It was finally her birthday by the time New Years rolled around. Time flew by relentlessly, as had the endless testing, the horrid workload, but also the selcas and the fun times. Her life, Hyebin realized, was much more enjoyable than it had ever been, and she could not help but thank her two friends for their efforts. But she also wanted to thank another boy. Yes, Junhoe. He was the undoubtable sweetheart who truly gave her so many gifts without knowing- his sassy attitude that rubbed off and gave her a more lively personality, his smile that gave her a reason to have as well, and his presence that gave her comfort on their long nights at the little cafe, eating and talking into the earliest of mornings. And now here it was, her own birthday a good two seasons later. Because school started later than the other schools in Korea at May, they would have their break later as well, in March. Graduations would be coming up, as well as the end of her first of many years.

“It’s almost a new year! Don’t tell me you want to stay in the cafe all of the last day of this year, and the first moments of next there.” Junhoe said in exasperation. They were sitting in the hallways in front of the dance room- Junhoe was kicked out by B.I for nailing their choreography first, and coincidentally, Hyebin was walking by. In reality, she passed by that door for no reason, talking the longest of detours from destination to destination in hopes of bumping into him. As Youjung and Soorim had put it, she was undeniably in love with this boy who was sitting next to her. And yet, an unsettled feeling of being with him tugged in the bottom of her stomach.

“Oh please Junhoe, you make it sound like we’re going to spend New Years Eve midnight together,” she playfully swatted him, and he chuckled, leaning his head against the lockers that lined the walls of the hallway.

“I bet you want to, but sorry. This oppa is busy that night,” he said with a signature lopsided smile. There was a fine line between his smile and his smirk, which tended to be blurred at times. For her, she had observed his face enough to tell when he was smiling. And right now it was a smile, although a slightly sly one at that.

“Definitely not. The poor girl barely spends enough time with you, while I’m sadly spending more than is healthy.” Although her tone was light, Hyebin could feel something inside snap at every word. She never told Junhoe that she had seen him and Jisoo that day at the park, strolling and holding hands. The week later was no better for her. In fact, she considered Autumn Dance to be one of the saddest experiences in her first year.

Hyebin spent the hour before at Youjung’s home, which was basically her own, with Soorim and Youjung. The three girls had been giggling and preparing for the event together- it was semi formal, and the trio all had dates. Hyebin remembered that while she spent minimal amounts of makeup on her face, which felt like too much because she never wore any to begin with, she spent more than half the time on her face. She had seen Jisoo in person, and the girls was definitely gorgeous. Hyebin had never met Jisoo, nor seen her in person, until that day in the park, and it definitely rekindled the green monster of jealousy in her.

“Are you done yet or what? You didn’t even work on your hair- omo! This girl. Youjung-ah, she only did eyeliner for the past half hour.” Soorim was appalled by Hyebin’s sudden change in character. “Yah, Junhoe won’t even care that much. Don’t doll yourself for the sake of him.” The words were supposed to be light and playful, but they hit the nail on the head for Hyebin. She was right; Jisoo would probably have all of Junhoe’s attention. Youjung hurried into the room with a straightening iron for Hyebin’s already straight hair, before sighing in relief.

“It’s okay, her hair is pretty. Just get her dress on her, and let’s go. My sister is waiting with the car.” Soorim got up from her seated position on the bed, and went to the closet for a black dress that was accented by a red and silver floral design on the bottom of the skirt. She gave it to Hyebin, who sighed, before leaving to change. Her mind was too cluttered after the incident. Of course, if Junhoe were happy, then what could she do. Especially if he had deliberately kept their relationship a secret, which he probably and done, then she could really not have a reason to be upset. She changed, and shoved her feet into her back heels, before meeting the other two girls in the car. The drive was silent, and it gave her more time to add onto her already high pile of anxiety. But as she pulled up to the venue and saw Junhoe, it all vanished.

“Annyeong Hyebbie. You look nice,” Junhoe said with a smile. It was enough to make her blush, making her thank the dance coordinator that it would be held at night for it was too dark for him to notice.

“You’re pretty good looking yourself. Did you wait too long?” She asked with a broad grin- it was too hard for her to hold back. She felt warm and fuzzy, and it was like the late summer night was as amazing as ever. They were surrounded by their closest of friends, which basically consisted of iKON, Youjung, Soorim and Jinhyeong. Junhoe had his hands in his pockets, keeping his image of the arrogant .

