Misunderstanding

 

"What the did you do that for, dude?" Jackson can't hide his dismay. Better said, Jackson doesn't hide his dismay. His furrowed eyebrows and wrinkles say it all.

"I don't know," Mark tells him honestly. "I was embarrassed... and scared."

"Embarrassed of WHAT?!" his blonde best friend exasperatedly says with flying arms to further show his distress over his supposed handsome and intelligent best friend. As far as Jackson is concerned and counting today's incident, Mark may just be the dummiest (he isn't sure if there is such word but this isn't about grammar!) person in the world. "And scared of Mijin? What the hell are you scared of Mijin, dude?!"

"I don't know!" Mark scoffs, frustrated. Jackson isn't helping exactly. "I don't know, okay?!"

Jackson sighs. As much as he wants to hit his best friend's face now to WAKE the goddamn UP, he knows how distressed he already is because of what happened. Best friend duties first and maybe, when he finally gets Mark to stop being stupid, he can hit him on his handsome face.

"Okay," he sits beside Mark, calming himself. "Let me get this straight, okay? You've been stalking Mijin the whole year..."

"I'm not stalking her!" Mark interrupts, with a slightly louder voice than necessary. Some people look at them and he covers his face while Jackson snickers.

"That's what you get for interrupting me," Jackson grins at him. Mark does nothing but glares at him and he leisurely continues. "Okay, where was I before I was rudely interrupted? So, you've been stalking Mijin the whole year with your eyes..."

"Dude, that's creepy." Mark's face says it all.

Jackson can't help but laugh. Then, he coughs and says, "Interrupter (he still isn't sure if there's such word but again, this isn't about grammar right now) much?"

"Fine, fine."

"The thing is, dude," Jackson simply says this time, "you like Mijin very, very much. Like, she's that one girl you want your parents to meet and be the mother of your children." Mark is about to interrupt again but Jackson beats him, "Well, isn't that, right?"

Mark ducks his head. It's a little embarrassing admitting these things to a person like Jackson. It's true though. "Yeah," he mutters.

His best friend nods his blonde head and continues, like he is analyzing something from one of their science class. "So after one year, you finally, finally plucked the courage from the highest mountains and the deepest seas to ask her out."

"Have you been reading too much literature?"

"Yeah. I like Ms. Park."

"Because she's only a couple years older, pretty, and single?"

Jackson stares at him and he seriously looks a little hurt. "Seriously, dude? That's what you only take me for?"

Mark laughs.

"I like the way she teaches," Jackson says indignantly. "She's not bossy when it comes to meanings. She actually listens and doesn't pretend that there is one true meaning in poems and fictions, unlike most of our literature professors before. It actually makes literature more interesting."

"You sound in love," his best friend chuckles.

Jackson makes a face and hollers, "Can I not like something without having an ulterior motive on someone?!"

Mark only laughs more.

"Yeah, laugh," the other says, putting his hands behind his head in the most comfortable fashion, the way he always do whenever his best friend is having the worst time of his life and he has the nerve to make fun of him when he should be mourning for himself. "Just don't forget that you finally got the courage to talk to the girl you want to marry and you said you like her best friend instead of her. Quite, as I may add, stupidly."

Jackson is the one laughing when Mark begins to sulk down again, remembering his actions a couple of hours ago and wishing he can take it back. But of course, time machines are yet to be invented and he can only sulk now.

"Seriously, dude, why did you do that?" his best friend asks seriously.

"I honestly don't have a ing idea," Mark mutters.

"Well," Jackson sighs. He knows he's also in this (as much as if he's done something as ed up as this himself, Mark is also in it). "What's your plan? What are you going to do about this now?"

 

;

 

Mijin rarely cries.

No, she doesn't really cry because she's not much of a crier. But she can't help herself today. She walks faster, avoiding curious glances from people on the hallway, to the benches just beside the library where she is supposed to meet her best friend after lunch break.

She supposes it's not her best friend's fault. Or Mark's. Besides, she can't hate either of them even if it hurts so much.

Yura's eyes widen when she sees Mijin walking towards her. She knows she's crying even if she's still about ten meters away from her. She immediately stands up and meets her halfway. "What happened?"

Mijin's knees weaken and she finally falls. Fortunately, her best friend is already beside her. How can she hate someone like her best friend? She... can’t.

Her best friend helps her to the bench where about five books from just one algebra subject are opened. Even if she is having a hard time in some of their subjects, it doesn't seem like that because she is always trying. She likes that about her best friend. Maybe Mark likes that about her, too.

Yura holds her hand and rubs her back, trying to calm her down like a mother would to a child, and Mijin stops crying. She doesn't ask questions because she knows Mijin isn't ready to answer any. She knows silence and she handles it well. Not everybody can. She really likes that about her, too. Maybe Mark does as well.

"He likes you," she whispers softly, hiccups making her voice barely audible.

