I sat on the comfortable leather bench inside the lobby of the busy movie theater, waiting patiently for Yonghwa and Seohyun to arrive. My job today was to be the third wheel for their little evening together. I had devised a master plan to disrupt their bonding. Coming to the theater earlier than I was supposed too ensured that I would be there from the start, never giving them a single moment to be alone together.

As a guy, Yonghwa was handsome, charismatic, musically gifted, and funny, but he had a reputation of being a playboy who had his way with girls. Everyone at school knew that Seohyun was this paragon of virtue, an innocent beauty that was like a delicate piece of art. Something that could be viewed from afar but could only be touched by the most delicate of hands. If Yonghwa had the idea that he would be the first to have her, I was there to make sure that there was no chance of that happening.

While waiting, I pondered the events that had occurred a few days ago at Tiffany’s sleepover. The girl had hosted a fun evening, and invited me and a handful of select friends to come over to her place and hangout. It was there that I met Jessica, Tiffany’s ‘kindred spirit’ as she liked to call her. They had become best friends in a matter of months, and I felt this weird connection between the two of them. It reminded me a lot of me and Seohyun.

At the time I thought I was crazy for even thinking that Tiffany could swing that way, but their flirtatious behaviour that night caught me off guard. Hyoyeon and Sunny were also tossing around a bunch of jokes that only fueled my curiosity about their true relationship.

I remembered pulling Tiffany into her kitchen later that evening to ask her about Jessica in private. “Are you interested in her?"

The shorter girl was not bothered at all by my sudden question and shot it down like a lame duck. “Maybe. We’re just friends.”

She was an open minded girl, and I knew that if there was one person who could understand my situation it was her. All those bottled up feelings that I had needed to be released and I decided that Tiffany would be my confidant, the person that I would reveal things to in complete secrecy. She agreed to the role, and promised to keep everything a secret.

Sitting at her kitchen table, I shared my little story about my hidden feelings for her and how she was very likely to leave in a years time.

“Wow, Yoona. I'm glad that you're coming out to me. I feel honored," she said. "Still, don't you think this could have waited until after my birthday?"

We laughed at her little joke. I was happy to see that Tiffany was being a good sport about it and not treating the news like it was the biggest shock of her life.

"That’s really complicated," she said, as she got up to pour me a glass of water. "Falling in love with your best friend is hard enough, and the whole lesbian thing?”

She looked lost in thought as she returned to the table. “Seohyun? I mean, you couldn’t have picked a more complex girl to like.”

'What was Tiffany saying?' I thought. 'All girls are complex. That’s just how we are.'

I mockingly asked, “I can’t really choose who I admire can I?”

Tiffany took her seat at the kitchen table again and laughed. “I guess you can’t.”

For a while, I told her about the things I loved about Seohyun, her pure innocent eyes, her cute cheeks, beautiful smile, but all those were just bonuses. I started going on about her personality, her kind and nurturing nature, and how she was so different from me, which I loved.

“Yoona, you really do like her,” she said giving me one of her eye-smiles.

Taking a sip of the water that she poured for me earlier, I realized that I had already jumped into the deep end when it came to Seohyun. “I guess I do.”

Tiffany gave a worried look, seeing my obvious dilemma. “So how are you going to show it?”

I left that question unanswered as we got back to her party but it continued to worry about, even now, as I sat there alone on the leather bench in the theater.

All around me there were couples on dates. They were holding hands, drinking from the same straws, leaning on one another, being affectionate. Were these proper examples of how to display love?

It was not an easy question to answer. I thought about all the ways that I could express my interest, and realized that above all else, I should do something that Seohyun would appreciate. I had one advantage over all my competitors. They might be men, musically gifted, handsome, and smart, but I knew her, knew her better than they ever would. It just needed to be an act that was worthy of my feelings for her.

Breaking my little concentration was the sound of Seohyun’s laughter as I saw her and Yonghwa entering the theatre with wide smiles. ‘What the heck is this?’ I thought, as they approached me looking like a couple out on a date.

Getting up from my seat I tried my best to hide my irritation. In my head I reasoned a logical explanation and asked, “Oh, did you guys just bump into each other on the way here?”

Seohyun shook her head, while the man beside her had a smug look on his face. “No, Yonghwa treated me to dinner beforehand."

I raised an eyebrow, irked that he had devised his own plan to be alone with her. Well played.

My best friend looked distraught seeing the look I had across my face. “I was going to call you unnie, but he told me that he would ask you,” she added, trying to defuse the tense atmosphere.

He was a liar. “Really?” I questioned with an aggressive tone. “I never got a call and my phone was on the whole day.”

