Chapter One: "Just Friends"

Four o'clock in the morning is when she thinks of him, she thinks of the seemingly endless space between their worlds, and of the number of times he’s unknowingly broken her pathetic heart. It’s only the moment right before she falls into a slumber that she gets her wake up call, that this boy isn’t really worth it. But, in the few hours of sleep she has, she always manages to forget the most profound thought she needs.

-

“Yuna! Slow the hell down!” A familiar voice called out into the breezy morning air. The twenty two year old girl turned around with wide eyes to be immediately engulfed in the scent of strong cologne and secure arms.

 

“Jongin, you’re such a punk. I have to show up to work looking like this now!” She replied to his display of affection, unamused at the mess her friend has made of her hair. He only chuckled at her messy locks and messed them up a little more, ruffling her head as if she was a little girl. On Mondays and Fridays, Jongin had a couple of classes in the morning and seemed to always be able to catch Yuna as she commuted to her morning shift.

 

“Ah, that’s true. But, I know you're not mad at me.” He chuckled, before taking a sigh. Yuna only curved her lips slightly.

 

"Oh yeah? And what makes you think that?"

 

"Because I'm your best friend. And that means you love me."

 

"Says who?" The female scoffed at the male towering next to her.

 

"Well, it's your obligation as my best friend, duh." At his reply, an amused smile begins to form on Yuna's lips, however she keeps on walking straight ahead without another word. When Jongin didn’t hear a response, he glanced at Yuna. “But you do, right? You looooove me?”

 

“You have enough girls telling you that they love you, Jongin.” Yuna sighed, shaking her head, refusing to make eye contact with the brown haired boy.

 

“Yeah, but-” Jongin hesitated.

 

“But what?” Yuna stopped in her tracks to look at him. She looked at him for a while, admiring the way his bangs fell over his brown eyes and how he smirked. However, the moment he began to turn his head to her, she slowly turned her own deep brown eyes away.

 

“It’s different when you say it, Yuna. All of them, they never mean it. When I hear you say it, I remember that I’ll always have my best bud, Yuna, right by my side.” Jongin smiled cheesily.

 

“Yeah,” Yuna said softly. “I guess you’re right.”

 

“Well… Are you gonna say it or what, kid?” Jongin reached up to ruffle her hair another time but Yuna stepped out of the line of his hand just in time for his arm to fall to his side. Jongin opened his mouth to say something, but Yuna interrupted him.

 

“Thanks for being a good friend, Jongin. However, I gotta go work at the restaurant now.” Yuna sighed before turning around to meet Jongin’s eyes. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

 

“I- Okay, I guess.” He mumbled, scratching his head as he watched Yuna turn back around to walk away. “Love you too, Yuna.” He grumbled sarcastically, kicking around some rocks on the ground as he dragged his feet.

---

    

    “Hello, welcome! Is there anything I could get you to drink?” Yuna asked her customers with a cheery tone and a polite smile. When Yuna wasn’t at school or with friends, she was working part time jobs. At the moment, she was balancing working at her cousin’s restaurant, giving private cello lessons, and being a student as well. It was all very tiring, but if she wanted to be able to pay rent, it was her best option. Out of all her jobs, being a waitress was probably her least favorite but thankfully there was always someone she looked forward to seeing that made her job a little more tolerable.

 

    “Baekhyun!” Yuna exclaimed when she went into the kitchen to find the slim figure of Baekhyun slouched over a hoard of dishes. “Hey, are you okay?”

 

    “Wha-?” Baekhyun said weakly, lifting his head somberly. When Yuna saw his face her hands flew to and her eyes grew wide.

 

    “Baek, your eyebags are so big! What happened?”

 

    “I didn't get any sleep, my damn landlord kicked me out.” He heaved a big sigh as he gloomily scrubbed some plates with a lack of effore. “He said I was disturbing other tenants since I was playing the piano so late into the night. I couldn’t help it though, I was getting into this new counter melody and I didn’t even realize how late it was...”

 

    “Well, what did you expect, Baek?” Yuna sighed before patting him on the back understandingly. “ I’m sorry man, it’ll be okay.”

 

    “No, it’s not!” Baekhyun dropped the plate he was washing into the sink and grasped the edges of the sink with a huge groan. “Last night, I had to go to my parent’s place to stay the night and you wouldn’t believe the lecture I was given.”

 

    “Well can’t you tough it out for a little while longer till you find a new place?” These past few weeks have been hard for Baekhyun, and Yuna could relate to him. Their situations weren’t too different after all, they had parents that didn’t seem to support their dreams of being musicians and it resulted in being thrown out to fend for themselves. Over a few weeks, Baekhyun had lost his wallet, was kicked out of his apartment, and had his dreams crushed once again thanks to his parents. Yuna looked at Baekhyun who began to wash his dishes again.

 

    “I’d rather pay rent than be told I won’t ever be successful everyday.” He mumbled before looking at Yuna. “You understand, right?”

 

    “Yeah, I get it Baek. I’m just worried about you is all.”

 

    “Well, I’ll be fine.” Yuna looked at her defeated friend and into his eyes a little longer than she usually did. In those eyes, she found a little bit of herself and a whole lot of desperation.

 

    “What are you two doing slacking off! Get back to work!” A deep voice bellowed from the depths of the kitchen, causing Baekhyun and Yuna to let out a yelp before Baekhyun started to soap and scrub his dishes furiously.

 

    “Hey, tell you what. After we finish work, let’s go for ice cream to cheer you up.” Yuna leaned against the sink, raising her eyebrows at Baekhyun.

 

    “Well, I mean I’m much more of a frozen yogurt type of man mysel- Hey! Wait why are you smacking me you crazy girl!”

 

    “You’re so ridiculous, Baek.” Yuna chuckled, her eyes turning into crescent moons. Baekhyun sighed as he looked at her, wishing that he was always able to make her look so happy.

 

    “Alright, well, frozen yogurt then?” The black haired boy tilted his head with a small smile across his face.

 

    “Sounds like a plan.”

 

** gifs do not belong to me