A girl’s night out is something she missed for a while. Especially now that both of her friends has boyfriends, preferring to spend time with their significant others rather than with each other.

She didn’t mind, but she was glad that both of them had taken time out of their schedule to meet up with each other.

And today was Lizzy’s time to pick the venue and activity, which most likely included home-cooking, eating, and drinking at her house and then a cheesy movie afterwards.

“Ta-dah! Red wine for you lovely ladies,” Lizzy smiled, proudly presenting a bottle.

Nana gave a small laugh. “And we all know who’s going to drink most of it.”

Lizzy pouted. “Hey! Just because I like to drink does not mean anything. Plus, I’m more of heavyweight than you guys.”

Soojin raised an eyebrow at that. “Weren’t you the first to collapse last time?”

Lizzy rolled her eyes. “That was different. I fought with my boyfriend last time, and I just didn’t want to think about his stupid self at the time. And a good ‘ol friend of mine helped me out with that,” she murmured, the wine bottle lovingly.

But her eyes twinkled as she sat the bottom down on the table. “But I’ve been thinking…”

“Congratulations,” Nana interrupted mockingly.

Lizzy glared at her. “I’ve been thinking,” she emphasized, “How are your guys’ love lives?”

Nana gave her a judging look. “You should know already. And why are you so curious?”

Lizzy groaned, “Why can’t you just answer me? So I like to hear about other people love lives once in a while. Big deal. It’s nice to hear how other people are doing in that department.”

Soojin laughed. “Having some trouble with yours?”

Lizzy made a disgusted face. “He was the one who started it.”

“Well, I’m doing fine,” Nana replied.

Lizzy grinned. “Your boyfriend who’s two years younger? He’s in high school! You’re such a cougar.”

Nana gave her friend a light glare and set down her glass of wine gracefully onto the table with a quiet clink. “Just because my boyfriend is more of a gentleman than yours does not mean you get to insult either of yours.”

Lizzy scoffed. “I have no idea what he sees in you.”

“It’s because of that attitude that your boyfriend finds you so distasteful,” she retorted back.

“At least I’m not a stiff boring girlfriend. Seriously, you’re one of the most uninteresting people I have ever met.”

“And I’m not such a brazen and crude person. Sometimes I think you act more of a guy than a girl.”

Soojin watched them with smile, a laugh threatening to come out of . Their argument closely reminded her of two other pair of friends who squabbled in the same manner.

And when Lizzy responded with the ugliest face she could muster just to prove Nana that she didn’t care what the other thought, Soojin fell apart and started laughing.

They both turned to her, watching with mild annoyance.

“And what about you?” Lizzy asked. “We haven’t heard anything love news from you. We haven’t heard anything from you except your little crush on Dongwoo.”

“That’s because I don’t have any,” Soojin replied.

“Don’t lie to us,” Nana said, giving her a look of suspicion. “We both know you’ve been having out with a boy at the university while we were busy.”

Lizzy grinned slyly. “A pretty popular guy known for his looks and smarts.”

Soojin looked away slightly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oooh! Look at you! There’s something going on, isn’t there?” Lizzy squealed.

Nana leaned forward, grinning as well. “Well? Tell us!”

Soojin sighed. “There really isn’t anything going on. We’re honestly just friends.”

“More than friends, if you ask me,” Lizzy grinned.

“Well, he’s interesting, to say at the least,” Soojin said slowly.

“I feel there’s more to it,” Nana smiled.

Soojin stared at her friends deviously who had expectant looks on their faces. “I’m not saying anything else.”

Nana laughed while Lizzy complained, “What! That’s not fair!”

“At least tell me that you’re going to confess,” Lizzy pouted.

Soojin frowned. “I never said I liked him.”

Nana smiled. “You said you were interested in him.”

“I said that he was interesting,” Soojin corrected. “And that doesn’t mean I like him.”

Lizzy sighed. “I don’t know, Soojin. I feel like this guy has affected you more than you know.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” Lizzy continued. “You’re actually not as bothered by the fact that we can’t hang out with you as much anymore.”

Soojin gave her a sad smile. “I never was that bothered.”

“No, you were,” Nana chided softly. “We were regretful that we couldn’t hang out with more often. And we know that you were disappointed as well. But after you met that boy, you’ve become brighter.”

Lizzy nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, you’re not always in a sour mood anymore.”

“I’ve never been like that,” Soojin protested. “And besides, I got in an argument with him a few days ago. We’re not on the best terms right now.”

