Episode 2: A jealous Friend

They had been friends for years. They always hangout and shared personal stories to each other. When she was sad, he comforted and cheered her up. When he had problems, she was there for him. Some people doubted if they were lovers; however, they never cared anything.

He was a wise advisor to her. Every time she had concerns, she came to him and asked him what to do and how to solve. This time, she suddenly came with a love concern.

Unknowingly, Euijin felt a bit disappointed. Somehow, he just faked a laugh even though he knew he would lose something.

Being friends with her for years, he never expected anything from her. Just staying close and hold her hands when they hangout. However, when the time came, he knew that he would let another man have the hand he used to hold and he ended up smiling and cheering her up behind her back.

Hong Euijin couldn’t predict this kind of feeling would happen between their relationships. She would be curious why he knew her secret stories since she never told him. Yet, it was normal for the one who had one side love understand her every situation.

In fact, Lee Euijin noticed all her actions and he found out if she was interested in Jun long time ago; just he never spoke up. Today, he heard stories from her and he completely understood the whole things.

Even he knew if it was hurt, he still gave her a wise advice with a pure smile.

“You have to know, Euijin. I knew why you feel uncertain about confessing him who you are. The problem is you have special feeling toward him. You have to think what you are going to do next, after you told him the truth. Do you want to just continue to be his best friend or take him away from the other girl?” his deep advice felt like the water throwing at her face.

She just woke up from a deep dream.

He is right, what is the point of telling him who she is? Does she just want to be his friend? Can they just be friend when she already passed the line of friendship?

Seeing if she was speechless, he held her hand gave her encouraged speech.

“No matter how you decide, I will support you. But I can’t stand to see you destroy somebody’s romance. If Jun really shares the same feeling with you, sure he can end with Yebin peacefully. I hope you don’t hurt yourself by staying as the third person.”

Looking into his eyes, she felt moved. She was thankful to have him as a friend.

After giving her advices, he was left alone in the café. She said she needed sometimes to consider so she planned to go for a walk in the park.

Sighing, Lee Euijin sat on the chair and glared at the coffee cup without thinking anything. He felt emotionless; getting his brain blank and having nothing to do.

He was suddenly curious why he was here. Wasn’t he a coward? He didn’t even try to confess her; yet he was afraid of losing her.

He had decided after overthinking for several minutes. He didn’t want to be her friend or advisor anymore. He wanted to be the man whom she could depend on.

Standing up again, he immediately ran out from the shop. Turning left and right, he was thinking where she went.

Remembering her speech at the moment, she said she was going to the park. He quickly ran toward that place.

Wind blew softly, spreading cherry leaves over the areas.

Euijin was running and trying to look for her. Even he was going to be rejected today; at least he needed to confess his reflection to her once.

Finally, he found Hong Euijin was standing alone under the biggest cherry tree here.

Her face looked soft pale but her skin was light pink for getting cherry leaves’ reflection.

Smiling to himself, he planned to move toward her; however, he stopped when someone was already here too.

“Hong Euijin!!!” Another tall man appeared and screamed out her name.

Turning to him, he found Jun was standing in front of her.

He suddenly got his back cold, feeling if he was going to lose an important thing in his life.

The woman raised her head and gazed at him with a surprise look when he started running to her.

As soon as he was close to her, Jun unexpectedly grabbed her into his embrace and he hugged her tightly.

“I found you…” he spoke softly.

“Eh?” She couldn’t understand the situation she was in. Why he came to her?

“I finally found you. Why did you lie to me all along? Why didn’t you tell me that you are her?” he removed her from his embrace and took something from his wallet.

He showed her a small picture that he had found under her desk. Euijin remembered that she had missed it somewhere when she had taken it out once.

“Tell me why…? Why are you doing this?” he kept asking.

“Because I don’t want to be your friend anymore, so I hid it.” She spoke up with teary eyes.

“WHAT? How could you speak something like that? Why can’t we be friends like before? Did I do something wrong?” he seemed so mad when he questioned her many things.

Euijin tried to hold her tears, gulping and sobbed.

She was to say the truth if she wanted to be more than friends with him. However, she couldn’t go on with him because of another innocent girl.