"What?"

"He likes you," Mijin whispers again.

"Who likes me?" Yura worriedly asks. It’s not always her best friend is crying because someone likes her.

She holds Yura's hand and looks at her in the eyes. With moist but understanding eyes, sort of like the eyes that are telling her best friend that no matter what happens, they are going to remain best friends, she smiles through the tears and her broken heart and says it. "Mark likes you."

Yura's eyes widen for the second time in a span of five minutes.

"He doesn't like me," her best friend tells her, shaking her head slowly because this is like a ‘What the ?’ moment for her. It doesn't help with this mental breakdown that she knows how long Mijin has liked Mark and probably how much Mijin is hurting. She repeats, "He doesn't like me."

Her best friend smiles at her and it makes Yura even more... She doesn't even know what she's feeling anymore. Sad. Furious. Confused. Guilty, even if she didn't do anything exactly, she knows she's still part why her best friend is in pain.

"It's okay," Mijin says with a weak smile. She doesn't understand why she's smiling but she means every word when she says, "It's really okay. If you and Mark are to be together. I'm okay. Don't worry about me. I'll be happy for you."

Her best friend blinks at her, muttering, "Mark doesn't like me..."

Mijin smiles at her again and hugs her. Yura doesn't know whose heart she hears shattering, hers for her best friend or Mijin's.

"He likes you. He told me so himself," she tells her through the hug. Then, she pulls away and smiles at her again, "I'll be happy for the two of you." She means it. It hurts that she actually means it and she's ready to let go and give way for her best friend to be with the guy she likes.

Perhaps she loves both of them more than she loves herself. That's not exactly bad, right?

"He likes you," Mijin repeats with another weak smile, like repeating it a hundred times will make it more real than it already is. She can get through this in time. It won't hurt anymore in time.

Her best friend can only stare at her, like time stopped. She wants to tell her over and over again that it's not her who Mark likes but Mijin seems to be convinced that Mark really likes her. She wants to say "But I don't like him!" but she knows that's not what Mijin needs to hear now. She sighs and closes her eyes.

 

;

 

"Hey, Jackson!"

"I'm not exactly free right now," Jackson doesn't even look up at the person hovering above him as he sits cross legged on one of the benches in front of the main building. "I'm busy."

"Jackson," she starts again.

"What? Did you finally realize you're in love with me and you're going to confess it now?"

"What the ..." Yura incredulously stares at him. She is close to hitting Jackson's face but fortunately, she remembers why she approached him in the first place when in normal circumstances, she wouldn't even move five meters near this person. "Why the hell did Mark tell Mijin that he likes me?"

"I know, right?" he suddenly, completely agrees without even looking at the person who is talking at him, yet. He looks up only to see himself betraying his best friend. "Oh... ."

"What?" Yura sits herself comfortably in front of Jackson, looking ahead instead of at the weird guy sitting with her on the same bench. She can't keep this guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach that's making her want to throw up for a couple of days already. She doesn't know what to do at first until she sees Jackson.

Jackson sighs and closes the book he is reading. "I told Mark I'll not tell anybody the truth until he figures what to do."

"When will he figure out what to do? It's been two days already!"

"Aren't you overreacting a bit? It's just been two days," Jackson shrugs.

Yura bits her bottom lip. She might be overreacting for some people but her best friend smiles at her all the time, like she is freaking giving the blessing she doesn't need for her and supposedly, Mark, and she is constantly glancing at her whenever she thinks she isn't looking, which is only a little weird but whenever Yura catches her, she'll catch her sad eyes and small smile, as if she is convincing herself to choose the right path.

Which isn't really the right path if it's not the right path.

"I'm not overreacting," Yura sternly says.

"I know you're not," he agrees after a moment.

"Why did he do that?"

"He said he's embarrassed."

"Embarrassed of asking her out?" Yura asks, sighing. "What's there to be embarrassed of? I'm sure this isn't his first time to ask someone out, is it?"

Jackson sighs and stares at her. "And he also says he's scared."

"Scared that she's going to reject him?" she sighs furthermore, looking far at the crowd of people walking a couple of meters away. "There's always that possibility although I doubt Mijin will reject him. But how will he know if he doesn't try? How will he know if he only keeps being scared?"

He can only stare at her. He wonders why it seems like she knows his own best friend more than he does.

Yura turns to look at him and raises a brow. "What?"

"Nothing," Jackson shrugs, awkwardly looking away to the book he is previously reading.

"What are we going to do about this now?"

"We?"

"Who else?" she seems pretty certain that Jackson is going to help her and frankly, he can't really say no to that determined face. "Mark needs to man up and..."

"You should know how long it needed for him to man up just to approach Mijin," Jackson interrupts her and he isn't even sarcastic about it. "Just saying."

Yura looks worried. "He's like the most good-looking and popular guy in our school and he can't even ask the girl he likes out?"

