Eunwoo couldn't help but feel disappointed. To hear Soohee say she didn't like anyone else made him feel relief, but also disappointment that she didn't say his name. Although would she have honestly confessed she liked him right then and there so easily? He wouldn't have for sure. He decided to let it go and maintain his hopes. 

On the other hand, he was suspicious of his friend. Kihyun said he didn't like Soohee as well, but his actions confused the hell out of Eunwoo. Sometimes Eunwoo would notice Kihyun acting like typical Kihyun and just being weird and noisy. Other times, he'd have this look in his eyes whenever he would talk to or look at Soohee. Eunwoo couldn't explain it, but he didn't like it. However, there was nothing he could do since his friend openly denied it. 

After playing with the cat, Eunwoo thought it was best to head home. It was getting to be pretty late and they all had class in the morning. He saw Soohee had fallen asleep again on the couch and couldn't help but smile at Soohee's peaceful state. It was one thing to fall for someone because your personalities just click, but to also appreciate how beautiful they were both inside and out was another thing.

And Eunwoo thought Soohee was just perfect in every way. He couldn't help but reminisce about the day he realized he had feelings for his best friend. 

~

7th grade, March 30, Soohee and Eunwoo are in the middle of class. It is the last class and it's almost time for school to end. Soohee is staring at the clock willing the minute hand to move faster while Eunwoo is busy taking notes and pushing his over-sized glasses up every few seconds. Just as the bell rings, Soohee shoots up from her seat and runs out of the classroom, leaving Eunwoo behind. 

Eunwoo doesn't even get a chance to speak as he sees his best friend running off somewhere he's not sure. His face falls since today is his birthday but Soohee said nothing to him about it. It seemed she forgot and Eunwoo didn't want to say anything in case she was just trying to trick him, but it seemed like she really did forget and had better things to do today. 

With a deep sigh, Eunwoo slowly packed his things and headed out of the classroom. He wondered where Soohee could've possibly gone off to. It wasn't like her to just leave him behind like this, but for the past few days, he had noticed she seemed to be busier after school and would leave quickly. Every time he wanted to go over to her house, she would always say she was busy with something and that he couldn't come over even just to hang out. He felt dejected.

He wondered if maybe he did something wrong and she was mad at him or if her parents wanted her to stop hanging out with him or something. But Eunwoo wasn't some bad kid, he was the class president and valedictorian. Since when did parents hate smart kids who studied and did well?

Eunwoo shook his head at the idea and just continued to walk to his house. He figured Soohee wouldn't let him hang out at her house again so he walked silently home. As he was passing Soohee's house, he got a call from her. Feeling happy at seeing his friend's name on the caller ID, he hastily answered.

"Hello?" 

"Eunwoo!! Are you busy now?"

Eunwoo furrowed his eyebrows at the silly question because she knew that he was never busy after school on a Friday. 

"No, I'm not. Why what's up?"

"Oh okay. Nothing. Do you wanna hang out later?"

Eunwoo's face lit up and nodded, even though it was a phone call and Soohee couldn't see him.

"Yes! Of course! I mean *cough* yea, sure, when?"

He heard Soohee laugh on the other side and he couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed at his over-enthusiasm.

"How does 6 sound? I'm busy until then but it should be okay."

Again Eunwoo nodded, but simply replied, "Okay. See you at 6."

"Bye!"

The phone call ended and Eunwoo felt so glad that he could finally hang out with his best friend again. It wasn't like he didn't have other friends to hang out with, but they usually had after-school activities. It also just wasn't the same since he'd known Soohee since forever.

He hurried home and quickly finished all his weekend homework. His parents were out, but it wasn't unusual for them to get home pretty late sometimes. His younger brother was busy with after-school activities so no one would be home for a while, which Eunwoo didn't mind too much. He rather liked being alone to do whatever he wanted, although that usually meant reading some book that would fill his brain with more useful/useless things. However, since today was his birthday, it would have been nice to have some company. 

After reading a chapter from a book about sharks, he got another call from Soohee. 

"Hello?"

"Hey! Make sure you dress nicely before coming!! You don't have to wear that stinky suit or anything, but like you did for that one student board meeting thing."

Confused as to why he would have to dress up, Eunwoo asked, "What? Why?"

"Because why not? It's boring to always be in our school uniforms or casual clothes all the time don't you think?"

