"Can you believe that?" Taeil complained in frustration, while Haemi stared back at him with an unreadable expression on her face. "I mean, I don't think I've done anything for her to doubt me... I don't understand why'd she ask to break up so seriously..."

"Because you're an idiot," Haemi finally said, a teasing smile on her face. "I can understand what point she's getting at. Why didn't you say something to me before? It literally could've saved your relationship, you know?" 

Taeil's cheeks grew red in embarrassment as he softly mumbled, "I didn't even realize until she told me. Even at then, I didn't want to tell you cause obviously it'd be weird right? I don't know, I just want you two to get along." 

"Taeil, you're so dumb. She's not going to want to get along with me now," she sighed back at how clueless he was. "I didn't realize that I was being too touchy, though, that was my fault. I'd definitely feel the same way if our roles were reversed, you know?" 

"So... You think I'm overreacting?" Taeil glanced back with confusion. 

"Taeil... It's nice of you to defend me but honestly, there's a limit to how much you should defend your friends. Plus, she's your significant other. It'd be pretty ty if she were best friends with a guy and you were concerned about it, but she kept brushing it off."

"But it was unfounded!" He retorted, obviously frustrated with being the one at fault. 

"Okay, and? She doesn't really know that and anyway, she needs your reassurance. Even if it is unfounded, she can only make assumptions based on what she's seen, and right now, all she's seen is me being touchy and you being defensive. You need to understand that, I can't just keep vomiting all these words at you if you won't listen. Jeez, I don't know what she sees in you," Haemi laughed. 

Taeil paused for a moment, reflecting on what she said and while he could understand the point she was getting at, he didn't particularly want to admit the truth. 

"You need to talk to her," she added gently. "That's all I'm going to tell you."

Taeil returned home dejectedly, wishing this had never happened in the first place. He did really like Jihyun, but all of this stressed him out and he didn't want to ruin anything, but apparently him doing nothing really did ruin things. He sighed tiredly, placing his things on his bedside table. 

Ever since their fight earlier in the day, Jihyun hadn't acknowledged him once and he stared at his phone, wondering if he should contact her. He missed her voice and even if it was only for a second, he just wanted to fill his entirety with her presence. 

Even though he knew it would be a bad idea, Taeil opened up his text messages and quickly typed Hey, before sending it without hesitation. If he hesitated then, he knew he'd never send it. 

It took about ten minutes for her to reply back and she merely said Hey back, causing Taeil to feel slightly anxious. 

Can we talk about things?, he typed back. 

There was a pause before she replied back. 

I thought we were on a break for the week.

Taeil stared at it hard with disappointment. He really didn't want to wait a whole week for them to talk about their feelings, he wanted to do it now. He wanted to resolve things with her as quickly as possible because he couldn't bear the thought of continuing to hurt her.

I want to talk to you about everything. Can we meet up?

He held his breath as he waited for a response. He swore he was about to turn green until her response bubble popped up. 

...Okay. Let's meet up tomorrow.

Taeil sighed in relief as they arranged a meeting time and place. He didn't think she would cave to his request, but he could see that she was willing to talk things out, so he silently resolved to himself to make sure he didn't do any stupid when he met her. He couldn't risk losing her for real. 

The pair had decided to meet up at a park the next afternoon and Taeil arrived before Jihyun, but with every minute that he sat there alone, he started to feel increasingly more anxious. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he hoped for the best, constantly checking the time on his phone. 

After about five minutes of waiting, he saw Jihyun approaching and even though he could clearly see the puff in her eyes from the distance he was at, he still noted that she was as pretty as she usually was. 

"Hello," she greeted when she got near him, and he could hear the tiredness in her voice. 

"Hey," he nodded back, gesturing to the seat next to him. "Sit." 

She promptly sat down and for a while, the two said nothing. Taeil racked his brain for ways to smoothly start the conversation, but his nerves prevented him from actually saying anything. 

