[CONTENTID2]Words aren't the only way to tell someone how you feel." Tifa Lockheart [/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID1]

He was surprised that she never noticed how uncomfortable he was whenever they talked about Dongwoo. Then again, Heeyeon would always complain that Sunggyu was talented at hiding his feelings. Everything that he felt was wrapped inside his head, and no one ever penetrated the bubble of his thoughts.

His heart wrenched inside his chest. His insides were empty and his fingers tingled whenever Heeyeon was within his reach. She was right beside but she was like a star, too distant and too incandescent. He could only trace her constellations in the inky velvet of his sky but he could never hide her away into his palms.

If he was able to speak, then he would be certain that Heeyeon would pick up the agonised tremors in his voice, but his disability frustrated him. He wished to scream; scream her name till it echoed to all four corners of the world, till that ephemeral voice destroyed everything in it’s path and disintegrated everything to dust.

Yet he knew that only one name lingered in her heart. No matter how many times he should call Heeyeon, she would never see him more than a friend. The subtle gazes, the prepped eyebrows, the feminine dresses that cinched at the waist; Sunggyu noticed these small yet drastic changes occurring. Like malleable clay, Heeyeon was being molded by Dongwoo, and the latter was unaware of it.

He didn’t realise the makeup that now masked her face, or the way she’d laugh at his lame jokes when they weren’t amusing or the fact that she texted him more than she texted Sunggyu. Dongwoo was oblivious to it all, while Sunggyu would sulk in the background and wanted nothing more than to set the world on fire.

Heeyeon called him one day, and asked him to accompany her for shopping. Sunggyu didn’t know why she chose him when he clearly had no idea how the female mind works. He followed her anyway as she dragged him through stores and districts. He became the machine that would hold all her shopping bags.

“My birthday's coming up,” she said excitedly.

Sunggyu merely nodded. It wasn’t like he could communicate with her when his fingers were coiled over plastic bags until his knuckles bled white and blue.

“Dongwoo told me he booked a restaurant. Did he tell you too?”

He nodded again, praying that she didn’t notice the bitter way his features scrunched when he heard Dongwoo’s name.

Heeyeon paused for a short moment. They were inside another clothes store, and she had been searching for the perfect dress for the imminent dinner. Couples argued over dresses, girls huddled around each other and the cash tills were tingling as they were filled up.

“Do you think...he feels anything for me?” Her large eyes met his, and tendrils of vines coiled around his heart until his breath came out in chunks.

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Sometimes I think there’s a certain spark between us, ya know? There is something in the air,” Heeyeon intoned. “But other times, I think it’s just my mind playing tricks on me. Agh! I think I might be going crazy. Sunggyu, I’m so sorry I keep blabbering to you like some idiot. If only you know how this feels like…”

His stomach churned and his lips puckered in. How wrong she was. She was the clueless one. He was perfectly aware of what if felt like to be the third wheel. She was the one who needed to know how it felt to be able to stare at the one you love and pretend your feelings never existed.

Had she ever known that there were times where his heart and mind turned feral, and all he wanted to do was hide her into the darkness of his embrace? There were times when all he ever wished was to lie down next to her in obsidian and inhale the flowery scent of the shampoo she always used. There were times where he hoped that she’d fall asleep so he could trace the angles and lines of her face, and memorize them with his lips.

Sunggyu inhaled sharply and shrugged again.

Heeyeon frowned. “Why aren’t you saying anything?” She quickly pursed her lips as realisation dawned on her. “Oh dear! Sorry Gyu-goo, I’m such a horrible person...oh man…”

She took some of the bags from his grip, and he rotated his wrists to ease the rigid pain that seared through his tendons. He swallowed the knot in his throat as her words reverberated through his mind.

It was inevitable. The reason she looked through him like glass was because he wasn’t able to speak. He wondered if he had a voice, would she ever consider him too? Would she stare at like how endearingly she stared at Dongwoo?

He would never know because reality was never like a dream.

-

Sunggyu was awestruck every time Heeyeon dressed for an event. When she met them outside the restaurant, she was garbed in a sparkling, black dress that ended above her knees. Her arms were hidden in bell sleeves, but the shoulders were exposed through a sly cutting. A pair black heels with bows at the tip matched her garment. It made Sunggyu feel very banal in his plain, black suit.

Dongwoo was dressed in a white suit, and their contrasting colours only reminded him why they were destined to be together in the first place. Sunggyu found it all unfair.

Despite wearing heels for a while now, Heeyeon was still clumsy and when she tripped, Dongwoo bared his large teeth and hooted like a donkey. Sunggyu had the sudden urge to knock his teeth right out of his skull. Instead, he slapped the man across the head. Heeyeon crinkled her nose at him and ignored him when they walked inside.

Dongwoo had indeed booked a fancy restaurant that not even Sunggyu had heard about. It was titled ‘Kebabish’ and the food was an exotic blend of South Asia. The walls were draped with red and yellow printed curtains. The tables were lined with red cloths, and candles flickered from every corner.

Sunggyu thought the restaurant appeared too romantic for a birthday dinner. Then again, Dongwoo had a brain the size of a walnut when it came to romance. If only he was erased off the face of the earth this night, then Sunggyu could have savoured the moment with Heeyeon by himself.

They were served by a waiter who wore a permanent frown on his face. He had a tag that bore the name ‘Fawad Khan’. He took down their orders, glowering with each unruly scribble from his black pen, and stormed to the kitchens.

Heeyeon surveyed the luxurious interior of the restaurant.

“What a lovely place, Dongwoo,” she said, “I can’t believe you managed to find something like this.”

Dongwoo grinned. “Well, I’m not as boring as you lot think I am.”

“What made you think that? When did I ever say you were boring?” She blinked a few times.

Dongwoo twiddled with his thumbs. “I always felt like that around you. You only ever gave Sunggyu attention. I was the stupid boy who was boring to hang out with.”

“I never thought that!”

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