A quiver in his voice, Seungcheol whispered, leaning deeper against the door, “I don’t want to hurt him.”

Sobbing, Jihoon sat and listened intensely. And as he continued to sit there and torture himself, Jihoon heard Seungkwan on the other side say, “Jihoon’s amazing, hyung.”

And Jihoon’s heart finally broke as he heard Seungcheol softly reply, “Jeonghan’s amazing, too.”

That was all he could take. Jihoon stood up and quickly wiped the tears off his face. He immediately went back into his apartment and slammed the door behind him. But the conversation continued.

Seungkwan roughly sighed and looked over to Wonwoo and Seokmin. They all looked so distraught. But Seungcheol was the worst sight of all. Even so, in a time like this, he needed someone like Seungkwan. “Hyung,” he firmly said.

Breathing slowly, he replied, “Mm.” His body felt like it was about to crumble.

“Jihoon’s amazing,” he emphasized.

“I know,” Seungcheol agreed without opening his eyes. “I know that way too well.” Pulling his hair back with his fingers, he let his hands rest on the top of his skull. “It’s just...I’ve spent so long loving Jeonghan. I don’t know if...it’s okay for me to fall for someone else so easily.”

Pausing for a second, Seokmin furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “What do you mean?”

Eyes still shut and heart aching, Seungcheol explained, “I mean Jeonghan’s really great. And I’ve been so ing infatuated by him for the past six...seven years. And I really thought that I needed to be with him, so much so that I agreed to move in with him even after he flat out rejected me. I truly believed that we should be together…” He took a second to drop his head and let his tears fall. “But Jihoon makes me rethink all of that.” Swallowing the lump in his throat, he hesitated to add, “And it’s so scary.”

“But isn’t that a good thing?” Wonwoo questioned. “You and Jeonghan can’t be together, so falling for Jihoon makes that a non-issue, doesn’t it? You and Jihoon can be happy together.”

Seungcheol finally revealed his pink eyes as he tried to find the right words to express his confused heart. He hurt just thinking about everything. With one last sigh, he answered Wonwoo. “I’ve known Jeonghan for so long and I’ve always felt so strongly about him. He...shook my core and became that thing that was so amazing, all I could do was reach out for it. But I could never grab it. And even though that thing would never be mine, I still couldn’t let go or move on.” And then, as the tears continued to fall, a small smile creeped out of the corner of Seungcheol’s lips. “And then Jihoon came along. I’ve only known him for two weeks and he’s already making me this crazy!” he frantically exclaimed, completely overwhelmed. “I loved Jeonghan in a way that made me want to explode. It was suffocating and nauseating and painful. But Jihoon makes me feel none of those things! He makes me feel like I’m floating and that I could die from laughing too hard! My chest never feels like it’s gonna collapse when I’m with him, but instead it fills with air and life and just pure excitement! For the forever I’ve known and loved Jeonghan, he’s never made me feel the way Jihoon does now! And I don’t know what to do!”

Silence.

Seungcheol, who was becoming hysterical, sat up a bit as his friends watched him. And as if a signal went off, they all realized that THIS was what Seungcheol really needed help with.

“So that’s what you’re afraid of?” Seungkwan asked. “You’re afraid to love Jihoon because...you’ve just been in love with Jeonghan for so long?”

Covered in sweat from his pain and tears from his hurt, Seungcheol kept going. “Jihoon is a complete stranger compared to Jeonghan! But he makes me feel so much better than Jeonghan ever did! I don’t know if it’s because he’s single and attainable that makes me this insane or if it’s something so much more real!”

Standing up, Seungcheol had to grab the doorknob to support his weak legs. His body didn’t feel stable, but he needed to get up. “But...it’s just TOO crazy to believe that my feelings for him can be so strong so fast! Jeonghan has always been the person I loved, and all of a sudden this pink-haired, blush-flashing, dimple-wearing THING appears at my doorstep and I FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM!? DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?!”

But before his friends could answer, Seungcheol abruptly opened the front door. Slamming it back against the wall, he stared across the empty hallway at apartment 917B. From the five feet between the two homes, he threw his arm out and weakly whispered, “He makes me question everything I ever knew about love. He makes me forget Jeonghan whenever I’m with him. He makes me so nervous and so happy, it’s terrifying. And he’s right behind that door.”

Seokmin, Wonwoo, and Seungkwan waited as Seungcheol just stood and gazed out at Jihoon’s door.

“I don’t know if I’m still in love with Jeonghan,” Seungcheol softly continued, his throat shaking. “I don’t know if I want to be with Jeonghan...because Jihoon makes me question everything I ever felt for Jeonghan. Jihoon makes me rethink what love really is. In my mind, it’s not a question of being with Jeonghan or being with Jihoon. In my mind, it’s a question of loving the way I’ve always known...or loving in a way that’s so different, yet so much more rewarding. And I’m so scared that if he knew all of this...it would scare him away. I don’t want to hurt him, but if he knew...I don’t know if he’d ever want to be with me.” Taking in a deep breath, Seungcheol blinked. Still staring at Jihoon’s door, he let it out. “But at the same time, I wish he knew...how hard I’m falling for him.”