Considering Soohee's words, he shrugged to himself and said, "Okay I guess. I'll be there soon."

"Great! Bye!"

Eunwoo hung up and sighed, not looking forward to having to dress up for no particular reason. He trudged over to Soohee's house in a white button-up and black jeans. with a tie and a pair of converse. It was exactly what he wore at the first student board meeting like Soohee recommended he should wear. He was glad that they didn't live too far apart so he didn't have to spend too much time walking in the slightly too small converse. 

He walked up to the door and knocked, waiting for Soohee to open the door. Except, she didn't open the door. No one did. Frowning, Eunwoo knocked again, a little bit louder. Normally, the door would open up straight away, but the door didn't budge a bit. 

Feeling a mixture of concern, frustration, and confusion, Eunwoo decided to press the doorbell, which he never did. Still, no answer. 

Eunwoo decided to try the door and turned the knob. To his surprise, the door was unlocked and opened up for him. He cautiously walked through and timidly muttered, "Hello...?"

Almost immediately after closing the door, the lights and a whole group of people shouted, "Happy Birthday!!!"

Shocked, Eunwoo didn't know how to react at first. He saw his parents. his brother, some of his friends, Soohee's family and finally, Soohee. She was wearing a cute dress and had her hair done in a bun and curled strands on the side with a bow on top. She seemed to be glowing compared to everyone else. 

Eunwoo finally smiled and was swallowed by a group hug and murmurs of "happy birthday"s. He felt happy and fuzzy, but he felt even happier and fuzzier when looking at Soohee. Was it always like this when he looked at her?

Everyone was eating and talking to each other and Eunwoo felt nothing but joy. He felt bad that he thought Soohee, his best friend, would forget his own birthday. How could he have ever doubted her? It was bad of him to do so, so he felt even more grateful for the surprise party that he learned she organized all on her own. 

He was also glad Soohee advised him to dress up since everyone else was also pretty dressed up as well. Not that it would've mattered too much since he was the birthday boy and no one likes to bash the birthday person at their party, but he was still grateful. 

He managed to escape the "crowd" momentarily and slipped outside for some fresh air. He was smiling at the stars who were shining so brightly back at him on a day he was so thankful to be born on. Everything seemed so bright and warm, especially Soohee.

Just as he thought about it, Soohee also came outside. She sat down next to him on the front steps of her house and sat a little bit closer to him to keep warm.

"Hey, I saw you come out here. Were you getting a little tired from the crowd?" Soohee said.

Eunwoo at first didn't respond because his heart seemed to be beating a little quicker than normal when he saw Soohee step through the door. The whole time of the party he noticed he was always stealing glances at his best friend and he wasn't entirely sure why. He never used to be like this, or maybe she never used to be this radiant? 

She waved her hand in front of his face and said, "Helloooooo. Earth to Eunwoo?" 

He blinked a couple of times and stuttered, "O-Oh s-sorry I guess I'm a little tired?"

Soohee only smiled and said, "It's okay. It's been a long day. I was debating whether to plan this party today or tomorrow because even though your birthday is today you'd have to come from a long day of school but if we did it tomorrow it wouldn't even be your birthday anymore but you'd be better rested although you'd probably still be tired since it is night time and you don't even stay up that long usually anyway but any...way..."

She got shy at how much she realized she was talking and grew red at Eunwoo laughing at her. It was something she happened to do often when she was trying to explain herself. It was something Eunwoo thought was what made her really cute.

Eunwoo couldn't help but catch his thoughts, wondering just exactly when it was that he started thinking Soohee was cute. He knew it, but never in the way that made him feel tingly inside like how he was feeling at that moment. 

He turned to look at her and felt caught up in Soohee's big brown eyes. Were they always so pretty? Was she always this pretty? What was this feeling that he felt toward his best friend?

"Eunwoo~ Earth to Eunwoo!" Soohee called.

Shaking his head, Eunwoo quickly said, "Yea!? *cough* I mean um, yes?" his voice cracking a little.

Soohee shook her head in disapproval and said, "Goodness you, did you hear anything I said?"

Eunwoo sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with a small grin while Soohee raised her eyebrow at him. 

"You'll never get a girlfriend at this rate you know. If you can't even listen to your own best friend properly how do you expect to keep a girl?" Soohee said slightly teasing the boy. 