“Maybe. You girls are so high maintenance,” he complained, looking miffed. Girls. Not just you, but multiple. The thought crossed her mind, and Hyebin almost hated herself for catching it. Of course he would discretely drop a hint that she was not the only girl he was waiting for. “Come on, let’s get you inside. I don’t want you to catch a cold or get bug bites.” And then there was this side. The one that made her fall in love more. At age fourteen, Hyebin felt naive about this. Junhoe was no first crush- she even had a boyfriend the previous school year, before her acceptance into the Academies of Seoul. And yet, he was so much more important already than her ex had been in the whole history they had.

“Aw, you actually have manners,” Hyebin said with a giggle as they walked in. Behind them, Youjung and Soorim made squeals of adoration at the sight of the ship of the grade acting more like an official couple. The boys simply told them to be quiet.

“Whoa, lady, I think I’m pretty much the whole package. This face, this height, this talent, this brain, and the gentleman manners. I’m perfect,” he put an emphasis on the last word, and Hyebin shoved him away from her side. Ever since they had become close to the point of best friends, he was definitely a goofball behind that cold exterior. While people had always portrayed him as the handsome ice prince, the one full of arrogance, it was all wrong. He could be like that, but she loved his self confidence when she lacked in that department. She loved how he acted like he didn’t care, but he always did. It’s just behind the scenes, she thought to herself.

“If you were perfect, then I hate to wonder why you just let a so- called peasant push you, hm?” Hyebin said, before walking away with an air of sass. They had so many situations like this before; he would always be in surprise, before making a retort and following her, complaining to her. But this time was special, it was very different. Because she didn’t see him coming after her- she was alone. She turned around and saw him with that stupid smile she fell for, but it wasn’t for her. It was for Jisoo, who had just arrived at the venue.

“Soo- soo! You finally got here. You look great,” Junhoe said. Not even a hint of mockery, or even playfulness. It was all so sincere, so genuine. Hyebin’s smile became the opposite. At first it fell to a deep frown, and she bit her lower lip while feeling crushed. Then she forced her cheeks to move upwards, and felt the most unnatural smile on her face. From behind the two, Youjung and Soorim were gaping at the scene. It only seemed to occur to them later that it was why Hyebin had been so distracted the week prior to this night, and that she would want to never hear the words “Autumn Dance,” for as long as possible.

And then she lost it. Her attention was never there; where Junhoe was, Jisoo was. The two greeted each other, although stiffly, before Hyebin retreated to the quieter parts of the event. She spent more time away from Junhoe than with him, and he spent more time with Jisoo than her. They took a two minute meet up in the middle for a picture, before heading separate ways again. Hyebin stayed with Youjung and Soorim, who were with the boys of iKON, and would occasionally talk to Jinhyeong. While Youjung and B.I seemed to hit it off, as well as Soorim and Donghyuk become close, Hyebin could only feel the stabs of the pitiful looks sent her way.

“Where’s Junhoe?” Jinhyeong finally asked. The two were sharing a small table, while watching their friends dance idiotically, too absorbed in the hype of the moment to care about how it appeared to others. Hyebin on the other hand was already exhausted from just standing about.

“With Jisoo probably.” She said with a bland tone. There wasn’t even a point in hiding it anymore; Jinhyeong was one of those avid fans of Junhoe and her being a ship, but he knew when to not force the idea onto her. And for that, she was grateful.

“Does it hurt?” He said it in a gentle tone, one that made her feel comforted in a moment. He was one person that made her feel like she was in trustworthy hands. Yes, he could be like Junhoe with his playfully mean comments, or he could be flocked by girls for his kindness to everyone, but he was someone she knew she could trust.

“Just like when I broke up with my ex. It’s funny because someone told him about this dance. Chanwoo asked if he could come with me, for me to give him another chance. I guess absence lets fondness grow in the heart,” Hyebin said thoughtfully. Jinhyeong sighed, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“It’ll get better, don’t you worry.”

And it had. It truly had. The event, the horrible night, it was all behind her now. Hyebin didn’t mind so much anymore, no matter the amount her feelings for him had grown. Being friends, she realized, was most likely the extent of what they were meant to be at the time. And it was a delicate thing as well; trying to find the equilibrium of happiness and acting around Junhoe.

    “Oh please, I’m the whole package, remember? This girls is the luckiest in the world!” Junhoe said, sounding confident of himself. He was probably right, Hyebin thought to herself. Any girl to spend time with Junhoe was lucky, and she found herself wishing every night for them to spend more time together, for him to somehow catch a glimpse of what is lovable within her existence and for him to be able to like that.

