The three of us were always together. We'd be eating together, hanging out together and sleeping over at each other's places. I didn't feel as uncomfortable with Sunggyu and Jia together because I knew he was a good person. I admit, I still feel like I want to tear them apart sometimes but it's more bearable than before.

Finally, the day in March where the men give the girls gifts to express their feelings was here. Every year, Jia would give me something for Valentine’s Day and I would give her something for White Day. Unlike her though, I actually make the chocolates by hand. She is a horrible cook. She doesn't even try to give me homemade chocolates for Valentine's Day, which might I add, is a good thing.

When I walked into class, it was very noisy. Unlike the girls, the boys make very bold confessions. They'll even joke about it loudly with their friends. I joined in some of their conversations. It was amusing to hear how they were going to give their chocolates to their crush.

"How are you going to confess your love?" one of them asked me.

I shook my head. "I don't have a crush."

The boys didn't believe me. "Come on, the whole grade knows you like Jia. You are always together, even before Sunggyu came into the picture."

"Or maybe Sunggyu will give chocolates to her. I mean, he's changed drastically ever since they were acquainted. Woohyun has some competition!"

"And they're all friends!" The boys burst out in laughter and I couldn't help but laugh along. It made me think if Sunggyu was going to confess. I felt really uneasy with that thought and I still didn't understand why at that point! He's my friend but why did I still feel like that?

Lunch arrived but I couldn't find the two anywhere. Unlike the breaks before, the classes were all occupied because some wanted their privacy and some just wanted to be together. I could find them in the class at all. I ended up starving because I spend the entire lunch break searching for them. There was that uneasy feeling again.

Like always, I met the two at the front gate when the last bell of the day rung. I had my chocolates in the pocket of my blazer, ready to give to Jia but I only saw Sunggyu waiting at the front gate. "Where's Jia?" I asked.

"Let's go to the park first." I thought it was odd that he wanted to go to the park without her. We always go everywhere together. I asked him again, thinking she caught a sudden flu but he kept insisting to talk at the park. I was stubborn about this and kept telling him to answer my question.

"She's at the park."

I punched his shoulder. "You should have told me sooner." Then, I asked him where they were during lunch. He said they were in the library, working on a project. That made sense. I wasn't even able to search the library. We arrived at the park but it was empty. He told me to sit down on the bench but I refused to. I asked him where Jia was.

He closed his eyes and let out a small breath. He looked straight at me. "I'm sorry, Woohyun."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I know how much you like her."

"What?"

"Don't deny it. Others have even seen it. You like Jia. You've liked her before me. The so-called rumors that followed you two, they're not rumors. They're facts but you kept on denying it."

"You...confessed?"

"Honestly, this is my fourth time confessing."

I scoffed. "Your fourth time? You promised me you wouldn't. You pro-"

"I didn't promise you anything," cutting me off. "I said I was trying. I was trying my best but there was this feeling in my gut that won't go away whenever I see her. My stupid heart wouldn't stop ringing loudly whenever she does something I like. I had to let my feelings speak because I felt I was going to burst if I didn't say anything."

"You should have tried harder!" I yelled. "You should have tried to control your feelings. You should have controlled your mouth, but no. You had to open it four times!"

"I understand why you're angry."

"Why am I so angry, huh? Tell me!"

"It's because you like her. You like her and you don't want her to be with anyone but you."

My eyes strayed away from his. "...I don't like her."

"Then why are you so mad?” he questioned. “I'm not the same person when I first met you. You know that's not who I am because I changed to get her attention and you know that. Why don't you want me to be with her? What is it, Woohyun?"

I was tongue tied. I couldn't answer him right away. Sunggyu is an amazing, confident person and the best friend a man could have. There was nothing to dislike about him. He is perfect. He has an amazing personality, he has the best grades, and he has the stupidest jokes that can make a person laugh. I realized he is a perfect man for Jia and because of him I finally realized something. There was a reason why I felt like I wanted the two be at least five feet away from each other. I realized it too late.

I like her. I like her. I like her. I like her. I like her.

Those were the only three words that kept ringing in my head. I actually like her and I couldn't believe I just figured it so late. I finally figured it out when this perfect man came out of nowhere and tried to snatch her away from me. I'm glad Sunggyu hadn't fully grown his second wing and flew her away just yet. Her feet were still planted on the ground but I knew it wasn't for long before he pulls real hard.

It was a shock to me though. It was shocking to why I hadn't realized it before. Why didn't I realize I love the girl and why my heart kept tugging whenever she was around Sunggyu? I might as well be labeled stupid when it comes to realizing my crush.