Eunwoo quickly replied back, "Well as long as I have my best friend I won't need a girlfriend. Because my best friend will stay with me forever, right?"

Soohee only laughed at Eunwoo's cheesy reply and got a little flustered, but nodded nonetheless and stuck her pinky finger out. 

"I promise I'll stay with you forever because we're best friends," she said. 

The two intertwined their pinky fingers together in a pinky promise and Eunwoo couldn't help but smile. He felt beyond happy, a feeling he would realize over the years continued to grow and grow whenever he was around Soohee. A feeling he didn't mind having as long as Soohee was there. 

Because he liked her.

~

Eunwoo walked over to the couch and carefully started picking up Soohee. He knew she wouldn't wake up if he tried so he thought it was just best to put her in her bed and let her rest. He was concerned that she would be upset with herself for falling asleep and not brushing her teeth, saying goodbye, etc., but he knew better than to try and wake up a sleeping bear. 

Kihyun watched as Eunwoo carried Soohee upstairs. He wondered what it would be like if he was the one carrying Soohee instead of Eunwoo, but knew that was impossible since it was always Eunwoo and Soohee. If he was going to be honest, he was always just the spectator in the three's friendship.

He would never be able to have that same bond with either of them really like how they have with each other. He didn't grow up with them and just be there for all of their moments together. He was surprised they weren't already dating since most people like that get married and stay together for the rest of their lives.

But that only gave him hope. The hope that one day, his feelings could be heard and reciprocated. That one day, he would be the one carrying Soohee up the stairs and tucking her into her bed, kissing her on her forehead and whispering goodnight as she drifts off into dreamland. Hope that he could finally confess and say, "I like you Soohee."

For now, though, as Eunwoo was coming back downstairs, Kihyun washed away his hopes and would wait for another day. He would never want to purposefully break up the friendship they have between the three of them and therefore would never tell Eunwoo his true feelings. Even if that meant standing on the sidelines and spectating as his two closest friends finally get together. 

Even if it meant hearing Soohee say the words, "I like..." and the name of the person not being his own.

The two boys left Soohee's apartment and went their separate ways. Eunwoo drove to his home nearby while Kihyun drove to his studio flat a few minutes away. The boys dressed for bed, washed up, and threw themselves into bed. Both were thinking of the "what ifs" and "maybes" that could be their futures, but most of all, they thought of one person in particular. 

~ Soohee's Dream ~

*Children laughing while running around* 

"Eunwoo!! Wait up!" young Soohee pants. 

They were playing a game of tag that required you to be tied to one person and you had to stay together. Whoever the lone tagger touches becomes their partner and the point is to stay as a team until the game ends. Whoever ends up alone loses.

Eunwoo and Soohee were tied together and young Eunwoo was running much quicker than Soohee could. Soohee was bent over trying to catch her breath while Eunwoo gazed at her fondly, feeling slightly apologetic that he ran too fast. 

Just at that moment, however, a voice was heard saying, "Tag!" and Soohee felt a hand on her back. She looked up to see Kihyun smiling at her. Just as she locked eyes with him, she realized she had grown up and was at her normal age now. 

Soohee untied the knot tying her and Eunwoo together and connected her and Kihyun together instead. Instead of having to run more, Kihyun carried Soohee on his back as he ran away from Eunwoo, making sure she wouldn't have to worry about not keeping up and breathing too hard. 

The young Eunwoo had grown up as well and watched as Kihyun swiftly carried away Soohee, not chasing after them or moving, but instead just crying. The further away Soohee got, the smaller Eunwoo seemed to become, and like a mirror, the glass cracked and shattered around her. All she could hear was, "For the record, Soohee, I like you."

~

Soohee woke up suddenly, shooting up out of her bed.

*Bed? Oh, I must've been brought up here by Eunwoo* Soohee thought to herself. She looked around and saw the sun shining outside and her clock reading 7:45 AM. She groaned and laid back down, trying to remember her dream that woke her up. 

"I like you"

Soohee smiled to herself and rolled over in her bed, saying, "I like you, too," before closing her eyes and dreaming about flying cats playing the piano.

-----

Hello!! Sorry I won't be able to update as quickly anymore, I'm in the smack-dab middle of school which is *great*~ (no, not at all. definitely not.) so sorry if the updates aren't quick! I hope you like this update and this story! Thank you for reading and please comment and subscribe! ^^