Both of her friends gave her of disbelief mixed with exasperation.

Soojin looked down at her hands. “But then again, I am going to meet up with him tomorrow.”

The two other girls smirked.

“Come on, Soojin,” Lizzy exclaimed. “Look at you! You’re in denial, and you know it!”

“I don’t know what your relationship with this boy is, but I’ll tell you now that I think it’s for the better,” Nana smiled.

“Think about it, Soojin. Think about what he really means to you. If he’s really just a friend, fine. But if he’s something more, than you should do something about it. Because if you wait too long, you’ll never know if he’ll still be there,” Lizzy nodded, with conviction.

“You know so much,” Nana mused.

Lizzy gave her a quizzical look that turned darker when Nana continued with, “Probably because you’ve been dumped so many times.”

“Enough with these love stories!” Lizzy cried. “Let’s watch the movie. I’ve wanted to watch it for a while.”

Nana cocked and eyebrow at her. “Weren’t you the one who brought it up in the first place?”

“And your point is?” Lizzy asked with a determined glare.

Nana rolled her eyes. “Never mind. I don’t know why I bother trying to get you to understand. It’s obvious it’s hopeless for anything to go through that dense skull of yours.”

Lizzy covered her ears. “La, la, la. I don’t hear anything.”

Soojin laughed and watched her friends, thinking about what they had said. Of what they told her about him. About how she felt about him. And what she was going to do about it.

Did she like him? She didn’t want to say yes. Because she felt like that would simply prove that her fate was predetermined. That the red string was right. And she didn't like that. She didn't like the feeling of having her love life already folded out in front of her.

But the more she thought about it, the more she thought that it didn’t matter. What mattered was her feelings.

Because they were right, you didn’t know how long things would last. Just like that night flower. Because before you know it, he could be gone.

She arrived exactly on time, but she couldn’t gather up the courage to ring the doorbell.

She had come with a set resolve, of what she wanted to tell him today. But now that she was standing right outside her door, she wavered.

She wondered that if she told him what she wanted to say, would she able to maintain the current relationship with Myungsoo? Would she be able to maintain her friendship with him?”

She sighed and closed her eyes, reaching over to the doorbell to push it. However before she could, the door swung open, revealing Myungsoo with an amused expression on his face. “I was wondering how long it would take you to ring the doorbell.”

She glared at him. “If you saw me, you should have let me in.”

“And miss out on you staring at the doorbell like it was going to kill you? I rather not. It was amusing to say at the least. Watching you fret over the simple task of ringing a doorbell.”

She sighed in disbelief. “Are you going to let me in or not?”

He grinned, opening the door wider. “And in you go.”

She stepped in as he walked ahead of her yelling from the kitchen, “Do you want something to drink? Tea? Coffee? Water?”

“Tea’s fine,” she replied as she sat down on his black couch.

She watched him walk in the living room bringing in two cups of tea and set them down. He then grabbed a plate of fruit he had cut up beforehand and brought that over as well.

She stared at the fruit and smiled slightly. “I’m glad you’re eating more healthily.”

He winked. “What can I say? Someone influenced me.”

He sat down in the armchair next to her.

There was the impending silence they both had expected, both not giving each other full eye contact.

He cleared his throat. “How have you been?” he started off politely.

She shrugged. “It’s school. Same as always. Hanging out with friends. You?”

He nodded as well. “The same. Nothing much.”

There was a prolonged silence, both knowing where the conversation was headed after pleasantries were exchanged.

She sighed. “I can’t take this anymore,” she muttered, rubbing her temples. “This is getting more awkward by the minute.”

He laughed. “ You were always the one to get straight to the point.” He paused, deep in thought. “Where to start?” he mused. He looked at her contemplatively. “How about you tell me what you know.”

She hesitated before answering, “I know that you were in a group-slash-organization with some people called N and K. They were your old friends…” She paused when she saw the murderous look on his face. “Sorry, I mean, some people you used to know. And this organization could dig out your darkest secrets, using them against you. So that no matter what, you had to listen to them. You couldn’t even go to authorities or the police because they would release your secrets to the world, making society look down upon you. Apparently, you were the brains since you knew technology fairly well, and you were the one to know everything about anyone. I’m assuming that you were the one to dig up secrets.”

She looked up, trying to remember all the facts. “Um. In your last year of high school, you met Sungyeol and Sungjong. They became good friends of yours, but they were confronted by people and got hurt because of that. So you decided to leave to group, but got beat up badly for that. You were let go, I suppose. And I guess you haven’t seen anything from them since, until now. And here we are.”

