Yuri’s eyes widened and choked on her last bit of orange juice, coughing as she signaled for some tissue with her hand. Baekhyun immediately stood up and grabbed the nearest tissue box and handed it over to Yuri.

‘’Are you alright noona?’’ Baekhyun asked, concerned. ‘’Sorry.’’ He quietly sat down.

Yuri nodded whilst still coughing. ‘’It-it’s o-kay.’’ She patted her chest. ‘’Sorry about that, I was drinking too quickly.’’

She put down her cup on the small table in front of her. ‘’Baekhyun…I….I mean, I love spending time with you and I never feel uncomfortable when I’m talking to you about things. I can always tell you anything and you always make me laugh. You’re a really great friend, and I love you…’’ she paused, ‘’….as a friend…’’ and watched as Baekhyun slowly looked down. ‘’I’m so sorry.’’ She whispered.

Yuri leaned forward to put her hand on Baekhyun’s hands. ‘’It’s just that there’s someone I’ve never been able to let go for years. It’s going to be hard to fight for him, but I can’t help it if he’s still in my heart, and you’re like a brother to me….you get what I mean, right?’’

Baekhyun slowly nodded but continued to stare at the floor. ‘’I never knew that normal friends could knit a scarf especially for them and share couple rings.’’ He twirled the ring that he got with Yuri on their middle birthday date on his finger.

He took a deep breath as he removed Yuri’s hand away from him. ‘’But now I get it, noona. I guess I was just confused and interpreted everything the wrong way.’’ He stood up. ‘’I’ll be on my way now.’’ Without looking at Yuri, he slightly nodded at her direction and quickly ran towards the front door.

‘’Baekhyun, I can explain! Baekhyun!’’ But Yuri was too late; Baekhyun was already out the door. She sighed.

‘’I’m sorry.’’ She whispered as she watched Baekhyun’s figure disappear outside her front gate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘’That someone else is a lucky guy.’’ Jiyong bitterly smiled.

Taeyeon sat closer towards Jiyong and put her hand on his lap. ‘’I’m sorry, oppa.’’

Jiyong shook his head. ‘’Don’t be. It’s not your fault. My fault for not acknowledging your feelings earlier, and now, it’s obviously too late.’’

Taeyeon took a deep breath. ‘’To be honest, until a few months ago…I still had feelings for you.’’

Jiyong’s eyes widened as he looked up to meet eyes with Taeyeon. ‘’Still? Sorry, wait what?’’

‘’Kwon Jiyong, you really are stupid.’’ She chuckled softly. ‘’I’ve liked you for god knows how long….I think it’s been 7 years? I lost track. I was there when you said Yuri was pretty, when you asked her out, when you guys became an official couple, when you guys went on dates and all that. I was there, do you not remember? And it was painful.’’

She sighed and leaned into the sofa. ‘’Or maybe you just didn’t acknowledge my existence then. Honestly, even until a few months ago, I still liked you. But I met someone. Someone I thought I would never be interested in. We’re still getting to know each other, and I hope he could understand my feelings one day. But my point is, finally, I’ve learned to let go.’’ Taeyeon straightened up and looked at Jiyong in the eye. ‘’I’ve finally learned to let go of you, Kwon Jiyong.’’

Jiyong was about to open his mouth to say something, but hesitated. ‘’I’m sorry’’, was all Jiyong could say as he looked down with his hands balled into fists. ‘’I never knew. I’m really an idiot. If only I was a little quicker at realizing my feelings….then maybe….’’ He looked up to meet Taeyeon’s eyes again.

‘’Maybe. But I can’t guarantee, oppa.’’ Taeyeon sighed as she whispered softly. ‘’People change. I can’t just stay here waiting for someone who won’t come back. This is honestly a surprise.’’

Taeyeon reached out to hold Jiyong’s hand in her palms as she spoke to their hands. ‘’Thank you for being honest and telling me all this. I’m honestly flattered that you came all the way back just for me, but I’m also sorry that things are not working out as what you planned.’’ She chuckled. ‘’You’ll get anyone with your looks, brains and charm, Kwon Jiyong. Don’t you worry about being single.’’ She patted his hand and looked up to give him a reassuring smile.

Jiyong forced a smile back. He cleared his throat and stood up to straighten his pants. ‘’I guess this is the cue for me to leave then. Thanks for this, Tae. Still friends, right?’’ he offered a handshake gesture.

