Jiyeon’s P.O.V

Kikwang and I had successfully determined our relationship, just friends. That was the right thing to do, as according to my head. But why was my heart so uneasy? As we entered the summerhouse, everything seemed cold.

“Ahhh it’s cold..” I let out. Duh Jiyeon, by the look on Kikwang’s face, it’s obvious he knows it’s cold…

“I’ll go look for the thermo-a-stat.” Kikwang let out.

“Ahhh, pabo! Don’t you remember how you and Doojoon broke it when you two were playing football inside the house? Aish, ottokea! I’m freezing…I barely have any clothes here…they’re just pajamas.”

“We’ll figure something out. Why don’t you go upstairs and change. Your clothes are sandy and grassy. I’ll figure something out while you’re changing. Don’t worry.”

“Arasso. I’ll be back.”

As I walked up the stairs to my room, I forgot about how much fun the family had here, in this house, with Kikwang. It was rare for Kikwang to spend the summer with his own family. There were times were our families would get together, but Kikwang would basically live with me over the summer, but I wasn’t complaining. I liked having him around. I grabbed a pair of PJ shorts and a short sleeved shirt, that was all I had.

Kikwang’s P.O.V

I went into the basement and tried to fix the heater, but it just wouldn’t budge. As I tried turning the knob one more time, I hit my head.

“AISH! Owwwww” I screamed. It must have been loud because I heard Jiyeon frantically running from her room.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Jiyeon ran down the stairs into the basement. Her concerned face starred intently at me. She rubbed her hands on my forehead, suddenly I couldn’t breath.

“I’m—I’m fine.” I said, as my face was an inch away from hers. She quickly backed away, flustered and having difficulty finding her words.

“Don’t worry about the heater…let’s just get out of here…this place is dreary.” She said as she walked away. That’s when I noticed her long legs in her short shorts…why was she dressed like this in front of a man? Who would be able to control themselves in this kind of situation?

‘Get it together Kikwang…friends…just friends. I can do this. It can’t be that hard.’

“ahhh it’s cold.” I could see the Goosebumps appear on her shapely legs.

“Well why are you wearing such little clothing?” I took off my jacket and drapped it around her shoulders.. I don’t know why I didn’t think about doing that before.

“Komawo. This was the only thing I had left upstairs.” She looked really shy.

‘Ahhh cute! Get it together Kikwang!!!’

“Why don’t I start a fire in the chimney, that should heat up the living room at least.”

“Okay while you do that I’ll get the blankets and mats.”

“You can sleep on the couch and I can just monitor the fire so that nothing goes wrong…I’m not that tired. I can wait until the flight back home tomorrow…”

“Don’t be silly. We’ll do what we used to do when we were kids.”

‘Yeah but when we were kids you didn’t tempt me like you do now Jiyeon…aish.’

“Okay you go get the stuff and I’ll start the fire.”

“arasso. Don’t burn the place down!”

“I won’t!”

“You don’t have to be so snappy! Mr. grumpy! Merrong!” she stuck her tongue out at me. We were getting along how we did before everything happened.

Jiyeon’s P.O.V

The jacket had his scent. I had missed this; how was it that it hadn’t been more than 4 hours since Yoseob left, but being next to Kikwang It felt like nothing even happened? How could one person have this much of an affect on me, my heart was racing and my head was pounding. What did these signals mean?

I held onto my chest, and my hand brushed my necklace. There was the ring Kikwang had given me. How was it that I could throw away the song Yoseob wrote me, but I still hadn’t thrown away this ring?

‘Aish..Molla Jiyeon. You need to get some sleep before you go crazy!’

I carried the blankets and pillows down the stairs to find Kikwang sitting by the chimney monitoring the fire. He turned around and looked at me while letting out one of his signature smiles.

‘oh how I’ve missed that face.’ I thought as I could only smile back. He got up and helped me lay out the blankets. We had now divided the sleeping area and we were both just staring at the ceiling. Not talking.

“You can talk about him, you know, to me. I’m here to listen. Don’t keep it bottled up in your heart. I know that’s what’s on your mind right now.” For once, he got something wrong. Yoseob wasn’t on my mind. Nothing was. I was lost.

“Have you ever felt so confused that you’re not sure which path to take that you end up losing yourself in the process? That’s how I feel right now. Talking about him isn’t going to change anything, I’m just so confused and lost that I’m not even sure why I’m mad and Yoseob right now. I also don’t know why I’m lying here next to you.” I turned to my side and stared at him. He did the same. As my hand held my head up, I kept on talking.

“Why did you give me this ring?” I took my necklace out and showed him. He was surprised to see I still had it on.

“I thought we were going to be just friends from now on? If I gave you the answer to your question, we will go back to being…well whatever we were…”

‘What were we before? We weren’t even talking, I don’t think this conversation would change things now.’ i thought to myself.

“I need to know Kikwang. Please. Nothing will change, we can forget the past in the morning, but right now, I’ll be lost without your answer.”

