There was an almost deafening silence in the room, making the sound of the muffled thuds seem louder than normal. Hyebin rolled over on her bed, feeling more restless than usual. Her break had been dedicated to being lazy, like in this moment, or being completely a nut for work; whether it was cellular biology research she was allowed to conduct in her school laboratory, or writing away endlessly for hours upon hours. She admittedly spent a considerably less amount of time at the cafe- there was no motivation to leave her room most of the time, and if she left it would be for another straining work out or more experimenting in the lab. However, at the moment, Hyebin was beating her pillow, hence the soft thuds, and rolling about. It had been a while since she last remembered feeling such a long period of uselessness. Of course, between her first year and her upcoming second year of high school there was a lot of improvement to be made. Studying techniques to gain and more knowledge to be sought. But the thrill of hiding behind intelligence was not as riveting as it had been before; it seemed so lonely.

    Maybe it was the way the year had ended; it was not pleasant. For one, yes, Hyebin was done with life. She spent the last trimester of her school year trying to get that GPA, those grades, the test scores, everything her mother expected. But at the cost of damaging so much; it was not popularity that mattered (not that it changed due to her consistent friendship with the two most sought girls in the grade), but Junhoe. The boy who dealt with her random requests of wishes at 11:11, the first boy to catch her attention and the one who was her best friend. He was endearing to her, and she held him close to her guarded heart. Even with his stable relationship with Jisoo, Hyebin always prayed he would at least notice her silent and caring deeds, whether it be cleaning out his locker for him, or packing him breakfast that she knew he skipped from oversleeping. And it was that same boy that gave her this lifelessness now. By the time the school year was over, Hyebin was only a ticking time bomb. She was wrong to have been so rude, but it was true that she was human. She should have apologized right away, but she was tired of always being in the wrong.

    Which was why when on the last day, Junhoe announced he was ditching their group lunch to celebrate their first year ending, Hyebin seemed to have lost it. She was not a shrieker, nor was she the type to give a cold shoulder. She simply burst out in sobs, the stress finally engulfing her. It was not so bad at first, and Junhoe had done his best to try and console her, but when he checked the time and said he was going to be late, Hyebin began to change. She went from her normal title of the year’s angel to a sarcastic and cruel, to put kindly, . She cringed every time she thought back to how she told him that he should not have been invited when he never spent time with them anymore, and how she was done with him going for hoes before the bros, except 1.) Jisoo was definitely not  a hoe, and 2.) Hyebin herself was female, and was not quite a bro. Junhoe was marching out of the location not even a few seconds later, and their lunch became postponed from the tension in the atmosphere. Hyebin was quite the partypooper.

    When they finally did have their celebratory lunch, it was decided to be on Junhoe’s birthday. It was March 31, and Hyebin never felt more embarrassed or anxious to see the birthday boy. The two had apologized, although not quite face to face but over video chat, and then had been making awkward conversation that bothered her to no end. Hyebin had been in charge of bringing the cake, so she had picked out his favorite from their cafe, a towering ice cream cake. She had dragged Jinhyeong out to get a gift for Junhoe, and they spent the whole day at  the COEX shopping center to find the perfect item, which resulted in Hyebin splurging her money on sneakers. Still, it was not a waste in her mind; anything to try and fix the rift. Jinhyeong gave her comfort, reminding her that Junhoe was not the type to be picky, even if he would no doubt make his sassy comments, but she was too focused to care. When the two arrived at the venue, or the apartment that the boys lived in, Hyebin was almost shaking from the anxiety that was clawing inside her stomachs, along with the raging butterflies. Bobby was the one to open the door, his adorable smile on his face as he welcomed the two into the apartment, or rather the penthouse.

