“Okay wait, so let me get this straight. So you went on a date with Byunghee, but now you’re dating Howon?” Mi Rae asked, rubbing her temples.

“To put it simply, yes,” you stirred the noodles in your bowl while watching her put everything together. It took her a few minutes but then she smiled up at you. She began pumping her fists in the air, causing you to laugh.

“Team Howon for the win!” She exclaimed happily. “Tell me everything! What happened? Did you kiss?” You began blushing at her question and tried to hide your face. “Oh my gosh you did! Is he a good kisser? Come on! Tell me!”

You recounted the evening you had a few nights ago. Mi Rae tried to contain her excitement, but when you told her about the mini water fight the two of you had, she couldn’t prevent herself from squealing. Her excitement made you even happier about your new relationship. You had a difficult time not smiling like an idiot when you thought about Howon.

“So did you tell Byunghee yet?” She sipped on her drink and looked up at you for your response. Your smile fell.

“No, I haven’t.” You continued pushing your noodles around.

“Why not?”

“I guess I don’t know how to, yet. If he had never kissed me or said those things then I would, but now I feel like it’s going to hurt him. He’s still my best friend.” Mi Rae nodded, listening to your words. She paused to think before meeting your eyes.

“If the situation was reversed, what do you think Byunghee would do?” You thought for moment. What would he do?

“He would tell me right away. Probably rub it in that he is dating and I’m not.” Mi Rae nodded.

“I guess you know what to do then.” She leaned back in her chair with a smirk.

----------------------------------------

Later that night you called Byunghee, hoping that you would get his voicemail like you usually did. Unfortunately for you, this would be one of the few times he was available to answer his phone.

“Hey baby girl! What’s going on? Or is this a call for some play time?” You instantly rolled your eyes at his question, even though he couldn’t see you doing it.

“I was actually wondering if you could come over for a bit. I need to talk to you about something.”

“Yeah, sure! I’ll bring food, okay?”

“Oh you don’t need to-” before you finished your sentence, he had hung up.

A few hours later, Byunghee was at your door. He had brought burgers from a small shop down the street. You took yours and began nibbling, though you weren’t hungry.

“So what is going on baby girl?” Byunghee’s tone was calm and playful. At first you thought he was still under the impression something was going to happen tonight. When you looked up however, you saw the look in his eyes. He was trying to act nonchalant, but you could see it was all a facade. He took a large bite of his burger before meeting your eyes.

“I wanted to tell you that Howon and I are officially dating.” Not the most tactful you had ever been, but you didn’t know any other way to tell him. “He asked me to be his girlfriend a few nights ago.” Byunghee froze, his mouth open, ready to take another bite of his food.

“And you said yes?” He didn’t look at you. Instead, he busied himself with his food. You could tell he was trying to look like this wasn’t affecting him. That made it harder for you.

“I told you, Howon is special,” you said. Byunghee nodded slightly and then sighed.

“You’re happy, right?” He finally looked into your eyes. You felt like he was trying to dig into your soul for the truth, but you weren’t sure you knew exactly what the truth was. Howon did make you happy, but so did Byunghee. You just couldn’t take how things were with Byunghee anymore. You needed change.

“Yes, I’m very happy.” You said with a smile.