“Because you left me on the day I needed you the most. I was pissed and never recognized you as my friend.” She decided to lie.

Junyoung looked into her sad eyes, he already felt emotional with her speech. At that time, he only wanted to give her his warm embrace.

He knew all along how Euijin got through with her family. He should have been with her and cheered her up. She had right to be mad at him. Somehow, he didn’t want her to be mad so long. His heart must be broken.

He immediately hugged tightly, telling her softly “From now on, I’m not leaving you anymore. Let’s start again. You are the most important person in my life.”

Watching the scene, Lee Euijin smiled brightly with a sad look, turning back and leaving them alone.

He didn’t know where he should do. He kept thinking about Euijin and Jun.

Yeah, for all these years, he was just a replacement of Jun. Euijin needed him because Jun was away. Now, the real one came back, the replacement should be leaving too.

He told himself not to mind their business anymore. Even though he knew that it would hurt, he decided to move on quickly.

At the middle of noisy environment, he suddenly received a phone call from his friend, Kang Yuchan. Immediately, he already knew why he would call him now.

Being a wise advisor, Euijin always helped all his friends to solve problems; especially, romance. Of course, Chan was one of people who were lovesick too.

He had a crush on a junior of their department a year ago, but it looked like he had no confidence to stand up in front of him. More surprisingly, his crush was found to like Junyoung. Thus, he completely had no idea what to do with her.

Euijin helped Chan to take attention from her because he felt sorry for another poor guy suffered pain from Junyoung’s charm.

Lately, he found that Soeun shared the same feeling with him. He wanted to go to her, but he felt hesitated. Euijin encouraged him to have self-confident, confessing her.

“What’s going on?” he picked up the call and talked to him directly.

[I think I gonna meet her in person. I am sure with myself right now. Thank hyung for always cheering me up] Chan spoke up from the other side.

Smiling Euijin, he wished him “Good Luck” before he hung off.

Then he sighed again. Now Chan knew what to do next; yet, he himself as an advisor couldn’t solve his own problems.

 

Days later, Euijin kept overthinking about his friend zone toward his best friend. He couldn’t confess or they would never be back to the way they used to be. Thus, he couldn’t focus on his tasks.

Hong Euijin and Lee Junyoung became friends again, and he seemed to be an important person in her life. Where would he be placed at?

Even though he was sad, he kept smiling to the public and pretended like nothing happened to him. He spoke to Junyoung nicely like before, not to show off his terrible feeling toward him.

Sometimes, he was tired to be friend with someone who stole the most important woman in his life. However, he just congrats them together.

What he was disappointed the most was when Junyoung kept thinking Euijin as his friend and he kept going on his relationship with his current girlfriend, Baek Yebin.

Since he noticed her every day, he could see sorrow and pain in Euijin’s eyes.

He hated himself because he couldn’t help her anything.

 

One day, he decided to leave the class and spent his time alone without telling anyone. He went to the beach and sniffed fresh air.

Since it wasn’t a vocation season, there were less people here.

He spent his time walking on the beach and put emotionless expression on his face. Today, he wore a white t-shirt and formal jeans which made him look more attractive to some girls there.

Even though they started being interested in him, they didn’t dare to come to contact him first since his poker face was scary enough for them.

After walking with his blank space mind, Euijin went to a café which was on the beach. He ordered brown sugar macchiato and took a seat at the outside table.

He pecked coffee a bit and he felt bitter already.

Why he became bitter and bitter?

After his mind came back with the bitter taste of coffee, he started realizing things around him. He noticed the current song was playing.

It made him become sadder..

~ We are close more than the word ‘Friendship’

Everybody thought we were lovers~

We always hold hands and do not care about anything

We just know that it feels great to be with each other

~She always comes to me when she is sad

Ask me for a help and how to solve things~

But today she was unusual, she talked about love

She told me that she loved someone

~I faked a laugh even though I know something will be lost

I can surely say, it is important to me~

Have you ever known that friend is jealous with you?

I’m afraid of someone will take you away from me

I already know that I am just a friend, but I felt jealous with you..~

Sorry that I walked pass the line of friendship

There is one more thing, I suspect that I also loved someone

And she is my best friend… ~

The song ruined his mood. He felt himself as coward. He didn’t even confess, but he already gave up.