"Anyway," Jihyun cleared awkwardly, "what'd you want to talk about?" 

"O-oh," he mumbled, caught off guard. "I just... wanted to apologize." 

Jihyun didn't say anything in response and her expression didn't betray anything, so Taeil went on. 

"I thought about things a lot after the fight," he confessed sheepishly. "I was hurtful to you and I shouldn't have been so rude. I was being.... an , to say the least and even though you were patient with me, I really didn't give you the respect you deserve. I also, um, talked to Haemi about things and told her everything that happened... and she agreed with you... so uh... I hope that you'll understand that she didn't mean any harm, but I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry and it was unfair of me to do that to you." 

Jihyun couldn't ignore the discomfort that built in her stomach after he mentioned Haemi's name. "So... What'd you guys talk about? What'd she say after you told her everything?"

"Oh well... I just told her that you didn't like how touchy she was and she was pretty surprised. Erm, then she gave me advice about how like... I was being a jerk to you and how I should've listened more..." He mumbled, clearly feeling embarrassed.

She had to pause in shock after hearing what he had said. 

"So... you would rather listen to Haemi than me? When I basically told you the same thing?" Jihyun stared back at him with hurt. "At this point, Taeil, it's not an issue with how touchy she can be. This is an issue of how we communicate and how you haven't been listening to what I've been saying, but hey, if it comes from some other person, then whoop dee doo, you suddenly get it!"

Taeil was silent. He knew she was right and he couldn't refute the statement at all. His skin shivered with cold sweat and he could feel his nervousness showing on his face. 

"You're right," he said, barely a whisper at first. "I was insensitive and I didn't listen to your concerns, even when you told me clearly how you felt. I brushed it off because I didn't want to believe it, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Ji, I didn't mean to hurt you like that and you mean so much to me, but I also have never dealt with this before. I don't know what it's like being in your spot, I don't know how to be in your shoes, and I'm sorry for not trying to understand. It was selfish of me, but I don't want to give up on you... I can't give up on us."

Jihyun stared back at him hesitantly. Concerns were eating at her, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to believe him or not. 

"How do I know that I can trust what you're saying right now? You know that I don't want to repeat this, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to either," she whispered hoarsely and Taeil gave a bittersweet smile in return. 

"I can't promise that we won't fight again in the future, especially if we're going to be spending a long time together," he paused to wink, "but I do want to treat you better than how I've been treating you lately. You deserve more than what I've been giving you, but I just... I need a second chance to prove myself to you. I know I haven't been stellar and I'll reflect upon that even more than I have been in the past few days, but... I just want to ask you, will you please give me that chance to prove myself?" 

Jihyun remained silent under his gaze. His eyes searched through hers imploringly and she hesitated. He did try his best to understand her, even if it meant talking to the very person that she disliked, but even then, Jihyun could see that he went through great lengths to try and work everything out - and she couldn't miss the determined fire that shone in his eyes. 

"...Fine," she sheepishly smiled and he immediately gleamed with joy, before pulling her into his embrace. 

"Ji!" He happily cheered before burying his face into her hair. "Thank you so much."

"Well, thank you for actually trying," she responded wryly. "But if you do this again, I'll kick your ." 

"Don't worry, the only one you have to watch out for is Johnny, he's a rascal. Other than that, you can trust me," he joked. 

"Hm, Johnny can have you then," Jihyun replied, looking up to see Taeil's face growing shocked. 

"No, I don't want him!" He refused, shaking his head profusely. "He's a rascal with everyone else too, I only just want to be with you."

Jihyun laughed as she nuzzled into his chest. For the first time in a while, she felt a warm sensation bubbling in the pits of her stomach and wanted to feel it forever. "Hey Tae?" She whispered, falling into a lull. 

"Hm?" He hummed back, clearly happy. 

"I love you," she smiled sheepishly, hoping he couldn't see her face. He stared down in shock at first, but a bright smile grew onto his lips shortly. 

"I love you too."