1^st Story: Lucky I’m in love with my best friend

Starring Lee Hyukjae and Tiffany Hwang

 

 

 

Tiffany Hwang was still mending her heart. And though the worst moment of her life happened three months ago, she was obviously still in pain. Her heart was broken in a zillion pieces because of a man she whom thought could give her the lifetime happiness she was dreaming of.

 

 

The memory was still fresh. And everytime her eyes met familiar things that would remind her of him, tears started invading her eyes—rolling steadily until she found herself down on the floor and feeling totally depressed all over again. It was as if she was trying to fix a certain part of puzzle, but she couldn’t find the right piece to complete it.

 

 

She loved him more than anything else in the world. She loved him beyond words. She just loved him. And that love gave her the most traumatic downfall of her life. She felt so stupid for giving all her love to him and ended up being torn apart.

 

 

“How could he do this to me? How could he?” she mumbled while her fingers ran through the white lacy wedding dress she supposed to wear happily on that special day. And then she started tripping down the memory lane again. Travelling to the time where excitement and happiness lies in her face.

 

 

The skies were portraying different emotions that special day. It was grayish in color with feathery specks of orange and pink seen from a not far away distant. The day was unexpectedly gloomy, the air was cold and damp as it touched her skin when she hopped off the white limo.

 

 

Everyone has the same smile on their faces as her, wide and sweet, calm and full of excitement. Her parents pecked a quick kiss on each of her cheeks and whispered “Best wishes”.

 

 

She felt like she was only dreaming as she heard those words from them. “Thanks, Ma… Thanks, Pa…” she answered with a sweet smile on her lips.

 

 

And as the lovely music started playing in the background, the entourage started. She couldn’t put into words how happy she was back then. She even couldn’t sense something bad would happen that day.

 

 

It was her time to walk down the aisle. At the other end, she saw her soon-to-be-husband standing handsomely. Smiling as she smiled back—she never thought something was going on his mind.

 

 

While the church was full of lights and atmosphere inside was so romantic, outside—the sky started weeping so hard. There was thunder and lightning—it was chaotic.

 

 

As she reached the other end of the aisle, she saw the sad face of her groom. He couldn’t stare at her straight. And she felt there was something in him she couldn’t understand.

 

 

“Tiffany…” he said.

 

 

“What’s with that face, honey? Are you not feeling well?” she said worriedly as she grasped his arm to give comfort.

 

 

“I don’t—don’t think I can do this…” he said, stuttering and confused.

 

 

She felt her whole body started shaking by those words. But she remained unperturbed and spoke, “I can’t get it, honey. What do you mean with those words?”

 

 

“I’m so sorry. I’m really sorry…but I can’t marry you.”

 

 

After saying those words in front of their families and friends, her groom ran away and fled without looking back at her.

 

 

It took couple of minutes before the thought sync in her. And as the realization knocked her, she felt her world suddenly turning upside down. It was heavy, really heavy—that she found herself down on the floor and crying silently while staring at the back of her runaway groom until he totally disappeared before her eyes.

 

 

“Siiiiwon! Siwon…No…comeback, please…” she yelled at the top of her lungs, hoping she could be heard.

 

 

The sounds of the rain kept hitting the ground and so her tears kept sliding down her cold cheeks.

 

 

And as the pain keeps on stabbing her once happy heart and the pain welling up inside her, her mother rescued her by pulling her inside her arms, caressed her tightly like a little child having her first wounded knees. And there she cried until she passed out.

 

 

Knocks on the door winked her up from her reverie. Her mother’s image appeared after the opened door. “Mom, what brought you here?” she asked with surprised as she quickly wiped her tears away before closing the cover of the box of her wedding dress.

 

 

“I’m just wondering what you do. Are you crying?”

 

 

“I’m not crying, mom. It’s just that a foreign matter entered my eye that’s why…” she denied.

 

 

“Is that so? Then why there are drips of tears on your dress?” her mother tried hard to catch her.

 

 

“Fine, mom. You caught me already—I’m crying and I think there’s nothing wrong with it.”

 

 

“I know. Its just that don’t let your self gets used to it. It might be hard for you to stop that when it becomes your habit.”

 

 

Tiffany nodded with her motherly advice and then marched her way to the walking closet where she used to keep the only thing that reminds her of her painful past. After awhile, she came back to her bed, sat beside her mother and leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder.

 

 

Her mother ran her fingers through the strands of her hair, soothing her distressed feeling. “Does your heart still hurt?”

 

 

 “Mom, it’s not that easy to mend a broken heart. It takes a lot of time to heal...and I think three months aren’t enough to repair it.”

 

 

“I know. Someday you will get used to the pain, you will get tired of tears and crying, you will get pissed to your self for being to hard to your self. And in that day, you will realize you’re finally getting over him.”

 

 

“That’s so true, mom. I can’t wait to feel relieve and be totally happy again.”

 

 

Her mother moved a little closer and cupped her face with her warm hands and spoke, “Start your life again by doing things you didn’t try before. Explore your surroundings and start enjoying life’s simple pleasure. Bond with your friends…and speaking of friends, your childhood best friend will be home for good.”