Staring at the cup of macchiato and let his ears hear the song, he suddenly recalled something in the past with her.

 

Flashback to 7 Years ago

A little boy was watching a little girl crying softly at the corner of the children park, feeling curious what made her sad every day.

He noticed her since she first moved here and she looked really lonely. She was cold and never talked to anyone. He decided to be her friend.

Lee Euijin walked to her and sat on the wings next to her, and then he gave her a box of milk.

The little girl raised her face and looked at him weirdly. It was the day they started to be friends.

When Lee Euijin was 16, Hong Euijin was 15. They treated each other equally like the same age friends instead of being senior and junior. Thus, Hong Euijin could talk informally to him.

Every time she was bullied or had any problems, her best friend was always there for her.

Years passed by, Euijin slowly fell for his best friend. Yet, he never confessed because of the word ‘Friendship’. Plus, he tried to destroy all men who came to her one by one.

“Hey, I heard you liked Junior Euijin, class A. You know what?” he tried to whisper a few classmates.

“What?” they asked curiously.

“She has depression. She always visits mental hospital. If you come to her, it’s not easy to break up. She will kill you though.”

“WHAT???”

……………

“Hong Euijin is not normal.. She has cancer..”

“………….huh?”

“Hey, I heard that Hong Euijin’s face has been done plastic surgery..”

“Really? So scary…”

After that…

“I wonder why men always avoid from me…” Euijin sighed, sitting on the ladder curiously. Every time she asked for a help, everyone kept running like ghost appeared.

The best friend only could hold his laugh and pretended like nothing happened.

“Maybe you are too dirty.. Go home and wash your hair..” he messed her hair.

“Yah.. I just washed this morning!!” she screamed out annoyingly.

……

Both of them hanged out like a dated couple. Some people thought they were lovers; however, they never refused and minded them.

In the year, she needed to focus on college enrolment exam, Euijin tried to help her lot. He did some research for her and missed time for his own study too. Somehow, he never told her if he was punished by his department dean.

Euijin and Soeun entered the college successfully. Thus, three of them could hangout.

Lee Euijin would have been happy to see her every day, if he hadn’t found out that she liked someone.

Looking into her eyes, and felt the way she looked at him. He already knew if she had a crush on Jun, his teammate.

He sighed to himself and pretended like he knew nothing. It was the reason he never confessed her.

………………

Back to the present

After leaving the beach, he found himself standing in front of her house. He woke up from his daydream and started recalling himself why he was here.

Because he missed her so much?

Immediately, he noticed a scene. He saw Soeun was pushed out and the door was closed.

“Yah… Hong Euijin! How dare you kick me from your house?” she yelled annoyingly.

Why Soeun was here? Shouldn’t she in the study room and watch Chan like she usually does?

Slowly, he walked to the girl.

“Did you poop in her room? You were kicked out.” He hissed and rolled his eyes playfully.

“I don’t know who ruined her mood. She suddenly got mad when I said Yebin was a better vocalist than her.” She pouted.

“So you deserved her kick -.-” he nodded, agreeing.

“I was joking though. I never knew she would be like this.” She sighed and continued “Who will sing this song for me?” she held a paper in her hands.

“What song?” Euijin began to watch.

“No, you can’t see. It’s my privacy..” she waved her head and ran away from him.

“Don’t tell me its Chan’s song that she stole -_-^” he gave a pitiful glare to her.

It looked like she tried to hide her one side love, and unknowingly she got caught long time ago.

…….

“Did you complete your class work already?” Jun asked the small girl while he was helping her to hold books.

Euijin smiled brightly and pushed his arm with her shoulder like a close friend..

“Done. Thank for your explanation last night.”

“Good girl. You are a good student. Let go to a café, I will treat you a drink.” He shook her hair and dragged her out.

They looked good together…

Lee Euijin was hugging a tree like a forever man, watching them happy together with his emotional eyes.

Euijin, are you happy with him now?

She used to be with him, now she had another best friend.

Someone sighed behind him and popped up, making Euijin surprised too dead.

“I smell something fishy gonna happen soon..” Hojung, god of detective just showed up and watched them too.

“You almost shocked me.” Euijin hit his friend’s shoulder.

