Lay had his bag out and was packing when Kris barged in and closed the door behind him. Lay stared at his brother’s frantic expression blankly.

“Kyungsoo’s downstairs,” Kris breathed. Lay blinked.

“You didn’t tell them you were leaving tomorrow?” he asked and Lay, after a thought, shook his head.

“Must’ve slipped my mind.”

Aghast by his answer, Kris stared, “Y-you f-for- HOW DO YOU FORGET SUCH A THING?!”

Lay flinched at Kris’s volume but didn’t say anything. He was at fault, again. He should’ve mentioned it to them that he’d be leaving by Monday. But he couldn’t. First few days they were busy with the surprise, the next few days he didn’t remember, and the other days that followed didn’t give him the time. Lay realised now, how much had happened in the span on one week.

“Kyungsoo’s downstairs,” Kris repeated after a sigh, “And he’s pissed.”

Lay nodded.

“I’m sending him up.”

Kris closed the door behind him and Lay could hear him go down. He waited until heard slow steps ascending the stairs. When the door opened, Lay braced himself for a punch but nothing came. Instead, the boy gently closed the door behind him, glanced at Lay’s suitcase, and sat down next to it. Lay chewed at his bottom lip while Kyungsoo did nothing but burn holes into his face. They didn’t talk, just let silence engulf them as Kyungsoo stared at Lay staring at his shows.

“Sup?”

Lay raised his head at Kyungsoo’s voice. Unlike his frank question, Kyungsoo’s expression was stoic.

“Uh- packing,” Lay reluctantly replied.

Kyungsoo nodded, “Leaving tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah…”

Kyungsoo nodded again, “I’ll text and let the others know then, since you obviously aren’t going to.”

“Kyungsoo, that’s not it,” Lay tried explaining, “I meant to tell but i-“

“Let me guess,” Kyungsoo cut, “You forgot?”

Lay nodded, the temperature of his face slowly rising.

“You’re forgetting awful lot of things, aren’t you?” Kyungsoo bit, “Like telling your friends what the hell went down between you and Hana!”

Lay’s head whipped toward Kyungsoo at the mention of her name and all the information he had read off the file yesterday came rushing back. Kyungsoo’s anger and the facts he now knew made him feel even worse than he did before. But then it hit him that Kyungsoo and the others might not know of her condition either. He needed to tell them so they, unlike him, could help her.

“Hana…Kyungsoo, Hana has-“

“Depression, I know. Baekhyun and I have known since a long time and I know Kris hyung gave you her file last night.”

Lay’s eyes widened, “You knew? T-then how didn’t I know-“

“She didn’t tell you because she was afraid of your reaction,” Kyungsoo cut in agitated, “She constantly thinks of herself as a burden and she thought that if you knew too, you’d think she’s too much for you to handle and back out. Or that you’d take care of her only because you felt bad and not because you wanted to.”

Kyungsoo’s voice had an aggressive undertone that it rarely had. Lay had backed up and hit the closet. He slid down on his back and sat on the floor, his legs sprawled ahead of him as his mouth hung open.

“Also,” Kyungsoo said from his position on the bed, “She didn’t want you to worry.”

Lay looked up at that. Kyungsoo’s expressions had momentarily softened but then his gaze flickered to the purple suitcase on his left and the same coldness returned.

“How much did the file tell you?” he asked and shifted his gaze back to his friend.

Lay couldn’t find it in himself to talk. He wanted to wack his head on the wall countless times instead. But Kris was right, Kyungsoo was angry and making him wait would only worsen things. And that’s not what Lay wanted. He had to fix things, not destroy them further.

“I-it had her medical records. Also, uhm- also some notes with her suicidal history and triggers. It also said how she fell into mutism because of shock...” The months they had tried to get Hana to talk flashed in front of his eyes and he felt miserable, “Kyungsoo…is that why she didn’t talk? Was she suffering when she met us?”

His friend solemnly nodded, “She was refusing treatment those days. But Sehun was told by Principal Kim that she started taking regular therapy with your mom after she befriended us.”

Lay couldn’t believe that his mother was Hana’s psychiatrist. He had to read it over ten times to get the fact around his head. He couldn’t believe the possibility, that out of all the doctors in Seoul, she was under his mother.

“Did she know…?” Lay couldn’t finish but Kyungsoo could imagine what he meant.

“Yeah, she did. But like I said, she had her own reasons for not telling you.”

“And,” Kyungsoo hastily added, “Before you ask me why she told us, she didn’t. We basically forced it out of her.”

