"Would you go, Seungyoon?" His mother softly asked, smiling at him. They were feeding the little orphans when the other staff needed someone to help with loading the donated boxes of clothes that had just arrived at the orphanage.

"Sure, I'll come with them." Seungyoon nodded and went out with the people that were outside waiting for a volunteer. That left Minah alone with his mother.

"He's a capable man, isn't he?" Mrs. Kang whispered cheerily at Minah, making her nod promptly in response. It was her first time ever meeting the older woman, and she was impressed by how she gave her a familiar vibe, though she couldn't pinpoint what exactly made her think so. Maybe it was because Seungyoon told her that her eyes were of the same shape and shade as his mother.

But Mrs. Kang also had that dignified aura about her, that Minah couldn't help but think she was a prideful woman who knew her values and status. That was a good thing, but Minah was sure she preferred to stay low no matter how high she ranked in the society.

Mrs. Kang was proud of the people she was associated with as well.

"Yes, ma'am. He's the smartest person I've ever met. I guess that's how he already had a high position at his father's company at an age where most people are still in their third year in college." Minah chimed, smiling as she saw the content in Mrs. Kang's face.

"Yes, I had a hard time accepting the fact that God so decided to balance his brains with his health." Mrs. Kang said, her tone clearly dropped a hint of grief.

Minah felt her heart thump at the sudden information disclosed as she stopped on her track of feeding the little twelve-month-old boy next to her. "Is he sick, ma'am?"

"He must have not told you." His mother smiled tightly, "He's got a rare illness from birth. He's been fighting with it for 21 years, with the best surgeries and treatments we could find. He's been taking medicines more regularly these past few months. I think it's not long until he'll have to give up his current daily activities to get fully hospitalized."

Minah kept silent as she fought back the sudden lump in . She had to close her eyes for sometime as she tried to restrain from thinking about Seungyoon.

"It's a matter of time Seungyoon would have to tell you, you are his friend after all." Mrs. Kang continued.

"Yes, ma'am. It's truly unfortunate. I'm so sorry." Minah responded, sending the older woman a sorrowful gaze.

"I guess he got it from his biological mom." Mrs. Kang voiced out, nodding at Minah's incredulous reaction to the sudden revelation. "She passed away when he was in elementary school due to a related chronic disease."

"That's really sad..." Minah faltered. That meant Seungyoon had experienced losing his parents just as she had, but at a much younger and less stable age.

"I'm glad that he got to make a great friend like you, Minah." Mrs. Kang softly said, "Excuse this nosy old woman. I came here to check out what my oldest son is doing here and if he's enjoying it."

"Not at all, madam. I admire your devotion to your... child's happiness." Minah beamed at Seungyoon's mother. It would be an understatement if she said she was jealous of Seungyoon for having a great mother figure even though she was not blood-related to him. Yet, Minah was more reminded of her dad. Oh, how she still missed him.

"Thank you." Mrs. Kang said merrily but her tone dropped again at the next sentence, "I heard your father passed away not long ago. It must have been hard to adjust to living without your father."

"It was, ma'am." Minah admitted as she smiled at the older woman warmly, "But I've been doing better. Thanks to the great people around me."

"I see." Mrs. Kang nodded, her eyes focusing on Minah a bit more intensely, "Perhaps, are you seeing someone? You know, there's no better healing than another love. Not downplaying friendship and other types of relationships, but I think romantic love is the most treasurable one, since there's only one person for it, you know."

"I agree with you." Minah said, looking down meekly as she continued, "I've recently started loving someone. It feels good."

Either Mrs. Kang took a bit longer to respond than her usual speech pattern, or Minah was in the clouds thinking of Taehyung for the nth time of the day.

"Oh, dear. Look at your blush." Mrs. Kang cooed, "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been dating?"

"It's a one-sided love, ma'am." Minah corrected, chuckling to lift up her own mood. "I hope he'll return my feelings, but that's up to him."

"Oh no." Mrs. Kang clicked her tongue, "That guy sure is missing out."