“Oh, are you here too, Hyung? Sorry I didn’t see you. I just watched them above your head. ” said him with his poker face and innocent sound.

Of course, Hojung is 180cm and Euijin is 171cm. That’s why he can’t see his hyung stayed lonely here.

Gritting Euijin, he felt annoyed that this man ruined his broken heart scene. Somehow, he decided to calm down.

“What is fishy you mentioned at the moment?” asked he curiously.

“Recently, I saw Jun seemed to close with Euijin. They are walking together like a couple. Even he already told us, they were childhood friends, still he left Yebin alone. ” told Hojung.

“Don’t think too much. Jun isn’t that kind of man.” Euijin tried to make the situation better even though he already knew what would happen in the future.

“But still… If I were Yebin, I wouldn’t calm. She just never minds him.”

What Hojung said was right. Jun seemed to care about Euijin and almost lost contact with Yebin. Somehow, that girl was still smiling and calming.

She kept saying that Jun was valued to the friendship. She understood him.

…………

In the music club

All members had practiced their music and songs till the late night. Chan was playing piano and Feeldog was rapping.

Marco hit the drum, while everyone was clapping their hands.

At the moment, Jun’s phone was ringing, interrupted their time. Everyone was quiet and waited for him to finish his talk.

“Oh Yebin? I am still with my mates. Yes, we are practicing our new composed song. It’s fun here..”

[…………..] They didn’t know what the other side was talking about.

Jun was still smiling. But that smile wasn’t sweet like he did to Hong Euijin.

The oldest member noticed it.

He suddenly felt pitiful to Yebin.

“Tomorrow, we are having a small picnic. I’m sorry, I can’t accompany you. How about other day?”

[……………..]

“Good girl. See you later. Goodnight” and he hang off.

Everyone was looking at him.

“Jun ah, if you are busy with her, you don’t need to join us on tomorrow. I think Yebin must need you..” Hojung said.

“Yes, you should give her more time than staying with her all the time. I feel bad for her. We keep taking you away from her.” Daewon added.

“That is okay. Yebin is so understanding. No worry! I will be with you on tomorrow.. Let’s continue our practice.”

“This brat.. if I was his girlfriend, I would break up already. What a boyfriend!” Hojung pouted.

Euijin stayed still and said nothing.

Next day, all the members were having a great picnic at the xxx mountain areas; except Euijin whom excused himself out from the group’s party.

He stayed in the city for a meeting with professor at xxx studio. His professor asked him to help for a small music project and singer audition.

Since Euijin has great music evaluation, he asked for his opinion.

In the early evening, he left the studio and went to a small store which he usually went to with Euijin.

He ordered the regular grilled beef and a bottle of soju. The environment was noisy, but he didn’t pay attention to everyone.

He had a shot and started eating.

A few seconds later, he found someone similar was drinking solo near his place too. He wondered if he made the mistakes.

She was Baek Yebin.

It was surprise to see her here alone. Euijin remembered that she was a kind of gentle lady whom never went out at night and drank something like that. She was always on diet though.

All of a sudden, he saw a few men came to her table with a negative intension. He could analyse the situation if she shouldn’t be here alone or they would try to ruin her.

Standing up, Euijin decided to walk toward her place and sat in front of her, acting like a meeting partner.

The guys that had planned to come stepped back after they saw she wasn’t here alone.

Yebin raised her head up when she realized that someone just came to her and she found Euijin smiling at him.

Euijin felt a little weird to sit with a woman beside Hong like this. Of course, even the woman in front of him was his friend’s girlfriend, they rarely communicated. They just greeted each other sometimes.

Jun also hardly ever made her join their activities too.

“Euijin oppa?” she called him once surprisingly when he suddenly popped up from nowhere.

“My table is behind you. I just saw you and came to greet.” He explained her.

“Oh, nice to see you here oppa ^^” she tried to make a sweet smile.

However, Euijin felt like it was fake.

Noticing her face and looking into her eyes, he could sense this girl was upsetting. Was it because of overwork or love?

“Why are you here alone? Where are your friends?” he continued asking.

“I don’t have any friends, oppa” she gave him a dried smile and continued “All I have is Jun.”

