Jennie’s POV

Okay, today is the day! I have spent the last hour making myself look as pretty as possible but natural at the same time for my talk with Henry. I can do this; all I have to do is walk over there and knock on the door. I take a deep breath before standing up and walking out of my room.

“Where are you going all dolled up?” my mom asks from the kitchen.

“I am going to go and talk with Henry. You were right; I should have been more understanding with him.”

“Of course I am right! But you should eat something first.” She says tossing me an apple.

“Thanks! I am going now!”

The walk to the Lau’s was short. Too short. The determination I had built up all morning with making myself look pretty has suddenly disappeared. What if he is mad at me for taking Yugyeom to the party and not him? Or for not talking to him for two days? He is leaving in two months anyway, should I just go back home and forget about him? No, I have to do this. If he doesn’t want me then that is his decision. It doesn’t hurt to try, right? I walk up to the door, take a deep breath, and knock. There is no going back now. Unless I decide to jump into the bushes...but the door opens before I can decide on that and Henry is standing in front of me.

“Um, hi Henry.” He smiles at me and I am relieved. He is not mad! I smile back at him, unable to think of the words I had planned to say to him this morning.

“Kyuhyun, what are you doing?” Henry says after the man’s back blocks my view of him.

“You can’t date her.” Kyuhyun says firmly before slamming the door in my face. My mouth drops and my eyes grow wide. What did I do to make him hate me so much? Is it because of these past few days?

“What are you doing?” Henry asks irritated. I can still hear them.

“I said you can’t date her.” I really shouldn’t be listening to this. But if it is about me then it is okay, right?

“Why should I listen to you?” Henry is very angry.

“Well, I thought that our being friends for such a long time would be enough! But apparently, she is more important!” Kyuhyun is just as angry.

“What is wrong with her? What is so horrible about her that you think you can tell me that I can’t date her?”

“’I think’ I can tell you that you can’t date her?! You are right, I did ‘think’  I could tell you that because if you told me not to date a girl then I would listen!” Wow, I really don’t want them to lose their friendship over me. I should have jumped into the bushes while I had the chance.

“You haven’t even given me a reason to not date her! I would at least give you a reason!” Henry shouts. There is a pause and then a thud. Did someone just get hit? I put my hand on the door knob, ready to stop them.

“There…is your reason.” I hear Kyuhyun’s voice.

“Yugyeom? Do you know something about her that would mean that I shouldn’t date her?” Yugyeom? Did he say something to Kyuhyun about me? I pull my hand back to my side and continue to listen.

“Wow? Seriously? Are you that blind, Henry?” Kyuhyun’s words are like venom.

Yugyeom sighed. “I love her.” My heart stops and I take a step away from the door. Did I hear that right?

“What? Since when? You were just dating someone last week!”

“She broke up with me because of my feelings for Jennie.” There is a long silence between the three, assuming that Kyuhyun is still there.

Henry speaks up, “I am not going to give up on her.”

“Either am I.” Yugyeom says with certainty. I take a few more steps away from the door. I can’t hear any more of this. I turn and run away; away from this house, away from my mom in my house, away from everything. I continue to run until I find the small park hidden behind a neighborhood. I like to come here when I want to be alone and think. I sit in my usual swing and slowly move back and forth, steadying my heart with the constant rhythms.

I love her.

Yugyeom’s words resound in my brain, stuck there. How long has he felt this way? I feel so stupid for not knowing. My mother obviously knew; she should have told me. I focus on the creak of the chain as I swing back and forth in an attempt to clear my mind. I want my mind to be empty so that I won’t have to deal with the confusing and stressful things I just overheard, but I know that I need to let myself think about it. What am I supposed to do? In liking Henry, I have come between Henry and Kyuhyun’s friendship and between Henry and Yugyeom’s family bond. Yugyeom must have been so hurt when I talked to him about Henry; I am seriously the worst friend ever. A tear falls down my cheek. How could I have hurt the most precious person to me? How can I even say that he is precious to me when I don’t even know that I hurt him? He knows everything just by looking at me, but why can’t I do the same for him? I am such a horrible person. Another tear falls.

I love her.

Again and again I hear his confession. He doesn’t even know that I heard it but I can’t get his voice out of my mind. The tears continue to fall and I cannot control them, so I let them have their way as I slowly swing back and forth.

Yugyeom’s POV

I leave the house angry. I am angry because my cousin has stolen the girl I love and he doesn’t even care. He doesn’t care if he hurts me and he doesn’t care if he hurts Kyuhyun. What kind of love is that? Jennie deserves better. I run my hands through my hair out of frustration and walk towards the one place that I know I can be alone. I don’t want to be bothered right now. I am so sick of everything right now. I am sick of seeing Henry with Jennie, of Kyuhyun and his stupid brain, of Kai and his competition, of Jaebum and Jinyoung with their stupid everything…why can’t everything just go right for once? Why can’t I fall in love with a normal girl? One who doesn’t like my cousin or who attracts the attention of every guy on the planet. My life would be so much better without loving her. Why can’t I not love her?

 I arrive at the small park that Jennie showed me once and see her sitting on her swing, crying.

With one look at her, I know the answer to my question. I can’t not love her because she is perfect. From head to toe, inside and out, everything about her is perfect.  Her tears continue to fall and my heart hearts. She is crying because of those jerks back at my house. Does she like him that much? I am torn between hugging her and turning around to beat those guys to a pulp, but I decide to compromise by sitting down in the grass and keeping watch over her from afar. She needs to let her tears come out, and if she needs me then I will be here for her, like I always have.

After about an hour, she wipes her tears and stands up. I quickly stand up and hide around the corner, knowing that she will be walking towards me. Sure enough, after a few seconds, she turned the corner and ran right into me. She looked up at me with wide eyes and a shocked face.

“Are you okay now?” I ask concerned.

“I-I’m fine.” She lied. Why does she lie to me when she knows that she can’t get away with it? I sigh and pull her into a hug, her hair with my hand. But after a few seconds, she separates our bodies and takes off running. This has never happened before. I turn and run after her but she was nowhere to be found. Did she run through the neighborhoods? If she wants to be alone so badly, then I will wait until tomorrow to comfort her.

 I return to the park and sit in her swing. Now it is my turn to be alone with my thoughts.