I was so focused on Myungsoo, I didn’t realize that the person I despised the most was the one who never gave up on me. What kind of twisted paradox was this? It was a never ending chase between two parallel lines that would never reach a meeting point.   “Why?” I asked, squinting my eyes at Suzy, trying to decipher any hidden intention. The pretentious kindness was a foreshadowing for a future debt. No action was truly selfless, no matter how much we try to fool ourselves.   “Why do you still care about me after everything I have done to you?” I asked, the corner of my lips hinged upwards. I challenged her, testing out what kind of a response she would come up with.   “Because,” Suzy began, momentarily biting her lips, fiddling her fingers before continuing, “You were the first person who ever reached out to me.”   I felt the tension leave my shoulders. A deep sigh escaped my lips.   “People knew me as the weird girl. I was a pest who repelled people away. They talked about me behind my back and in front of my face. At times I didn’t even feel human, because I never got treated as one.”   I wondered how she managed to keep that brave smile on her face despite her struggles. I saw her quivering lips and rapid blinking eyes. I had no reason to doubt her words and began to wonder about the role she played. What was her mask?   “When you came to talk to me that day, I was surprised. For once, I was noticed. Even if you were pretending, you were still the first person who made me truly feel human again.”   By this time, her eyes glistened with tears. The more she gasped for breath, the more teardrops rolled over her porcelain cheeks. She looked so fragile and broken, and it was astoundingly beautiful. How can a person shine so bright after being eclipsed by darkness?   “I owe you a lot. And for that reason, I won’t give up on you. I want to help you in the same way you helped me,” Suzy said. She reached a hand out to me, inviting me on her offer.   I stared at it in silence, and began to laugh. “What if I can’t be helped?” I asked. I have done too much damage to receive second chances   “Nonsense, Soojung,” Suzy said, taking a leap of faith as she grabbed my hands in hers.   “Just because you can’t change who you were yesterday doesn’t mean you can’t change who you will become tomorrow.”   Her words struck my heart. I realized right then and there that Suzy was the only person who would accept and forgive me for who I truly was. No other person could show this ridiculous amount of mercy and expect a change. Not Myungsoo. Not Jongin. Just Suzy.   She experienced what I experienced; she saw the storm in my eyes, the waves in my tears, the typhoon in my heart, and the quake in my emotions. We weren’t so different, after all. But whereas I responded with viciousness, she never lost hope. I closed people off from my heart while Suzy desperately tried to reel them in.   “Could you really forgive me for everything I did?” I asked, placing my other hand on hers. Now I was the one holding on to her.   “Yes!” Suzy said, a little too eager. I saw the tears disperse from her eyes, a dimpled smile forming on her face. “I don’t have the right to judge others when I am at fault as well.”   It took a person with true humbleness to admit their own mistake. If we were all at fault, what measured the weight of one’s sin? How does one determine whose fault was greater above the other? To what extent could we admit our wrongdoings?   I tried to find the weight of her transgressions. “How so?”   “I knew you liked Myungsoo, but instead, I chose to accept his feelings. I was blinded by love. But I should’ve been more considerate of you. I am truly sorry, and I wished there was a way to make it up to you.” I felt her teardrop fall unto my hands.   I knew no one was truly innocent or selfless in this world. Even a pastor wasn’t immune to falling into sin. Sinning was an oasis that came natural to humans, and we delight in its temporary bliss, ignoring the long term consequences. She knew it would hurt me, and yet chose to proceed.   I wanted to start over, to trust her. But how much of her apology was truly genuine? How much could she give up to gain my affection?   “Do you really wish to make it up to me?” I asked, a sudden thought appearing in my head.   “Yes. I want to make things right between us,” Suzy said, her fingers gripping tighter unto mine. She was so optimistic it made the pessimism in me want to vomit itself out. I proceeded with my trial.   “Would you be willing to leave Myungsoo for me?”   Suzy widened her eyes, looking appalled, her red lips parted. Even Jongin, who kept his silence the entire time, grabbed me by both shoulders and pushed me away from Suzy.   “Soojung, you can’t possibly still obsess over him,” he spoke, his tone laced with desperate concern. I could tell he was genuinely worried about my sanity, not wanting me to walk on the same crooked path twice. Either that, or he tried to stop me before I was completely taken over by the cynicism in my heart.   “This isn’t about me, this is about Suzy,” I said, swatting his arms away from me. I turned to said girl, and my gaze hardened. “Now that my mindset is straightened, I realize how much of an idiot I’ve been. Myungsoo isn’t a good guy, Suzy. He kissed me several times while dating you. He can’t even trust you and easily believed those rumors. I realize now, he doesn’t deserve either one of us.”   Suzy stared at me like I had knocked some sense into her puny brain. She avoided my eyes, her light brown pupils going around in small circles to consider my words. She knew I was right. She sensed it all along. Now that she was my ally, I had to share my knowledge.   “For once I agree. Myungsoo is a great guy, but in terms of relationships, he could use a lot of help,” Jongin said. I wasn’t sure whether he spoke these words to save Suzy from making a horrible decision, or because he’d have a higher chance to be with her once they broke up.   Either way, it was interesting how quick my perspective changed about Kim Myungsoo. All along I had seen him favorably, because my heart chose to be biased. But once I took off the veil skewing my favoritism, I saw his flaws magnified in my eyes. What an obscure observation.   But then, Suzy spoke the words I’ve been wanting to hear.   “Okay.” She softly nodded her head to my request. “If it means that much to you, I will break up with him.”   Unbelievable. Kim Myungsoo was the cause of our feud, and at the same time, also the solution to this madness. Would it be that easy to start over?   My cynical mind refused to accept a utopian reality. She had absolutely nothing to gain from giving up Myungsoo; the forged friendship wasn’t worth it. How could I be sure she wasn’t trying to stab me in the back using my own tricks? I have hurt her too much.   “A normal person would try to take her own life by now,” I uttered, shaking my head at everything that happened between us. “How can you keep on going?”   “You can’t have flowers without a rain. When a situation gets bad, won’t I be able to gain something out of it in the end?” Suzy replied, flashing a small smil