Yonghwa laughed it off. “Sometimes people get bad reception. I was just excited to try this new Japanese place so I didn’t really bother after the first call.”

I gave him my most hate filled stare. Seohyun noticed this and apologized on his behalf. “We’re sorry unnie. We didn’t mean to leave you out.”

‘We?!’ the word simmered in my head for a few moments until it started to really boil. I quickly changed my attitude hearing her take the bullet for the guy. He didn't deserve her protection. “Don’t apologize. It’s okay; you can take me on a dinner date another time right Seohyun?”

The bright eyed girl nodded in agreement, giving me her brightest smile. From there we made our way to the long lineup to purchase our movie tickets. While waiting, I questioned them about their impromptu dinner date and what they did. Again, I sounded like a nosy boyfriend, but damn it, I needed to know.

“The food was great, wasn’t it Hyun?” asked Yonghwa as he gave that annoying flirtatious grin to my innocent best friend.

‘Hyun?!’ I thought. ‘Did they have nicknames for each other already?!’

I peered at Seohyun who seemed uncomfortable with the bizarre use of her name. It was obvious that she was too nice to really say anything about it. She merely forced an awkward laugh. “Yeah it was good. I have to take Yoona there some time.”

As we finally got to the front of the line, Seohyun eagerly went up to buy her ticket but Yonghwa had other ideas. “Wait Seohyun, I’ll buy everyone’s passes.”

The innocent girl turned and tilted her head in confusion. I felt the need to step up and stop Yonghwa, but I remembered that I was a little low on cash after buying that dress for Tiffany’s party.

Reluctantly, I watched as he paid for both our tickets, and while I was happy that he was treating me, I could tell it bothered Seohyun. She would feel like she owed him, which was the whole point of why men treated girls in the first place. My best friend would have a need to pay him back, and that bothered me tremendously.

Making our way to movie theatre number nine, I watched as Yonghwa basically boxed me out of their conversations and tried to keep me separated from their little talks. However, I was good at being a pest, trying my hardest to get in their way whenever I could. Looking for some seats in the dim and relatively full theatre was difficult, but thankfully there were three spots left in one of the lower middle rows. We entered the aisle, so that Seohyun was in the middle between the two of us. This setup was not satisfactory at all.

“Hey Seohyun, is it okay if we switch seats? I don’t like being off to the side like this,” I said, giving a uncomfortable face. In truth, we were in the middle of the aisle so there was no way that I could be unhappy with the view.

Thankfully, Seohyun was so gullible that she conceded to my little fib, and while I felt bad for lying to her, all of that was replaced with my satisfaction for getting in between her and Yonghwa.

We were there to watch a chick-flick, and were surrounded by tons of couples. Seohyun had said that Yonghwa suggested the film, which was another alarm bell that signalled how he wanted the date to go. He probably wanted her to cry and curl into his big arms where he would make his move like the poisonous little snake he is.

It was then that my enemy got up from his seat and asked, “Hey, I’m going to get some snacks. Did you guys want anything? My treat.”

“I’m fine thanks,” answered Seohyun courteously.

This was my time to really do some damage to his wallet and get my message across. “Grab me some popcorn and cheese nachos, also chocolates if you could. Extra butter. And an extra-large iced tea would be amazing. A single straw is fine.”

Yonghwa looked at me with a puzzled gaze. “You’re going to eat all of that?”

“What? I didn’t have dinner,” I snickered in my head as I said it. “We’ll share it right?”

He nodded his head begrudgingly and walked out the aisle and down the steps with sluggish movements until he was completely out of sight. This was my chance to talk to Seohyun alone.

“Did he do anything funny?” I asked, trying my best to keep the conversation as casual as possible.

Seohyun gave me a surprised look. “What do you mean?”

Talking over the blaring ‘Zoom-Zoom’ car ad that was now playing in the movie theatre, I said, “You know. Hit on you.”

I watched as she raised her eyebrow and answered, “Yonghwa’s like a little boy. He’s harmless unnie. Don’t worry he hasn’t done anything weird. Plus this isn’t a date.”

‘Yeah right.’ I thought, realizing how naïve my best friend really was. ‘Harmless boys don’t get playboy reputations.’

Yonghwa returned and handed me the huge tray of snacks, proving that he had fulfilled my wish like a magical genie. The massive mountain of food would serve as a nice physical barrier between the couple that I was there to disrupt. I happily placed it on my lap and enjoyed the movie as it started, offering Seohyun some popcorn here and there, but the girl resisted any form of junk food and was happy just to sip on my cup of iced tea. We shared a straw.

