Lauren and Yoogeun got dressed, most of their clothes scattered on the floor from their earlier attempt, and cuddled innocently, just talking in a more open fashion than they had in months. They apologized, explained their feelings over the last few months, talked about what was good in their relationship and what they wished they'd done better. It wasn't mentioned that they were over—which was obvious—nor did they discuss how to define their friendship after they left this room—which was desperately needed. They figured if they just kept talking, eventually the subject would be breached.

“Remember that day when you wouldn't go to the movies and I said it was okay?” Lauren asked.

“Yeah.”

“It really wasn't.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know. I was just tired that day. Do you know that day that you made up a cheer just for me?'

Lauren giggled as she remembered doing that embarrassing thing just for him at a game in front of his teammates and a ton of others.

“I really liked that.”

“You didn’t seem to like it then...”

“I was just embarrassed and didn't know how to say thanks.”

“Oh...You know your confession? I thought it was the sweetest thing...”

“Good, because it was humiliating. You know that watch you gave me? I kept it even after it stopped ticking.”

“You should really get that fixed. You remember how everybody said we were prefect? I really believed it.”

“Me too...”

They both sighed sadly and gave each other a comforting squeeze.

“We're good friends, you know? I wonder why I just stopped feeling nervous around you. I thought I liked you that way but the more time went on, the more I felt like you were like my sibling. I care about you, you know, but....”

“You just got confused and misinterpreted the signs, right? Me too...” Lauren said. “You felt so safe and natural to me and I thought it was time I should date someone and I thought that the way I was feeling then meant I liked you...I just feel like you’re my friend, close like a brother and we get along but I can't see us...like married with kids or anything.”

“Is there anyone you felt that way with?” he asked curiously.

She hesitated for a reason she didn’t know but her mind didn't bring up anybody's face in particular before she answered, “No.”

“Me neither. Want me to introduce you to somebody? Half my teammates are in love with you,” he joked.

She laughed and pushed his chest. “No, thank you. I think I’ve had enough of boys for awhile.”

“Really? I don't want to ruin you...Promise me you'll keep trying after you’ve sorted your mind out?”

Lauren blushed and pressed her nose into his t-shirted chest. “Okay, if that's what you want...”

Her mind automatically went to Kyungsan but there were several problems with that. He was Yoogeun's friend so even if she liked him and he liked her back—both which she was unsure of—he was strictly off limits. That might make their friendship awkward and hurt Yoogeun if she didn't have Yoogeun's permission. Even fooling around with him secretly was really wrong. She didn't think she should continue with it in case Yoogeun suspected something, though the part of her that really enjoyed it wanted to continue being rebellious.

They chatted some more, able to come to terms with that it might take awhile to get fully adjusted but being best friends was still possible. She felt good about both of her decisions at the the end of the day and for the first time in a long time her heart felt lighter as she was practically problem free. Except they'd had a conversation that prickled her side as she laid awake remembering it.

“Have you been talking to Tayoung lately?” Yooguen asked.

“No, not really....”

“You should try. I think she needs you.”

“Exactly when did you two start taking so much? This is new,” she'd remarked suspiciously.

Yoogeun grew nervous but there was something in her eye that suggested it wouldn’t be a good idea to tell. It might make both girls hurt and hate him.

“We’ve just been bumping into each other and talking. We've been friends as long as I've been with you almost.”

“Oh, yeah, that's true...” She fell silent.

“So, Kyungsan's been tutoring you? Are you all ready for your audition and test?”

“Yeah, he's had some more free time since he and Karin broke up.”

“They broke up? That's surprising. I'm kind of offended he didn't tell me.”

“I’m sure he was going to eventually.”

I wonder if he really was going to... some suspicious voice in his mind said.

After all this time there was still something about Kyungsan with Lauren. A difference in how he treated her compared to his other female friends. He flashed back to when he'd first confessed and how serious Kyungsan had seemed all the way up until he'd said it was all a lie for Yoogeun's sake. Something was off about the suddenness of it all.

“So, Kyungsan's nice, right?” he asked in a little bit less subtle way than he'd intended.

“Uh, yeah, he's nice...” Lauren replied awkwardly, shifting her eyes down and blushing.

He thought that was suspicious but rather than making him jealous as it would months ago, it made him happy. Maybe Lauren would find a man that truly loved her and that she loved as a man sooner than he thought. And if it was Kyungsan, he could give her away easily--he'd treat her well and it would end his playboy ways. It made sense because they got along better and had more in common and he knew the right way to deal with her moods and energy. Lauren quickly changed the subject so Yoogeun couldn’t probe or push further.

Yoogeun, though he was just fine with his break-up with Lauren and on the path of being friends again, felt drawn to the art room. He hadn't gotten the courage to tell her about Tayoung because he didn't want to hurt her. She seemed okay with their natural break-up and if she heard about Tayoung she might feel that that was the reason he left her. Tayoung helped him realize him and Lauren's faults as a couple finally, but he hadn’t broken up with her because he wanted to pursue Tayoung.

Tayoung scared him actually. Lauren was so easy to get along with, so tame, so positive that he'd had to do nothing in their relationship even when they fought. She was even so forgiving and kind. But Tayoung was moody, mysterious, unforgiving and stormy. The more he understood her, the less predictable she became and the more unsure of what to do he became. Her personality mimicked his but was even more intense. She was probably difficult to date.

