Written By: MurasakiMasquerade

"I'm leaving," yelled Hyoyeon right before she slammed the door with a loud bang. She walked furiously fast down the hallway and out of the building. Her heels clicked against the hard cement of the sidewalk next to the street. Tears streaked her face and she constantly wiped at them, but they were never ending. Her chest ache and heaved with her sobs. Heartbreak and an intense pain of sadness rushed through her body as she stumbled away from him, the man who is causing her this pain. With her belongings in her hands, Hyoyeon headed to the one place she knew she could go. Once she reached her destination, she rose her hand and knocked on the door urgently. Unsure of how much longer she could hold up, she continued knocking on the door until it finally opened and she saw the face of her closest friend Donghae. Once Donghae saw the state his friend Hyoyeon was in, he felt his heart drop. He immediately ushered her inside his apartment. Hyoyeon dropped her bags and sank onto Donghae's couch. Donghae sat beside her and took one of her hands into his own.

"Hyoyeon?" he asked gently. "What happened?" Hyoyeon did not answer Donghae and just continued to stare at the wall in silence. Her body felt numb as the pain was too great. Donghae rubbed her back slowly and gently as he waited patiently for her to talk. This gesture made her crack and tears began to flow again. Her body trembled as she began to sob again. Donghae wrapped his arms around Hyoyeon as he tried to console her. The two of them stayed like that until Hyoyeon was finally able to calm down. Then Hyoyeon told Donghae what happened. Her boyfriend had been acting very secretive and mysterious for the past couple of weeks and it was starting to make Hyoyeon nervous. 

"Then I saw the text messages," said Hyoyeon. "He was meeting up with another girl. I didn't have any proof that he was cheating, but I went to his place to ask him about the messages." Then Hyoyeon stopped talking and just stared ahead of her. The memory of what she saw when she entered her boyfriend's apartment was very painful and she had a hard time of spitting the words out, but, with Donghae beside her, she was able to summon the strength to say what happened. "The door to his place was unlocked so I just let myself in and then I saw..." Donghae squeezed her hand and then she continued. "I saw him on the couch with another girl in his lap and they were making out. The girl was wearing just a bra and her skirt while he wasn't wearing a shirt." Then the tears came back and ran down Hyoyeon's face. Donghae sat beside her and kept consoling her. Seeing Hyoyeon like this broke Donghae's heart because he can't stand to see her in so much pain. Exhausted by her emotions, Hyoyeon soon fell asleep. Donghae picked her up, took her to his room, and placed her gently onto his bed. 

"How could someone hurt her like this?" he murmured to himself as he brush strands of hair out of her sleeping face. Then, with a pillow and blanket in his arms, he went to his couch in the living room. Unable to sleep, he tossed and turned while worrying about Hyoyeon. 

The next morning, Donghae woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. He immediately sat upright and found Hyoyeon in his kitchen. She stood at the stove still dressed in her clothes from yesterday and with her blonde hair pulled back in a tight pony tail. 

"Hyoyeon?" She turned around with a smile on her face.

"Ah Donghae," she said. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up." Her attitude is completely different from yesterday. Although she still feels hurt about her boyfriend's infidelity, she at least felt a little bit more cheerful. Donghae stood up from the couch, stretched his stiff body, and made his way to the kitchen. "I hope you don't mind me using your kitchen." Donghae shrugged.

"As long as some of that bacon is reserved for me I don't care," he replied. Hyoyeon smiled and served him some bacon and eggs. 

"So what is the plan for today?" asked Hyoyeon. 

"Plan?" asked Donghae

"Yeah, shouldn't we do something today?"

"Are you okay?" Donghae looked at his friend with worry. Hyoyeon stood with her back to him and hesitated before speaking.

"I just need to keep myself preoccupied," said Hyoyeon. She turned towards him with the best smile she could muster. "That is what I really need."

"Okay then," said Donghae. "Your choice."

Two hours later, Donghae and Hyoyeon found themselves standing in line waiting to purchase tickets. Hyoyeon smiled happily as Donghae could barely hide his boredom. 

"I knew I shouldn't have let you decide," said Donghae glumly. Hyoyeon gave him a playful shove.

"Too late," she said. "You already said that it was my choice."

"Really? The zoo?" asked Donghae with a displeased tone of voice. Hyoyeon bounced happily beside him while nodding her head.

"Yes! I haven't been here in ages." They purchased their tickets and entered the zoo. "Where should we go first?" She held in her hands a map that displayed the different exhibits offered and their locations.

"I don't care," said Donghae grumpily. Hyoyeon crossed her arms and pouted.

"You're no fun." Donghae sighed and swiped the map from Hyoyeon's hands. 

"Let's go see the ferocious lion first," said Donghae. Hyoyeon smiled and nodded her head. They reached the lion exhibit and saw the large cat lying down lazily in the shade. "So much for being ferocious," muttered Donghae. 

"I think he looks amazing," said Hyoyeon. "Almost regal like." Donghae chuckled as they both observed the lion. 

"Excuse me," said a small voice. They both turned towards a little boy who looked up at the both of them. A little girl stood shyly behind the little boy. "Are you two a couple?" Both Donghae and Hyoyeon were both startled from the question. They immediately looked at each other, made awkward eye contact, and then immediately looked away.

"No," said Donghae, which made Hyoyeon a little sad. The little boy then turned towards the little girl.

"See, I told you," he snapped at her. 

"I just thought that since they looked so good together that they were a couple," murmured the little girl. She then looked at Donghae and Hyoyeon. "Why aren't you two a couple?" The little girl looked at them with a curious expression on her small face. Before either Donghae or Hyoyeon could answer, the childrens' mother appeared and shuffled the two kids away while apologizing to Donghae and Hyoyeon for the trouble. Once they were gone, Hyoyeon leaned against the railing of the exhibit and sighed.

"Are you okay?" asked Donghae. Hyoyeon then shook her head as she held back the tears. Donghae then leaned against the railing beside her. 

"It hurts," said Hyoyeon as a tear finally slipped down her cheek. "What did I do to deserve this?" Donghae then wrapped his strong arms around Hyoyeon.

"You didn't do anything," said Donghae. "He doesn't deserve you." Then the tears could not be held anymore and Hyoyeon cried while Donghae just held her. "Hyoyeon, this might not be the best time to say this, but I am going to say it anyway." Donghae pulled Hyoyeon away from him and and stared at her tear-streaked face. Hyoyeon wiped the tears from her face. "I love you." These words stunned Hyoyeon and she just stared at Donghae wide eyed. "I care about you a lot, and I will never hurt you." He then lowered his face and kissed her. Hyoyeon kissed him back, a sign that she accept his confession. 

"See! I told you they were a couple," said the little girl with a shriek. Donghae and Hyoyeon broke apart and laughed. Then Hyoyeon wrapped her arms around Donghae and whispered softly in his ear.

"I love you too."