1.

A boy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other… Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever.

No one would ever know… except, well, the two of them—just how hard they tried to minimize the feelings and emotions that burst through like fireworks inside of them—that whenever their eyes met they feel like letting go of everything else. 

He laughs and smiles until his cheeks turn red and puffy, but inside there is this ache that he couldn’t shake off thinking, ‘only today, I will be that person who makes her laugh’, and forgets everything else, including his aching heart that longs for her since eternity. 

She, on the other hand, almost bares her heart, but just enough that others would think they know her; a girl who is strong and passionate—which she knows true, but when she looks at him, or hear his voice, her heart, her mind suddenly becomes the girl who is only in love with the man who broke down her walls; who unknowingly taught her what love is like.

Between the two of them and the world, there is so much to be hidden. In the eyes of other people, they are strangers, acquaintances, and estrange to each other. But between the two of them, they are friends and lovers without titles. Maybe because they fell in love at the right time, but that time itself was not enough. 

“It’s nice seeing you, again,” he says, fiddling with his fingers as he looks at her. His toothy grin might be gone, but not the bursting cheeks that seem to always give his heart away. 

She smiles softly and beautifully. “It feels like a lifetime ago, but I’m glad to see you again, too.”

For them, words are not enough, so they let their actions speak for them instead.

2.

I liked him first, but it doesn’t matter.

I still like him.

That doesn’t matter either.

Why would it matter when we barely see each other? 

Why would it matter when we do see each other but we can’t even talk to each other properly?

Why would it matter when I can’t even tell him just how much I miss him that sometimes it is hard to sleep at night?

Why would it matter when I can’t even tell him the words, I love you?

I still like him, but that doesn’t matter because even when I’m standing beside him, we seem to be worlds apart. 

I liked her first, but it doesn’t matter. 

I still like her.

That doesn’t matter either.

Why would it matter when I barely see her?

Why would it matter when we do see each other but I could barely speak a word to her, despite my desperation?

Why would it matter when I can’t even tell her how much I miss her that it hurts?

Why would it matter when the words I love you are stuck in my throat every time I try to open my mouth? 

I still like her, no, scratch that, I still love her, but that doesn’t matter because even when I’m standing beside her, there seems to be a wall in between us. 

3.

If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever.

There was a time when Yonghwa thought books were really only for smart people.

Why?

Because smart people had patience and he himself thought that he lacked a lot of that. Patience meant waiting and enduring and he wasn’t good at both ever since he was young. Although he was ambitious, he was impatient. He liked things fast and easy. 

Then there came Seo Juhyun, the girl who was nothing but smart, which also meant she was book-wise. 

It was Juhyun who forcefully gave him books to read. He could’ve refused them actually if only she hadn’t used that soft tone voice of hers and looked at him like a silly puppy. He disliked her, but only for a second. He didn’t think anyone could ever dislike her anyway, especially with that smile of hers. 

In the beginning, everyone close to him thought he had gone a little bit on the other side if that even made sense. He was only holding a book for god's sake, not like he committed a crime. They made fun of him with every chance they got and gave him funny mocking glances. But of course, he always found himself thinking of what smart Juhyun would think if he didn’t finish the previous book she had entrusted onto him— and ignored everything else. Besides, they—don’t matter anyway, only that smart girl with a great smile. 

One day, in the grace of that girl named, Seo Juhyun, who ‘forcefully’ made Yonghwa read about twenty books since they met, allowed him to choose a book of his own liking. For some reason, Yonghwa felt happy. Happy as in he felt like stepping out of the room that wasn’t really locked in the first place. 

Too bad, the happiness only lasted a couple of hours because he was lost all of a sudden. Foolishly, he didn’t know what books to read since he had only wanted to read what Juhyun gave him. 

“I don’t know what to read…” he had complained to her.

“What do you mean? There so many things out there.” she had answered, peering at him softly.

“Well, that’s why. I can’t choose.”

She giggled. “How about romance books?”

“That’s… I don’t like cliche books.”

“Fantasy?”

“Hm… I can just watch the movies. They’re better.”