"Excuse me but I am the most good-looking," Jackson states confidently, as a matter-of-factly.

She makes a face at him. "I don't care how he does it but he needs to tell Mijin the truth," Yura finally says. "Mijin..." she stops and stares at Jackson, seriously contemplating if she should trust him or not.

Jackson sighs. "Look, you don't have to tell me anything you don't feel like telling me, okay? I'll not hold it against you and it won't stop me from helping you or what because my best friend's also in this and he's pretty much messed up and we can't even play games if he's messed up like this," he says. "And I'd very much like him to stop being stupid, too."

Yura can't help but laugh and Jackson, seeing her laugh, can't help himself but laugh, too.

"So what are we going to do?" she repeats her previous question.

"Like you said, Mark started this," Jackson says, suddenly sounding like a decent person. "I think he should just tell Mijin the truth. That's just it. Everything will be okay if he just tell Mijin the truth."

"I think so, too. Can you convince him?"

Jackson shrugs and looks at her. "I guess I'll just have to try?"

Yura smiles widely and he convinces himself to look away but it's a little difficult to do so, especially if she's taking away the sun's brightness because of that smile. "Great! Meanwhile, I'll do damage control with Mijin because she's convinced that Mark likes me... She doesn't believe me when I tell her that Mark doesn't like me."

"Can you just tell her that you don't like Mark?"

She pauses. She has thought of this a lot, to be honest. "You see," Yura begins. "Mijin is convinced that Mark likes me, right? She thinks Mark and I should be together and she told me many times that she's okay with it. She's even supporting me to talk to Mark already about this... If I tell her I don't like Mark, is she not going to get hurt more?"

"So she likes Mark..."

"Yeah," Yura agrees without much though before she remembers that she's not supposed to tell Jackson that.

"But she needs to hear it from Mark," Jackson suddenly says before she can take back what she just said and it surprises her. She doesn't expect Jackson to be so... profound? "Mark needs to tell it himself and she needs to hear it from Mark. That's not something we should be telling either of them."

"Right..." she stares at him and wonders if she's still talking to Jackson Wang, the self-proclaimed most good-looking and popular guy in the campus.

Jackson slowly nods his head before he looks at Yura again and says, "I guess we'll just have to try building bridges between them. I'll convince Mark."

Yura nods. She's about to stand up again to leave when she sees what Jackson is reading, "You're still on that?"

He looks at where she's looking and he mutters sheepishly, "Yeah. I read it twice already but I can't get something."

"Don't overthink it, Jackson," she simply says before standing up. "Sometimes it's what's right before us that we don't see because we're too busy looking for hidden meanings."

Jackson stares at her and nods. "Right..."

 

;

 

"YOU WHAT?!" the blonde's arms exasperatedly flies to the northern galaxy if he has the power as he stares at the person he doesn't want to call best friend anymore. He convinced Mark to talk to Mijin again, like what he and Yura talked about, but this...

"Dude... tell me you didn't do what you just said you did, please. I'm ing begging you. Tell me you didn't ing pluck from whichever universe it is the courage to talk to Mijin again and instead of admitting the truth, you said you wanted her to help you with her best friend." It’s seldom to hear Jackson pleading for something or even saying please but this situation calls for that. He thinks he is seriously going to rip his hair off his head – after he does it to his best friend.

Mark looks sick. Jackson isn't helping but he can't blame his best friend. "I just told you I did."

"WHAT THE DID YOU DO THAT FOR, DUDE?!"

People can hear them and this has gone a long way for either of them to care. They both ignore the whispers of questions and demanding glances and they just blankly stare at each other.

Mark just wants to go home. He's pretty sure this sick feeling is nothing physical but emotional and psychological (from Jackson because he's also pretty sure his best friend is close to killing him now) sickness are just as dangerous, if not more. He feels ty and he knows it's no one's fault but him.

He covers his face with both his hands and tries to ignore Jackson's wrath but it seems like he's just in for the worst day of his life. Yura is walking towards them, looking close to what Jackson looks like. He's not going to be surprised if he sees a knife on his chest seconds later.

Or maybe that's too morbid.

Nonetheless, what he gets is nothing less than being stabbed. Yura walks up to them and completely ignores Jackson. She stares at Mark judgingly and it's more than any stab he can get.

"How misguided are you?" Yura's words are calm. There's nothing scandalous in them because she doesn't really want false rumors floating around the university about her and Mark be like the cheery on top of this ice cream of a mess.

But even though she is incredibly calm, her voice still sends chills to Mark and even to Jackson.

"Yura," Mark begins, looking both defensive and helpless.

"Don't say my name," she hisses. "Do you know what you did? Do you understand what you did?"

"I'm sorry." In the end, Mark can't do nothing but apologize because he knows that no matter what anybody says, this is still all his fault. He did this and unfortunately for him, he dragged everybody in it with him.