 

 

“Childhood best friend? You mean, Hyukjae, mom?” she clarified with a sudden twinkling of happiness in her once sad eyes.

 

 

“Yes. He will be here tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Like you, he’s mending his broken heart too.”

 

 

“Why, mom? What happened?”

 

 

“I know he already heard about his first ever girl friend, right?”

 

 

“Y—yes, mom and they’ve been together for ten years.”

 

 

“Ten years is wasted when he proposed to his long time girl friend. The girl rejected it because she’s attracted to someone else.”

 

 

“Is that for real? I never thought he would be rejected just like that. Hyukjae puts a lot of effort for the sake of that girl’s happiness for years and I believed they’re a perfect couple.”

 

 

“Sometimes, we put a lot of effort to the wrong person and we come to realize that the one we actually deserve is that someone who sticks to us whether it’s for better or worst,” said her mother meaningfully.

 

 

“What do you mean by that, mom?” she asked out of confusion.

 

 

“You’ll come to realize it when you’re in that certain situation. You’ll act blind for awhile, but you can’t deny the true beating of your heart for that someone—whoever he might be.”

 

 

She started getting confused of what her mother was saying. She couldn’t understand it words by words and the meaning behind it. But one thing was certain for her, she missed her childhood best friend and memories they built together that were still alive in her mind and heart.

 

 

And if someone asked her how excited she was to him, she would probably answer 200% just to describe her feeling.

 

 

 

 

-.-

 

 

 

The next day, Tiffany woke up still a lethargic as her nose catches a familiar scent of perfume. Though her eyes were closed she couldn’t be wrong. She slowly opened her eyes. And her heart started rising.

 

 

Hyukjae’s face was an inch away from her face. His eyes with deadly gazes that she avoided since they were young, it was right before her eyes and she felt like any moment she would melt like an ice cream. They were breathing the same air.

 

 

She quickly took a glimpse of his face, from his eyes down to his lips. And because of that silly act, she felt a little warmth on her cheeks, burning it up slowly that she felt blushing.

 

 

He distant himself, making the sweet moment between them disappeared.

 

 

“Did I disturb your sleep?” he asked as he looked at her with melting stares.

 

 

“Not really. I just didn’t expect you to be here today. I thought you’ll be coming the next day after tomorrow,” she said while rubbing her sleepy eyes.

 

 

“I really tried to be here today so I could celebrate my birthday with you.”

 

 

“Oh, I almost forgot—“

 

 

“Well you always did, Tiffs.” He said, chuckling.

 

 

Hyukjae was the only boy who bravely called her in the nickname “Tiffs”. It may sound so off to someone, but for her it was the sweetest. And for years they were together as best of friends there were times she felt annoyed when hearing that name. And it was the first three months after he formulated that weird name. But as times passed by, she found herself getting used to it and loving it.

 

 

“Is that so? Hmm—happy birthday my one and only Hyukkie boy,” she said cheerfully before tangling her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. It wasn’t done on purpose. Both of them were totally in shocked.

 

 

Hyukjae was surprised that he lost his balance. And that was the first time they hugged each other like that—with so much passion and longing.

 

 

“My heart never beats like this before. It was weird, but I like it,”Hyukjae thought while they were still in a hug.

 

 

After awhile, Tiffany detangled her arms around his neck. But Hyukjae was still unmoving. She started wondering what happened to him. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

 

 

“Tiffs, can you hug me one more time, please? A little tighter this time?” he queried.

 

 

She didn’t know what happened to him. But being his good companion for years, she was obliged to do it for him. So, she wrapped her arms around him once again. And she clearly heard him sobbing.

 

 

“Without you Tiffs, I could die…”

 

 

She was moved by his words. Does he really mean to say it? Could he really die without her? Or he was just saying those words because he felt so alone after what happened between him and his ex-girlfriend?

 

 

I comforted him without a single word. I chose to mum a word than say words to further hurt his feeling.

 

 

“Tiffs, do you love me?” he asked, sounding too broken inside.

 

 

“Of course, I love you because you’re my best friend.”

 

 

“Thank you,” he spoke before letting me go. And upon looking at me, he quickly wiped away his tears and placed a broad grin in his lips. With that smile, she felt relieved, knowing the fact that he still managed to smile though inside he was totally breaking.

 

 

She pulled her body away from my bed and walked towards the window and opened it up. The fresh air that morning sends her positive vibrations. She wanted to make the day unforgettable and full of happiness since it was his birthday. And she uttered, “What birthday present do you want to receive from me?”

 

 

Hyukjae walked to where she was and wrapped his arms around her waist, as if they were a happy couple celebrating their first wedding anniversary. “Just spend your whole day with me.” he whispered sweetly.

 

 

Tiffany felt a sudden rush of energy from her toes up to her head that sends goose bumps all over her. It was crazy that she felt her heart beating loudly like a drum. And she undoubtedly feels a little cheer in her heart.

