"Let's try again," Wendy suggested. She gave Irene a consolation pat on the back.

"I'm never going to get this right," muttered Irene as she blew the hair from her face for the fiftieth time and sighed, leaning back into the wall. She'd been practicing lines to break up with Bo Gum, but nothing felt right. Every attempt felt like something was lacking. Like she was missing a piece of a puzzle. Or several.

"Maybe you need to be a little more forward? You keep trying to let him down easy."

"But I don't want to hurt his feelings."

Wendy just gave her a look and deadpanned, "Irene, you're breaking up with him. You're going to hurt his feelings either way."

"Okay, yeah, but—" Nope. Nothing. "Yeah, okay."

"Bo Gum's a nice guy. You dated him, not me, so tell me if I'm wrong, but I feel like he would appreciate the honesty. Maybe don't be so blatantly honest with saying there's someone else or that you've fallen out of love for a while, but you should tell him a little more than 'it's not you, it's me.'"

"Fine. You're right." Irene slouched her shoulders forward and then pushed them back as she stretched her arms above her head with a yawn. "God, this is tiring me out."

"Nap later, sleepyhead." Wendy poked Irene's cheek, drawing a protest from the still-yawning girl, who lazily waved a hand in Wendy's general direction. "If you didn't go to bed so late, maybe you could actually stay awake right now."

"Yadda, yadda, yadda."

Wendy squinted closer at Irene's tired expression. "Are you even really doing homework until two in the morning?" She poked Irene in the cheek for the second time and asked, waggling her eyebrows, "Or are you just busy thinking about a certain someone?"

"While I wish that I could be spending my free time thinking about her," which she did often, not that Wendy needed to know that, "I actually spent last night agonizing over the more pressing issue at hand."

"Great! Then issue now, nap later."

Irene's head bobbed forward and her eyes shot open. "What?"

"Come on, Irene." Wendy sighed, nudging the exhausted Irene whose eyes began fluttering shut once again. "You got to break up with your boyfriend, remember?"

Irene nodded reluctantly.

"Seulgi, remember?"

Irene nodded reluctantly once again, this time with her lips pursed.

"Good," Wendy said with a clap of the hands. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Wait, what—"

"At least talk to him a little bit, right? Bye, Irene!" Wendy scurried away after Bo Gum turned the corner and walked up to Irene.

"Hey, Irene," Bo Gum said.

"Oh, uh, hey," Irene said back.

"I know you're cheering for the game tonight, so I just wanted to come by beforehand and see you."

Charming smile.

"That's so kind of you, Bo Gum, and, uh..."

"Are you okay? You seem kind of off." Bo Gum thought for a second. "Do you need me to go get something from the store...? Or-"

"No, no," Irene quickly said. Damn you, Wendy, for leaving me like this. "I was actually going to ask i-if we could meet this weekend. Or like, when you're free. When you're not busy, I don't know."

Bo Gum's face lit up like a candle, bright and warm. "Yeah, of course! What—"

"Oh my god, I have to go."

"Uh, okay?"

"Yeah, I'm going to be late! Forgot I had to meet with Yongsun beforehand, oops. Bye, Bo Gum!" Once away from Bo Gum, Irene grabbed Wendy and hissed, "What the hell was that?"

Wendy just shrugged. "Had to get it started somehow."

"Not cool, Wendy! Couldn't you have waited later to shove me towards him?"

"No time like the present, right? You needed the push. It's not like you would've done it otherwise."

"Done what?"

"You know, talked to him? Like, talked to him seriously. You keep avoiding him, anyway. You did say something, right?"

Irene said, flustered, "Yeah, we're meeting this weekend to talk, but..."

"This weekend?"

"Yes, this weekend. That's only a couple days away, Wendy, It's not that outlandish."

"Maybe not, but you've also been trying to break up with him for like two weeks."

"...You right."

