Joy dropped everything that she was holding as she stared at you in disbelief. You weren’t sure if what you’ve done was the right thing to do, but you were sure that you needed to tell her. She deserved to know.
Ms. Lee’s class ended 15 minutes ago and only the three of you, including Sungjae were in the lecture hall. While you and Joy were facing each other, Sungjae only leaned against a table, looking down to his feet as if he suddenly found them interesting. He immediately looked up when Joy dropped everything to the floor, he didn’t move though. He just stood there, unsure of what to say or what to do.
“What did you say?” Your best friends asked as if she didn’t hear it for the first time.
“I said…” You swallowed. It was hard for you to repeat those same exact words again but you knew Joy wanted confirmation. She wanted to know if she heard it right. You repeated forcefully. “I almost got …”
Her face distorted in confusion as the words sunk in. No, not confusion. It was a mix of pity and anger and somehow guilt. The very same expression you’ve seen on Hyuna’s face when you told her what happened. Next thing you knew, your best friend pulled you into a tight embrace.
Joy squeezed you harder and you heard her sob.
“How-“ she choked.
You just shook your head and she understood that you didn’t want to talk about it.
Talking about it was always hard and you weren’t sure if you were ready too. The least you could do right now was to tell your friends of what happened.
“Did you know about this?” Joy’s question was directed towards Sungjae.
Her boyfriend just nodded slowly.
At that moment, you were afraid that a fight would broke out between them so you quickly pulled away from Joy. Before you could say anything, she cut in. “Did you take care of her?”
Her eyes weren’t on you but on Sungjae’s.
Slowly again, he nodded and Joy let out a sigh of relief.
“Good, you have to take care of her. We have to look out for each other.”
Joy wouldn’t let go of your arm and laid her head on your shoulder as the two of you walked. The three of you walked in, if not, calm silence. You were expecting a different reaction from Joy when she asked Sungjae if he knew. Your mind were screaming in alert that a fight might break out but instead, Joy was relieved. It didn’t matter to her that she was the first or last person to know, it only mattered that she knew.
“You girls want to have grilled beef?” Sungjae suddenly asked.
He had been feeling hungry since class ended. It had been way past lunchtime since you were confronting Joy.
“For lunch?” His girlfriend cocked a brow. “Beef for lunch?”
“No. Dinner.” Sungjae frowned. “And what’s wrong with having beef for dinner?”
“I’m just asking. Nothing’s wrong with it. _____ here will take anything at anytime.”
“True to that.” You agreed.
“So, beef for dinner?” Sungjae asked again.
You and Joy nodded in sync. It had been a while since you last hang out with them and it wasn’t like you got any shifts to cover that night. You were perfectly free and were in the mood to spend some time together with them.

Kwon Jiyong was pacing in his room, feeling frustrated with the event that took place earlier. His room was a mess, papers scattering everywhere on the floor, the frames on his walls were crooked, some fell and shattered and the furniture were moved. It wasn’t his doing.
It was her.
“What do you want from me?!” He screamed, looking around frantically. His eyes were wild, looking for any signs of movements. For a moment, he thought he would go crazy.
This had never happened before. She would only appear in front of him every now and then before screaming and vanishing into thin air but she had never touched his things. She’d never move the objects around and smashed them. This was the first time.
“What is it that you want?! I’ve apologized! I’ve begged! I’ve begged for your forgiveness!” It was more of a cry that came out from his throat.
Everything was quiet. It was pin drop silence.
A few seconds passed before she spoke in the thin air.
“Your life”
His heart stopped upon hearing her answer.
There was a long silence.
Jiyong didn’t know how to respond. She wanted his life. But she already had it. He’d given everything to her the moment he met her, heart and soul. He’d sacrificed everything but it was because of his foolishness and her selfishness that led them to this.
He knew it wouldn’t be over anytime soon. He knew she would be back to haunt him for the rest of his life.
He’d be living like this, if this were living at all.