It was obvious as the night grew longer that Yonghwa was a completely irritated by my presence. Every so often he would look across at Seohyun, but I did my best to obstruct his view. Whether that entailed leaning back, forward, flipping my hair or holding a popcorn bag awkwardly in the air, it was all worth it.

Interestingly enough, the movie we were watching was actually a decent chick-flick, but had one of those melodramatic plots that were starting to be a little overdone in Hollywood. The main girl, Rebecca, gets a terminal illness and tells her best friend, Luke, who actually has feelings for her. He is distraught but is determined to win her over and make lasting memories with her before she's gone. Of course, Rebecca is reluctant to fall in love with someone when she knows her own sad fate, especially her best friend Luke. In the end, the boy wins her heart through romantic acts. The couple struggles, but eventually they accept her fate together and decide to live life to the fullest until the day she departs from the world forever.

Throughout the movie, Seohyun was rather stoic, but as the story developed and we got to the final scene I saw that side of her that was so rare and beautiful. She began to get emotional, and I watched as delicate tears formed in her pretty eyes. It was heartbreaking but sweet.

I watched as the lead, Luke, fought back his tears by Rebecca’s death bed, everyone was glued to the screen. The man was reading his notebook that he kept, sharing the story of how they first met, and bringing the story full circle.

I could feel my own eyes begin to water as he held her hand and delivered his record of their relationship, until the bitter end, when she closed her eyes and met her fate. It was bittersweet, and nearly everyone in the theatre began to cry as the male lead shed tears for the first time in the entire movie. He narrated a cheesy monologue, while kissing his lover’s lifeless hand, which had a surprisingly powerful effect. The man said, “I could never cry in front of her. I didn’t want her to know how weak I really was, how hopeless it all felt. Knowing that the one you love would leave your side is the most painful thing anyone can experience. But you can never show it. You can only accept it. They should be happy before they leave and void of any regret.”

Breaking my watery eyes from the screen, I offered a napkin to Seohyun who was also bawling along with me. Girls tended to cry in groups, so nearly the whole theatre was sobbing. For a moment, I forgot that Yonghwa was with us, and I stared at my best friend with eyes full of emotion.

In a weird way, while everyone was sad, I was actually jealous of their fictional relationship. The two protagonists had their taste of love, and while it was short, it was still beautiful and special in its own way. Would Seohyun and I have a similar experience?

Those thoughts filled my head, as I continued to cry, eventually handing the heavy tray of food to Yonghwa, too upset to really eat another bite.

As the credits rolled, I turned to give Seohyun a warm hug, as we cried in each other’s arms. It was extremely comforting.

“Unnie, it’s so sad how she had to leave,” Seohyun said, breathing rather sporadically, because of her salty tears and quivering mouth.

I patted her back, attempting to comfort her the best I could. Just having her in my arms was soothing enough for me. Yonghwa was behind us and I could only imagine how out of place he must have felt as he stared at the two of us in a tight embrace for what must have lasted several minutes.

Exiting the theatre after most of the crowd had dispersed; the two of us had managed to calm ourselves down. The movie told a sad story, even if it was a little cliché at times. Real life wasn’t like that right?

“Did you like the film Yonghwa?” I asked as I doggy bagged the abundance of the leftover snacks, that he had bought on his dime.

He didn’t seem touched by the film and had an indifferent face. “It was too cheesy, and over the top.”

Seohyun disagreed. “It was sweet,” she said, her cheeks were puffy and red from the salty tears that she had shed. “I’m glad we watched it.”

As we made our way out the theatre and into the mall that the cinema was connected too, Yonghwa offered to drive the three of us home, but I had convinced Seohyun beforehand to get her mom to give us a ride. It was one of my ingenious ideas. I had successfully ruined Yonghwa’s plans, except for the unexpected dinner date. I would need to rethink my strategy for the future.

We waved goodbye to the musically gifted boy as he headed through the halls to his car. Going off in the opposite direction, we arrived at a secluded mall entrance, and sat atop a nearby bench just by the mall directory, waiting for Seohyun’s mother. We had been walking in silence, still getting ourselves together after the sad tale.

Thankfully, sitting down made it more comfortable to chat about the movie and everything that had happened. We discussed all the romantic scenes and I was amazed at how into it Seohyun was. Even after all these years she could still surprise me. For a girl who had no interest in romance, she had reacted more to the story than I expected.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cry like that before Seohyun,” I said, as I gave her a surprised look.

“Yoona, I’m a lot more mature now,” she said with a faint smile. She was lost in her own thoughts, until she asked, “Isn’t it funny how as you get older you tend to cry a lot more?”