But he was worried about her and as a friend—one of the only ones that understood her and knew her situation—he felt guilty because he'd attacked her. He felt like he had to make it up to her, to be there for her, to make sure she wasn't hurting herself. He decided to just check if she was in there, maybe chat innocently for a second. There couldn't be much harm in that. He'd just sit on his hands if he wanted to touch her again.

Inside the art room, Tayoung was in the back, working at at able with a potter spindle and mold of wet, brown clay, dressed in leggings and an oversized, knit, gray sweater. He knocked and then strolled in.

When she saw him, her expression was unreadable at first, then she smiled just slightly—a tilt at the corner of her full lips. “Come in.”

As he came over and sat down across from her, he found himself wanting to stare at them, wondering what it would look like if she smiled big or laughed because he’d never really seen that.

“What are you doing here?” she asked coldly, spinning the clay and molding it with muddied hands.

“Just stopping by. What are you doing?” He was relieved to see there was no new cuts or bloodied bandages on the skin revealed from her pushed-up sweater sleeves.

“I'm making a bowl.”

“Oh, it looks good...” It did kind of but he didn’t know a thing about art.

“So....everything been good?”

“I'm not crying, flinging myself at Leo, or cutting if that's what you're asking,” she replied rather bluntly, making him wince.

He kind of liked how spunky she was, though he wished her words were a little less barbed since he did have good intentions. “That's good...”

Yoogeun knew he should say more, but he felt nervous, tongue-tied and pushed down by her overwhelming charisma. The 'ice princess' on full power was no joke.

He watched Tayoung silently for awhile. Her hands were so deft and gentle-seeming, not as small as Lauren's but even more long, white and frail. Her nails were painted a soft, pale blue but cut short. He remembered seeing them before as he thought back—little making flower rings, a bit bigger coloring pictures with crayons, bigger still making snowmen with Lauren, bigger still clenched around a coffee cup like it was her last anchor as she threatened to fall into a stormy sea.

Memories flashed back through his childhood like 60's-style movie clips. Before he had only paid attention to Lauren in them as she was the central focus but in the background was often Tayoung. They'd played together since they were little and met at tons of family outings. Though he hadn't really paid attention, he'd naturally picked up things about her. That’s how he understood her though he didn't remember talking much or being close to her even several years ago. She'd always kept herself at a distance from him and Kyungsan. He'd guessed that Tayoung had a fear of boys or just didn't like them. He would never have guessed the whole time she was harboring something for Leo.

He and Leo had been friends sort of—in the way men that often do the same things and occasionally joke around can be—but it had been several years since he actually liked him. If she'd just asked him, he would have told her that Leo wasn’t a good person, that he wasn’t right for her. Now he didn’t want to be fiends with Leo ever again. It was really hard to play ball with him and not go grind his face into the dirt, to be honest. But he did find himself wanting to become closer friends with Tayoung, to get to know her better, to fill in the blanks about her life and character.

He had an idea of why he wanted to but rather than analyze it as he did with Lauren for several years, he just acted on it. “Can you teach me?”

“You want to try?” she sounded surprised as she looked up at him.

When she was confused or surprised he liked that cute look that came across her usually blank face. He smiled in a naturally charming way. “Yeah, though I'm not good at anything artsy.”

“I could guess.” It was almost a joke and it made him chuckle under his breath.

Tayoung got out a mound of clay, set it on the spindle and spun it. She carefully showed him how to mold a shape with water. As she spoke and bent forward, these tendrils in her braid fell out and his fingers itched to brush it back. To stop himself from doing something that would complicate their comfortable mood, he put his hands on the clay. She pulled her hands back as their fingers brushed and he pretended not to notice it. She tried to show him.

“Yeah, kind of like that. Little more pressure...No, more gentle! No, don't do that!”

Tayoung got impatient as he mishandled the clay, near destroying her work. He backed off guiltily. She tried to calm herself down. Yoogeun smiled slightly as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was pretty cute when she was flustered too. She gave up and perfection won over decorum or shyness as she showed him how to do it herself. Her hands laid over his, pressing his fingers gently and bringing them closed.

Her hands were soft, warm and confident. He really enjoyed the feel of them and had to bite his lip as the memories of them tangled in his hair flashed. He jiggled his leg, willing his not to come. How ridiculously attracted to her his body was! He couldn’t believe it.

“There. You've got the hang of it.”

She took off her hands to move back to hers. He missed her touch but felt satisfied that her calm looked a bit shaken and she was blushing slightly—an attractive coral tint dancing along the high ridges of her cheeks. They worked silently, sometimes him asking her if what he was doing was right and what should be next. At the end of an hour, they had nice bowls even if Yoogeun's was a bit lopsided and misshapen whereas Tayoung's looked professionally made.

“I don't think I did half bad,” he said proudly as he observed his.

“Yeah, pretty good for a guy who only cares about sleeping and sports.”

Her little teasing smirk was pretty attractive. He decided he'd like to see more.

“You forgot eating. That's my favorite.”

There's what he wanted to hear—a light, girly, honest laugh. Her full smile was gorgeous, her teeth shining and prefect, the hint of a dimple in her cheek and the slightest bit of an eye-smile. He laughed with her. They shared a friendly, comfortable look across the pottery. When her smile dropped which was inevitable, her chic expression was softer than usual. She led him to the sink.