He looked at her with slight surprise. “You know quite a bit.”

She flushed with awkwardness. “I might have asked around.”

He sighed, staring at the clasped hands in his lap. “I…I… don’t want to tell you all of this,” he hesitated. “I didn’t want you to get involved.”

She frowned. “You promised you would tell me.”

He sighed, leaning back into the chair. “I know.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

He watched her carefully. “I’m…I’m afraid that you’ll think differently about me. Badly about me.”

He let out a brisk laugh, bringing his eyes to the ceiling and running his fingers in his hair in disbelief. “Wow. I’ve always told myself that if anyone asks about my past, I would tell them. Yet, I’m hesitating with you.”

She blinked her eyes at him and then laughed. “Myungsoo, I heard some of the worst parts already. I’ve seen it happened; I’ve had it happen to someone close to me. And you never changed in my eyes. You’re still the same obnoxious and bothersome guy I’ve accidently met. And you simply have a dark history behind you. But what matter now is you now.”

He looked at her in surprise, a grateful smile blossoming on his lips.

She hesitated, glancing at him momentarily. “And if you still feel like you can’t tell me,” she continued slowly, “I’ll tell you a secret in exchange for yours.” She closed her eyes in nervousness, knowing fully well that there was no turning back now.

“Secret?” he asked, not catching her anxiety she was trying to hide.

She nodded.

He laughed softly. “But I want to tell you, deep inside. I want you to know.” He looked back down towards her. “But it would be nice to hear something about you.”

She gestured for him to start, attentively listening to every word he said.

He smiled and told her everything he could.

About how lonely he felt when no one could talk to him with his intelligence. That nobody wanted to talk to him because they felt like he was belittling everyone else. How he met Hakyeon and Taehyun, aliases of N and K, and felt like they could understand him, that he wasn’t alone. How Hakyeon changed into someone else, someone who believed what he did was right. And how he never liked what Hakyeon did, but listened to what he said because he was his friend. One of his only friends.  

And then he talked about meeting Sungyeol and Sungjong, and despite the many rumors surrounding him, took the opportunity to become his friend. And then he began to hang out with them more instead of with Hakyeon and Taehyun. But because of that, he felt like he was avoiding talking to them, unable to tell them what was really on his mind. That he was afraid that Hakyeon, especially Hakyeon, and Taeyhun were changing for the worse. Sungjong and Sungyeol got hurt because of him, and he couldn’t forgive himself because of that.

And in the end, he told them that he wanted out. Both of them were hurt by his actions, unable to forgive him. Hakyeon indirectly threatened him with his family, which is why he left home, telling him that he didn’t deserve happiness.

“Which is why I don’t want anyone to be hurt because of me. Because it hurts to see that you’re the cause of their misfortune.” He looked at her. “Which is why I didn’t want to see you become involved and possibly get hurt as well.”

She looked at him with worried but determined eyes. “But I’m not leaving.”

He laughed. “I know you aren’t. I realized that long ago. But I want you to think carefully about this. N and K. They’re dangerous. They could literally ruin your life in a blink of an eye. And I personally don’t want to see that happen with you.”

She closed her eyes momentarily and then opened them to look at him.

“I’ve thought about it lots of times before. Why should I have bothered with you? If I simply left you alone, I would not have to go through all these, oh I don’t know, problems?”

He looked at her curiously. “Then why didn’t you?”

She laughed sarcastically, more to herself, and muttered, “Because I realized that there was a reason why I kept involving myself with you. Because as much as I rejected the idea before, I’ve finally come to accept it. That despite my disbelief in it, I can’t help but acknowledge the truth. That I can’t lie to my own feelings.”

Myungsoo looked at her strangely. “I’m afraid I have no clue of what you’re talking about.”

She laughed again. “It’s to be expected. I’ve only figured it out recently.”

“What are you talking about?” he persisted.

“My secret.”

He paused, not knowing where she was going with this, and said slowly, “Okay, so I told you my secret. What’s yours?"

She glanced at him with a defeated look and then sighed.

She hesitated, “My secret?”  She then looked straight into his eyes and said as clearly as possible, “I think I like you.”

A/N: Well, that escalated quickly. Well, I gave out hints (or at least I think I did) that they were interested in each other more than on a friend level.

Tell me what you thought!

Thanks for reading and enjoy!