    “I hope you guys didn’t expect us to actually cook; we all know that you wouldn’t be alive to tell the tale. So we had the genius idea of just catering. I think you guys are ready to stuff your faces,” Jinhwan said with a cheerful tone. Hyebin laughed, feeling the tension inside of her alleviate. Jinhwan took her gift and set it onto a small corner of the room, where a heaping pile of other presents were already stacked. Junhoe was on their large set of sofas, flipping through the channels on the TV, with his arm around Jisoo’s shoulders. Hyebin plastered a bright smile on her face, before moving towards the two.

    “Saengil chukkahamnida!” Hyebin sang out loud in a cheerful tone. She might as well beat out the awkwardness by attempting for a relaxed relationship between him and her. Jisoo waved to her, and Hyebin smiled back in acknowledgement, while Junhoe pretended to clamp his hands over his ears.

    “Aish! Don’t you even think about being a singer- you can’t even sing happy birthday in tune!” Junhoe muttered, and Hyebin felt all the tension leave. Yes, they were fine. Because it was Junhoe. Because it was his ability to make any situation seem better automatically. Because he was so chill, and so careless, and because nothing mattered but dancing, singing, and Jisoo.

    “Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten you those Jordans you wanted-” Hyebin began to say with a teasing tilt in her voice, and Junhoe sat up, his arm leaving Jisoo’s shoulders.

    “What? No! I take it back! Be a singer, go to YG or something!” Junhoe cried out, obviously loving the idea of the new pair of shoes he had been keeping his eye on for a while, but never had the time to buy. Or rather, was too lazy to go and buy. The rest of the lunch was a blur- food was eaten, cake was cut, and finally, Junhoe was able to say his thoughts about his year.

    “Now, I know I’m the maknae, and I know I’m too good to be true,” he began, and Jinhwan whispered a, ‘babo,’ in between. “But I’m sincerely grateful for all of you peasants. Maybe I don’t show it, but I do love you all. If you’re in the room, then you’re important in some way or another. This past year was amazing. I met some of the best people in my life, like Jinhyeong. And as we all know, a very special girl who means a lot to me.” Donghyuk playfully nudged Hyebin, while B.I gave a pointed look towards Jisoo. The room seemed divided in who they thought it was; was it the best friend who was by his side through it all, and helped him in the hectic year, or was it the girlfriend who was his happiness? “Hyebs, I thank you so much for all of it. You are truly the most peasant- like one in this batch, but you’re my best friend through and through. I don’t think even Jinhwan can replace you in some aspects.”

    To say Hyebin’s heart melted was an understatement; it was as though she fell in love with him all over again. Even though she learned her place long ago, it still gave her a tingling warmth whenever he would say stuff like this. Although it was cruel when you thought of how crushed it felt when she remembered all too soon that she was not the most important girl, she knew that Junhoe was oblivious to her emotions. He was just that type of a guy; he did not notice, nor was he thoughtful about what were to be if his best girl friend did in fact have some sort of odd affection one way or another for him. To him, life was blissful in his youth, and he was short sighted in only recognizing his growing emotions for Jisoo, as well as her returning them.

    “But there’s another girl who’s the apple to my eyes, and as cheesy as this is, the girl who means the most to me. My little Soosoo,” Junhoe said, and he hugged the said girl. And this was the part where her heart seemed to snap into the most painful positions, where it felt uncomfortable. Yes, she was happy for him, and she did give her blessings and approval for Jisoo being his girlfriend. But it did not make it any less bearable to see the two everywhere. If she was important to him, then of course Jisoo would be the one who means the most. However, the rest of the people surrounding her, whether it be the boys if iKON, Jinhyeong, or Youjung and Soorim, were all either cheering the couple on or teasing them affectionately. Not even a year back, she had been shipped with this boy, and was the one expected to be dating him in the future- no, the one people wanted him to date. And yet, she gave it up peacefully because while she wanted to, she knew it was not her position. There was a time and place for everything, but not now. And with these thoughts, Hyebin mumbled some inaudible jumbled excuse to leave the party early, and no one even noticed her leave except for Jinhyeong, who refrained from preventing her.