I nodded my head agreeing with Seohyun. Life was complicated like that. “It was a really depressing story, but let’s not get too upset. It’s just a movie.”

It was then that Seohyun threw a left hook that nearly knocked me out cold. She asked, “Didn’t their relationship remind you a lot of us?”

I stared at her for a moment completely dumbfounded. Sure we were best friends, but did she really see us like that couple?

“We’ll have to leave each other someday too. Someday really soon,” she added with hesitation.

Shaking my head, I answered back rebelliously, “That’s not true.”

Surprising me, Seohyun raised her voice. “It is true!” The girl was clearly upset at my denial. “Yoona, you know that I’m going to leave in less than a year’s time right?”

“Right,” I answered. “But that doesn’t mean it’s over for us.”

Seohyun began to get teary-eyed again. “Yoona, you don’t understand.”

“What do you mean? I’m here with you right now. We’re having a good time!” I was beginning to get irritated seeing her on the verge of crying again. I hated it, especially since I was the source of those salty drops that were forming in her bright brown eyes.

“It won’t be the same, I might not comeback even after I graduate,” she said, her voice quivering again as it did earlier. “That’s what I want you to realize. That’s why I was crying so hard at the end. You have to learn to accept the fact that I’m leaving.”

Her words caused me to well up with my own tears, as I felt the familiar sting that could only be caused by someone that you loved.

“Seohyun, why do you have to make life so dramatic?” I asked with frustration. I could feel the first salty tear drop roll down my cheek, burning me like acid. “Didn’t you say that we would always be friends at Tiffany’s party?”

I watched as Seohyun began to silently cry a river of tears, trying her best to keep her composure. “We’ll always be friends Yoona,” she said with sincerity. “But it won’t be the same. You and I both know that.”

I got up from my seat upset at her terrible attitude and argued with her. “But we don’t have to say goodbye. We don't have to call it quits.”

She shook her head in disagreement. “Sometimes you don’t have a choice Yoona.”

I wondered what this all meant. Why she suddenly expressed all her depressing feelings about our relationship just because of a stupid movie. Why now?

Seohyun calmed herself down to say a few more words. I didn’t know it then, but they would be words that I would remember for the rest of my life. “Everyone always stresses over how hard it is to say hello,” Seohyun said, fighting back another wave of tears. “But really, we should be worried about how much harder it is to say goodbye.”

It was in that moment that I understood it all. Why she was bawling her eyes out during the movie. Why she always said that she was leaving despite my visible displeasure hearing her words. Why she insisted that things were not going to be the same even when I reassured her that they would be. Seohyun was a realist, she saw things for what they were. I thought she was fine leaving me to pursue her dreams, but I was naive. Her harsh reminders were just her personal way of coping with a reality that she saw as inevitable. She didn't want to leave, but she had no other choice. All things come to an end and she wanted me to see this, which is probably why she kept nagging me with the cold hard facts even though she knew that they hurt. She wanted me to accept our fate, which she believed was predetermined the moment we said hello to each other as kids, so many years ago. More importantly, she wanted me to give up fighting so furiously for our friendship, so that when she would have to say goodbye, it would be less painful for the both of us.

For a while, we just cried in silence. Seohyun was finally showing me just how much it hurt her to leave, but the way she wanted our friendship to end was the opposite of what I wanted. I felt like there had been a growing distance between us for the last few months. Now I knew that it was not just some figment of my imagination. It was very real.

Finally a call from her mother interrupted the emotional atmosphere. On the phone, the eloquent debate club president was mumbling profusely, unable to keep her lips from shaking.

Following behind her as she got up to leave, I could feel my legs shake with each step as we passed the sliding mall doors and headed into the somber night with fragile hearts. I saw Seohyun’s mom roll down the car window to greet us with a concerned face. Getting into the back seat, we sat at opposite ends and faced away from each other. I could see her mother stare at the two of us from the corner of my eye in the rear view mirror. She had an absolutely bewildered face.

For the remainder of the ride home, I tried my best to cry silently in my own little corner and I knew Seohyun was doing the same. The two of us faced the truth tonight and it was painful. Our friendship that seemed so unbreakable for all these years was starting to fall apart. There were so many thing I wanted to say to her, but I could not bring myself to say them. Not yet.

Turning into my driveway, her mother parked the car and turned in her seat to give us both another long look. I had never seen someone look so concerned yet baffled. She took it upon herself to break the bizarre silence that surrounded us and asked, “Wow, it must have been a really sad movie huh?”

I laughed pathetically in my head. If only the reason behind our tears was that simple.