Lay was holding his head. He didn’t know how he fell asleep last night. All he remembered was the pounding in his chest and the pounding in his head and then darkness. Kyungsoo shifted in his position and stared down at Lay. He looked miserable. Kyungsoo felt bad looking at his friend. When he left Hana’s house that morning, she was slightly better but her smiles didn’t reach her eyes. Sehun told them she was doubting herself again and Kyungsoo wanted nothing more than to make everything right.

“What happened before you yelled at her?” Kyungsoo asked calmly.

Lay shook his head, “I feel like an .”

“Good. Now, tell me exactly what happened.”

Lay raised his head but didn’t meet Kyungsoo’s eyes as he explained it all. How he waited for Hana outside the school gates and she didn’t show up. How he called her and panicked when she didn’t pick up. He mentioned he saw them hug and how he lost it. As he was reciting everything he said to her, he couldn’t help but feel a pang.

“And then you just left?” Kyungsoo asked incredulously, “Without even hearing her out?”

“I didn’t have another choice. If I stayed any longer I would’ve said more hurtful things.”

“You didn’t even let her speak?” Kyungsoo repeated.

Lay violently ruffled his hair, “Kyungsoo, there wasn’t a need to! I’ve been seeing her out with him and I’ve been told of how buddy buddy she was getting with Jaekyung!”

Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes, “Told? Told by whom?”

“Hana had a best frie-“

“Yuri? Jang Yuri?” he asked and Lay nodded.

Baekhyun was right, Kyungsoo couldn’t believe it.

He scoffed, “THAT’S your source?!”

Lay was getting impatient, “Kyungsoo, I’ve seen-“

“Oh, but you saw wrong my friend!” he angrily shut him off. Kyungsoo’s stance had changed and he was now leaning toward Lay with one leg forward.

“This is exactly why I told her to tell you sooner,” he mumbled and Lay wondered what he meant. Kyungsoo’s eyes locked with his and after a really long time, Lay felt intimidated.

“She wanted to tell you herself, but I'm going to have to do it instead.”

-

With Luhan on her right and Sehun on her left, Hana walked toward the park. Luhan had pushed his work aside so all of them could go out for a picnic. Chanyeol refused to go home and tagged along with them. He felt bad for Hana, really bad. Since he had known her, she’d be smiling and cheering everyone up. Knowing that the girl had suffered so much alone and now, because of a stupid misunderstanding, was going through pain made him want to protect her as a friend.

They settled on a spot near the play area and took in what was left of the sun.

“Winter’s coming,” Luhan announced as he tugged at his jacket. Sehun unwrapped his sandwhich and nodded in agreement.

“Means our festival is soon,” Chanyeol added and sipped at his coke.

“How’s the practice coming?” Luhan asked Hana who shrugged.

“Good,” her voice was low, “I suppose. The last time we practiced, it went well.”

“Yeah!” Chanyeol cheered, “And Sehun and Kai are preparing this really cool dance to go with the song. It’s so totally in sync. It’s gonna be the best thing man.”

“Dance?” Luhan raised a questioning brow at his brother, “When did this happen?”

“It was Kai’s idea,” Sehun said through his sandwich, “He was bored with their practices but didn’t want to leave either so he thought it’d be a cool idea.”

“They do look impressive,” Hana added as she peeled the orange Chanyeol had given her, “It’ll look nice.”

“Nice?” Sehun snorted, “We’re going to be the stars of the night.”

“But well know that my rap is the attention grabber, right?”

Sehun laughed, “Sure it is.”

“Wait,” Luhan held up a hand, “What rap?”

“Chanyeol’s going to rap,” Hana informed, “In the song. He has his own part.”

“How do I not know all this?” Luhan asked, slightly offended. Chanyeol held his hands up defensively and pointed toward Hana and Sehun.

“You’re a busy person,” Sehun shrugged and Luhan shook his head.

“I need a performance,” Luhan ordered, “Understand?”

Chanyeol vehemently nodded, “Yes sir!”

Chanyeol had dragged Hana to the play area. Sehun and Luhan watched as Hana was forced to sit on one end of the mini see-saw, then saw Chanyeol skip (literally) to the other and sit too. They looked hilarious. And embarassing. Which is why Sehun was filming the whole thing and Chanyeol’s cries of ‘Hana’a kick yourself higher!’ drowned out the sounds of kids around them.

“At least she’s talking,” Luhan said with an optimistic smile, “right?”

“Yeah,” Sehun had stopped recording, “That’s a relief.”