Nighttime finally came and your friends dropped you off at your house after dinner. They only walked away after you’ve gotten inside of the house safely.
Today was a fine day. You felt your burdens were lifted off your shoulders after you told Joy what happened. It wasn’t easy to tell her but it wasn’t hard either. It must have been because of the mutual understanding between the two of you.
You made sure to lock the door and place the takeaway food you bought for Jiyong. You weren’t sure if he had eaten. If he hadn’t, then it was his lucky day. But if he had, he can have it some other time when he felt like it.
“I’m home!” You chimed cheerfully, not wanting to add any more somberness to the gloominess of the house.
He didn’t answer you immediately but you heard him shuffle around in his room before stepping out into the living room. His hair, as usual was messy, he looked disturbed and the dark circles around his eyes were obvious.
“Hey.” He sighed and shuffled lazily to the bar, where you’ve placed the food. “What’s this?” He didn’t touch it but just jerked his chin at the plastic.
You walked away from the bar and into your room. “Some food! I don’t know what you want.” You replied from your room.
Jiyong took a peek inside the plastic without touching it. He just smiled softly. “Thanks.” When you came out of the room again, Jiyong was already sitting.
“Aren’t you going to eat it?” You asked when he just stared at the takeaway food.
“I’ll have it later. Keep it in the fridge.”
You did as you were told and then sat beside him. Jiyong shifted in his seat but didn’t pull away or walk away.
This is a good start. You thought.
He asked about the wound on your hand and you showed it to him. It wasn’t as bad as yesterday but it was healing slowly. You could tell he was feeling guilty by the way he was staring at it. In order not to make things awkward, you cleared your throat and asked about his day.
He responded with just a shrug and pulled up his collar up to his nose. As if he wanted to bury himself in his shirt.
“I never know which university you go to.”
“I don’t.”
“You don’t?”
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “I used to.”
“Oh! So you’ve graduated? What department were you in?”
“Art.”
Hearing that, your eyes widened, feeling pleased by his answer. “I’m in the art department too! We have at least one thing in common now.”
“But I was majoring in music.”
“Oh, well, it’s still art. Doesn’t matter. I honestly thought you would be in the same department as Seunghyun sunbaenim.”
“What? Literature?”
He was horrified when he heard that. You couldn’t help but laughed at his reaction. “It’s not that bad.”
“It’s boring.”
A thought occurred to you. “You never invited your friends here.”
Jiyong didn’t respond. He just stared ahead with solemnly. Something was on his mind. He hadn’t thought about his friends for a while. He missed them badly but with his current condition, he didn’t think it was a good idea to seem them anyway.
With a loud sigh, Jiyong tilted his head back and rest his forearm on his eyes, covering them from the light. You didn’t know what to make of his actions. Perhaps he didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe they got into a huge fight. Maybe they fought about you. Maybe Jiyong confronted Seunhyun about you renting his place and their friendship fell apart. It would have been your fault.
“I… should leave you alone…” Quietly, you got up from the seat when Jiyong’s voice stopped you.
“I’m not ready.”
You wondered what he meant. He then, lifted his forearm slightly, revealing one eye as he looked at you. There was something in his expression that you couldn’t point out. He looked sad. There was no light in his eye.
“I’m not ready to face them…”

Morning arrived and you were already on your feet. You got your fresh clothes on and your empty canvas on your bed. You needed to bring this to class today. It was a hassle but it was needed.
You saw Jiyong sleeping on the couch when you got out of your room. Without making any noise, you walked over closer to him. Beside him, on the coffee table was an empty glass. He didn’t look peaceful and he had a frown on his face. He looked really tried too even when he was resting. Yesterday night, some time around midnight, you heard him screaming in his sleep. He must have gotten up to get some drink, to calm his nerves down. You didn’t dare to go out even if you wanted to. Jiyong didn’t want you poking your nose into his business and you respected that. Even though you were worried about him.
“You’re going to be late for class…” He mumbled.
You blinked once, twice before your face turned red. “You’re not asleep?”
“How can I when you’re staring at my face like that…” He shifted his position, turning his back against you.
“S-sorry! I didn’t mean too-“
“Just go.”
“Right okay!”
Not bothering to keep quiet anymore, you put on your shoes quickly and slammed the door. Without missing a beat, you ran with all your might to school.
 