Taeyeon slapped his hand away and Jiyong was so shocked. Before he knew it, Taeyeon already stood up to embrace him into a friendly hug. ‘’Best friends.’’ She whispered in his ear. Jiyong smiled as he embraced her back, feeling her soft hair. ‘’Best friends.’’ He repeated. They stayed in that position for a while until Taeyeon released Jiyong first.

‘’So I’ll see you soon?’’ Taeyeon asked as she opened her front door for Jiyong.

‘’I’ll probably be heading back to the States these two days actually, depends how quick I can book a flight.’’ He walked towards Taeyeon and patted her head. ‘’I’ll come back and visit, and you can always come visit me too.’’ He smiled.

‘’I’ll see you again, oppa. This won’t be goodbye, but see you soon.’’ She chuckled as she patted his shoulder.

Jiyong smiled back and waved as he left the house without another word. Taeyeon watched as Jiyong slowly disappeared from her sight, without looking back. ‘’I’m sorry.’’ She whispered to herself as she closed the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Baekhyun’s confession, Yuri decided to do some jogging at the nearest park to clear her mind. She was too concentrated in maintaining her jogging speed whilst humming to the recent Big Bang songs, until she bumped into someone who crashed into her. Hard.

She took her earphones out and picked the poor guy up. ‘’I’m so sorry! Are you o-‘’ the guy looked up and Yuri gasped.

‘’Jiyong oppa?’’

Jiyong groaned as he rubbed his forehead. He looked up when he heard his name. ‘’Yuri?’’

They both laughed. ‘’I’m so sorry, I was too into my music.’’

‘’Well, to make up for what happened just now, I think someone owes me a drink.’’

‘’Two Americanos please.’’ Yuri ordered at the nearby café they stumbled upon and proceeded to pay for the drinks. When her order was done, she took the drinks and headed to the table near the window, where Jiyong was staring out in space.

‘’Your drink is ready, sir.’’ Yuri spoke in a weird accent.

Jiyong snapped out of his daydreaming, and they both laughed when he realized it was only Yuri.

‘’People do change, eh?’’ Jiyong muttered after downing a quarter of his Americano.

‘’What did you say, oppa?’’ Yuri said after taking a baby sip from her Americano.

‘’Oh, nothing. So what’s up with you? Why were you so concentrated?’’ he chuckled.

‘’I can tell you everything, right?’’ Yuri took a deep breath as she nervously held on to her drink.

‘’Anything and everything. I’m here for you no matter what.’’ He smiled as he laced his fingers and placed them on the table. ‘’Did something happen?’’

‘’Someone confessed to me...’’ she whispered.

‘’But?’’ Jiyong asked as he took another sip from his drink.

‘’But…I rejected him.’’

‘’Because he wasn’t your type?’’

‘’No. Because…’’ Yuri quickly glanced at Jiyong, who was patiently waiting for her to just confess everything out loud.

‘’I already have someone in my heart.’’ She said as she looked down at her drink. ‘’That someone is really important to me. He changed me.’’

Yuri bravely looked up again, and stared at Jiyong. ‘’His name is Kwon Jiyong.’’

Jiyong’s eyes widened, surprised at Yuri’s sudden confession. ‘’Yul, I-‘’ he took a deep breath. ‘’Sorry, I need to use the washroom first.’’ He quickly stood up and headed to the washroom, leaving Yuri alone in the quiet café.

After a while, Jiyong returned with a cup of caramel latte in his hand as he placed it in front of Yuri and returned to his seat opposite her.

Before Yuri could ask any questions, Jiyong took her hand into his across the table. ‘’Kwon Yuri, you have to know that you’re an amazing girl. You’re beautiful, caring; smart, cute, amazing at dance and sports, and so lovable that I’m honestly glad that I was lucky enough to have been in a relationship with you.’’ He paused to wipe a tear away from Yuri’s cheek. ‘’But everyone needs to move on, and I want you, one of my best friends, to find someone who will love you the same way you love them.’’

He took a deep breath and rummaged through his pocket to place some cash next to the caramel latte. ‘’I’m going to go now, but I’ll see you again soon. And the next time I see you, I want to see the happy Yuri, the old Yuri I always knew.’’ He smiled as he took the barely touched Americano away from Yuri. ‘’We both know you never liked Americanos, and it doesn’t suit you either.’’ Jiyong stood up and tapped the cover of the caramel latte. ‘’Don’t just randomly force yourself to drink something other people like, but you don’t like. Find someone who will enjoy caramel latte too, just like you do.’’

He patted Yuri’s head as he walked out, taking the Americano Yuri once had with him.