They stood in silence with their hands in their pockets to block out the cold. Chanyeol and Hana now stood in line for the slide. Hana looked odd but Chanyeol, in all his 185 cm glory between a bunch of five year olds looked like a giant.

“What are you thinking about?” Luhan nudged his brother, making him sigh.

“Just…”

“Just?”

“Lay’s a great guy,” Sehun started and Luhan immediately knew where this was going.

“I don’t doubt that and he’s made Hana extremely happy but,” Sehun bit his lip, “I don’t know anymore. With all that happened…I don’t know where I stand with him.”

Luhan glanced at his feet before turning his gaze to Hana and Chanyeol. Hana refused to sit on the slide and Chanyeol was currently pushing (again, literally) off the slope. She was laughing.

Luhan turned to Sehun, “Hun, you know how protective I am of her. Aren’t you curious why I haven’t beat the out of Lay yet?”

“Honestly,” Sehun said, “I am. Since yesterday actually.”

Luhan cracked a smile, “I haven’t done anything because I didn’t see a reason to. happens, we all make mistakes. And no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find Lay wrong. Yes, he should’ve given her a chance to talk but c’mon, the guy saw his girl hugging someone else. How would YOU feel?”

The question was rhetorical so Luhan continued, “I understand Hana’s angle at everything but she should have told him everything sooner. In fact, I thought she HAD told him everything by now. We can call it bad timing or a play of fate or whatever. But you can’t entirely blame Lay and you can’t entirely blame Hana. It’s a 50:50.”

Luhan slung his arm across Sehun’s shoulder, “You don’t have to worry about your stance with Lay. You guys are friends, right? He already feel like crap right now anyway.”

Sehun, who was taking his brother’s words to heart, looked back at Luhan, “What? Why?”

“Kris gave him her file,” Luhan said jerking his head in Hana’s direction, “He also wanted to apologize on his behalf but I told him it wasn’t necessary. Kyungsoo’s there right now?”

“Yeah,” Sehun confirmed, “He wanted to be the one to tell him everything.”

Luhan nodded, “Well, Kris said he heard sniffling from Lay’s room last night so he’s pretty messed up already.”

“Kyungsoo can handle it,” Sehun shrugged. He was surprised at Luhan’s attitude toward the situation if he had to be honest. But he knew that his brother’s perspective was right and both Lay and Hana were at fault. He just hoped they’ll be able to fix it soon.

Sehun and Luhan jumped when they heard a shrill scream and bolted toward the play area. Hana and Chanyeol weren’t at the slide anymore. They heard the scream again but it soon transitioned to laughter. Sehun nudged Luhan and they turend to find Chanyeol and Hana hanging upside down from the monkey bars and laughing hysterically.

“GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!” Hana shouted through her fits. Sehun and Luhan laughed and persisted that photos at such crucial moments were necessary before they helped the two down.

-

Finding Jaekyung wasn’t as hard as Baekhyun and Jongdae thought. The arcade was their second choice of visit after the school library, which, they didn’t even know why they were searching in the first place. It was obvious that a brat like him would be found in a place any (responsible) student wouldn’t even think about going to.

And they were right. There he was at the food court with two guys that looked too uncomfortable and a little scared to be his friends. Byun Baekhyun, however, does not care that they’re in an arcade that maybe isn’t as crowded as it’s supposed to be but still houses an ample amount of people, and charged straight toward the guy with steady strides and clenched fists. Jongdae staggered behind, following his friend but mostly making sure that he doesn’t create a scene.

Jaekyung was enjoying himself, Baekhyun could see and it irked him to no ends.Half way, Beakhyun called for his attention and even if the brunette was shorter than many people he knew (excusing Kyungsoo), the fury that emenated from his lean body was intense enough to make the two boys around Jaekyung leave. Baekhyun settled for a punch, maybe more but nothing less, and when he swung, he couldn’t hit because Jongdae had hooked their arms.

“Are you crazy?!” Jongdae scolded, “You’re going to get us in trouble and then Hana will whoop your !”

Baekhyun, safe to say, hadn’t thought about that. So he retracted his arm with a satisfied smirk upon seeing Jaekyung’s fear stricken face from under Jongadae’s arm. Jaekyung was in shock, who wouldn’t be after they almost met with a punch but he soon melted his fear into a mocking grin that suited his face a bit too well. Jongdae narrowed his eyes at him and Baekhyun suppressed the urge to attempt another punch.

