet, listening.

“So, I’d rather choose mutual love. ‘The one who loves me and the one I love.’ Because love is supposed to be about two people meeting halfway. It’s about wanting to be with someone who also chooses you—not out of obligation, not out of pity, but because they genuinely feel the same.”

“…”

I was stunned. He made it sound so simple. So logical. And yet, his words held so much weight that I couldn’t help but smile.

But before I could respond, he pouted.

“Why’d you even ask that question?” he grumbled. “Don’t you love me?”

I rolled my eyes, but my lips twitched into a grin.

“Tss, I wouldn’t even ask if I didn’t love you.”

His expression softened. Then, as if on cue, we both laughed. Not too loud, not too quiet—just enough for the world around us to blur, as if, for that moment, it was only the two of us in the entire classroom.

That’s when I realized…

The reason my boyfriend answered that way, so surely, so confidently,
is because he truly understands what love should be.
Because love is not meant to be a painful choice between two losses.
Because love feels more beautiful when both people cherish it the same way.

Because love—real love—should always be mutual.

---

::
What was I writing?
Just some poems—
About you.

About you.