Yura takes a deep breath. She isn't an evil person but she can see how much Mijin is hurting and that's not something she takes lightly anytime, even if the person who is hurting her is also the same person who can make her okay again. "Fix this," she says through thin lips, staring deep into Mark's eyes. "Fix this within the day or I swear to God and all the deities in every in' religion, you'll never get near my best friend again."

She stares at him for a moment and she sees fear. Hopefully, if Jackson's intimidation is not enough to get him thinking straight, fear will be. Because she's not kidding anymore.

"Yura, wait," Jackson runs to her when she walks away.

"What?"

"Are you serious?" he asks her.

Yura stares at Jackson and almost lashes on him, too, but she remembers as much as Jackson can be annoying, this isn't something that can be blamed on him. She takes a deep breath and says, "Have you seen Mijin? Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair was disheveled. She came up to me after lunch break. She smiled to me and told me to meet her this afternoon after classes are over at the fountain. She was smiling despite bloodshot eyes and messy hair. She is going to set me up with Mark."

She looks down and heaves a sigh.

"She's been my best friend for years, Jackson," she continues, "and I have never seen her so... so broken. And yet she's still so willing to break herself more for this guy she likes… and me."

Jackson feels bad. There's nothing exactly he can do but he still says, "I'll try to come up with something or whatever. Mark really likes her, Yura."

"Yes, but that's not reason enough to hurt her like this," Yura tells him.

 

;

 

Jackson thinks there's nothing more that could happen that day anymore. Maybe he should be a little more prepared in the future for events like this because after Mark just told him he messed up again, Yura confronted his best friend and threatened him, he thinks he is seeing Mijin walks towards him.

He tries to divert his gaze and look away. But Mijin is walking closer and like a ghost he is afraid of that's haunting him, he gathers his books sprawled with him in a bench to leave, quite carelessly as some of them fell down and he needed to pick them up. Before he can even put them together and leave, Mijin is already standing before him.

"Hi, Jackson," she greets him with a soft, stable voice.

"Uh, hi, Mijin," Jackson awkwardly shuffles, balancing his books in his arms and avoiding eye contact. "I need to go, Mijin?"

"That's a question?" Mijin smiles at him.

He wonders how she can still smile. To be honest, he finds it amazing. He hears it from Yura but seeing her like this, still a functioning human being despite having her heart broken twice by the same person already, is just amazing. "Um, no," Jackson quickly says. "I really need to go."

"Wait, Jackson, this won't take long."

Jackson contemplates running away from her but that just sounds stupid and he's not even doing it, yet. He puts down his books again and sits on the bench.

"Mind if I sit?"

"No," Jackson motions her to sit.

There is a moment of silence after Mijin has settled down a couple of feet from Jackson in the bench and Jackson is about to ask what this is about when she begins to speak.

"Are you and Yura dating?"

What the . That's Jackson's initial reaction and unfortunately, his mind seems to be perfectly in sync with his mouth. "What the ," he whispers.

"Because I saw you and Yura talking several times," Mijin continues, ignoring his reaction. "You seem really close... Listen, Jackson, I don't mean to intrude but you do know that Mark likes Yura, right? He told me so himself and in fact, he's asking me to help him with her. I know you're his best friend so it won't be good to have a misunderstanding, right?"

Jackson is staring at her.

Like, seriously, he wants to run to Mark right now and demands him to just fix this already because he is having a mental breakdown now. For one, he's not even sure if he likes Yura as more than a fellow human being and for two, he sure knows Yura doesn't like him.

He stares at her with the expression that says ‘Get me out of here. Get me out of here. Get me out of here…'

"Jackson? Hey," Mijin waves her hand in his face. "Jack –"

"Yura and I," he suddenly speaks, slightly startling her, "are not like that, Mijin."

"You're not –"

"We're not dating. We're not going out. We're not a couple. We're not together," Jackson doesn't know how else to put it in every possible way just so she will not misunderstand anymore. So there’ll be one less misunderstanding out of this at least. "We don't even like each other."

Mijin blinks for a few seconds before she smiles again, quite relieved. Jackson wants to yell at her ‘WHY THE HELL ARE YOU RELIEVED? THAT YOUR BEST FRIEND AND THE GUY YOU LIKE CAN BE TOGETHER?’ But he keeps his mouth from opening because he might really say it.

"Well, then, can you help me set them up together? This afternoon after class at the fountain?"

He is about turn down the offer because he knows if Yura goes through it, she might self-destruct and vanish forever because she can't exactly hurt people and it'll be too much of a mental breakdown so she'll just turn into bubbles and fade. Jackson can hear Mark's voice in his head telling him that he's reading too much literature and Yura's voice telling him that he's putting too much meaning in everything he reads.

But Jackson suddenly thinks of something and his face immediately brightens, "I'D LOVE TO!"

 

;

 

"I swear if you ing mess this up again, I'm going to revoke my oath to be your best friend forever," Jackson quietly whispers, careful not to be seen or heard by anybody since most of the students are going home now.

