The smile that you gave me even when you felt like dying

-Billie Eilish- i love you

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Joohyun knew.

She knew that Seungwan was in love with her. That her bestfriend of 7 years was secretly harboring feelings for her.

But she didn't know what to do when Seungwan confessed to her. 

Because she didn't feel the same way.

It was a sunny afternoon; they decided to go out for some ice cream, since the both of them were craving for something cold to cool them down.

At first, Joohyun was hesitant in making Seungwan eat ice cream because she noticed that the latter would get coughing fits every now and then, but Seungwan insisted that she's fine.

Joohyun just took her word for it.

"What flavor do you want, Wan?" They're currently inside a local ice cream parlor. Seungwan in tow of Joohyun who is now eyeing the wide selection of the frozen treat. A few seconds passed by and she is yet to receive a reply from her friend. Joohyun turned around to see what Seungwan was up to. 

She saw Seungwan holding her sleeve up to cover . It seemed like she was trying to stifle a cough, Joohyun thought. Concern started to etch on her face.

"Wan, are you okay? This won't do; let's go home or just eat chips. We don't have to get ice cream, we'll just turn on the air--" Joohyun was cut off by Seungwan's strained laughter. 

"I told you, I'm fine. It's just some stupid allergy or something. I really want to get ice cream, so don't worry about me. It's just a dumb cough." Seungwan smiled reassuringly. 

Joohyun sighed. She could only nod in defeat when Seungwan started to show her a pout. 

"Fine, but just one scoop, okay?" 

"Okay, mom." Seungwan rolled her eyes playfully at her older friend.

"So that's what happened! Someone caught the guy scooping his humongous dog's poop with his bare hands!" 

Joohyun's laughter echoed in the empty park that Saturday afternoon. After finishing their ice cream cones, they decided to stay at the nearby park for old time's sake, as Seungwan put it. 

Seven years ago, still a wide-eyed college freshman, Joohyun met a highschooler named Seungwan in the very same spot that they are currently in. Seungwan was walking her dog that fateful day. Five minutes into their morning jog, her dog started to run after a stranger. 

Joohyun was the stranger.

If there's one thing you need to know about Joohyun, it's that she is afraid of animals in all shapes and sizes. She's even scared of her own shadow, so people aren't really surprised at the information. 

After saying a handful of "sorry's", "it's okay", and "let me make it up to you", the two hit it off immediately. Thus, bloomed 7 years