After the talk with Sunggyu, I walked straight home and was in deep thoughts all night. I didn't even bother visiting Jia although she was indeed sick at home. She didn't come to school the next day either and so I decided to give her a little visit with Sunggyu. We didn't talk much during our walk there because I was still embarrassed by the fact he knew I liked her before I did.

"Woohyun, Sunggyu, there you boys are! Didn't think you would come to visit this poor girl," said her mom when she opened the door.

We walked in after we said our greetings. We talked with her for a bit before going to her room with a plate of sweets. We knocked on her door and with a stuffy "come in," we entered the room. She was lying on her bed with her face mask on. She didn't want us to catch her cold.

"Already mocking me with those sweets, huh?" she asked. We just shrugged, telling her it was her mom's fault for tempting us. Jia huffed in anger while she watched us eat the cookies and brownies. They were both delicious and homemade, the only thing that made this trip worthwhile.

"If it makes you feel any better, I got you chocolate." I took my homemade sweet out my backpack and threw it on the edge of her bed. She brightened and inspected the wrapped brown sweet.

"Thanks Woohyun, you're the best!" When she said that, I couldn't believe when my face suddenly grew hot. I couldn't believe her simple everyday words made such a big reaction when I realized my crush. I saw Sunggyu shake his head with a smile and I shrugged. There was another thing I liked about him. After I realized my feelings towards Jia, he didn't take any offense towards it. He wasn't mad that I liked her. Well, at least he didn't express it. He was probably fuming inside, like how I felt whenever Jia was with another boy.

"Sorry I couldn't make it to school on White Day," she said. "I relied on Sunggyu to tell you." I glanced to my right where he was eating the sweets. He didn't even tell me until the very end. "Yeah, I found out the hard way," I mumbled.

"So, your birthday is coming up this weekend," said Sunggyu, changing the subject. "Do you have birthday parties or do you treat it like a normal day?"

"Well, it's just another day for me. I just eat a cake, get some presents and that's about it."

"She was never the social one," I commented.

"You were never one either," she retorted. "Hey, Sunggyu, did you know Woohyun was the biggest nerd ever? He was also an arrogant one."

I scoffed, "Me? Arrogant?"

"Then how would you describe yourself the day we first talked? I remembered that day very well. You were ordering me around like I was some lazy idiot who sits and do nothing. If you didn't already know, I was first in that class."

"All of my other partners were lazy butts, so I thought you were one, too."

"What?" she fumed. "Your first impression of me was a lazy ? I looked like a lazy ?" She suddenly jumped on me, pushing me on my back and sat on my stomach. The air from my lungs just pushed out. "How do you like my lazy now?" We fought for a while before Sunggyu had to break us apart. He reminded us our age and how we should be acting. I rolled my eyes at how he sounded like a dad. That boy acted too mature at times.

It was Jia's birthday on the Saturday. The first year I met her, I gave her a cheap card. Then, she asked me why I even bothered to get her a card. She complained that she couldn't use it and my message . I wouldn't be surprised if she threw the card out. The next year I got her food and she liked it so I got her the same. Her favorite food is seafood so I made her a dish with all different kinds of seafood. I think I got it off a recipe book. The Internet wasn't so great back then.

I rung her doorbell and her father opened it. We both greeted each other before he stepped to the side to let me in. He asked me what I had in my hands and I told him it was seafood stir fry. His eyes widened and his mouth opened, surprised at how I made it myself. Trust me, I did not get any help from my parents.

"Ji, Woohyun is here!" her dad called.

"I'm in my room!"

Her dad shook his head. "That girl should learn her manners."

"It's fine. I know where she is." I walked towards her room and opened the door to see her and Sunggyu, lying on their stomachs on the bed. They were focused on the little game in her hand.

"Hi," she greeted without looking up. She was too focused on that thing in her hands.

"Hey, what's up?" Sunggyu asked, holding out his fist. I bumped it with mine before sitting down next to Jia on the other side. "What's that?" I asked.

"Her parents got her a GameBoy," Sunggyu answered. "She's been playing this since I got here."

"You haven't even been here for long," said Jia.

"Long enough to see you pass five levels," said Sunggyu.

I rolled my eyes and watched her play. It was a GameBoy Color and for those who had one, it is mighty impossible to watch someone else play without straining your eyes.  "You should put that away," I told her.

"That's what I've been telling her for the past ten minutes!" Sunggyu exclaimed. "This girl just won't stop playing!"

Quickly, I grabbed the game from her and before she could comprehend anything, Sunggyu held her down. "Get off me, you sumo wrestler!"

"Not until you promise not to touch that thing until we leave today. No more distractions while we are here,” he said.