    “Hm. I’ll have to ask Jisoo about that,” Hyebin said, rolling her eyes for a lighthearted effect. It’s what she was always doing; trying to make her real emotions in the inside hidden from him. Not that he seemed to be even distinctly aware. It all went over his head, and he didn’t notice anything. He wasn’t even remotely questioning of how after that night, Hyebin and Jisoo became friends. Jisoo had requested to follow her on Instagram, and the two had a private IM session, where they apologized for the awkwardness of their first encounter, as well as their impression. Jisoo had thought that Hyebin would flat out punch her in the face for being close to Junhoe. Hyebin did not even say how envious she was of Jisoo, but instead said that she thought Jisoo was pretty, and that she assumed the other girl to be nice.

    “I dare you to. I bet Soosoo would agree with me,” Junhoe raised a challenging eyebrow. Hyebin almost wanted to rip her hair out of her head. How could he live with his head underground? How could he not know that there was some real emotion she felt behind their act as a potential couple within the grade? How could he just act so openly comfortable about Jisoo in front of her, the girl who felt so broken?

    “I bet she wouldn’t. Unnie is smarter than that,” Hyebin said with a playful tone. Jisoo was, as it had turned out, not a bad girl to has as a friend at all. They were not in the same school, nor were they on the same side of Gangnam. In fact, they were opposite sides; she lived in the same area as Junhoe, and it made sense as the two had practically grown up as friends. They were about a good half hour car or bus ride away, and that was only if traffic was on their side. Meeting her frequently was not something to happen, except when she seemed to come to this side for her meetings with Junhoe after school.

    “You girls, always ganging up on the good guy,” Junhoe muttered, but it was evident that he wasn’t annoyed at all. Once upon a time, it would have bothered her greatly that Junhoe called Jisoo ‘Soosoo’. It would have bothered her that she was not the only girl he seemed to care about, and that he always had his mind on another. It didn’t even happen to make her upset that on New Years Eve, he would be spending the night with Jisoo to spend the first moments of her birthday with. He promised on New Years to be the first to say happy birthday to her, but somehow, Hyebin doubted it. She couldn’t help but think that he would rather forget her while he enjoyed his time with Jisoo, who he never saw frequently due to school.

    “You make it happen to yourself. Don’t you blame me,” Hyebin said with a scolding tone. He childishly stuck his tongue out at her, and she copied his gesture. She could feel her eyes shrink into crescents as she did so, knowing that she was relishing every second with him without Jisoo there. Jisoo might as well have been a shadow; she always seemed to linger in Hyebin’s mind without her knowing it.

    “Do you ever feel like time goes too fast?” Junhoe asked suddenly. His eyes became serious and thoughtful, and it was one of the rare moments where he did so outside of the dance room. Time was a funny thing to Hyebin; it broke her, made her stronger, healed her, but it seemed to be beating her with every second that passed by. She hadn’t realized how much she took time for granted until she experienced her sunrises from a night of hard studying.

    “It does, doesn’t it? Before we know it, we’ll be off to college trying to find ourselves in the real world, and hopefully meet our soulmates, neh?” Hyebin said carefully. Was he her soulmate? Their relationship was something she always felt like was fresh off of a Korean drama; playful but not going to turn out well. She was, in her opinion, the second character who does not get the guy.

    “And I’ll have to prevent your husband from saying his vows before he realizes what he’s setting himself up to. I bet you’ll make him make a wish every night like how you make me,” Junhoe said, flicking her forehead lightly. Hyebin pouted playfully, before turning away indignantly.

    “Please, why don’t you be my husband then? I bet you can deal with it after a few years of going through with it.” While she didn’t do it intentionally, the first question made her just think more. In a year, would she still have feelings? In two, would she still feel this attachment? In three, how would everyone see her and Junhoe? When they graduate, would they remain like friends or be more?

    “We’ll see,” Junhoe said with a knowing smile. And Hyebin couldn’t help but hold onto that strand of hope, which was the most threadbare strand ever, but still there just for her.

--

A/n:
Hello my lovelies! I'm so excited to say that I finally got a cover for this story! I absolutely love it, and i hope you guys do too! 

I've read your comments about how you feel about Junhoe, Hyebin, and now Jisoo. When I write this, I do admit I think a lot about what happens to both me, and others. I think that emotions are something that come by, but are never easy. This is no different; Hyebin can like Junhoe forever, but if he only sees her as a best friend, then what can she do? Not making a promise on whether that's the plot or not ;) I just want to thank you so much for your encouraging comments, and I hope you guys add more because I love it when you leave a message. I admit I don't have time to reply, but I do read and smile at every comment, subscriber, and upvote, so please continue! Don't be a silent reader, and leave a little notif for me to smile at <3 I promise to try to update soon, and love Junhoe more!