Kim Jong Kook was busy organizing his apartment for his mother's upcoming visit when his phone buzzed against his desk. The screen flashed 11:47pm as he reached over, wondering curiously who it could be at this late hour. He flipped it open. Song Ji Hyo.

His brows wrinkled as cautiously lifted it up to his ear and answered, “Hello? Ji Hyo-ya?”

“Jong Kook oppa...”, Ji Hyo muttered before trailing off into silence.

She didn’t say any more and he would’ve thought he had gotten disconnected had he not heard her muffled breathing on the other end. He cradled the phone to his ear and remained silent, hoping it would give her space and time for her to feel comfortable in saying whatever it that was she needed. He was puzzled at her sudden quiet nature; she wasn’t usually this way around him.

“Ji Hyo, are you alright?”, he asked carefully, no longer able to contain the nerves at his end.

“Jong Kook oppa…”, she repeated once again. There was a long pause before she continued, as he waited anxiously, pressing the phone tightly against his ear in an attempt to somehow coerce the words out of her. “…Can you help me?”, she weakly croaked.

“Of course,  Ji Hyo. I’m always here for you”, he tried to sound reassuring while his heart raced madly at her words.

“Can you open your door?”, she begged desperately.

He almost dropped his phone at the sound of her request. She had ever visited his apartment once before and that was with everyone at Running Man.  So late in the night and by herself, it felt strange for her to be here, as if granting her request would stain his honorable nature. Not that he didn’t trust himself, but it felt like the circumstance was just setting himself up for failure. At best, he would be schoolboy awkward with her and she would forever think him incompetent. He sneaked to his front door to check through the peephole, hating himself for hoping that she wasn’t there. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, her soft sobs resonated through the phone as she waited for his response. He peeked out but only saw the empty hallway and was about to call her bluff when suddenly her heard a muffled “Jong Kook oppa, Jong Kook oppa, are you there?” followed by light raps to his door which quickly echoed through his phone.

He gingerly opened it and peered through the crack to find a fragile figure stumbling to regain her footing at his threshold. He hardly recognized the Ji Hyo standing there, looking at him with swollen eyes, asking him, “Oppa, are you alone?”

Seeing her in such a sorry state, without hesitation, he carefully opened the door to let her in. As she leaned over to her sandals, he watched a teardrop trickle down her face and splatter onto his floor. Her hurried hand rushed to brush it away, as she sniffled to regain her composure.

“Ji Hyo, why are you here? What happened?”, he questioned before realizing he didn’t really want to know the answer. His heart pounded in his ears as he waited and feared the worst.

Silence. The tension was killing him. He could hear the faint sound of his clock marking the passing seconds, like the seconds to a truth-bomb that was about to completely turn his world upside down.

“Ji Hyo, talk to me. Please tell me what’s wrong. I’m worried about you”, he coaxed as he watched her expectedly unmoving from his spot behind the door. The woman was still fixated on her shoes and refused to look up at him. He was losing his patience, but before he could think up a retort, his eyes grew as he suddenly saw her barreling towards him, knocking him off balance as she crashed into him. Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist before she buried her face into his chest.

“Everything”, she mumbled into his sweatshirt before breaking out into sobs.

He stared at her in disbelief as he let the words sink in. Ji Hyo was always bright and cheery in front of him. What had gone wrong? And worse, why did she feel such enormity from it? He slowly wrapped his arms around her to pull her close in a sincere attempt to make her soothe her distress while waiting for her to recoil and spring out of his embrace to hit him and scream at him for crossing the line of their friendship. Instead, he felt her press against him and he gripped her even tighter in return before he slowly walked her over to the living room and they both sat down on his couch.

“Ji Hyo, what’s wrong?”, he inquired again, looking down at the woman who still clung onto him. He watched her breathe heavily against him as she cried, feeling the wetness from her tears soaking through his shirt.

“My heart hurts so much”, she replied cryptically before continuing, “can you just hold me?”, and without waiting for a response, her arms s around his neck.