 

 

“All right,” she said as she started feeling uncomfortable inside his arms.

 

 

 

 

-.-

 

 

 

The sun was brightly up that day. The chirping of birds could clearly hear from a near distant. The children were all out with their family to spend the weekend together. And here she was, spending that special weekend with him like they used to do before.

 

 

Hyukjae was handsomely dressed that day while she chose to wear a simple dress printed with tiny flowers with a white thin cardigan and flat cream in color shoes.

 

 

They walked around the park while talking about random things that they missed to know after being separated for years. And then they ate lunch together. After lunch, Hyukjae decided to watch a movie. Both of them were happy, doing the things they usually did before. But one thing they didn’t usually do was the holding the hands of each other while enjoying their time watching the movie.

 

 

And as he held her hand tightly for the first time, she just looked at him with surprise. He didn’t notice her stolen stares at him, yet one thing he noticed was about him—that he was feeling happy to be with her…again.

 

 

And the love he forcedly killed a long time ago because she was her best friend seems to be relived. “I thought the love I gave her before isn’t here with me at all that it is already gone because I fell in love with another. But as sit beside her today, it feels like the love I have with her came back,” he thought while looking at the big screen without winking.

 

 

After watching the movie, the sky was completely dark and the wind turned cold. She felt chills as they kept roaming around the Han River Park. Enduring the cold that squeezing her bones, she hugged herself with her own arms.

 

 

“Here, wear this,” he said as he bested on her shoulder his leather jacket. “Seems you’re totally feeling cold now. Let’s go home?”

 

 

“Let’s enjoy your day.”

 

 

Upon hearing those words, he grabbed her by the hand and started roaming again. Feeling her cold hand, Hyukjae let her wore his gloves. But Tiffany decided to wear the left glove remained in her and the right glove to be worn by him.

 

 

Smiling, he just let it to be like that. Under the moonlight, they sat side by side again while watching the distant stars above them.

 

 

“I thought we will never spend times like this,” he said as he crossed his legs and placed his hand under his chin while continuously staring at her.

 

 

“Are you enjoying your time with me?” she asked just wanting to know his honest answer.

 

 

“Of course! I love spending time with you even before. And I love you just the way you are.”

 

 

“You always told me that you love me, Hyukkie. And I know that the very first day we become friends.”

 

 

“No. that’s not true, Tiffs.”

 

 

“What do you mean?” she clarified, started reading between the lines.

 

 

“I always love you even before we become friends. I always love you more than a friend could give.”

 

 

Speechless, Tiffany was frozen in her seat while looking at him without a blink of an eye.

 

 

“I love you not just because we’re good friends. But I love you because you’re always there for me through good and bad times. I love you because of your good heart, because of being true to me. And I thought, leaving you is the only way for me to forget everything I felt for you since we’re in high school.”

 

 

“So y—you mean that you leave me before because you wanted to forget what you feel for me and not because your parents wanted you to study abroad?”

 

 

He nodded. “I’m afraid you can’t reciprocate what I’m feeling.”

 

 

She didn’t know what to say. Tears abruptly occupied her eyes. She couldn’t help but cry.

 

 

For her, he wasn’t just a friend. For her, he was her special someone whom she loved too. And the hardest part of being a friend was pretending to be a friend.

 

 

“Why are you crying? Aren’t you happy with what I said to you?” he said, worriedly.

 

 

“I’m crying because you’re a fool for leaving me. You’re a fool for changing our paths assuming that I can’t reciprocate your feeling. You’re a fool for letting both of us loved someone else and got hurt at the end.”

 

 

“It pained me to see you cry. So, please, stop crying. And yes, I’m a fool. I’m a fool because I fell in love with my own best friend. And I’m going nuts if I don’t spill out what I really wanted to say.”

 

 

“If you wanted to walk away again—“

 

 

“I’m not walking away. Tiffs, I love you. I really do. I love you with all my heart. And this time, I’m ready to prove it to you.”

 

 

“If you’re only doing this because you wanted to forget her, please don’t.”

 

 

He cupped her face and drew his face closer to hers. He looked at her deeply in the eye and spoke, “Do you think I’m that a kind of guy who plays with girl’s heart like toys? I’m not doing this because I wanted to forget her. But I’m doing this because I believe this is the right time to do what’s really right. And I love you more than her that I wanted to spend my whole lifetime with you. I love you very much, Tiffs.”

 

 

Tiffany placed a contented smile on her lips. The kind of smile she used to wear those times way back before.

 

 

“Do you love me, Tiffs, don’t you?” he said, making sure that she was feeling the same way.

 

 

“I do love you, Hyukkie. I love you more than anything. I love you so much.” She said, revealing the same feelings for him before they hugged each other even tighter.

 

 

And the once-broken-hearted friends had finally found their way home to the loving arms they deserved. With the moon and stars as their witness that night, Hyukjae claimed her lips and both shared a passionate kiss with love that tied their hearts forever.

 

 

“I’m lucky I’m in love with my best friend.” Hyukjae whispered to her ears before kissing her again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

-END-