Minah only smiled and shook her head politely at her consolation. After a few seconds of silence, Mrs. Kang spoke up again. "Speaking of, I just feel so sad that my oldest son won't be able to find a lover of his own. It's a shame. He could have lived normally like everyone else, made his own little family, raising his own children, living a successful life with great wealth. But instead, he's told me he was going to leave all his shares of the company he has been able to garner from his hard work for charity. Oh, I'm going off topic already. Excuse my rambling."

"It's totally fine." Minah reassured, smiling weakly as she listened to Mrs. Kang. The thoughts of Taehyung made her forget for a moment about the news she just received from Seungyoon's mother. Right, Seungyoon was having a chronic disease. "He's a great person."

"Yo." Seungyoon already made his appearance before Mrs. Kang could say anything more. His lips stretched out to a bright smile as he asked, "Why the sad faces? What's happening?"

"I'm not sure." Minah answered Seungyoon, "He told me he would be staying at his friend's for a while so he could do a course project more efficiently."

"And you bought it?" Seungyoon asked, chuckling at his own words.

"I don't." She shook her head, "I know he's just avoiding me."

"Maybe he's just shocked. Maybe he likes you too, but he was trying to make sense of his feelings for you." Seungyoon pondered, more like talking to himself.

"Thanks Seungyoon, but you don't have to console me. That kiss was clearly a mistake." Minah shuddered, "I was aiming for his lips at first, good thing he was facing me sideways. Imagine how much more humiliating it would be!"

Seungyoon burst out laughing at his friend's squeak at the end of her sentence. "Noona, I have never seen you get this worked up over something. Must be the work of love."

Minah's dramatic grimace turned more bitter and serious as she looked at Seungyoon. Under the dim light emitted from the bar's light bulbs, she was able to see how bright his eyes were in contrast. How could he be so cheerful all the time?

"Seungyoon, have you dated anyone?" Minah asked as her eyes searched for Seungyoon's, eagerly looking for an answer she might be able to get even before he could answer.

"Not really. I usually have this situation where I fall for the girl, but she doesn't." Seungyoon shrugged, playing it off heartily. Minah was almost fooled by his carefree pretense, if not for his eyes casting down for a split second.

"You never know if you don't ask." She said at last, ignoring his chortle while smiling at him encouragingly. "You should date someone once in a while. I have only dated once, but I remember the good feelings I got from it."

"God, you sound like my mother." Seungyoon huffed comically, "you asked me out here to lecture me about dating?"

Minah couldn't bring herself to let him know that she was aware of Seungyoon's illness now that she saw how positive Seunyoon was towards everything. She saw the genuine content in his eyes at that moment.

And if he was fine with everything already, she had no right to remind him of it.

If he hadn't talked to her about it himself, then she had no right to bring it up. She knew he would eventually tell her anyway, because they were friends after all.

She did not mean to, but she ended up sharing her own stories to Seungyoon instead, about her late realization of affection towards Taehyung. Seungyoon was the only friend she had that didn't have any mutual friends, and as she wanted to vent her emotions out without having to worry if the other person would spread the news to others, Seungyoon was the perfect choice.

It would be a lie to say she didn't anticipate Taehyung to come back home. It would be a lie to say she didn't hope for Taehyung to reciprocate her feelings. But most of all, it never crossed her mind that she would receive a text from Taehyung's number but the sender was his girlfriend instead.

Apparently, she was his girlfriend.

The text she received a few days after she talked with Seungyoon in the bar, telling him she hoped he would at least call or text her, was so evident and clear, that Taehyung already had his heart for someone else. She never had a chance in the first place.

It came with a photo of Taehyung, still sound asleep, his shirtless top covered by a comforter, and beside him was a girl that Minah had never seen before.

Below the photo, a long text read,

'Minah-ssi, this is Bae Joohyun. I would like to let you know that Taehyung has been devastated these past weeks. He genuinely took care of you out of sympathy so he was put in a hard spot when you did something that showed you appreciate him more than just a friend. He never meant to let this happen, but he felt it was necessary to hide me from you so that you wouldn't feel bad. As his girlfriend, I would like to secretly let you know about this whole situation so you can be aware, I will delete this message soon before Taehyung wakes up, and I trust that you would keep this a secret between us, as I would get in trouble if Taehyung finds out. Best regards'.

She deleted the message and the photo from her end right away as Bae Joohyun wanted, but it was already imprinted in her head.