"Can we stop swearing today?"

"Do I need to remind you again that none of us would be swearing at all if not for you," his best friend doesn't even lose a beat to remind him that this is his fault. "I need to read three more poems for tomorrow's quiz I would love to ace and what am I doing? I'm being the best-est friend anybody could have and hiding behind these itchy bushes to help you fix what you messed up!"

Mark rolls his eyes. "Can you just keep quiet, dude? I get it, okay?"

His best friend sighs. "What's taking them so long? Yura precisely agreed with 5:30 pm in the dot."

"She's mad at me?" Mark carefully asks.

Jackson sighs again. "Dude, you got to understand where she's coming from."

"I know," he sighs, looking down at the bouquet of flowers he is holding — or shaking in his trembling hands. He was about to get red roses earlier, for the obvious reasons, but Yura told him Mijin's favorite flowers are stargazers. He looks at the bouquet of stargazers and smiles. He understands why they are Mijin's favorite flowers; they're beautiful beyond adjectives.

It's beginning to get dark and Mark is beginning to get more nervous than he already is, not because of what he is about to do that he should have done a week ago when he first spoke to Mijin, but because he is afraid Yura might have given up on him for her best friend.

"Are they –"

Jackson suddenly covers his mouth and ducks him further down. "Quiet," he whispers. "They're here."

Mark looks from the bushes and sees Yura with Mijin. He realizes Yura is not dressed in her usual casual clothes earlier for school. Mijin must have made her dress up for this and she couldn't say no. But his eyes immediately settles on Mijin because she's also not wearing her usual casual clothes for school.

She looks beautiful and Mark can feel butterflies beginning to do somersaults in his stomach.

"Why did you make me dress up, too?" Mijin chuckles at her best friend, looking around.

"You know how I hate dresses," Yura just says.

"But you look pretty."

"No," her best friend shakes her head and smiles at her. "You look pretty." Yura holds her hand and says, "I need to go now."

Mijin blinks at Yura, obviously and understandably confused, and is about to stop Yura from running but her best friend is long gone before she can make a move. She looks around and is greeted by no one but the fountain that operates at six in the evening. The lights open around the fountain and it begins to dance.

"Now go," Jackson orders Mark. "If you mess this up again, I'm seriously going to revoke my best friends forever oath with you."

"You had an oath like that?" Yura suddenly appears behind them, looking a little weirded out.

"Yeah, when we were five," Jackson nods.

"Shut up, dude," Mark complains but he's not looking at Jackson. He's still just staring at Mijin. He can’t take her eyes off her.

"Go now," Yura tells Mark. She gives him a small smile. She knows they didn't exactly start in a nice note but her best friend likes this guy so much and to be fair, he isn't evil or anything, just a bit stupid.

Mark takes that as a blessing and carefully, he stands up from the bushes and begins to approach Mijin with a loud, jumping heart. He feels like it's going to jump out of his chest any second now as moves closer to where Mijin is standing.

Mijin feels that someone is approaching and she turns around before Mark can come closer. He stops about five feet away from her with the bouquet of stargazers in his hand. She looks just a little surprised when she sees him but she immediately smiles.

She looks absolutely stunning in a simple light blue dress.

"I'm sorry," she immediately says. "Yura just ran off and..."

Mark walks closer, his gaze never leaving her. He figures if he's going to lose her because of his stupidity, he might as well do everything right while he still can. He's probably going to be depressed and try again because he likes her like that but at least, he'll not die regretting that he has this chance of turning things around but he chose to run again.

Mijin stops speaking and takes a couple of step back. His eyes look so serious.

He slowly hands her the bouquet.

"Stargazers?" she asks, surprised. Stargazers are her favorite flowers; sunflowers (and probably a hundred more species) are Yura's. "Yura's not yet here, Mark. I'm sure she'll come back. Let's just wait for her... Um, but why stargazers? I should have told you her favorite flower. It's..."

"Those," Mark interrupts her before she can go further in this string of lies he started when he told her he likes her best friend instead of her, "are not for Yura."

She looks at him carefully, confusedly, tightly holding the bouquet in her hands.

"Those are for you."

Mijin is undeniably confused. Who can blame her, really? She looks like she is staring at a guy who is telling her he saw an alien and they talked him into moving with them to their planet and he is convincing her to come along with them.

"But..." she begins, still trying to put the pieces of this messed up puzzle together. Then, she remembers something, "Oh, is this about Jackson? Don’t worry! He told me Yura and him are not like that." She smiles at him again and is about to give him back the bouquet of stargazers that are supposedly for her best friend. "Yura's favorite flower is sunflower. I should have remembered to tell you. I'm sorry. This..."

