Is she feeling lighter because she had just told him all that was bottled inside her? Or was that merely an effect from the painkillers? Jihyo doesn't really know.

Either way, she is thankful that the weight is finally off her chest. 

What she does know though, is that she's feeling a little too at home in his embrace. She gradually becomes aware of his palm rubbing firmly up and down her upper arm, gentle and soothing, as her emotions ebb away. 

She leans reluctantly away from his warmth.

"Sorry for crying all over you, Oppa." She blushes, embarrassed, as she tries to wipe away a smear of snot on his shirt. 

"Jihyo-ya. I'm sorry too." His fingers halt her movements as his brown eyes look at her sadly. She hears a twinge of regret in his lowered voice. "For letting you bear all of that on your own. You keep saying that it's all you, but you can't deny that I played a part in it too. I... I could have been better." 

She tugs his big hand into hers again and leans slowly back into her pillows, exhaling heavily. "Oppa, if you were any better, you would not be human." She jokes weakly and looks away. 

He turns her chin back to face him. "Hey." She spies a little smirk and a glint in his eyes. "I know. If it wasn't for the size of my eyes, I would be perfect, haven't you noticed?" His playful comment cuts through the sombre mood in the room and lightens the moment in a heartbeat. 

She smiles, thankful for his sensitivity and understanding. Thankful that he still listened to her side of the story, even though she was only ready to tell it three years on.

You are perfect. 

"Thank you for not blaming me, Oppa. Would you accept me as your friend again?" 

Her gaze travels slowly up to his face and her eyes find his deep and dark ones, looking at her searchingly. "Is this what you want, Jihyo-ya?" He asks, a sudden gruffness in his silky voice.

"Y- Yes, this is definitely what I want." And it is. Like what she has told Byul earlier, all she wants is a chance to be his friend again, a chance to make up for all the pain she has caused him previously. 

Well, what she really wants is to erase away the hurt that she has caused him. And since she cannot do that, all she wants is for things to go back to the way it was. 

She nods, gripping his hand a little tighter. "I would like for us to be friends again, for the group to feel comfortable with the two of us, instead of having to tiptoe around us. Or... is that too greedy of me to ask for that, Oppa?" She gives him a shaky smile as she lowers her eyes, biting down on her lip tensely.

It's completely reasonable if he prefers to have some time away from her. 

"Jihyo-ya, I've never stopped wanting to be your friend. Even though it has been... challenging. Best friends don't give up on each other, remember?" His words echo hers, said to him in a forgotten moment of their past. 

"So yes, if you need it to be official then I, Kim Jongkook, formally accept you, Song Jihyo, as my friend again. My best friend, no less." He says, a trace of affection in his voice as he tugs on her pinky, entwining it around his before sealing the promise by pressing his thumb firmly on hers. "There." 

His simple yet sincere words move her deeply, enveloping her entire being in a fuzzy cloud of gratitude and warmth.

Thank you, Oppa. Thank you for receiving my apology with so much grace. 

Jongkook isn't sure why, but when Jihyo asked for friendship, disappointment had washed through him.

Why? 

He could understand his earlier bitterness about Jihoon, his hurt when she pushed him away and even his shock from her drunken confession. But he cannot understand this feeling of dejectedness.

After all these time, hasn't he decided that he has gotten over her?

Isn't friendship the best for both of them? 

She ends the quiet moment with a cheerful voice as she reaches for the bags. "What did you get me, Oppa?"

He waves his thoughts away, determined not to dwell on them. Isn't it great that both of them are now on the same page, that they have some closure for their past?

"What do you think? Your favourites, of course. How can you expect anything less from an almost perfec