“That’s a nice way to greet someone,” Jaekhyun calmly said.

Baekhyun scoffed, “You got lucky.”

“Shouldn’t you guys be studying, or something?” Jaekyung asked, completely ignoring their aggressive stances. His eyes suddenly widened, “Oh! You guys must be too musy taking care of your mess of a couple.”

Jongdae’s grip on Baekhyun’s arm tightened. Jaekyung was giving them an amused, almost taunting smirk and they wanted nothing more to be able to wipe it off.

“We’re here to talk,” Jongdae made the effort to not lash out, “There are some things we need to ask you.”

“What things?” Jaekyung asked although it was pretty clear to all of them that he knew what Jongdae meant.

“What did you do to Hana?” Baekhyun’s face was hard as he asked.

Jaekyung shrugged, “Nothing much. Did she tell you guys that we’re friends now?”

Jongdae and Baekhyun remained silent, not even glancing at each other and Jaekyung continued, “Guess she did. She was so scared about how you guys might react. Guessing she was right. You guys don’t respect her relations at all.”

“Oh, and YOU do?” Baekhyun couldn’t help but say. He twitched when Jaekyung laughed.

“Of course I do! See, it’s because I respected her relationship that I only settled for a hug; which, by the way, she gave me. It only that her stiff protective boyfriend showed up.”

One could literally see the effort and power Jongdae and Baekhyun were putting into keeping their tempers in check. But Jaekyung was enjoying their reaction. He liked it, you see, when he knew he could do something and the other could do nothing about it. He knew the two boys in front of him were helpless so he poked them as far as he could.

“You guys want to know why I was going around Hana, right?”

“If you could spit it out then that would be nice,” Jongdae spat through clenched teeth.

“The answers pretty simple actually, I was bored.”

When the duo exchanged confused glances, he took it as his cue to continue. “Hana’s literally the dumbest chick I’ve seen. Yeah, she’s pretty and all but c’mon man, who trusts so easily?”

Baekhyun and Jongdae weren't sure where this was going but they knew already that they didn’t like it.

“What do you mean?” Jongdae asked.

“Exactly what I said: I was bored.”

“Elaborate,” Baekhyun said, “And start from the top.”

Jaekyung was grinning at both of them when he titled his head. He was audacious enough to sip on his slush, taking his time to chew down the ice, before proceeding.

“Well, since you already know the after math, I guess the truth won’t hurt. We used to be friends, pretty sure you know that too,” then he added with an after thought, “or not, based on the stuff she hides from you-“

“We know,” Baekhyun intervened, “Move on.”

Jaekyung seemed unfazed, “Yeah so, her friend was a bore, typical. Hana was the easier target but she just wouldn’t budge. Then I’m sure you know about our fight too? Right? Good. So when I suddenly saw her after two years of disappearance and she looked worse than I remembered, my first thought was, what the hell happened? But then I figured screw it, who cares right?”

He laughed as if he found something amusing about the fact that he didn’t care about someone else’s well being. Baekhyun wondered why Hana had ever befriened this guy, TWICE. One look at Jongdae and Baekhyun could tell he was thinking the same thing.

“Things got interesting when I saw her boyfriend. That weird Chinese guy with pointy ears,” Jaekyung was well aware what Lay’s name was and he was also conscious of the fact that the two boys he was talking to were his friends. But still, he liked pushing things and this is exactly what he was doing, “I felt kind of pissed, to be honest. Not to mention, highly offended. That little bit-“

“Curse her and you won’t be conscious to see what happens,” Baekhyun threatened. Jaekyung could feel their hostility and he was sure that this time, Jongdae wouldn’t hold Baekhyun back. So he lifted his hands defensivly and laughed it off.

“Fine, fine, I’m sorry. Sheesh, so defensive.”

“So what?” Jongdae asked, “You were jealous? Is that what it was?”

“Please, I wasn’t jealous,” Jaekyung scoffed, “I was, like I said, offended. She chose him over ME! Besides, everything she said to me before she cut contacts still stung for a whole two years. I’m a man, I have my dignity,” Baekhyun and Jongdae watched as his entire demeanor changed, his eyes became dark and sinister.

“I wanted to get back at her.”

Jongdae’s brows shot up, “This was your revenge plan?”

“Ding! ding! ding! Correct!”

“So the whole thing about your girl cheating on you, that was all a lie?” Jongdae asked aghast.

“Pure bull. I told you, I was bored. I had time to improvise.”

The veins on Baekhyun’s neck became prominent as he held himself back. Jongdae’s face was turning red and Jaekyung was enjoying their reactions to the fullest.