"Those are for you," Mark repeats, his gaze still on her. He can't believe she even talked to Jackson for him... and Yura? But he can't let himself be distracted. He takes a deep breath and walks closer. He repeats because Mijin still seems to be more than confused about this. "Mijin, those flowers are not for Yura. Those are for you. Stargazers... It's your favorite flower, right?"

Mijin blinks at him, letting the bouquet fall on her side as she stares at Mark, quite disbelievingly. "Yes..." she finds herself answering, slowly nodding. "But how did you –"

"Yura told me," he replies honestly. "She told me herself."

"Are you playing me and my best friend?" Mijin suddenly accuses. Who can blame her? She doesn't have any clue about what is happening around here now. She is about to shove the flowers back to Mark because she really thought he is a good person, but this?!

"No, no, no," Mark immediately answers, looking worried. "Can you please listen to me first? Please?"

Mijin takes a deep breath and perhaps he is still the guy she liked (and still likes, after all) for almost a year. He looks sincere and a bit helpless and she can't ignore that. She keeps her heels on the ground and waits for him.

"I don't know where to begin," he starts, looking at her again. "All of this is just messed up right now and there's no person to blame... but me." Mark pauses, honestly confused on how and where to begin. "Mijin, there is really this girl I like for over a year now. She looks so special... and every time I see her, I can feel my heart fluttering and butterflies somersaulting in my stomach. She smiles and my day is complete, even though her smile is never for me. She is really important to me and I can't even think of losing her... As a girlfriend or as a friend, I don't want to lose her..."

She knows it's wrong to feel her heart being pricked by a thousand thorns now. She tells herself that he is talking about her best friend and she should be happy for her best friend but it still... hurts.

"So, I gathered the courage to confess to her one day," Mark continues. "I told her about everything..."

Mijin stares at him. Did he confess to Yura before he came to her? But Yura never mentioned anything about it. She knows her best friend would do everything to protect her feelings but she still can't help feeling betrayed.

She should be able to handle this as she even tried to set them up today but it's more difficult to hear it directly from Mark. She is about to give him back the bouquet and leave.

"But I got scared," he continues. Mark's eyes meet Mijin's and he can see kindness in those eyes and he'll not forgive himself if he let this girl go again tonight. "I told her I like her best friend instead of her."

Mijin blinks. She opens and closes it again. Is he telling her what she thinks he is telling her?

"I felt so ty but when I plucked enough courage to face her again despite my previous mistake, I told her to help me with her best friend again." Mark sighs, "I can't do those same mistakes again because this time, I might lose her for real... and I'd forever hate myself if I lose her because of my stupidity."

Mijin blinks at him again, feeling like a fish caught for opening and closing like one. Is she thinking what she thinks he is saying?

"I still feel ty because I caused this... this misunderstanding and I dragged people in it with me," Mark tells her. "I know there's nothing I can do for the mistakes I made in the past. I'm sorry I'm such a coward, Mijin... I'm sorry."

"What..." Mijin finally finds her voice somewhere. She stares at this guy in front of her and she doesn't understand a thing he is saying.

Mark looks at her in the eyes again and gives her a small smile. He doesn't know what will be her reaction after this, if she's going to accept him or not, but she looks so beautiful in front of him, holding the bouquet of stargazers in her hands, and she can't lose this special girl because of his stupidity. If she says yes or no to him, he's going to accept that. He will have to accept that but for now...

"I like you, Mijin," he finally says. "Not Yura. Not your best friend. But you. I like you as more than a fellow student in the university. I like you as more than a friend. I like you to be the girl I introduce my parents..." He adds those things because he doesn't want any misunderstanding anymore.

Mijin lets out the breath she doesn't know she's been holding. She stares at Mark and looks for something that'll give this confession away as a prank or something. She thinks she can move on better if this is just another prank, if Mark is somehow a bad person who likes playing with people's feelings or something.

But there's nothing but sincerity in his eyes. He is telling the truth.

"Please say something."

Mijin stares at him for a moment. Then, she opens and says, "I don't know what to say."

"I understand." Mark looks down on his clasped hands.

"Why are you scared?"

"That you'll reject me," he gives her a sheepish smile. "I'm not... I'm not that rich, arrogant playboy everyone in school talks about. I'm not even close. You see, I really, really like you and it scared me so much that you'll not feel the same way, or you might not even give me a chance."

"Rich, arrogant playboy?"

"That's what they call me around," Mark sighs. "I don't even know where they got that."

"You're rich."

"But I'm not arrogant and I'm not a playboy."

"I know." Mijin smiles.

Mark stares at her because her smile is holding like that. He immediately feels that no matter what the outcome of this will be, he's just so glad that she got one of those smiles for himself and she knows that he's not arrogant and a playboy.

"I hope even if you're scared, you'll not lie about your feelings," she suddenly says, looking seriously at him, "because you might hurt those important to you again. It's scary, yes, to be rejected but isn't it scarier not knowing the answer?"

"Yeah," he agrees, nodding. "It's scarier that bungee jumping."

