Dusk: ROOFDECK

You and Donghae sit on the ledge overlooking the city.

"You danced pretty well earlier," you compliment him, trying to ease the tension.

"You too," he says limply. "I guess we're rivals in more ways than one, huh?"

You look at him hopelessly and sigh. "Donghae, I--"

"I thought you were my friend, Haneul," he interrupts.

You are hurt. "I AM your frie--"

"You knew very well that I like her a lot. I even trusted you to set me and Jessica up so she'd get to know me more and hopefully like me back! But you... you..." His hands are shaking.

You decide to keep quiet and allow him to let everything out.

"I feel so betrayed," he says.

"You were like a brother to me, Haneul. How could you?"

"... I didn't do anything..."

He is quiet. He stares into the last bits of orange sun rays on the horizon before the blue finally takes over.

"I'm so stupid..." he whispers. "I should have seen it coming. I was too blinded by her that I didn't see that she was never mine to begin with. She always had her eyes on you. And she never saw me."

"Look, Donghae, I'm sorry about what happened," you say. "But believe me, I never wanted this to happen. I didn't even know that Jessica liked me until someone else pointed it out a few days ago!"

Donghae smirks and shakes his head.

"It kills me inside that we're like this," you continue. "If I could have stopped this from happening, I would have! I can't control her heart, Donghae. But if there's one thing for sure, I never liked Jessica."

"What?"

"I never liked her. I mean, as a person, I guess she's okay, but I have someone else that I like. And it's definitely not her."

Come to think of it, I probably don't like Jessica as a person either because of her ignoring him but I'll not go into that...

He turns to look at you squarely in the eye. "Are you telling the truth?" he asks, the look in his eyes very intense but all bottled deep inside.

"I swear it on my grandpa's honor," you say firmly. "And even if I didn't like someone else, I wouldn't even think of stealing her from you because you're my friend. And that's more important to me than some gu--I mean, girl."

He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly.

"I'm sorry, Donghae..." you say.

"No, I'm sorry," he says. "I shouldn't have blamed you. I guess I was traumatized before."

"Traumatized?"

"I liked this girl back then. I asked my closest friend to help me out with her but the girl rejected me. A few days later, I found out that they were going out."

"That ..."

"Yep."

...

"I can promise you though," you say. "That is never EVER gonna happen with me. Whether you're going after Jessica or you're going for the hottest girl in the world, I will always value our friendship more."

"You really mean that?" He looks at you sadly.

Well, in the first place, I am a girl too so...

"With all my heart," you smile.

He looks at you for a long time. Then he smiles back. "Thanks, Haneul. I mean it."

You spend the rest of the time watching the sky turn dark blue over the Seoul skyline from the best seats in the house.

Donghae starts laughing.

"What's so funny?" you ask, puzzled.

"This all seems so stupid now," he laughs. "I missed you a lot, Haneul."

Your cheeks heat up. "I missed your stupidity too, fishy."

He suddenly hugs you really tight which makes your whole face turn as red as a tomato, and your heartbeat thump louder in your chest. You hope he doesn't hear it. Slowly, you place your arms around him to hug him as well. It's warm and comforting.

"Wait a minute," he says, still locked in the hug. "You're not gay, are you?"

"NO NO!" you say, startled. "Of course not!"

"Oh okay, good," he chirps as he squeezes you once more.

He releases you from the hug and he reaches out his hand. "Friends?"

"Friends," you smile as you take his hand and shake on it.

"Oh mai gad, there's so many things we need to catch up on," he says excitedly. "Also, I need to make it up to you for all those times that I gave you the cold shoulder."

"Oh? What do you have in mind?"

"Let's shower together~! I'll wash your back for you, Haneul!" he exclaims.

"UUUUHHHHH NNNNNO THANKS, I'M FINE WASHING MY OWN BACK, THANKYOUVERYMUCH," you reply hastily. O_O

"Oh, it's not your thing? Strange. Oh well. Let's just go out for ice cream sometime. My treat," he grins.

"But what about saving up your money to date Jessica? You know it's a bit expensive..." you remind him.

"I think I'll forget about Jessica," he says. "Yeah, I liked her for over a year, but once I step away from the illusion of love and perfection, she treated me like ddong." (Trans: ddong = poop)

You laugh loudly. "Aww, don't worry, Donghae, I'm sure somewhere out there is the perfect girl for you." You give him a pat on the back.

"I guess so. Lots of other fishies in the sea~" he sings. "For now though, I think I'll focus on more important things. And I'll save my money for myself instead of some girl who might just break my heart one day."

"Good thinking," you nod.

"Oh, I can focus on my dancing instead~ You're still my rival in dancing though," he chuckles. "It's good to have healthy competition?"

"Oh, yeah? I thought I was way better than you," you joke.

"Nah, I bet you can't flex your chest muscles in time to the beat of a song!" he says.

"Hmmm, I'd rather not try..." you say nervously.

You spend hours with Donghae on the roof when you see a figure limping towards the dormitories.

"Youngwoon hyung?" he guesses.

You peer down below. "Yeah, it is Youngwoon hyung. Why is he walking funny?"

"Probably because of Judo?"

You squint a bit to focus your vision some more. He has blood on his head and he is clutching the side of his hip. "Why does he--??!" Youngwoon faints.

You and Donghae look at each other with shock. "HYUNG??!" you call out to him.

"HYUNG!!" he shouts.

Run downstairs to help Youngwoon.