When the weekend came, Irene was as tense as could be. She felt stiff and uncoordinated as she tripped out of the passenger seat and scraped her knee on the pavement, blood dripping down her pale skin. It was a strange feeling -- blood on your fingertips. She wiped the scrape as Bo Gum dropped beside her to make sure she was okay. She brushed off his help, standing up on her own, and made her way into the café where she grabbed a couple of napkins, flashing a curt smile at the cashier, and cleaned up her knee. Irene's mind flitted from thought to thought, and she failed to shake the sinking feeling in her stomach as the rough fibers of the paper napkin ghosted over her skin in one last attempt to clean up the now-dried blood that threatened to flake off as soon as she stood up. Distracted, she had missed a spot. 

"You, uh... Nevermind. Does it hurt?" Bo Gum asked the question rather tentatively, sensing something was off.

"I'm... fine." Irene tossed the napkins in the trash with a sigh. "Sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"I'm being, I don't know, catty. I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"Hey, hey," Bo Gum hushed and intertwined their fingers and led Irene to the side, smiling apologetically at the cashier who waited for them to make an order already. Once they were out of earshot, Bo Gum held both of Irene's small hands in his as if testing their weight, bouncing them lightly. He shifted from foot to foot and said, "What's on your mind? Irene?"

"Bo Gum..."

"I don't like seeing you like this. You've been tearing yourself up inside and won't tell me anything, but I'm here for you, you know? I'm always here for you. If you ever need to talk or just need the company or anything. I will always be there for you."

"I know."

"Then just let it out, Irene. Let it out. I'll help you through it if I can. I don't want you to hurt anymore."

"Bo Gum, please. Please stop." Irene squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm here for you, Irene. I am."

"I said, stop."

Irene didn't know when the tears started slipping from her eyes.

Bo Gum clasped her hands harder as if the pressure would make the tears stop. "I'm sorry. Irene, I'm so sorry-"

"I know." Irene sniffed and took another napkin, smiling awkwardly at the cashier before dabbing her damp cheeks dry.

"I'm sorry for pushing you," Bo Gum said quietly. He didn't know what came over him. He wanted answers, wanted to see that smile again, but he knew that she would tell him in time. If she wasn't comfortable telling him, he wasn't going to make her tell any faster by yelling at her. He silently berated himself, watching every flicker of emotion in her eyes and looking for a sign -- something. Anything.

Irene took a deep breath, while Bo Gum held his.

"You always say sorry for this and that, but I'm the one who should be sorry." Irene gently detached her hands from his, not missing how his solemnly fell to his sides. "Bo Gum... I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. I'm sorry I haven't been a better girlfriend, or just even, I don't know, friend. You always are there for me, listening to me, and helping me feel better. You're kind and generous and probably one of the best people to ever exist." Bo Gum smiled at that, to which Irene continued, "Seriously! You're a really great guy..." She swallowed the lump in . "So I'm even more sorry for this."

"For what?" Bo Gum's question came softly, his throat dry. He stood still as Irene pulled him into a hug, her face against his chest.

Irene said for only him to hear, "I loved you and still love you, it's just—"

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

She sighed. Nothing could measure up.

"It's just not the same," Irene finished lamely. She clutched at the back of Bo Gum's shirt.

God, no wonder people hated breakups. is ing scary.

"So this is it."

Irene let go and nodded, stifling tears. "Bo Gum, I'm breaking up with you."

Irene choked back a cry and brought a hand up to her face. Why was it that hard talks always happened in coffee shops? "I-I'm sorry."

"Shh..."

Bo Gum held her against his chest for what he imagined to be the last time. And if that were true, he decided he better make worthwhile. He her hair and whispered that it would be okay, breathing deep and slow. He wanted to be strong for her and show her that he would be fine, though he doubted he would be. He knew that the second she left, he would have a cry of his own, with no one to hold him. So, he held her there in the corner of the café, in the midst of all the chatter, the cashier still glancing over periodically, conflicted whether to make them buy something or to leave them alone. In the end, the cashier decided against it and averted her eyes. Bo Gum silently thanked the her and felt his body grow cold as Irene stepped back.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Me too," he said.

"Friends?" She asked hopefully.

"Friends." He nodded and gave her a smile back, both of them knowing that these words meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things, just politeness. Whether or not they'd actually stay friends was beyond him and beyond them. To be determined.

"I'm going to leave now," Irene finally said. She gave Bo Gum one last hug. "Thank you for everything. I'm sorry I couldn't give you more."