“Well...To be honest…It was an impulse purchase. Whenever we walked past that jewelry store, I saw you fall in love with that ring over and over again. I remember telling you that your boyfriend would buy that for you one day. When I thought about what I said, it hit me. I didn’t want any other guy to buy you this ring. I wanted you to wear that ring knowing I bought it for you.”

I slumped back onto my back and thought about what he said.

“Is that the truth?” there had to be more to that story. Even I knew there had to be more. I wasn’t going to get played this time!

“Yeah…why?” The way he spoke hesitantly confirmed my suspicion! I got up again and looked at him.

“Well, you know, when I went to go buy your and IU’s couple ring it was the same day you confessed to her. The employee at the jewelry store said that this ring was purchased just moments before I got there. And the conversation you’re talking about, well we had that conversation at least 2 weeks before that day…were you having..” I looked at him, and he looked puzzled and frantic. Like he knew the words that were going to come out of my mouth. It looked as though if I said them out loud it would make things difficult for him..

“—nevermind. Forget I said anything.” I fell back onto my blanket. And pretended to go to sleep by closing my eyes and pulling the blanket over my eyes.

“I know you’re not asleep.” He pulled the blanket off of me and was now his torso was hovering over me. he continued as I didn’t move. “If you want to know the truth, I’ll tell you the truth. I was having second thoughts.”

I made my way up, and he went back to his own side. “Then why were you so persistent for my help with IU? If you didn’t know your heart, why did you jump into things?”

“You know me. I’m not someone who can stay single for long. I had broken up with Yoona for some months by then, and I needed someone. IU was completely the opposite of Yoona, or so I thought… I wanted a new and refreshing relationship.

“But, how come you never came after me? I know it doesn’t matter now, but I’m curious.” I thought I had buried these questions from ever coming out of my mouth ever again, but I really needed to hear these answers. Or else I would always regret it.

“I’m not someone who has the best track record with girls, Jiyeon. You know that. You know how I treat girls. I wouldn’t forgive myself if I had broken your heart. Out of everyone in the world, the one person who has been by my side no matter what has been you. To disrespect you in anyway…that was my biggest fear, and that’s what also made me hesitant to ever do anything with you.”

“Then what changed your mind? Why couldn’t you just put your feelings aside like you had been doing?”

“The idea of you being in another man’s arms, having another protector, I couldn’t just sit and watch that happen right before my eyes and not fight for you. And, I also realized that if you left me, then I would be losing the only person who brings out the good in me.”

His sincerity and honesty only made me regret ever bringing up this conversation in the first place. Because now, my heart yearned for him; I brought out the good in him, and he brought out the bad in me…. it’s official, my love life is twisted.

“Anyways” Kikwang said which broke my train of thought.

“Did you hear back from Seoul University yet?”

“Oh that’s right. We weren’t talking when I got my letter. I—“ I paused for dramatic effect.

“I got in! hehe! I was so happy. Yoseob and I were so…” , I brought Yoseob into this! The image of our happiness when I got in…our first kiss; it all made me want to cry all over again.

“Oh, Yoseob was there with you? hah I remember when we told each other we would open our letters together…I don’t blame you though, I was an then. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep that promise with you.”

“No, it’s my fault too. Mianhae…but we weren’t talking then, and Yoseob was already there, so I forced to open it in front of him…but that’s not important! You heard back?!?! What happened, did you get in?”

Kikwang’s P.O.V

The postman comes early in the morning, so she must have been with Yoseob really early to open the letter with him…

‘They hadn’t…nooooo Jiyeon wouldn’t…but why didn’t Yoseob tell me anything?’

“Did you get in?” I missed the beginning of her sentence, but I caught the last part as I broke my trance.

“Yeah, I got in!” I smiled. I wondered if I should tell her about USC?

“YAY!!!! We’re going to college together! To be honest, I was a little scared of the idea of going off to college without you! keke, I’m so happy right now! I think I’m turning red! Haha.”

How could I tell her I was thinking about going to school in the states? She was so happy. I still didn’t know which path to take. One would take me to Jiyeon, and the other would take me away from her. Which one made the most sense?

‘Aish, molla!’

“Jiyeon, I’m not sure if I—“ I heard a large sound only to turn and see Jiyeon fast asleep, snoring.

‘This would have to be a conversation for another time.’

“Goodnight my lovely Jiyeonie!” I leaned in and kissed her cheek…she didn’t have to know, it could be our little secret, like when we were kids.

Jiyeon’s P.O.V

The only way I could tell if we were friends again was if I fell asleep. I let out a snore, and lay there waiting. Suddenly I felt his lips on my cheek.

‘This is proof. We’re back to being friends. I missed you Kikwang. But what were you going to say?’

The Jeju portion of this story is almost done! Hul! it's taken me forever!!!! I thought it was going to be short when I planned my story, but it's taken up a lot of chapters already! I hope you guys aren't sick of it! I promise, we'll be back in Seoul in no time! keke ^.^

I hope you enjoyed this chapter...it seems like the love triangle is only going to get more and more messed up as the story progresses..are you ready for it? I hope so! =P