The atmosphere turned eerily silent. So silent that Chen could hear his own heartbeat thumping.

"I'm going to say yes."

No. She can't.

He tried to scream out, but his mouth failed to open. He could hear his heartbeat thumping slowly to a stop. Those five words, how could they hurt so much? Please, take my pain away. Please ..

"Chen ..?" Hyori's hesitant voice brought him back to reality. He composed himself quickly, holding back the tears that were threatening to spill. Pull yourself together.

He thought about his initial reaction when Hyori told him about Zico's confession. It wasn't pretty and he felt ashamed of himself. I could lose her completely if I don't handle this well. That's even worse than losing her as a potential partner for life. He choked. What he is going to say next goes against his own feelings towards Hyori. She can't know that yet. Not until he solves his own issues. Noona needs me, I can't let her down. He took a deep breath.

"If you have to be together with Zico hyung to figure out your feelings, then why not? But I'm just concerned that if things don't turn out well, that you'll lose him as a friend. As much of an he is, I won't deny that he is a great friend to you."

Hyori blinked. Then, she giggled in spite of herself, causing Chen to look at her in confusion.

"You said ," she giggled childishly, and Chen burst out laughing. "Yah, I'm being serious," he chided her playfully, poking her shoulder.

She smiled. "You know, you are pretty mature for your age." For the first time, she is not seeing him as a dongsaeng, but rather an equal. Chen beamed.

"Just promise me that we'll still be friends," he held out his pinky. One day, noona. One day you'll be mine.

"Always."

*

Zico's eyes lit up as soon as he saw Hyori. As soon as they made eye contact, he felt his heart flutter. He meant every word of his confession, but he should also be ready to accept rejection. The question is, can he?

Hyori's heart skipped a beat when she locked eyes with Zico. Could this be what her heart truly wants? Or is she training herself to fall in love with him, to forget about Chen? What's up with that anyway?

Act normal.

"Annyeong," she gave a cool nod to Zico, who gaped at her, and then laughed aloud.

"You think that's cool?" He guffawed. She scowled. "Now that's more like my Hyori," he grinned.

My Hyori. H