Bo Gum watched the love of his life walk out the door, his heart leaving with her, and sighed before shuffling up to the register. He felt a tear fall down his cheek and another tear after that and another after that.

"Can I get... Can I... get..." He sniffed and the cashier reached over the counter to pat his shoulder.

"Take your time."

"Ah, sorry," Bo Gum muttered as he wiped his face.

"You don't need to apologize, okay?" The girl handed him a napkin. "I'll get you a chamomile tea, on me."

"I can pay-"

"On the house." She left to make him the drink as he took a seat at the bar. She came back and slid him a mug of piping hot tea, leaning on her elbows to watch as he wrapped his hands around the cup.

"Thanks for the tea," Bo Gum said after taking a sip. He had calmed down, able to pull himself together enough to get a sentence out.

"Don't mention it."

"I'm Bo Gum, by the way." He reached for the cookie she had so kindly placed before him.

"So I've heard."

"Oh, you heard that...?"

"Oh, god. What? I meant that I go to the same school as you. Oh, god. That's terribly insensitive of me."

"You're fine," chuckled Bo Gum. "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the Park Bo Gum."

"Ha, ha."

The girl turned when the bell above the door went off, another customer walking in. "I have to take this. Be right back." She patted his hand and walked to greet the customer.

Bo Gum smiled and sipped his tea, grateful for the brief exchange eased the ache in his heart; though only a little, it was enough. Bo Gum relaxed his hold on the mug and exhaled.

He'd heal.

"You wanted to come... here?"

"Yeah, and what about it?" Joy huffed haughtily as she held open the door for a very confused Yeri.

Out of all the places Yeri would've expected Joy to take her to, the local library was definitely not one of them. Joy happily strolled in after the still-confused girl, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her along.

"Tell me we aren't here to study."

"It's Saturday! I'm not a psychopath."

"Hmm, sounds like something a psychopath would say."

Joy rolled her eyes and directed Yeri towards the the teen room, prompting Yeri to ask, "Joy, what are we doing here?"

"To play video games! I thought you like playing games?" Joy pointed at the screen and the consoles set up underneath it.

A surprised "oh" escaped Yeri's lips as Joy bounded over with two controllers. Joy slipped one into Yeri's hand and took a seat.

"You choose the game. I'll play whatever you want to play."

Yeri hid her smile as she knelt beside the shelf of games. As she ran her finger across the spines of the video game cases, checking the available titles, she still couldn't believe that she was spending her Saturday afternoon with Joy at the library to play games. Yeah, they were friends, and yeah, they'd done this before, but it'd been a long time since that. Yeri had being spending time with Saeron with Joy being MIA but presumably with Sungjae most of the time. Group hangouts had been less frequent especially recently, due to what Yeri understood to be an influx in responsibility as high school seniors, what with preparing for the future and all. Since the seniors were busy being seniors, and Joy was busy not being single, Yeri was busy being alone. Not entirely alone, though, since she had Saeron, but even so, they attended different schools.

Yeri was used to being independent, and she appreciated her alone time, but she didn't like feeling lonely. That was a feeling she was too comfortable with as of late.

If she wanted to, she knew she could count on Wendy unnie to keep her company, but she knew Wendy had other things in her life. Or, other people. Yeri didn't get why Wendy hadn't really said anything yet, but Yeri had seen Wendy and Eunji exchange shy smiles in the hallways, and she had noticed how Wendy had begun excusing herself from the lunch table a couple of minutes earlier to catch up to Eunji before heading off together to class. Yeri had also noticed Eunji and Wendy leaving school together, off to do whatever it was that they did.

So even though Yeri knew that she could count on Wendy to be by her side if she simply asked, Yeri thought it to be in both her and Wendy's best interests to lay low as to lessen the burden on Wendy's shoulders. Wendy always busied herself with everyone else's problems, so Yeri didn't want to trouble her any more than she already did and instead found comfort in Wendy's new, not-so-clear relationship. Whatever it was, Wendy seemed happy, and that was what mattered.

"You want to play a game or what?"

"I'm picking, I'm picking," Yeri said back to an impatient Joy, who was draped lazily over her seat.