You were already a few blocks away when your feet took you to the basketball court where you’ve met Taecyeon. There were a few college students playing there but no signs of Taecyeon.
A relieved sigh escaped from your mouth. After the other night when you ran away from him, you didn’t know how you could face him again. You really like this guy. He was nice and kind and he was a gentleman too.
“Are you looking for me?” His familiar voice asked from behind.
You spun on your heels, too stunned to say anything to the person in front of you.
Seeing your surprised reaction, Taecyeon chuckled. “How are you?” He kept a distance.
Your eyes drifted elsewhere and your head bobbed in a nod slowly. “I’m good.”
“You’re going to class now?”
“Yes.”
“Let me walk you.” He smiled. “I kinda missed that chance to do so the last time.”
You felt your heart sank at his words. Guiltiness built up inside of you. “About the last time…”
“You didn’t have to tell me if you don’t want too.” He abruptly cut you.
Taecyeon didn’t want to push you. If you want to tell him, he would listen. If you didn’t, he would respect it. If anything, Ok Taecyeon didn’t want to make you run away from him again.
You thanked him for his understanding and he held out his hand. You shot him a quizzical look with a slight tilt of your head.
“You canvas. Let me carry it.” He offered.
Now you felt embarrassed. You thought he wanted to hold hands with you when he did that. Flabbergasted, just shook your head vigorously, refusing him furiously.
The two of you walked in silence and Taecyeon put a good distance between you and him. After the night he saw you and Hyuna hugging and how Lee Joon pulled refraining himself from touching you, he figured something must have happened. He remembered how you reacted to him touching you, how horrified and lost you looked for a moment before snapping into reality. Something must have happened and if you didn’t want to tell him, it was fine.

“Are you working again tonight?” He broke the silence.
“Yes.”
“I’ll drop by again.”
You looked at him, didn’t know what to feel. But what you knew was your heart did a flip when he said that. “You didn’t have too.”
“I really like the food there. And I really want to walk you home.” He admitted. Ok Taecyeon was a simple and straightforward man.
“Okay…” You accepted his offer.
You noticed that he was carrying a backpack on his back and his hair was combed neatly to the side. He would have looked like a very rich CEO if he put on a suit instead of just a simple t-shirt, a denim jacket over the top and a pair of ripped jeans with boots on. He was stylish and seemed cool. But in this case, he looked the opposite of cool. He was… somewhat hot and you didn’t deny that fact.
Finally, after what it seemed like a very short walk, you arrived at the university. Taecyeon stopped on his tracks, taking in the view of the building and looked at you before he broke into a laugh.
“This is your university?” He had a huge grin on his face.
“Yeah.”
He laughed in delight as he walked pass you and the gate. “This is mine too.”
You jogged a little to keep up with him. “What do you mean? You mean, you go here?”
“Absolutely.” He slowed down a little, letting you keeping up with him. A lot of students were flooding pass the gate and were walking on the cobblestone pathway. The trees were beautifully lined up at the side, giving shades to the passerby underneath them. When they reached the garden ahead of them, the pathway split into multiple trails. Each one leading to different buildings that surrounded the garden.
“I’m from the Sports Department.” Taecyeon pointed to the building that was behind you. It was lightly hidden from the trees but you could see it anyway.
“Oh!”
“Isn’t this a pleasant surprised.” He sounded pleased by the turn out of events.
“____!” Joy called from the garden and ran up to you. She didn’t notice that you were with someone so when she arrived by your side, she was startled to see Taecyeon. “H-hi,”
“Joy, this is Taecyeon. Taecyeon, this is my best friend, Joy.” You introduced her. Taecyeon politely bowed and Joy returned it.
“I’m going to go ahead.” Taecyeon said as he smiled. In fact, he didn’t even stop smiling when he bumped into you at the basketball court just now. “I see you… when I see you.” He winked.
Your heart raced. “Right.. okay.” Obviously you knew what he meant.
Taecyeon turned his attention to joy. “it’s nice meeting you. See you ladies later.”
Joy could only managed a nod when Taecyeon walked away. When he was finally out sight, your best friend pinched your arm.
“Was that the Ok Taecyeon that you were talking about?”
Your cheeks flushed as you nodded slowly. It was a relief that Joy didn’t ask this question when Taecyeon was still around or else he would have known that you talked about him to your best friends.
Your best friend pinched your cheeks as if they weren’t red enough and cooed. “My best friend’s in love~ she’s in love~”
“Stop it!” You wanted to feel annoyed but your heart seemed to be singing.
 