“You two seem losing contract recently…” he began talking and she nodded.

“May I ask why?” even though he knew what the reason was, he was seeking for her point of view.

“I don’t dare to be upset with him..” she held a glass and rubbed it softly.

She didn’t share her gaze with him either and just started speaking.

“I knew Jun was busy and he valued his friends more than romance. But… I can’t hold this feeling anymore. Today, it’s my audition day. I was alone. I felt lonely and needed someone to comfort after my failure. I just realized I had no one.” She stooped her face and kept holding the glass.

Euijin noticed the wine in glass was shaking too. He felt bad for her.

He only stayed still and watched her silently.

Yebin raised her face again, and he saw her tear.

He almost lost his sense because it was the first time he witnessed a woman crying in front of him except Soeun and Euijin.

“Yebin, you can’t cry here. They will think I am bullying you.” He whispered to her.

The weak girl raised her hand and wiped her tear “I’m sorry, oppa. I’m too emotional here.”

“I know you are sad but crying can’t solve the problem. You can tell me what your problem is and I will give you some advices to consider.”

“I think we soon break up. Jun is trying to avoid me.” She sniffed and spoke up once she released her stress.

“………………” He kept looking at her.

“I felt bitter and unreal when we started this relationship. Sometimes, I wondered why he asked me to be his girlfriend when his heart seems not to be with me.”

“………………..”

She took another shot and continued.

“You know what? Since we dated, we didn’t have any proper dates like regular couple. We met in the library and he took some documents to ask me. I was asked to be his vocalist and sung his new composed songs. We discussed about the music and theories. I found our relationship feel like teammates instead of a couple. All we talk about is work…”

Now Euijin started understanding some situations.

“My friends even teased me if Jun was using me. He dated me because he wanted to collaborate work with me. All time I ignored them. I think Jun was awkward and unique like this. He may be careless about love though. I saw he spent most of his times with friends, and it became a habit of seeing him playing around with friends and left me alone.”

“……………..”

“I really thought he was a kind of careless guy when it comes to be a romance. Somehow, I realized it was wrong after Euijin showed up.”

This time, she sobbed again.

Euijin didn’t stop her anymore. He just wanted to accompany this poor girl right now.

“I keep repeating to myself that we were just friends and staying silent. ”

“……….” He sighed.

“The way he looked at her was full of pink light. It shows that the man fall in love. I’m still stuck in between. I didn’t know if I should let him go or stay like this.”

She stooped her neck again.

Slowly, Euijin passed his hand to rub her hair gently like a Father comforted his daughter.

“That is okay… Hard time will pass by soon..” he said softly.

An hour later, Yebin was completely drunk and sleeping on the table. Euijin took out his phone and called Jun whom may have already come back.

[Hey, hyung..] His voice from the phone seemed exciting.

“Did you come back?” he asked coldly.

[Yes, we were back since the evening.]

“Come to xxxx and take your girlfriend home. She is drunk and sleeping here.”

[Yebin?]

“I’m waiting…”

[Oh.. okay I will head there.. Please take care of her for a while.] Then he hanged off.

It took 20 minutes for Jun to show up; more surprisingly, he wasn’t alone but with Euijin tagged along.

Euijin looked at the girl calmly and concluded the whole things.

So Jun came back and stayed with her instead of his girlfriend?

It was the first time; Lee Euijin started feeling pissed toward these two people.

Aren’t they too much? They didn’t end their relationship completely yet though.

“What made she drink like this? This is not her…” Jun tried to move his girlfriend from the table and raised her up.

And he gave her a piggy back.

Euijin looked into his best friend’s eyes and saw her sorrow. He bet Hong was feeling upset now when she woke up and realized that this man wasn’t hers.

“She is heavy..” Jun murmured and walked out with the two people following him.

“Hyung, I will take Yebin back home and please take Euijin home too.” He told Euijin.

“Okay..” he nodded.

“Euijin, call me when you are home ok?” he turned back to Euijin and gave her a smile.

“I see..” she nodded too.

Then the tall man started leaving them.

“Jun?” Suddenly Lee Euijin called him once.

The man turned back and gave him a curious look. “What’s it?”