She was never good at masking her emotions, so she decided she would not meet out with her friends and indulge in school and work.

She still had to attend the weekly session at the orphanage regardless. It was inevitable that Seungyoon picked up on her expressions and asked her out for dinner to talk with her. It was a lie if she said she didn't look for a place to vent out, and she was thankful Seungyoon was there, again.

"I just found out that Taehyung has a girlfriend. He never told me because he knew I would feel bad about it. But now that I do, I feel horrible. I feel horrible for interfering in his and his girlfriend's life, for being a nuisance, for myself. I... I really wanted him, Seungyoon. But now, I just want to avoid him. I called him and I apologized for kissing him. I told him it was just an impulse and I was confused. Then I told him to break off the marriage but he insisted that his parents would scold him if we were to do so before I get myself a boyfriend. He texted me this morning, saying he would come home tomorrow. But I dread it, Seungyoon. What should I do?"

"Noona," Seungyoon started at last, concern all over his face, "you look terrible. The best thing right now is to stop seeing him."

"I know." Minah replied as she messaged her forehead, "I know."

"Should you tell him that you know he has a girlfriend already?" Seungyoon suggested.

"I don't want to get his girlfriend in trouble. She didn't want me to tell him." Minah replied, forcing a smile at Seungyoon.

"I have an idea, noona." Seungyoon spoke up when silence engulfed them for a long time, "Marry me."

Minah was chewing on her food so she couldn't utter a word, but she looked up to see Seungyoon's determined yet flustered expression. She swallowed the food with difficulty and took a sip of water before she could say anything.

But nothing came out of .

"I have a secret, noona." Seungyoon breathed out, "I think it's time you know."

"That you are sick?" Minah closed her eyes and bit her lips as she slowly opened them again to look right into Seungyoon's. "Your mom told me."

His eyes were widening slightly, "Oh."

"Is it true that you can't recover from your illness?" Minah asked as her forehead wrinkled up.

"Yeah." Seungyoon shrugged as he smiled at her warmly, "That's why I'm offering you to marry me."

"Seungyoon," Minah cut in, "I'm not going to step in your life like I am to Taehyung now, and I'm sure not going to deceive your parents."

"How are you stepping in my life when I won't get married to anyone anyway?" Seungyoon chuckled nonchalantly.

"Just because you are sick doesn't mean you aren't allowed to have a relationship with someone else." Minah argued.

"Do you think there's someone who would like to love me when there's a set timer to my death?" Seungyoon countered as his expression slightly fell.

She couldn't answer, even though she should come up with one. She could feel her heart racing, forming a lump and it was getting harder to breathe. She felt sorry for her friend.

"Let me help you out for the time-being." Seungyoon continued, smiling at her again, "That is, if you are fine with actually signing the paperwork this time. My dad is a strict man, and we need to make it real so he doesn't get suspicious."

"Seungyoon, I'll have to rely on you this time, even though I don't know how I can repay you with what you are about to do to help me." Minah answered at last, sighing heavily. "I know this is really selfish, but I'm willing to do anything to make Taehyung let me go."

"We're friends, noona." Seungyoon chuckled, "what would it make of me if I don't help you out when I can?"

"God," Minah stood up and went to Seungyoon as she embraced him. "Why are you so...?"

She could not find a word to describe how much she felt thankful for his help, how upset she was that her friend couldn't love and be loved like a normal person could, how frustrated she was when a part of her just wanted Taehyung to stay with her for a bit longer, yet how much she wanted Taehyung to properly date Bae Joohyun as he so deserved it.

But the most prominent emotion she had at that moment, was that devastating feeling she once had before her dad died came rushing back again. She was losing another person she treasured wholeheartedly again.

"Come again?" Taehyung's voice dropped a few notes as Minah announced over the phone that night.

She inhaled sharply before repeating. "I'm getting married, Taehyung."

"But-", he hesitated before continuing, albeit his voice was lowered to a soft whisper, "What's with the rush? Who are you marrying?"

"Seungyoon. I realized I have loved him all along, Taehyung." Minah wished he didn't pick up on her rushed lie as she continued with another, "And I can't find myself being able to stay with another man anymore."

Taehyung was silent for a few seconds before he replied, "Okay, I understand, noona. I'm happy for you."