Haesung walked to her room thinking deeply about what Rian had said in class. She never imagined how much she went through and now she understood how important JB had been in her life. She knew he was the friend she was talking about.

:Flashback:

“How did you manage to go through all that?” Haesung asked Rian really surprised to hear her story

“Because I wasn’t alone” she replied zoning out as if she was thinking about the past “No matter how hard it was, I always had this friend that was by my side. Just looking into his eyes or a word of comfort would make everything bad disappear”

Haesung was speechless after her confession. Even Yoojin didn’t have anything to say. The sincerity in her words hit them. In that moment Haesung realized that her feelings for JB weren’t nearly as strong as Rian’s. That moment she understood why Rian wasn’t willing to let go of him.

:End of flashback:

Haesung liked him, of course. She had always been his fan and she liked him. Besides he was sweet and caring but the way she cared about him was like any other good friend would do. She also knew that JB still had feelings for Rian. No matter how much he said he liked her, she knew that there would always be a part of him that loved Rian.

That made her think about Yoojin. Even though he was conceited and sometimes childish, he would always take care of care. That made her smile but then she came back to her senses embarrassed. Why would she think about Yoojin so suddenly?

 She didn’t realize she had started writing something until she looked down. It was everything that Rian had told her and it fitted perfectly as the lyrics of a song. She smiled and kept writing. Now she knew what to do.

Later that day, she decided to call JB because there was something really important she wanted to tell him. He happily agreed to meet her.

She waited for him and some minutes later, he finally arrived and sat next to her. She smiled and he smiled back.

“So, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?” he asked her

“I have a present for you” she said and handed him the sheet of paper. He looked at it and read what it said.

“You wrote a song?” he asked happy and she nodded “Together…”

“Yes” Haesung said

“This is a duet, let’s sing it together next time” he said smiling

“No” she said shaking her head “I want you to sing it with another person”

“What?” JB asked surprised “Who?”

“Read the lyrics and then tell me what it makes you feel” she told him and he did what she said.

As he started reading, he felt a sudden pain in the heart. His eyes widened as he couldn’t believe how accurate the lyrics were.

“H-how did you wrote this?” he asked still shocked

“It was inspired by two people” Haesung said smiling “You and Rian”

He continued reading the lyrics and the end he saw she had written “for JB and Rian”.

“Why are you suddenly doing this?” he asked still surprised. He was hurting because he thought he had buried her feelings for Rian. He thought that he had moved on but he realized it wasn’t like that.

“You really think you like me, don’t you?” Haesung asked and he nodded “I think you are just confusing empathy with love”

“What?” he asked shocked. He hadn’t thought about that before.

“When everyone blamed Rian for taking away the batteries of my mic, you were the only who believed in her. You went to look for her when she was taken to the training camp because you were worried about her.  You remembered her birthday and even threw a surprised party for her. You went to look for me in my town, but you forgot why you were there when she was hit by the ball. You went to hospital to see her and waited patiently outside even if she didn’t want to see you. You remembered her favorite flowers and gave it to her. When Eden made the press conference and you sang together, you held her hand tightly.”

Haesung made a pause and smiled to him. JB was shocked and again felt a pain in his heart. He stood there frozen as he didn’t know to say. A part of him knew she was right in everything she was saying. He thought he could forget about her but the truth was the he would never be able to do that. He had also thought that what they had were only memories but he hadn’t realized how much he cherished them. The truth was that what he and Rian had was more than memories.

“If you could have seen the way your eyes sparkled and the smile on your face, you would know what I’m taking about” she said and laughed “You are just making yourself think you like me because you are afraid. Afraid of admitting your feelings and screwing up again because you know you hurt her so much in the past”

“Haesung… I” JB still didn’t know what to say

“The truth is you see me as a good friend and I realized I do to” she said sincerely “Love cannot grow from one day to another”

“Haesung…” he suddenly said when she said “I do like you… as friend. I really appreciate you”

“I know” she said smiling “But you love Rian. So think we should break up”

 “Fight for her or you’ll lose her forever” she said patting his shoulder with a sincere smile “Good luck”

Haesung waved at him and left with a smile on her face. She had just broken up with him but she felt happy, really happy that she had done the right thing and that she finally understood her and his feelings.

JB was still there thinking. He stood up and walked out more confused that ever. Maybe she was right… maybe he still loved Rian. Maybe he always did. He was so distracted with his thoughts that he didn’t noticed where he was walking until he heard a sudden honk. He looked up and saw that a truck was about to hit a kid that was trying to catch his ball. He didn’t think it twice and ran to save him. He managed to save the kid but the truck hit him. He fell to the ground still holding the sheets of the song and suddenly everything turned dark for him.

………………………………………..

Rian ran to the hospital as soon as she heard the news. Tears were running down her eyes non stop and she didn’t even bother to wipe them. When she arrived, she saw Haesung on the waiting room and she couldn’t help but feel angry.

“YAH!” Rian said still in tears and grabbing her collar “YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD TAKE CARE OF HIM! Why didn’t you?!”