Ok Taecyeon made his way to class with that stupid grin on his face. He couldn’t seem to wipe it off no matter how hard he tried. His heart was racing the whole time when he was with you. He had prayed hard to meet you again and his prayers were answered when he bumped into you at the basketball court.
I am forever eternally grateful. He shut his eyes tight.
The image of you seemed to be stuck in his mind. He couldn’t seem to shake off how beautiful you looked when you stood there in front of him, how peaceful and somehow, hopeful you looked when you were staring at the basketball court and how easily you blushed when you saw him. He knew that you liked him and it was clear that he liked you too. But he was going to take it slow and easy. He wasn’t going to rush into things and one thing for sure, he was going to sweep you off his feet and do his best with you.
“Ok Taecyeon!” Hyojong greeted him as soon as Taecyeon got into his class and settled down next to him.
“Hey hey,” They did their usual handshake and soon was joined by Mino who slid into his seat next to Hyojong.
“You seem happy. Did something good happen?” Mino shot the question at Taecyeon.
“You had no idea. You know that girl I’ve told you guys about?” Taecyeon took out his pens and his notebook.
“The girl from the basketball court?” Hyojong’s interest was piqued, so did Mino’s. Both had their heads turned to Taecyeon. Mino had his elbow on the table and his head rested on his fist.
“Yeah, her. I didn’t know she goes here.” He did his best not to sound so excited. “She’s from the Art Department.”
Mino’s jaw dropped. “That’s good right?”
“Really good.” In Taecyeon’s mind, he could already see himself sitting with you during lunch or bumping into each other on campus or maybe even walk together to and from the university.
Hyojong pulled a face when he saw the dreamy expression Taecyeon had. “Okay, you’re creeping me out.”
“He’s in love. He’s supposed to creep you out.” Mino chuckled.

Kwon Jiyong was spending his time in the backyard of his house when he heard the main door opened. He looked down to his watched and frowned.
“She’s not supposed to come home yet.”
Wondering who it was, Jiyong went back inside the house, when he saw the figure entering the house, he quickly headed back out to the backyard and hid himself against the wall next to the sliding door.
What is he doing here? He thought when he saw Choi Seunghyun standing in his living room.
He didn’t know why he hid. This was his house. If anything, it was Seunghyun who should be hiding. The guy rented Jiyong’s house to a total stranger.
With all the thoughts and excuses he could come up to blame Seunghyun for doing so, he knew he couldn’t. Jiyong couldn’t blame Seunghyun for doing so. It was hard to be angry at his best friend.
Perhaps he should come out of his hiding and confront Seunghyun about this. His mind screamed for him to do so but his body wouldn’t budge.
“Why didn’t she close this? People could have snuck inside.” Jiyong heard Seunghyun’s footsteps getting closer. Then he heard the sliding door slid closed and a click, indicating that it was locked.
Great. Now he was stuck outside.
From his hiding spot, he watched Seunghyun going around the living room. His friend looked solemn. Seunghyun just stood there in silent. His head hang low.
Jiyong knew exactly what was on his friend’s mind and he wished there was something he could do about it.
Then, his friend tilted his head backwards looking up to the ceiling as both of his hands were on his hips. His mouth moved, saying something that Jiyong couldn’t hear. Seunghyun seemed to be looking around once more and took a deep breath before exiting the house.
Even though Jiyong couldn’t hear what Seunghyun said, he knew exactly what his friend said and he too, felt the same.
“I miss you.” That was what Seunghyun said before he walked out of the house.