Jaejoong really liked Ae Ri. I never knew that. When he first saw her that day, I had just assumed he had a small crush. It wasn’t anything big. She was beautiful and it was understandable that many men would look her way. She kept her hair silky and smooth, dyeing it a shade of light brown only made her look more down to earth. And she was. Ae Ri was the sweetest girl that could brighten anybody’s mood, but she also wasn’t afraid to call people out on their bull. I’m usually a quiet person, keeping my thoughts and feelings to myself, but she influenced me to be just as strong willed to protect the ones we love. I admired her. Heck, if I was a guy, I would’ve fallen for her too.

            But I wasn’t a man. I was a woman who felt jealousy every time Jaejoong looked at her, talked to her, and mentioned her. When Tae Hyun had announced their relationship, I saw Jaejoong internally break down under my eyes. He dropped everything and slowly leaned his back against the wall. If he was three, he would have curled up into a ball right then and there. But instead, I saw him take a deep breath and avert his eyes to the floor.

            “Well, what a funny coincident,” I said, making my voice a pitch higher.

            “Yes,” Ae Ri turned to me and giggled. “It really is,” she returned her gaze to Tae Hyun. “I need to go change, but I’ll be right back out in a jiffy.”

            “Okay,” he nodded in a daze.

            I took one more glance at Jaejoong before retreating back with Ae Ri. He had pretended to look fine when Tae Hyun got back to him. I just met Tae Hyun, but I knew that he wouldn’t notice how unfocused Jaejoong had suddenly become. I just pray he doesn’t hurt himself in the process of dealing with nails and hammers.

            “So,” I said to Ae Ri, “How long have you two been together?”

            She zipped up her uniform and did a twirl to show me the outfit. Wow, even in a plain beige dress, she managed to pull it off elegantly. “Oh, I don’t know,” she shrugged shyly. “Maybe for five or six years now? We met when we were both young, but I honestly don’t know when we became official, official.”

            “Wow,” I responded. “For a second there, I had assumed you two were newly lovers with all that sparkling stares and short breaths.”

            “Yeah,” Ae Ri said shyly. “Seeing him makes my heart burst every time and I just can’t stop inspecting every little aspect of his face, body, gestures, actions, and thoughts.”

            I smiled, a sincere one. “Must be nice to be in love.”

            “Oh, you aren’t?” she questioned, surprising me. “I had thought you and that man over there—“

            She started to point across the room at Jaejoong, but I quickly push her arm down.

            “We’re just friends,” I said, a little bit flustered.

            “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said gently.

            I shook my head. “No, it’s fine, I get that all the time.” And I truly do. From the florist next door to the mailman, I’ve been asked if Jaejoong and I were a thing. There was always disappointment and sadness in their face when I told them the answer. Was it because they knew I was really infatuated with the man? Was I really that easy to read? I had always thought I was pretty good at playing it cool when Jaejoong was around. He never noticed and my attitude showed that we were strictly just friends. My feelings only came out at night when I was thinking about him of what he was doing then, what he was eating, and if he, too, had someone to think about. And if I was a part of any of those thoughts. I wondered if Jaejoong ge