“Stop it” someone suddenly said holding her wrist, it was Yoojin and he looked mad “It wasn’t her fault”

Rian shoved his hand away. Deep inside she knew it wasn’t Haesung’s fault but she couldn’t help but feel that way. Rian walked away to see which was JB’s room and left Yoojin and Haesung alone.

He sat next to her and held her hand to comfort her.

“Yoojin ah, do think it was my fault?” Haesung asked feeling guilty. She was still shocked because of what happened. If she hadn’t told JB all those things, he wouldn’t have been so distracted.

“Of course it wasn’t” Yoojin said determined “JB always wants to be the hero”

He joked and she glared at him. Ok it wasn’t time for jokes but it cheered her up.

“I’m just joking” he said and she smiled “He was hit because he saved the kid, something any of us would have done”

“Thank you” Haesung said looking at him “For always being there for me”

“You are welcome” he said and smiled to her. There eyes suddenly met and Haesung looked away embarrassed. Yoojin coughed embarrassed as well and suddenly let go of her hand.

………………………………….

Rian walked to JB’s room and entered. He wasn’t unconscious anymore and he was surprised to see her there. His heart started beating faster and he smiled. For a moment, he forgot that his leg plastered and that he had wounds all over his body.

She didn’t say anything and she just started hitting him. JB was surprised that she was doing that. Tears were falling from her eyes as she continued hitting him.

“You are a pabo!” she yelled at him as she laid her head on his bed. He smiled and caressed her hair gently. She was shocked and looked at him.

“Don’t cry” he said smiling to her and wiping the tears on her eyes “I’m going to be fine”

“Please tell me you would be able to dance again” she said hurt

“Who said I wouldn’t be able to dance again?” he asked trying to comfort her but inside he was breaking. He wanted to cry also but that would be like admitting that he wasn’t going to be able to dance again. Dancing was the only thing he had and he couldn’t lose it.

“Do you want to go outside?” he suddenly suggested as being there depressed him a lot. She nodded and helped him sit in the wheelchair. As they walked out, Rian stared at the beautiful sky.

“Is been a long time since I’ve seen you cry” JB suddenly said smiling to her

“Don’t try to comfort me” she said coldly “It weakens me towards you”

Somehow her words gave him a little bit of hope and it made him smile. She looked at him and he smirked.

“Don’t smile” she told him and smiled as well “This is not a situation to smile about”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you smile also” he said sincerely and she was surprised

“What?” she asked “Are you saying I haven’t smiled all this time?”

“Do you want to know how has been your expression lately?” he asked and she nodded. He pulled a funny face that made her laugh.

“When was I like that?” she asked in disbelief

“If you are jealous, just admit you are jealous” he said smiling to her. She looked away “You look pretty when you are jealous”

She blushed and looked away. She didn’t know why he was being like this to her if he had clearly stated that he liked Haesung. It was as if he wasn’t the same. It was as if he was the old JB.

…………………………………………………………..

Some days later, it was finally the day of the last task of the audition. JB was nervous as this was his last chance. Also because he was going to sing with Rian. Haesung had arranged everything for him and Rian to sing from the hospital. She was going to record it and show it to everyone in Kirin.

He was starting to get impatient as she wasn’t coming so he decided to call Haesung.

“Haesung ah, are you sure she’s coming?” he asked and she laughed

“I already talked to her, don’t worry” Haesung said on the other line and then hung up.

JB sighed as the time had finally come and she wasn’t there yet. When he went in front of the crowd he put a smile and everyone clapped.

“I was planning to sing this with a friend but since she couldn’t come, I’ll sing it alone and I’ll put double effort on it” he said smiling. The music started sounding and he started singing with all his heart. He could feel the lyrics as if he was telling his own story.

When it was Rian’s part, he was about to start singing when he suddenly heard her voice. He smiled when he saw her walking towards the stage. She stood there next to him and looked at him sweetly. This made his heart jump faster and his hands sweat. He felt like a kid who had just fallen in love. The only difference was that he was realizing that he still loved her. That he always did.

When the song finished, they looked at each other lovingly.

When their eyes met, they couldn’t help but feel shy. She looked away and smiled at the crowd. 

After the event finished, Rian went to talk to JB. She had something really important to tell him. She had been thinking about it for a long time and she finally made a decision.

“I need to talk to you” she said and he smiled

“Me too” he said. They went to somewhere they could be alone and she looked down.

“For a long time I’ve been holding onto you but I realized I shouldn’t do that anymore” she said sadly and that shocked JB

“What?” he asked confused. His heart suddenly broke

“You are dating Haesung now and she makes you happy and I’m glad” she said trying to hold back her tears “3 years ago, you gave up on me to pursue your dream and I don’t blame you but now is my time to forget the past and to focus on my future”

JB was shocked and he was hurt. She was right. He couldn’t be selfish to keep her from following her dreams when she didn’t. He deserved it. Now he knew what she felt 3 years ago when he broke up with her.

“I’m always going to care about you JB” she said smiling “And I wish you happiness”

After that, she ran away holding back her tears without giving JB a chance to say anything. He wanted to go after her but he couldn’t. He couldn’t be selfish. Tears ran down his eyes. Was that the end of them?