    And here it was again; the warm days of May where Hyebin found herself lying like this lifeless doll on her bed more and more, pondering about her days at school. Her second year was coming in fast, and there was no stopping it when it hit. Time did not stop for anyone, she noted, and all she could do was let it resume. Hyebin stopped punching her pillow as her phone let out a soft sound to notify an incoming message. It wasn’t from Junhoe; she wondered if he even realized the distance between the two. Was their so called ‘best friendship’ simply just her efforts being the glue that held it together? Instead, she saw it was from Jinhyeong. If Junhoe was who she was closest to, then Jinhyeong was a second place who might be in the lead, although Hyebin would deny it to no end.

    ‘Hey, can we talk? Let’s go for a walk at the park. I bought your favorite ice cream- JJ’. Hyebin smiled at his thoughtful gesture of him buying her ice cream. It was probably just a way to persuade her to come out; he often seemed to bribe her with food to leave her room every once in a while. She sighed, before rolling off of the bed and searching through her closet for an outfit. Early May in Seoul was a pleasantly sunny and warm weather, although sometimes it would either be uncomfortably hot or a little chilly. To play it safe, Hyebin grabbed her favorite ripped up jeans, which were slightly baggy and loose for a comfortable effect, as well as a plain white shirt. She tossed on her flip flops, grabbed her wallet and phone, and left the apartment for what seemed like the first time in a while. The streets were crowded with young people enjoying their weekend in the coming summer, and Hyebin felt almost relaxed. It was funny how no matter what, Junhoe made her forget how the rest of the world functioned.

    Hyebin took her time to the park, loving how the slight breezes would play with her hair, and how the sunlight that streamed through the leaves on the trees would dapple her skin. She would sometimes throw in a random and tiny hop or skip in her walking, and did not even care for the looks others would give her from it. She felt rejuvenized.

    “Hey! Hyebin, over here!” Hyebin smiled and jogged over to where Jinhyeong was standing, in his hand a cone of green tea ice cream. Hyebin grabbed it joyously, and scooped out a bit with the plastic spoon he handed her. It was one of her peculiar habits that others found either amusing or interesting in the least.

    “Annyeoung. And thanks for the ice cream. Man, when you get a girlfriend, you’ll know how to treat her well.” Hyebin said in a lighthearted tone. Jinhyeong only smiled, and the two began their stroll in a slow pace. For her, the ice cream seemed to be the top priority. For him, he seemed to be sorting out his thoughts in the silence. It was not awkward, nor was there tension; it was light and comfortable, as was the relationship the two shared.

    “What do you ever think of if someone were to tell you to move on?” Jinhyeong finally asked, and Hyebin froze. She missed the slow but steady tempo of their footsteps, and instead she felt as though the sunlight were suddenly too harsh, the wind a little chilly, and the birds singing to be annoying. The question was a bomb, and she was scared that a simple response to it would make it detonate.

    “Who would even tell me to move on, when everyone believes I already have? No, people mostly didn’t even realize I had something real for him,” Hyebin finally said. Her tone was careful, and she had taken multiple spoonfuls of the creamy treat in her hands to stall, although even the ice cream felt out of place and not as sweet as it should be. Jinhyeong gave her a sad look, and she didn’t want to face him.

    “What if this someone were me, the someone who was here to see it all?” Jinhyeong tried the question, not to offend her, but to try and help Hyebin realize that maybe it was time. She gave up trying to eat the ice cream, and for the first time in her memory threw out her favorite treat. She paced about a bit, earning more weird looks, but she did not care. She frowned, before stopping suddenly and looking at him with a piercing gaze.

    “I know this isn’t an answer, but honestly? Everyone took to coupling him and me as a little fun game, and a joke. Well every joke has some ounce of truth, and every joke hurts someone. It just happened to be that I was the source of both, wasn’t I?” She began to pace about again, the restlessness from being in her room coming back to her. It stunk how she was the one to feel the emotions for him, and that she was the one to get hurt. It stunk that he was with Jisoo, who was a good friend and sister- like figure at times. And it stunk that while everyone else thought she moved on, she really did not.

