The cool air coming from the balcony made its way to my skin. My eyebrows twitched from the sudden feeling. I  rubbed my eyes and opened them. My eyes grew when I saw Lay sleeping. Our faces were only a foot away from each other. I quickly sat up and noticed that my laptop was placed beside him. *Did he--Why'd he do it?!* I carefully took my laptop and scrolled up and down the screen. *He finished it...* I looked at him once more and placed the laptop down. I stood up to walk to one of my drawers, taking a blanket. I unfolded the blanket and gently placed it on him.

“Cabbage!" I whispered. "Come!" Cabbage ran to the door, waiting for me to let him out. I opened the door quietly and Cabbage followed me out. I took one last glance at Lay and slowly closed the door. Thinking I was in the clear, I turned around. I jumped, startled, when I found my mom smiling at me. “You scared me!" I held a hand on my chest. She continued to flash her sly smile at me "How was the assignment," she asked. “It umm… went well. We finished it,” I replied. She raised a brow at me and gently hit my arm. I picked Cabbage up and dragged my mom with me before she could say anything else.

"Is dad still at the company," I asked. She took a seat before answering my question. "Yeah, he’s still there." I nodded my head and took a mug from the cupboard. "Mom..." "Yeah?" "You know, Lay did most of the work..." I looked down at the mug, tracing my fingertips along the shape of the mug. "So, he's smarter than you...That's good!" she teased. "Hey! I’m still smart." She laughed at me. “Why? What's wrong?" I paused. "Well, it's just that I feel bad." “Oh my....my daughter is in love." "No!-- How does that have anything to do with lo-" I turned my head and saw Lay standing at one of the kitchen entrance. He had his backpack on already. I blushed madly and looked down, trying to cover my face with my hair. *Uh oh.Did he hear us talking?* Lay walked in and bowed. My mom’s smile was wide and proud.

"It's late. I should get going." Lay flashed his dimpled smile and bowed down again. My mom and I stood up and walked over to him. My mom patted Lay's cheeks lightly and hugged him. "You are very handsome! Take care of my daughter well and tell me if she gives you any trouble." "Mom." She let go of Lay and looked at me innocently, acting like she didn't do anything to embarrass me at all. "Come back again!" she waved to Lay as I walked him out. I walked down the stairs with Lay by my side. He had his hands in his pockets and breathed the cool air in.

"You have a nice house. And your mom is really nice too." Lay chuckled. "Yeah. Ha ha," I sighed. "Sorry I made you do all the work." My eyes wandered around on the pavement. "But I didn't do all the work." I looked up at him as he smiled down at me. “I had help.” We stopped walking when we reached the front of the fountain--standing at the center of the pathway. I sat down on the edge of it and Lay sat next to me. The cool air was really nice. It was refreshing... I breathed out, suddenly remembering something. "Oh!" I reached in the pocket of my sweater. "Do you need this back?" I lifted my arm up, showing him his handkerchief. He stared at my hand. "Keep it." he smiled. I stared at the handkerchief in my hand and a small smile crept up my face as I slid it back in my pocket.

"Look!" Lay pointed at the beautiful night sky. "Make a wish!" I quickly shut my eyes and made a wish when I saw the shooting star. After Lay made his wish, he took a glance at me, still closing my eyes. He smiled and looked back up at the stars. After a few minutes of silence, Lay checked the time on his watch and stood up. "You should go back in." "Oh...Yeah." I stood up too. "Thank your mom for me." "See you in school! Go home safely," I smiled warmly. Lay lifted his right arm up and held his hand over my head, patting it gently. *Tap. Tap*

I watched him as he disappeared behind the gates. I slowly lifted my hand up to touch my head. It was an odd feeling… What was it? Why was I suddenly having these feelings that I’ve never felt before? It was all too unfamiliar to me…I still couldn’t quite understand it. I walked back inside the house. My mom held her arms out as she walked closer. "He's a good guy...you’re probably confused right now but you’ll get answers to your questions soon enough." She held me in her arms, then kissed my forehead and walked upstairs, leaving me in the living room all by myself.
 

-One Month Later-

    It’s been three whole months since I’ve first moved. Being able to spend more time with the two boys had been more troublesome than I’d expected. We were all friends now, sure, but not only did our friendship grow, my feelings for the two grew as well. Liking more than one boy is not uncommon. It’s a normal thing that most students go through during high school. What’s uncommon though, is having feelings for two of your best male friends. Luckily, Sooyoung had delivered news to me that she and Sungjae had transferred to my school. I was even able to convince my parents to take the bus to school in order to meet up with them. Especially during these times, I needed Sooyoung to be there with me.

It was almost winter. The mornings became much colder and the sun rose earlier. I rubbed my hands together to create body heat. I raised my hands closer to my face and blew on it in hopes of warming them up faster. The street was pretty crowded with people trying to catch up with the bus. I took my phone out and stared at the screen, checking if my parents left any messages. The bus pulled over and other students came in. I followed after them and caught sight of a familiar figure sitting down. He had his earphones on, but smiled gleefully when he looked up.

"Yerim!" Taemin beamed. I walked over to the empty seat beside him and sat down. "Morning Taeman!" I laughed. “Hey!" he pouted. "What are you listening to,” I  asked while pinching his right cheek. "I'm listening to a new song that I thought would fit my new choreography. Here. Have a listen!" He handed the right piece over and I placed it in the hollow of my ear. I moved my head to the beat and smiled. Taemin stared at my smiling face and felt his insides warm up. *When should I tell you?* He smiled at me and looked down. He knew that I was close to Lay too, but he was unsure of how Lay and I felt about each other.

I arrived in school, unable to meet up with Sooyoung in the bus. She texted me apologizing for not meeting as planned but nevertheless, I was able to find her. We sat down on a bench beside a tree, just losing ourselves in each others’ stories. "Soooo...." she cooed. "How's Taemin?" My heart skipped a beat just by the mention of his name. She raised her brows up and down. I tried to prevent myself from showing any emotion, but ended up having a dumb-smile plastered on my face. "He's...a wonderful, amazing, talented guy,,,” I began. "You like him, don't you," she blurted out. I looked deeply at the sky.

I woke up from my daze when Lay suddenly popped up in my head. I did...I had feelings for Taemin, but I also had feelings for Lay. I was torn from even having the thought of choosing between the two. "Can I tell you something,” she asked, breaking me from my train of thought. "Of course, anything." She paused for a moment, almost as if she was going to change her mind about it. "Well..where do I even begin?" I waited patiently for her to start talking.

"I knew this amazing guy too... In fact, I've known him for years! Ever since middle school...before I met you, before I met Sungjae. He's been through a lot actually. He's talented, and charming as well. Just wonderful and kind." She grew more distant as she thought about it more. “I’ve never told you this but...this guy, he was different from the others--different from Sungjae…” My heart began reacting to her words. It squeezed and hurt as she kept talking. *Was this perhaps why she asked me about Taemin?* I lowered my head and couldn't stop thinking about it. *Taemin…and Sooyoung.*

"Meeting you was fate.

Becoming your friend was a choice.

But falling in love with you, I had no control over."

~Ukn