“May I ask why you are dating Yebin?” he suddenly asked the question that Yebin always wanted to know.

This question didn’t give Hong a good look.

“Because she is a beautiful vocalist.” It was Jun’s answer before they left.

Lee Euijin never expected this answer. Did he really use her all along?

He kept thinking what Yebin had said and he had more feeling sorry to her.

Euijin walked his friend to the bus stop silently. They didn’t communicate since Jun and Yebin had left.

Hong was overthinking about Jun and Yebin, whereas Euijin was speechless to what his friends were doing.

After a long walking without talking, Euijin decided to break this silence first with his question.

“Why are you like this, Euijin?” he once asked her.

“Eh?” she was surprised a bit.

“You are completely fool or you pretend to be fool? Did you remember what I told you last time?” he turned back to her and looked into her eyes.

“……………..” She was silent and gazed at him back.

“I told you that you had my support to whatever you decided. However, the new relationship should be started after the old one ended. I never supported you to be the third person in the others’ relationship. How dare you are acting like a fool and dumped someone innocent?” this time he raised his voice to her.

Euijin got shock and speechless at the same time.

She didn’t want to do this either, and she really knew how Yebin felt. Somehow, she couldn’t control herself anymore.

“Are you satisfied to be fooled around huh? If he really loved you, he would have ended his relationship completely. Why do you keep pushing yourself to him? I am hopeless with you. I don’t know if you are the same Euijin I used to know!”

“……………” the girl started to cry and felt guilty.

What her friend spoke, like water throwing on her face.

“Do you think I want to be like that? It was really hard to face the fact that he wasn’t mine and his girlfriend was still with him. I also felt sorry for Yebin too. I didn’t have any intentions to take her man. I just wanted to stay with him as a friend even though it’s hurt.” She struggled back.

“……………”

“Do you know how much I struggled? I knew him first and I didn’t plan to confess who I was. I felt upset that we met again too late. I may be just a friend to him. But to me, he is the only man I see in my life. I feel pain and stuck at the same time. Holding this one side love and never confess to him, it’s not easy.”

“How much you suffered?” Euijin struggled back “Do you think this is called suffer? Are you suffering more than I am? It’s been years we are together. Do you expect no romance happen between us? But I never showed off my reflection to make you annoyed and break our friendship. I’m sick of being your friend but I never told you once. And you dared to tell me you can’t handle yourself and destroy somebody’s love? I can’t believe you, Hong Euijin.”

“What did you say?” the girl looked at him surprisingly when he suddenly confessed his reflection.

“Of course, I like you.. long time ago.. but I never spoke up. I hid really well, didn’t I ? Can’t you do like me and wait for him to finish his relationship first? How dare you say it was hard when I could do that? You are really a bad woman.”

“…………..” She was speechless.

“You just saw him having a girlfriend but he stayed with you. You said it was hard. I have witnessed you was peeking him, talking about him with Soeun, close to him and left me alone. Which one is harder? Am I less harder than you?”

“Euijin….” She suddenly felt bad for him. Did he hold this pain all along?

“I don’t want to talk with you anymore if you keep ruining people’s relationship like this. I’m leaving now” Lee Euijin bit his lip, trying to calm down and leaving her after his mood completely ruined.

He just walked quickly without looking back.

A few minutes later, he realized he shouldn’t have left her alone there. That block was too dark to keep her security. At the moment, his anger controlled him and it made him a crazy guy.

Euijin came back to the girl, but he stopped his legs when he saw she already had someone with her now.

He stayed silent and watched them.

Jun was standing in front of her and looked at her in his shock expression.

“Why are you back? You are taking her home, aren’t you?” she asked him.

“I was slapped on the way and we broke up. She is on the taxi safely now.” He answered with his icy emotion.

“WHAT? Why did you break up?” the girl was surprised.

“I don’t know… let talk about it later… but can you tell me what happened between you and Euijin hyung?” he refused to answer and changed the topic.

“About me and Euijin? He suddenly had an important meeting and just left..” she faked a smile.

“How long will you keep lying me? I heard the whole conversation already…” Jun frowned, showing her his bad mood on his face.

“WHAT???”

Euijin decided not to hear their next conversation and left them immediately.

Why it became more complicated?

 

To be continue