"You guys are so boring! I need my game. Woohyun, give me back my game!"

I shook my head. "You have to listen to Sunggyu. Once we're gone, you can play your game all you want. Right now, we're eating lunch and aren't you curious to what I got you?"

She stopped squirming. "Did you make it?" I nodded. "Is it something I like?" I nodded again, "So if you are hungry and curious, you have to promise to not touch this thing again."

She gave up, "Fine, I won't play it anymore. It was hurting my eyes anyway. Let's eat!" Sunggyu let go of her and helped her get up. I placed the game on her drawer before we walked into the kitchen. Her mom was already placing my stir fry in the bowls to serve us. After a delicious lunch, we ate some cake. Apparently Sunggyu worked together with her parents to get her the GameBoy. Her parents got her the console and he got her the game. It was mainly their fault that she's been addicted to the GameBoy. I think she still has it stored away somewhere. She took really good care of it anyway.

After we finished eating, we were getting ready to go out to digest the food. Before we could head out though, Sunggyu had an announcement. "I'm moving out of the orphanage in a couple of weeks."

We were all surprised by the sudden announcement. We thought at least he would be able to stay before he moved on to college. Then we remembered he was two years older than us.

"Do you have a place to go?" Jia's mom asked.

He nodded. "I do. It's in a small apartment not far from here. It's just a small room with a microwave."

"A small room with a microwave? No, you can't live there!" her mom exclaimed. "That's not a good living environment."

"That's where my money can take me," he replied sheepishly.

"You know what?" said Jia's dad. "We'll just adopt you." All of us were surprised. "I've always wanted a son like you. Of course I've always wanted Woohyun to be my son, too but I'll have to wait until he gets married to Jia." Her parents laughed but we didn't because it's complicated on our side.

"Actually," Sunggyu started and I knew what he was going to say. I was pleading in my head for him not to tell them. He glanced at me and gave me a sorry look. "I don't want to be adopted by you." Jia's parents looked really surprised. They were offended. "Because I like your daughter. I know she's young and I know you don't want her to have a boyfriend and believe me, she has told me that many times before. But I can't help the fact that I like her and her reason doesn't give me any motivation to stop liking her. In fact, it gives me more motivation because of the thought of losing her to another guy in the future. So, that's why I don't want to be adopted by you. I like this family but I can't be related to you by adoption papers."

After his speech, everyone was silent. I looked at Jia but she had her head hung low. She was clearly embarrassed.

I couldn't believe he would confess in front of her parents. He knew how I felt but he still told them. I felt betrayed by my best friend. He could have politely declined their offer but no, he had to come clean about how he felt about her.

Finally, someone spoke, "I'm...surprised to hear how you felt," her dad said. "I've always thought Woohyun liked her." I stayed silent. I wasn't as bold as Sunggyu. I couldn't say, "I do like her," because that would just make everything more awkward than it already was.

"If you feel that way, then we won't adopt you," he continued.

"But you can always stay here," her mom said.

"No, it's quite alright. I can't," he declined.

"Of course you can! I can't hear the thought of you living in that cramped place. Now, I can't let you live here for free. You'll have to do your own fair share of chores around here. You'll also have to buy some food with your own money if I tell you to." Sunggyu looked touched and Jia's mom could see that. "Sunggyu, I trust you like I trust Woohyun. I see you both as my own sons so if you need any help, you can always come to us." He smiled brightly and nodded. "Now you three go on out and we'll talk about how you will accommodate."

The three of us headed out but none of us spoke. I didn't speak for the reason of being angry. Sunggyu didn't speak for the reason of guilt and Jia didn't speak because she was embarrassed.

Jia decided to speak first after we arrived at the empty park. "Are you really moving in?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Your parents don't want me to be anywhere else."

"Then find another apartment."

"I looked everywhere but that was where my part time job could get me."

"Then if you're moving in...Woohyun should move in, too!" she blurted. I pointed at myself and she nodded. "You're having a rough time at home, too. Move in with him. I don't want to see him 24/7!"

I didn't want to do that. I didn't want anyone else to know about my parents’ divorce but she is right. She doesn't want to see him 24/7 and I don't like the sound of it either. "Hyung, move in with me."

The two looked at me in surprise. "I was kidding," Jia stammered. "He can stay at my place."

"No, I don't want him to stay at your place. He'll stay at my place. I know my parent's situation makes it difficult but right now, they are pretending to love me. So if they love me, they'll let you stay over. Maybe not for free but they will let you stay over."

And Sunggyu moved in a week later.

Long chapter but totally worth it. It will be ending soon! I like this story and I hope you guys feel the same way, although there are way too many silent readers.