“I knew she’d believe me if I acted desperate enough. It all played out really well, it wouldn’t have happened if she’d told any of you. Guess it worked, huh? I can tell by your faces it did. I’m pretty sure the soccer vice doesn't even want to see her anymore. I heard all the shouting. Aggressive chap he is. I’d say I feel bad for Hana but I kind of don’t. Must say, she deserved-“

Baekhyun didn’t know what happened. It was a flash of movement that left him stunned and Jaekyung on the floor. Jongdae was clutching his hand, his eyes clasped in pain as he tried to sooth the stinging on his knuckles. He felt the impact of the punch vibrate his bones. He didn’t think punching someone would be so painful. Baekhyun stared gawking at Jongdae’s hand and then at Jaekyung before staring at his own hand.

He wanted to punch him too.

Jaekyung, clearly surprised, rose from the floor while holding his jaw. His eyes screamed pain but they both knew he was too stuck up to admit it.

“What the hell was that for?!”

“Really? You have the audacity to ask that question?” Jongdae glowered, still in pain but he couldn’t give that jerk the satisfaction of seeing that.

“You think you can-“

“Yes,” Baekhyun cut in firmly, “Yes, we can. And if you don’t stay away from Hana then I swear to GOD, Jaekyung-“ Baekhyun stopped mid-sentence. The boy got the idea, he could tell. Baekhyun and Jongdae slowly backed away.

“It’s only two now, but if you continue to mess with Hana then let me give you the figure that there are seven of us. Plus, another five that I’m pretty sure would be more than willing to kick your .”

Baekhyun’s warning was enough to make Jaekyung fall in silence. Jongdae didn’t have anything to say. Well, he did, but he couldn’t talk. His knuckles were red and he wasn’t sure if he’ll be able to throw another macho sentence at him with his tone of voice. They turned, with Baekhyun galring at him one last time, and walked away.

They were just three steps ahead when they heard Jaekyung say the same cuss word Baekhyun had prevented him from saying. That’s when Baekhyun sort of lost it. Another blow was delivered, steering Jaekyung back to the floor. Baekhyun could now see why Jongdae hadn’t said a word since his punch, they hurt like hell. But keeping his composure he said, “I heard that” and turned to the exit. On their way out, they noticed that the arcade wasn’t as full as it was when they arrived and luckily, the cotton candy stations (where they were) hardly had anyone around. They were relived that they didn’t create a scene. Other than that, Baekhyun was extremely happy that he had finally landed a much deserved punch on the twit’s face and turned to Jongdae who was smiling through the pain.

“The guys an .”

“I know right,” Baekhyun agreed. “Do we tell this to Hana? She’ll be disappointed.”

“We’ll have to. We don’t have much of a choice. She needs to know.”

Their phones buzzed at the same time and they took it out with their good hands to see a message from Sehun in the group. It was a photo of Hana and Chanyeol hanging upside down from the monkey bars, both of them looked like they were having a laugh of the life time.

“Park Chanyeol, the man who can cheer anyone up,” Jongdae smiled.

Baekhyun snorted, “My cousin, after all.”

-

Kai hoped that Yuri hadn’t moved in the last two years. The address Sehun had texted him was what he remembered. He had dropped Hana there countless times. Now Kai just hoped that it was the same house or else finding her out of school would be a problem. He stood in front of the door that had the same number Sehun had texted him and knocked.

And knocked and knocked until someone answered but no one did. The intervals between Kai’s knocks became smaller and smaller until the boy ended up knocking violently on the door. Finally, a familiar looking girl opened the door and Kai stopped just before his knuckle hit her head. By the looks of it, he woke her up. Her voice was groggy, her hair messy and her appearance overall was desheveled.

“What?”

Kai blinked. He wondered why he volunteered to do this. He at talking to girls.

“Uhm- hello. My name is Kai. I’m your schoolmate and I have a few questions to ask you,” he then hastily added, “If you don’t mind.”

Yuri rubbed her eyes with her palms before squinting her eyes to get a better look at him. It wasn’t his introduction she recognized him from, it was his face. Sure he wasn’t as comfortable or as relaxed as she was used to seeing him. He was blinking rapidly and looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. But what grabbed her interest wasn’t his change in personalities, it was the fact that he was Hana’s friend.

“You’re Hana’s friend,” a fact that she did not hesitate stating.

