What I would usually do when I see a girl cry: 1) embrace her, 2) kiss her tears away, or 3) be extra greasy until she laughs.

But I was at a lost when it comes to Jung Wheein; I didn’t know if she was crying or smiling because she had her back to me.

Suddenly, without turning around, she reached out a shaky hand towards me; she must have sensed that I was right behind her. I automatically placed my hand in hers; I wanted to do something, even if it was just holding hands.

When our hands joined, she squeezed my hand a little and I saw her shoulders relaxing.

Ah, this must be nerve-wrecking for her. Don’t worry, Wheein-ssi. I’m here for you.

Her voice was bright when she spoke; she could fool anyone, but I was the one holding on to a cold, clammy hand that shook with every word that came out of .

“Congratulations, Hyejinnie,” she said. “How long has it been? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s been nearly a month now,” Hyejin answered, glancing at Yongsun and blushed.

Jung Wheein squeezed my hand harder and her shoulders tensed again. I had never felt as useless as I was right then; the most I could do was squeeze her hand back, assuring her that I was still here.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you, Wheeinie,” Hyejin continued, “but you disappeared on me.”

“I’m sorry about that, Hyejinnie,” Jung Wheein said. “I was busy with work. I didn’t have time for anyone. Even Kkomo was mad at me because I kept ignoring him.”

My lips twitched.

Omo, the little lady is lying? Or have I been seeing an apparition these past weeks?

“What matters is that you’re here now, Wheeinie,” Hyejin said. “Come on, I need to feed you Yong-ie’s cooking. They’re out of this world!”

“Oh? I thought you’re cooking, Hyejinnie?”

Hyejin smiled sheepishly. “I wanted to cook something special, but...I , okay? So I enlisted the best chef on this side of town to help me out.”

Hyejin stared at Yongsun lovingly and I felt Jung Wheein squeezing my hand even harder; I tried not to wince at the sharp pain.

“You’re exaggerating,” Yongsun said, chuckling. “Hyejin helped a little, if that counts…”

“It does, actually,” Jung Wheein said. “Getting Hyejinnie to help is even harder than asking her to cook.”

Hyejin pouted. “I’m regretting this already,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “If I had known that you two would gang up on me, I shouldn’t have let you meet.”

I snickered. “I’m glad,” I said, ignoring Hyejin’s death glare. “I’m tired of being the third wheel and being outvoted every single time.”

“Stop it, Byul,” Yongsun said, glancing at her girlfriend’s puffed cheeks. “I don’t want another world war to break out before dinner.”

She dragged Hyejin towards Hyejin’s personal entertainment room where they had laid out a table of dishes. Hyejin protested at first, but Yongsun whispered something to her that made her clammed up and blushed furiously.

I was busy watching them and being amused that I didn’t realize someone was tugging at my hand.

“You can let go now.”

I was startled when I heard her voice; my eyes went to her face and then to our joined hands.

“S-Sorry,” I mumbled, quickly releasing her hand. “I forgot…”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I was the one at fault here.”

I frowned. “I don’t understand...”

She gave me a deep bow. “I selfishly dragged you into my mess,” she said. “Thank you for going along with my selfishness.”

I chuckled. “I don’t think it was selfish to ask for help,” I said. “Thank you for trusting me enough to ask me.”

She raised her head and our eyes met; her eyes shimmered with unshed tears and my heart went out to her.

Before I could stop myself, my hand reached out to gently pat her on the head. Her eyes widened and without warning, her tears fell.

“Ah, shoot,” she muttered, hastily wiping at her eyes, but the tears kept on falling. “You made me cry, Byulyi-ssi…”

“It’s okay to cry,” I murmured. “It’s not good to hold everything in.”

“But my makeup’s ruined,” she grumbled. “I must look very ugly right now.”

I silently disagreed.

Even with the tear stains and the ruined makeup, Jung Wheein looked as beautiful as the first day we met.

Come to think of it, she was crying that day too.

I chuckled.

When did I start liking tear-stained faces?

“You’re beautiful,” I murmured and my hand unconsciously went to cup her cheek.

Her eyes widened, but she didn’t push my hand away.

My eyes roamed her face and finally settled on her lips; I my dry lips as a knot formed in my stomach.

“Byulyi-ssi?”

Her voice snapped me back to reality. I quickly withdrew my hand and said, “I’m sorry. I got ahead of myself.”

“I don’t mind.”

I stared at her and swallowed.

No, Moon Byulyi. Just no. She’s Hyejin’s best friend. That lioness will kill me if I lay a hand on her. Yongsun will kill me too and she’s my best friend.

“Byulyi-ssi!”

Her loud voice startled me out of my thoughts. She was snapping her fingers in front of my face and scowling.

How are you so adorable even when you’re mad, Jung Wheein?

When I said nothing, she let out a sigh and glared up at me. “Since I’m not worth your time, let alone your attention, I’ll take my leave now,” she said.

My hand shot out to grab her arm. “You’re leaving?” I asked, worried that the lion and the dragon who were waiting for us would kill me for letting her go.

“No,” she said, rolling her eyes and pointed at her face. “I need to fix my makeup.”

“Oh. Right.”

I reluctantly let her go and watched as she spun around and headed for the bathroom.

I placed a hand over my heart; it was beating erratically against my chest.

This traitorous heart...Please be normal for once...

Suddenly, I was pulled back by the collar of my shirt and I was face-to-face with a scowling Yongsun.

“We need to have a serious talk, Moon Byulyi,” Yongsun growled.

I swallowed.

I think I see my whole life flashing by. Hurry and come back, Jung Wheein!

___________________________________________________

A/N: I edited these with sleepy eyes, so there may be some errors here and there.. haha.. ^^;

Thank you for reading! ^_^