YOUNGBAE'S POV

"Bae!" I'm sitting on the bench, enjoying the wonderful chirpings of the birds when her voice rings. Instantly, a wide grin spreads across my face.

"Heys~" I can't rub that grin off my face as she sits down beside me, wiping away the beads of perspiration on her forehead. She looks stunning. Like always.

"Sorry that I'm late." The moment she flashes her smile, I know she is forgiven.

"Well, you're always late. I'm kind of used to it." Still, I like to . It's amusing to see her getting all worked up at the slightest thing possible.

"Yah! I couldn't help it! My favourite pair of pink pumps chose to play a round of hide-and-seek with me before I leave the house. How can I be blamed?" She hits my arm and pouts.

"Did you look for it under your dressing table?" I smile, knowing the exact spot of the pumps without even batting an eyelid.

"Omo! HOW DO YOU KNOW?!!" See what I mean? "I was searching ALL around the house and all the while, it was just sitting peacefully under my dressing table. It's so frustrating!" She grimaces, earning a chuckle from me.

This is Jessica Jung - my childhood friend since diapers. She's a timid and whiny girl. But, I still love her with my whole life. She's pretty, understanding, caring, innocent ... Ok, I can go on and on about it, but I will just stop here. Being friends for our entire life, I know her inside out, perhaps even more than she knows herself. And well, yeahs. I do like her. More than a friend. Ever since we're in high school, I had been carrying a torch for her. However, i don't have the guts to confess. I'm shy and an introvert. I don't really have a huge social circle and she is one of the very few friends I have. I didn't want our friendship to backfire, should my confession fail. It would be really awkward for us and the last thing I want is to distance away from her.

We're twenty-four now, an ideal age to start dating or even, set up a family. I'm still single and while, she is too. I have a stable income and a house of my own now. I'm ready to confess to her. To let her know that I'm ready to take care of her, I'm willing to be the man in her life.

"Sica ah/Bae!" We speak at the same time.

"Ahhh. Ladies first." I smile. Confession can be done anytime now. My confidence ain't going to drop already. I have wasted far too much time. Another few minutes of wait wouldn't hurt. Would it?

"Alrights!" She beams. "You know, I'm attached now! Remember I told you about Ok Taecyeon?"

My heart sinks to a bottomless pit. "Y-Yeahs? I thought you hated him to the guts..."

"Yes! I did! But it turns out that he was just trying to attract my attention! We went out for a simple dinner yesterday and boy, he practically swept me off my feet! Plus, he's hot..."

I look at her and realise that her cheeks have turned into a crimson red as she giggles to herself. There's love in her eyes.

"Bae?"

"Yeahs." I smile half-heartedly. "I'm happy for you..."

"I know! That's why you got the privilege to be the first to know. Even the girls don't know yet." She is smiling so happily. So happily that I can't bring myself to say those words. "Oh right. What is it that you want to tell me?"

"Oh, it's nothing important now. Definitely not more important that Jessica Jung dating." I pat her head and can only force a smile.

I'm a minute late. A minute too late.

✺✺✺✺✺

JESSICA'S POV

I have a really good friend. His name is Dong Youngbae. An introvert but he's a really good listener. To be honest, without him by my side, I would most probably be lost and not know where to go. That's how important he is to me. I didn't realise that, until now.

After announcing that  I'm dating with Taecyeon, the time spent with Youngbae became much lesser. It's normal I know, given that I have another guy to tend to now, not to mention Taecyeon is a jealous freak. Youngbae, being Youngbae, still send me some text from time to time, checking on my well-being. See what I mean? He's such a sweet guy.

Finally, after three months, I call it quits with Taecyeon. Simply because, he's crazy. Ok, maybe he isn't. It's me. Taecyeon pointed out to me that whenever we are out on a date, I will take a look at the men's apparels without fail. However, I don't buy it for him. I bought for Youngbae. I'm always looking at things that Youngbae likes instead of looking at things that MY boyfriend likes. Taecyeon tells me that I'm in love with Youngbae. This is definitely not just affection for a friend. It's something more. And, I believe. Every night before I go to sleep, or every morning after my sleep had cleared off, the first thing I think about is Youngbae. How his day went, what would he be doing. Yes, I'm in love with my childhood friend. Without me realising.

"Bae!" I'm happy to see him once again after a long three months.

As usual, he is waiting for me and waving his hand happily. Nothing much about him had changed. In fact, he seems to be glowing with radiance.

"Heys~"

"Sica ah/Bae," we seem to be always speaking at the same timing.

"You should go first." I smile, thinking about his reaction if he hears my confession.

"Alrights." Youngbae nods. "These months, I met a girl at my workplace. Her name is Tiffany Hwang. She's really pretty, understanding and caring. We started off as normal friends and well, it had taken a big leap a month ago. I confessed to her and she accepted it. I'm slower than you, but I'm attached now too."

So that explains his radiance... My stomach churns and I feel like vomiting there and then. I should be happy for him. Right?

"Sica?"

"Yeahs?"

"Are you angry? I'm so sorry that you ai