“B-babe?”

Hearing his voice, Taeri turns around immediately with a stiff yet worried expression. She observes his expressions first before walking over to the bed and sat on the edge of it. “Ugh, my head hurts so bad.” Hyunwoo mumbles, struggling to get up. “Yea, you passed out. Don’t drink that much again. D-do you want to talk or?” Taeri replies before helping him sit up completely. She can’t seem to read his expressions other than that he looked normal. Hyunwoo turns to her with a small frown. “I know, it was so bad and I had the worst dream. I saw you and Kyungsoo kissing and hugging. I think it was because of his truth question, probably got stuck in my head.” He says making Taeri even stiffer.

She didn’t know how to react on that.

Is she supposed to be relieved that he thought it was a dream or more worried that it’s going to get more difficult from now on?

“I-I. . . I’m just going to get you water okay?” She stands up rather quickly. “Thanks. . . and uh, babe?” Hyunwoo calls making her stop from walking. “Did I do or say some weird stuff last night? I can barely remember but I’m pretty sure I saw you frown once or twice and it’s probably because of me. I’m sorry if I offended you or something. Did I?” he asks. Taery forces a smile before shaking her head. “No worries. J-just wait right there. I’ll bring you water and a hangover pill.” She responds as nicely as possible before walking out of the room.

As soon as she got out, she was welcomed by a worried-looking Kyungsoo, making her jump in surprise.

She closes the door behind her right away.

“H-how did it go? Is he mad? I should talk to him.” Kyungsoo asks before trying to grab the doorknob. Taeri stops him before pushing him towards the other end of the corridor. “W-what?” he asks cluelessly. “He thinks it was a dream.” She answers before looking away, putting both hands on her temples out of frustration. “No, this needs to stop right now. I’ll go tell him.” Kyungsoo hisses before trying to walk back to the door but Taeri stopped him again. “W-wait. . . I’m scared. I-I don’t know if this is right at all. I’m scared that we’re making the wrong decision.” She admits, tears start forming in her eyes as she said those words herself.

A worn-out chuckle came out of Kyungsoo as he looks away.

“You can’t make up your mind, can you? Do you love him?” He interrogates softly while moving closer to her. Taeri glances at the closed door of the guest room while trying to speak. “I d-don’t know but I’m sure I don’t want to see him hurt.” She answers back making Kyungsoo turn around while running his fingers through his hair. “All night, I thought about it carefully. I was willing to give up my friendship with him if that’s what it takes to be with you and I have prepared my mind to whatever happens. . . cause I know you want me too. And now you’re telling me this. I-I’m so confused.” He mumbles with a deep and hurt voice before walking away. Taeri covers as she silently cries.

Her body shivers from all the anxiety filling up her mind.

Without further ado, she follows him.

“K-kyungsoo, please let’s talk.” She grabs his arm making him turn around with a stiff yet pained expression. “Wasn’t last night enough talk? Wasn’t it clear enough that you love me and not him? Tell me honestly. What do you really want?” he asks, their faces inches apart. “W-what I want doesn’t matter. It’s what I don’t want. I don’t want to hurt anyone.” Taeri answers firmly. “You don’t want to hurt anyone or you don’t want to take the guilt?” Kyungsoo scoffs before walking away again, going into his bedroom. Taeri follows again and closes the door herself. “Kyungsoo, this is your best friend we are talking about. He’s not just anyone for you. Do you not care about him at all? You can’t just go there and tell him his nightmare was actually real, can you?” Taeri cries out.

“All my life, I only cared about other people. Is it so bad that I want to care about myself even for once?” Kyungsoo replies before turning around to face her. “For once in my life, there’s someone who made me want to be myself and not what others expect me to be. If I was only allowed to be selfish once, I’ll take it now. For you. Don’t you get it?” He mumbles before walking towards her. “As much as I don’t want to hurt Hyunwoo, he needs to know now or the pain will just get worse later on. W-we. . . we can start by telling him how we originally met on the island and that way, he can understand our situation better. You don’t have to be scared.” He turns calm again while grabbing Taeri’s hands.

Taeri closes her eyes for a few seconds while breathing slowly, trying to muster all the courage she could get out of her system.

“O-okay. . . this is for the better.” She finally agrees. Kyungsoo pulls her in for a tight hug and places a lingering kiss on the side of her head. “Don’t be scared. . . we’re doing this together, okay?” He assures while rubbing her back. Letting go first, Kyungsoo grabs her hand and holds it firmly as they turn to the door.

They shared one last eye-contact before Taeri reached for the door.

To their surprise, Hyunwoo was standing right there with tears in his eyes.

“Y-you. . . you were the girl?” He asks, staring right into Taeri’s eyes. She could see the misery in his eyes as he said those words. It was silent for a moment. Hyunwoo turns to Kyungsoo next. “B-bro. . . what is this?” He asks with a chuckle but that’s when tears began crawling down his cheeks. “Hyunwoo, hear us out.” Kyungsoo finally speaks up and tries to reach for Hyunwoo but the guy walks away before he could. “Wait!” Taeri calls out with her shaky voice. They followed him out until he was standing right at the front door while holding on his head. Kyungsoo glances at Taeri before letting go of her hand. “I got this.” He hushes before walking towards his best friend.

“H-hyungwoo—”

Before he could tell him anything, a punch came across Kyungsoo’s face. “Oh my god!” Taeri rushes over to Kyungsoo who fell right on the floor while holding his face. “I-I’m okay.” He assures before standing up again. “Hyunwoo, listen to me first p-please.” He stutters, feeling the sting of the punch on the side of his lips. Hyunwoo scoffs while looking up. Then he suddenly starts punching the door hard making Taeri jump in fear. “Hyunwoo—stop!” Kyungsoo tries holding his arms away from the door. “Let go of me, you ing !” Hyunwoo pushes him hard causing him to land right back on the floor. “I-I trusted you! Y-you. . . both of you! You two wer