    Her thoughts were halted as Jinhyeong grabbed her by her wrist, and dragged her to a bench. The location was all too haunting; it was where she had seen Junhoe and Jisoo through the bushes on their private little date, holding hands. Although she was not sure if it was an official date, she knew that they had not agreed to being boyfriend and girlfriend at the time. The bench was only a bittersweet location, a reminder of the feeling of getting hit by an emotion so strong at the time that she was surprised she was even here again in the future.

    “This is going to sound really weird to you, and I know it’s weird because I’m the one saying it. Listen, I don’t like seeing you be so down all the time.” Jinhyeong began. Hyebin just nodded, feeling tired. She wanted to go home and take a nap-  especially if she was going to get another typical and trite pep talk from Jinhyeong, who had been sprouting them almost every day for her to listen to. As if she had not received enough lectures in school, which was starting again in only a weeks time.

“And I know it sounds as though I’m saying this as another one of those friends, like how I’m sure Soorim probably offered to kick Junhoe’s for being so naive, and how Youjung probably pestered you at home to be a little more lively.” His words brought a smile to her lips. Yes, she remembered how when Junhoe and Jisoo began dating, how her two friends felt so betrayed that he was dating a girl besides her. She remembered how many times Soorim would bring her dark chocolates to cheer her up, or how Youjung would come at 2 am into her room, and the two was have talks until the morning on the days she was not at the cafe.

    “What are are you trying to say?” Hyebin finally said, finding it pointless to beat around the bush. If only she could take back the words and let him just go into it gradually, as he had been trying to.

    “I’m trying to say that you should move on and give another guy a chance. I’m trying to say that there was one guy who was waiting for you to notice just like you had been with Junhoe. I’m saying that he’s tired of waiting when he thinks he can do better than Junhoe. I’m saying I’m that guy, and although I know you aren’t quite moved on, do you want to try dating me and letting me help you move on?” He looked a little embarrassed to be saying it, but Hyebin felt more uncomfortable hearing this sudden confession.

    “Mwoh?” She asked, not completely understanding it in the moment. He sighed, before looking at her with a small smile.

    “I’m saying that I like you, babo. More than just a close friend. Will you give me a chance?”

--

HELLO MY LOVELIES! 

I know I updated like yesterday, but I was so overwhelmed by your flood of comments and motivation that I wanted to update. This is me trying to thank you guys for your interest in my story, and I truly love you all to the moon and back <3 

Some of you may have noticed that Jinhyeong plays a major role in this story. He is the background character, the guy who's always there for you and tries to be a wingman without meddling too much. Of course his wingman days are over when Junhoe and Jisoo are official so he now spends his time makng sure that Hyebin is okay. I'm not sure about you guys, but I feel like when someone goes through unrequited love, he/she doesn't think of the possibility of someone liking him/her and being caught in an unrequited love situation. We get so caught up in our emotions that no matter how cloes this someone might be, we just fail completely at recognizing it. I have done this, and so has my best friend. It , but it's life. I don't know why I made it occur in this way though; being fifteen is such a naive and young age. We try out so many things, such as relationships, fashion changes, and everything is just moving so fast for us. We have the world on our fingertips, and we aren't quite burdened yet with what life is completely like. I guess I wanted to portray that with how spurt of the moment Jinhyeong acted. I left it as a cliffhanger from a suggestion ;) Will we let Hyebin move on peacefully? Will she accept but still like Junhoe more? Will she reject and ruin her friendship with Jinhyeong, and still feel distanced from Junhoe? Please upvote, comment, and subscribe and I'm sure you'll find out soon <3 

Thank you again for your love for this story! I'll work harder to maintain my updates!