Mijin smiles again. "You bungee jumped?"

"One time," Mark smiles back. "I didn't repeat it again after that. Jackson made me do it and he had to treat me lunch for an entire week because I won't talk to him after that."

She laughs. "Jackson and Yura should be together," Mijin tells him. "She enjoys those things, too. She told me she'll not make me watch action movies with her anymore if I bungee jump once. I told her I'd rather watch action movies than jump a cliff."

They both laugh.

"I like comedy movies more," Mark says.

"Yeah, me, too," Mijin nods.

Mark shuffles for a minute before he goes like, this, he's going to ask. "Do you... Do you want to watch this new comedy film with me this Saturday?" he bits his lips and looks at her worriedly, fearing that he's moving too fast. He hasn't even asked her if she's interested or what. "I mean, if you only want to."

Mijin stares at him for a moment before she raises the bouquet she's holding. Just to make sure, she asks, "This is for me?"

"Yeah," Mark says, smiling at her. "Stargazers suit you."

"Huh?"

"You're both beautiful."

Mijin will probably turn red and explode because of too much sappiness that's coming from the guy she likes and who turns out to like her back, too, if Jackson didn't turn up and goes like, "OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH CHEESE FOR ONE NIGHT AND JUST TO MAKE SURE... ARE YOU GUYS OKAY NOW? THERE'S NO MISUNDERSTANDING AND BAD MOODS AND BAD VIBES AND THREATS ANYMORE FROM HERE ON?"

Mark sighs and exasperatedly asks his best friend. "Do you seriously have to come out now?!"

Yura comes out next and she tells Jackson, "I told you it's too early to come out."

"Well, they're talking too soft and all I can hear are their giggles," Jackson retorts. "I figured they should be alright now."

"Threats? What do you mean threats?" Mijin asks confusedly.

Mark turns to Yura but he doesn't say anything. Meanwhile, Jackson huffs and says, "You should ask your best friend."

Mijin turns to Yura and questioningly raises a brow. Yura hooks her arm on her and says with the sweetest smile, "I only did what's necessary."

"So, are you two okay now?" Jackson pesters again, having not got his answer on his first question.

"She actually hasn't answered yet, dude," Mark sighs, "when you suddenly decide TO RUIN the moment!"

Yura turns to look at her best friend and gives her a supportive nod. Then, she unhooks her arm on her and drags Jackson out of the place. Mark and Mijin are laughing at them before Mark clears his throat again.

"I – Uh, as I said, it's okay if you don't want," he begins.

"Mark," Mijin interrupts him, looking seriously at him. She sighs because she really can't stare at those dark eyes too long, "You've got to stop overthinking things, okay? And you've got to trust yourself and the people around you more... Don't just overthink and overanalyze things and stay ahead of people. You don't even know if I'm going to say yes or no but you're already okay if I say no?"

Mark bits her bottom lip because she is right.

"What if I want to say yes?"

"I – Uh..." Mark begins, looking both stupidly in love and sheepish and awkward and nervous. His grin is practically covering his entire face but he can't stop it. "I – Uh, I would – I would think that would be great!"

Mijin smiles at him and holds the bouquet with both her hands. "Thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful."

"FINALLY!" This time, Jackson is right on timing. He bounces up and down with a huge smile on his face for his best friend.

"I'm so happy for you," Yura says giddily, reaching to hug her best friend.

"Thank you," Mijin hugs her back.

"You wouldn't listen when I was telling you he doesn't like me."

"Sorry, I just thought..." Mijin begins but she stops when an unfamiliar person is walking towards them... Actually, towards her best friend. She watches her smile turns brighter when she sees the person and she immediately untangle herself from her.

Even Mark and Jackson are watching Yura walk towards the unfamiliar person.

"Is it over?" he asks, taking Yura's books from her and carrying it.

"Yeah," Yura nods with a smile.

"So it worked?"

"Yeah. Your idea worked."

"I'm taking everything ended happily? Since everyone is staring at us and no one is sulking or crying?" he asks with a smile of his own.

Yura laughs, reaches for his hand and pulls him with her. She looks at Mijin, Mark and Jackson and says, "Everyone, this is Youngjae, my boyfriend." Then, she looks at her boyfriend and says, "You already know everyone, right?"

"Yeah," Youngjae chuckles, his eyes disappearing into tiny moon crescents.

"OH MY GOD HIS EYES DISAPPEARED!" That's Jackson, of course.

"Never mind Jackson," Yura mutters, shaking her head.

"IS HE... I THINK I'VE SEEN HIM BEFORE... OH MY GOD ARE YOU DATING A FRESHMAN?!" That's still Jackson, of course.

Yura closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, fighting hard to maintain her composure, because Youngjae is beside her and he is holding her hand. She sighs and says, "Shut up, will you, Jackson?"

