The bell rings, signalling the end of the day.

I pack my books up rather quickly, as the feeling of excitement, twisted with a whole bunch of nervousness, overflows me. I can’t believe it. After all this time, I’m finally going to tell him; I’ve finally gathered up enough courage to tell Gunwoo of my liking towards him, and can only hope that he too, feels the same way. Asking him to meet me after school was the easy part, but now the trick is to get him alone, where I can then spill out my feelings to him. I constantly command myself to breathe in and out at a soothing pace, to calm myself down from the anticipation.

As I walk by a few girls, I manage to catch a part of their conversation, and it makes the feelings in me bubble even more.

“I heard that Gunwoo oppa is going to meet up with the girl that he likes, to tell her how he feels!” gushes the first girl.

“Omo, that’s so exciting,” chimes the second. “Do you know who she is?”

The first girl shakes her head, “Nope, no clue. All I know is that she supposedly has a really nice smile.”

I bite my lip, to stop myself from grinning ear to ear; he’s definitely talking about me, since he knows that I’ll be meeting up with him right now!

Quickening up my pace, I manage to finally spot him standing by near the school gates. “Oppa!” I call out, with a cheerful wave.

He returns my greeting once his eyes land on me, and then waits for me to reach up to him; “Hey.”

A nervous giggle manages to slip out of me, just before I say “hi.”

“So what did you want to tell me?” he questions.

My meek smile meets with his curious eyes, “Um, can we go somewhere else?”

Gunwoo nods. “Of course,” he says, and then suggests; “How about the park nearby?”

“Great choice!” I keenly agree.

The two of us begin to make our way over there, with my heart gradually beating faster and faster.

This is so nerve-wrecking, but I just really want him to know, for me to know if there’s anything possible, which there will be, right?

———————————————

We somehow come to the conclusion to grab some bubble tea on the way, and have now taken a seat on one of the empty park benches. I nervously swirl my straw around, hoping that the motion of the spinning jelly toppings, would somehow ease down my nerves.

Ugh, how do I even begin this?

“So,” begins Gunwoo. “What is it that you have to tell me?”

Oh my God, I don’t think I can do this.

I’m now nibbling on the inside of my cheek; I’m so nervous, I can’t seem to even sip my drink properly.

Argh, snap out of it, Hyeri!

You didn’t come this far just to chicken out; it’s either now, or never, and we all know which option you’ve been dying for.

“Um, I-I wanted to,” I start, with a nervous swallow. “Um, I—”

My mouth suddenly becomes dry, but seeing how patiently Gunwoo is, makes me take a deep breath.

Here goes nothing—

“Oppa, I like you.”

Nibbling on my lip, I anxiously wait for his response, but his reply is not what I’m expecting.

“I like you too, Hyeri,” he says, with a friendly smile.

My lips form a small frown, knowing that he had taken my comment in the wrong direction. “No,” I softly say, and then turn myself completely towards him. “Gunwoo, I like you. As in, I actually really like you. Not as just a friend, but more than that.”

Eyebrows raised, and widen eyes; recognition gradually spreads across Gunwoo’s face. “Hyeri-ah…” he gently begins, in a tone that sinks my heart. “I’m sorry, but I...I can’t return your feelings.”

Biting my teeth together to keep up my calm facial expression, I then swallow down the lump in my throat.

“I’m really sorry, but I only see you as a younger sister,” he explains.

Ouch.

An uncomfortable knot twists inside my stomach, and it hurts. It hurts a lot, and I know that this is just the beginning of it.

And then it hits me: so this whole time, he has been viewing me as...a little girl?

Suddenly, I feel extremely embarrassed for all of my giddy actions towards him, and how I had been misreading his gestures as something more.

“We can still be friends though, right?” Gunwoo asks tentatively, due to my lack of response. “You’re a really great friend, and I wouldn’t want our friendship to spoil because of this.”

I didn’t think it would take so much effort to force the corner of lips to curve upwards. “I know what you mean,” I say, with a quick bob of my head.

Gunwoo gives me an apologetic smile, “Thank you for understanding.” He then adds, “And I’m really sorry about this. Honestly, I really am, but it just…I don’t think it would work out.”

“It’s okay,” I eventually say.

Standing up, I then give him an artificial smile. “Thank you for listening to me, but um, I...have to go now,” I say, a little too quickly.

The look of concern deepens on his face, and I don’t know why, but seeing that makes me slip out an apology to him. I then turn around, and begin to walk away. Bit by bit, my numb strides become quicker, but as soon as I reach the corner, I burst out into a run. My heart aches and I can feel my lips begin to tremble, as my eyes slowly water.

Whatever I do, I tell myself that I can’t cry.

I absolutely cannot cry, until—

A sudden squeal comes out of me, as I feel myself collide into someone. They let out a startled squeal as well, and when we see each other, a look of surprise crosses both of our faces.

“Omo, Hyeri-ah, are you okay?” asks Minah, as she reaches out for me.

I give her a nod, and then ask her the same question. She’s alright as well, and because she seems to be on her way somewhere, I then ask her.

“Gunwoo says that he has something to tell me,” she says. “It sounds kind of important, as well.”

My eyes slightly round, as the words from that one student, repeats itself in my head:

“I heard that Gunwoo oppa is going to meet up with the girl that he likes, to tell her how he feels!”

Wait, so...Gunwoo…likes Minah…?

“All I know is that she supposedly has a really nice smile.”

I can feel something inside my crumbling slowly, as everything sinks in; whoever told that girl this piece of information is correct, because she really does.

Minah has a beautiful smile.

Seeing her here, and connecting her to what I had overheard those two girls say, make my shoulders drop. I guess it made sense as to why he always partnered up with her during their assessment tasks.

Or how he would somehow always be sitting next to her, whenever we all ate our lunch together.

Heck, him wanting to be her partner for the pepero competition is now a dead giveaway, with how his face appeared to brighten up, at the suggestion of being her partner.

But since I was too busy looking at him and not at what he was looking at, it never actually occurred to me that my crush could have feelings for...my best friend.

And as sad as this makes me feel, I can see why he would like her, because she’s absolutely amazing.

The reality of it suddenly overwhelms me, and I choke back a sob. This shocks Minah into a mixture of worry and confusion, as she begins to ask me what’s wrong. I shake my head and lie, saying that I’m not feeling too well, and then tell her not to keep Gunwoo waiting. She frowns at my words, and before she can say anything else (or I just break down into an ugly mess), I make a run for it.

My legs keep pushing me forward, and I don’t stop, until I reach my house, and then quickly rush into my room, where no one can question me about my sobs.

And as I quietly cry away to myself, I then realise that for the first time, I’m also upset for Seyong being wrong.