I haven’t really kept in contact with Jimin ever since that night. We saw each other  once in a while, when Taehyung met up with the other guys from high school. I usually hung around merely because Taehyung hated going alone, and numerous times I also took this chance to meet Aejung. I remember that the day before I returned to Canada, she called upon me and stated that we should meet properly at least once before my departure. I was still in a very sensitive spot, but despite my boyfriend’s (I must admit it’s weird calling Taehyung my boyfriend) numerous protests on the matter, I decided to meet up with her at a small café on the corner of the street where we used to hang out back in the high school days.    She had been  wearing a cute black skirt and a matching pastel floral shirt, with high-heeled boots to match. I remember thinking to myself that I’d never taken effort to actually dress myself up, and feeling quite small in my oversized hoodie and worn-out converse. But her bubbly excitement upon seeing me appear by the door wiped those doubts away as I focused on the long-term friend that I actually had kept in contact with.    “Jimin loves you,” she had stated as soon as my touched my seat, “did something happen between you guys? He seems really out of it these days.”    A small pang of guilt hit me straight in the gut. I gulped and looked away, “I don’t—“ I took a deep breath, hesitated slightly at the look of confusion in her brown orbs, before continuing, “I don’t love him anymore.”    She took those words in, letting the meaning sink in for a moment. Then, looking up at me with a guilty but small genuine smile, she said, “to be honest, I was glad to hear that you harbored feelings for Taehyung instead,” her smile slipped, “but I still felt like a criminal, for liking Jimin at the same time as you did.”    I frowned, “how did you—“    “Kim, it was obvious.”    I blinked, “oh”    “I want to apologize.” She proceeded  to fiddle with the straps of her bag and her face was filled with a particular sadness, the kind of sadness that lingered  at the border of your eyes when a nostalgic memory flashed before your eyes.    I hadn’t wanted her to feel guilty about something that she didn’t even do, so I spoke before she could in hopes that it would diminish the guilt weighing down on her heart, “hey,” I had been surprised that my voice wasn’t shaking when I talked, “it’s okay. I’m not mad at you. If anything, I’m happy for you.”    Her brown orbs filled with sudden gush of teats and I had felt the terrible need to slap myself for making her cry when my goal had been quite the opposite.   She wiped at her eyes with a tissue produced from her bag, “why are you being so nice? You’re supposed to be angry at me, you’re supposed to hate me because I technically took him away.”    Once upon a time, I had been very angry, furious that as a friend, she’d do such horrible things when I never did her any kind of wrong. But then I grew up, I realized that there were more important things than just a mere crush, that people made mistakes that shouldn’t be held against them.    “You can’t control who you fall in love with” I replied, “I was mad, yes. But when I thought about it, I had no right to dictate what you could and couldn’t feel.”    “Still, I believed that after all this time, I owed you an apology.”   “Apology accepted” I threw in a small smile in hopes of making her more at ease.   “Can we still be friends?”    I had rolled my eyes at her statement, “Don’t ask such a dumb question”    “It’s a simple yes or no.”    “Are you treating me to bubble tea?”    She grumbled under her breath but a huge grin broke across her face, “fine.”    Taehyung had definitely been concerned when I got back to my place, drilling me with questions as soon as I marched through the door and muttering incoherent words that involved murdering someone if they ever dared to hurt me. His concern and overprotectiveness had me laughing all evening, and I had never been so grateful to have this human being in my life. He would always look out for me, was always there when I needed him, was always ready to help in whatever way he could.    And he made me happy.    Two years have passed since now, and  I’ve finally gotten an internship in a bakery that specialized in making healthy pastries and smoothies for people that wanted to lose weight or lived a healthy lifestyle. Taehyung started working part-time while balancing his veterinary studies, now going for a Master’s degree in Veterinary Medicine. I’m so proud of his achievements, specially because he’s so excited and passionate about what he’s doing. Most of the time, I don’t get half the words that sprouts from his mouth, but that’s okay for I get to see the sparkle in his eyes, the slight curve of his mouth whenever he gets talking about what kind of disorder he’s been treating today.   It’s funny how when you remove negative things from your life, when you stop caring about people that aren’t worth your time and only pull you down, you can finally see who’s been your anchor all along.    And that’s Taehyung.    “For how long?” I ask him once, while he’d been busy fiddling around with the sink. It had broken down  two days ago and as a result I had nowhere to wash the dishes. I admire the curve of his back appreciatively, lowering my eyes to check out his even though two years ago I did not imagine myself seeing Taehyung in such a way.    “How long what?” His voice is muffled against the aluminum. I hear a soft bang followed by a string of curse words. I know he’s okay though, for he always lets curse words slip for the dumbest things.    “How long have you liked me?”    A pause. A screech is heard. Taehyung then straightens up, his back to me, “hm, good question.”    Well, that did not go far.    “I guess it just happened. I don’t know,” he shrugs and starts fiddling around with the screw in his hands, “I mean it wasn’t like a flash of lightning or anything. I just started slowly appreciating you. It’s in the little things, you know.”    “That doesn’t really answer my question.”    “Feelings are complicated.” He’s busy looking out towards the road outside. I wonder whether he’s too embarrassed to talk about it that he can’t face me, or whether there’s something really captivating about the view from the window.    “I mean,” he continues, “Even I couldn’t understand at first, why out of all the girls, it had to be you. I felt like the world wasn’t being fair, because you’re my closest friend and I felt like things would never be the same again.”    He finally turns around and although he’s one to hide his feelings and emotions behind masks of aloofness, I can see right through him for the dust of rose tinting his cheeks and the way his eyes shift about without meeting mine give him away.    I fake a gasp, “oh my god, are you blushing?”   “Shut up.”    I chuckle in response, which does not seem to appeal to him much. He leans forward on the counter, expression darkening but eyes glinting with mischief.    “Hi there.” I say in amusement.  “Hi.” He murmurs back, face looking dangerously close to mine, “how are you?”   His attempt at basic conversation makes me giggle. It’s an inside joke between us, we always joke about being formal and having the most basic questions thrown at each other, for we hate small talk. Taehyung knows it’s always a dilemma whenever I’m ed into social events. I usually get stressed out from having to keep up conversation with other individuals, and the first time he’d noticed my narrowed glances and panicked expression, he had saved me by faking the fact that he had a tummy ache and needed me to drive him home.    “Oh stop it” I push his forehead away, but he only chuckles before leaning in and pressing a peck onto my nose.    Christmas is approaching, and this year we’ve been invited to Jimin’s bash on the 24th, Christmas Eve. So we have planned to fly back to our homeland and we’ve never been happier to go back to our families. Both our mothers welcomed us with open arms, and I have to admit that at first, being switched from Taehyung’s best friend to Taehyung’s girlfriend, it felt weird whenever I was around his parents and siblings, specially since I’ve always been around as though I had been a part of their family from the start.    But I’ve learnt to appreciate this positive change into my life. It’s nice, knowing that your man’s family accepts you as one of theirs, and it’s vice versa with Taehyung and my parents.    “Are you nervous?” Taehyung asks me on the afternoon before the Christmas dinner. I rub my towel through my brown locks, trying to dry them as quickly as possible while looking over at Taehyung. He’s busy pulling on his shirt, a dark navy that compliments my white dress perfectly.    I frown at his question, “what do you mean?”   “Are you nervous about seeing Jimin with Aejung?”   I think about it for a while. I haven’t really given it much thought, but now that he mentions it, it’s clear why I should apprehend the awkward situation.    “I haven’t thought about it.” I finally murmur, hanging my towel on my door. The warmth of hands encircle my waist, turning me around so that my brown orbs clash against his own.    They’re filled with tenderness and worry, concerned about my well-being.    “Don’t worry, Tae.” I push some strands away from his face and throw him an encouraging smile, “I’ll be fine.”   He looks at me for a moment longer, eyes scanning my face and inspecting whether there’s the presence of worry etched onto my features. When he’s satisfied, he pulls me closer in a warm, gentle hug. I’m enveloped in his embrace and as his lips graze my forehead, a series of goosebumps raise along my arms.   “I’ll be fine” I repeat, just to qualm his nerves more than mine.    “I know, I’m just…” he trails off and averts his gaze from mine. He does not bother finishing his sentence and silence engulfs us in its bubble, but his worry diffuses through without him saying anything. He’s scared; he fears that I’m going to run back into Jimin’s arms at the very first possible chance. I understand the underlying concern, but he should trust me more.    Cupping his cheeks in my hands and bringing his face closer to mine, I murmur a soft “Tae, Jimin’s not going to steal me away, if that’s what you’re worried about.”   “It’s been a long time though” his eyes are dark and serious, so unlike his usual playfulness, “what if you made a mistake?” His lips flatten out into a tense line, “what if Jimin’s the one you really love? What if you’re actually—“    “Taehyung” I call out sharply to cut him off, “do I look like this kind of woman? Do I look that easy or desperate to you?”    “No, no, no” he hugs me tighter against his chest in an attempt to qualm my suspicions, his jaw fitting atop my head as he rubs his cheek against my hair, “that’s not what I mean.”   “That’s what you implied” I retort sharply although having a fight with Taehyung is the least of my problems at this moment. I hate fighting with him, because we’re both too stubborn to actually apologize for our acts even if we may be the ones at fault.    “I’m not that cheap, Taehyung. I wouldn’t be going out with you if I still liked Jimin” I say as I pull out of his arms in dismay.    I try not to show that he’s hurt me, but he can read my face like an open book. He opens his mouth to say something, only to close it again. I press my lips together and turn away to cut off our argument, not wanting to talk about this anymore, “we have to go,” I murmur before walking out of the room.    There’s a tension, a wall that has risen up between us in a suffocating silence as we sit in the car. I’m looking out of the window all the way to Jimin’s party, unable to see Taehyung’s face or meet his gaze for that matter. I don’t want to say anything displeasing, I don’t want to hurt him even though deep dow inside, I’m hurting as well.    I know that he hadn’t meant it like that, but it still hurts.    “Kim, hi!” Aejung jumps at me the moment I step through Jimin’s doorway. I stumble with a grunt but then wrap my arms around her shoulders, “hey.”    “Come in, come in! Oh my god, I missed you so much” she keeps on hanging onto my arm until the door signals Taehyung’s entrance. She s