"Hi, my name is Choi Youngjae, a freshman. Nice to meet you all," he bows politely and smiles at them brightly, all the while still holding his girlfriend's hand.

Mijin looks the most shocked, probably a little more shocked than Mark who said he likes someone who apparently already has a boyfriend, as it turned out. She stares at her best friend with a dumbfounded expression and murmurs, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Yura makes a crestfallen face on her best friend and approaches her again. "It's not like I can tell you," she says softly, "after all that's happening."

Her best friend sighs. She knows Yura is right.

"I was about to tell you the other day," Yura explains, "but you were crying and you were telling me that Mark likes me. How am I supposed to tell you that Mark doesn't like me, I don't like Mark and I already have a boyfriend when you were crying like that?"

Mijin smiles at her. "Fine, I'll not hold this against you," she hugs her best friend again. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you!" Yura hugs her back.

"When did you guys get together?"

"Just the other day," her best friend grins at her. "Our love story isn't as complicated as yours and Mark." Yura lightly laughs.

"It's really just the other day?"

Yura chuckles again. "What, you don't believe me?" she asks, still laughing. "It's that same day you came crying to me and you told me Mark likes me. That morning, he came up to me he really likes me. I like him, too." She smiles sheepishly.

"THAT'S IT?!" Yes, it's Jackson again, who's been listening.

"Yeah, Jackson," Yura makes a face at him again. "And stop harassing him, will you?!" She walks to get Youngjae because Jackson has been bombarding him with ridiculous questions such as what did he see in her and what love potion did she make him drink for him to like her.

"I like her," Youngjae simply answers no matter what question Jackson asks him. He answers with a genuine smile.

"SEE?! HE'S ANSWERING LIKE A ROBOT!! HE'S BEEN MANIPULATED BY YURA!!"

Yura completely ignores him because Youngjae is laughing beside her and that's all she needs in this world to keep her from killing a person like Jackson.

"Just shut up, will you, dude?" Mark suddenly appears beside his best friend. "She's already got a boyfriend. And she really likes him. I'll buy you a pint of ice cream later to heal your broken heart, okay?" He covers his laughing and mocking face as he snickers at him.

"THE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DUDE?!" Jackson bewilderedly stares at him.

Mark doesn't waver. He knows Jackson long enough for his , anyway, and he's been tormenting him these past days and even if he knows it's entirely his fault, Jackson doesn't have to remind him of his sins just to get him do things or he won't shut up. It's time for his sweet payback.

"What're you going to do?" he whispers, still laughing.

"The , dude," Jackson suddenly turns serious. "Don't start." He messes his own hair, which he only does whenever he is thinking many things at once. He stares at his best friend and he knows that there's no denying it now. "What the am I going to do? She's happy. He's happy. There's nothing to do."

It's rare but there are times like this when Jackson actually earns Mark's respect. He doesn't say anything anymore.

"Let's eat!" Yura suddenly says. She asks her best friend, "What do you say?"

"Fine with me," Mijin replies. Then, she turns to look at Mark.

"Fine with us, too," Mark smiles at Mijin, putting his arm on his best friend's shoulder and pulling him closer to where the group is.

"NO! I REFUSE TO BE A FIFTH WHEEL!" Jackson moves away from Mark and stares at him indignantly. "I'll see if Ms. Park's still around or something. Maybe I'll ask her out, too. See you!"

"Is he okay?" Mijin asks Mark, looking after Jackson's retreating figure.

"Yeah," Mark says after a moment. "He'll be." He smiles at her as they walk after Yura and Youngjae who are already walking towards the gate. He thinks of Jackson and can't help sighing because this can be partly blamed on him, too. If he wasn't so stupid, Yura and Jackson would not be closer. He feels Mijin glance at him when he sighs and he glances back at her.

Well, he figures Jackson will bounce back eventually. He can like someone pretty fast and he can also un-like someone pretty fast, too. He had a thing for Mijin before as well but when he saw how serious he is with her, he let it go. Maybe he’ll introduce him to that classmate from one subject Jackson has been pestering him about the past two weeks who seems to be as indulged in Ms. Park's literature as him because he doesn't really want him or Ms. Park to be kicked out in the university.

Slowly, Mark reaches for Mijin's hand. Nervously.

He figures it's terribly okay for Mijin to move her hand because he might be moving too fast again and it's hasn't been exactly long since he finally confessed to the right girl that he likes her and...

Mijin doesn't move her hand.

And Mark is holding it.

She doesn't move her hand or pull it away. She turns to give her a soft smile before looking ahead again, her hand on Mark's.

Mark realizes she's right. He's been overthinking, overanalyzing things. There's just one thing he can think of now. He doesn't ever want to let go of the person he is holding now. And perhaps that's just really what he needs to think of.

And his best friend's two pints of strawberry ice cream he needs to buy before he goes home.

 

 

END

 

A/N:

I can't leave Youngjae out, guys. X'D