Kai blinked again, “Yes. Precisely. I wanted to ask you a few things so if you don’t mind, could I come in? Or you can come out. Anything works. Just that it’s a but chilly out so you’ll have to grab a jacket and it’ll be more convenient if I came-“

“Come in,” she gestured in a bored manner that indicated that she just wanted him to stop talking. Kai timidly walked in and took off his shoes. The warm walls of the house greeted him as he shook off his light jacket and tentatively walked into the living room.

“I’ll be right down,” Yuri had said as she went upstairs. Kai wondered how a girl, clearly home alone, could invite a guy whom she has never met inside her house. Not saying Kai was a bad person but, she didn’t know that. But then he remembered, she knew he was Hana’s friend. That was probably all she needed as a confirmation of his character.

Kai waited for her return and looked aroud the house Hana had spent a great portion of her time in. He imagined her for a second, sitting on this sofa and reading a magazine he was sure she’d never touch now. He looked around. There were photo’s hanging from the walls. Some, as far as he could see, looked like childhood photos of Yuri and her friends; he wondered if Hana was in any of them. Yuri came back down looking a lot proper than before and sat down on the leather seat in front of him.

“You want something? Tea? Coffee? Juice?”

Kai lightly shook his head, “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

“Okay,” she nodded and picked at her nails.

“So, what do you want to ask?”

“I came here to ask about Hana,” Kai shifted in his seat.

“Hana? Why?”

“Well not exactly Hana but, it’s related to her.”

Yuri sighed, “Look, if it’s about that cafeteria incident then-“

“No,” Kai interjected, “It’s not about that at all.”

Yuri raised a brow, “Then?”

Kai figured it was best to not beat around the bush. “I was wondering if you’ve talked to Lay recently.”

Yuri stared, why was he asking her such a question? Unless…

“Why are you asking?”

“Because you guys are acquaintances and you used to be Hana’s best friend.”

“So?”

“Something happened. Something bad and I need to know if you’ve talked to Lay recently so we can sort it out.”

“Did they split?” she suddenly asked and Kai’s eyes widened.

“What?”

“I asked if they split.”

With measuring eyes, Kai answered, “Kind of.”

“Then, yes. I did talk to him.”

That was literally all Kai need to hear. Yuri’s expression of achievement when he had more or less confirmed her doubt made him shudder. It really was her who planted that rotten seed in Lay’s head in the first place.

“You- you told him Hana was cheating on him?” he asked with incredulity.

“She was, wasn’t she,” she said it like a fact and leaned back in her chair. “You guys should thank me. Lay’s too great of a guy to be played around by a girl like that.”

Kai never thought he’d feel anger toward a girl. But here he was sitting in Yuri’s house with building frustration.

“If I’m not mistaken, you’re Hana’s childhood friend?” he asked and though she found the sudden interrogation a little weird, she nodded.

“Then you must know everything about her?”

“Down to the last detail. Which is why I knew-“

“But what if I told you that even after all those years with her, you didn’t know her as well as you think you did?”

“Excuse me?”

“Just because you say you know everything about Hana, doesn’t mean your theory about the type of person she is is right.”

Yuri straightened, “Don’t even try to defend-“

“Just. Because. You know about Hana, doesn’t mean you know her.”

Kai had offended and maybe even pissed Yuri off. He was well aware of that. In fact, it filled him with a sense of odd satisfaction.

“And you’re saying you do?”

“Yes.”

Yuri blinked at his confidence, “I’ve been friend with her exactly nine years of my life. And you, someone whom she met just a year ago, knows her better than I do?”

“Yes,” Kai nodded, “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Yuri scoffed and looked to her side in astonishment. Kai didn’t bother about what she thought of him. He couldn’t care less. But he had to make the girl in front of him realise the damage she’d done.

“You want to know,” Kai asked, “What you missed in your friend’s life?”

Yuri looked at him with suspicion, “What do you mean?”

“The two years in which you conveniently abandoned your so called best friend because of a misunderstanding you were too impatient to clear? Want to know the void it caused? The damage? The downward spiral during which Hana needed her best friend the most but couldn’t reach her because she’d rather believe some random dude than trust her own best friend?”

Kai had abandoned being polite. He didn’t want to, but he couldn’t help it. The girl’s lack of remorse and sense of achievement at Hana’s disaster irked him. She was under a delusion that he wanted to, and was going to, crack.

“What are you talking about…” Yuri asked in a low voice and Kai looked at his shoes.

Here it goes.

He looked back up at her with a gentler expression and spoke, “You probably know the time when her parents died, right?”

---