Though completely flustered, he moved one hand from her waist up to cup the back of her head, holding it gently against him while the other rubbed small circles on her back as he listened to her cry quietly against him, slowly moving her to sit across his lap. Watching her so helplessly in pain, he wondered why she didn’t want to share it with him. Didn’t she trust him at all? Was it from something that he did?

Her body felt so warm against his and he leaned down to rest his cheek against her head, hoping it would provide her with more comfort. Her hair smelled of cherry blossoms, and it felt so smooth against his skin. He breathed it in as he listened to her cry quietly, feeling her chest grow in and out with each passing minute. He recalled everything he knew about Ji Hyo to try to figure out her dilemma, since it seemed that this woman in his arms was more focused on confusing him than giving out any sort of answer. What was so tragic? If only he could help lift the burden off of her. He would gladly bear some of it for her. Gradually, he felt her calm down as she released an arm to wipe her tears with a swipe of her sleeve. She shifted to rest the side of her head against him and stared vacantly into his living room.

He glanced down at the fragile figure settled against him. Her expression was unreadable as her finger picked at the lettering on his hoodie. It troubled him that the strong, confident woman he knew so well could suddenly be reduced to this.  He knew she was comfortable with him, but the rawness of her emotions and her vulnerability scared him. He was going to try once more: “Ji hyo-ya”. There was silence once again, but he was getting frustrated at her lack of response. She had been here for a good forty minutes and he still knew nothing about what had upset her so much. He slowly forced her off him and held her at an arms’ length away, instantly missing her heat on his chest. He tipped her head up to face his and studied her face as he delicately brushed away a tear that trickled down her smooth skin while she continued to avoid his eyes. He could make out the stains of sorrow that marred her cheeks. Her eyes were red and puffy and the hair around her forehead was matted together from the tears and sweat. She had lost all the radiance that he loved so much.

“Ji Hyo-ya. Don’t tell me you came all the way over here to use me as a pillow to cry on”, he urged. Though it was harsh, he knew evoking her would be the only way to get a response. He watched her eyes dart across his face and flicker to his lips briefly before returning to his searching eyes, finally meeting his gaze for the first time since her arrival. Her glossy eyes were engulfed in fear and her lips quivered as she whispered, “Make me feel better”, before slowly leaning up to ghost her lips against his—soft, delicate, forbidden.

She sat down beside him and looked up at him, tears welling-up, pleading to him. His voice hitched as her thumb moved to brush across his cheek. He could feel his face grow red and his heart pound so loudly he was certain she’d heard it. He was now staring down at the woman he had grown so fond of, the one who was usually resilient and dominating, but now at his disposal, begging him to save her. He could see the desperation in her eyes and hear it in her voice.

He leaned forward to wrap his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him. He laid her head against his shoulder, watching her face drop at the realization of rejection. As he slowly swayed her from side to side, in part to avoid having to see the heartbreak in her face, he replied, “Ji Hyo-ya, we’re just friends, remember?” At the drop of those words, he felt the waterworks start once again on his shoulder, now more tragic than before. Her body wracked with sobs as she cradled against him. He only held her, stunned, and he listened to them guiltily, knowing he was the cause of such disappointment.

As he heard her quietly die down once again, he slowed his rock to a stop and let her rest on his chest. After a few minutes of silence, he glanced down to see her sorrowful eyes closed, her exhausted body resting against his in a peaceful sleep with a blank expression. He smirked at the sight. Typical Mong Ji.

He lifted her up carefully and gently set her into his bed, tucking her in tightly, before brushing the hair from her eyes. Studying her face, he marveled at its innocence with no remnants of the pain that had been contorting it from earlier. He affectionately patted her on the head, hoping that tomorrow would treat her better and she would return to the Ji Hyo he knew.

He grabbed a quilt from his closet, turned off the light, and closed the door behind him as he entered the living room. He collapsed into the couch and nestled into the pillow, wrapping the quilt tightly around him, his hands gripping it tightly with all the stress from turmoil racing through his head. He stared blankly into the darkness as he analyzed each of the night’s events. After thinking circles around himself, with his mind worn out, he fell asleep.