After the sports day festival, what got people talking wasn’t how Hime’s class ended up winning first place, but rather, how Myungsoo had chosen Seulyi to replace his original partner.   “Does this mean you’re dating now?” Maerin asked, taking a bite from her kimbap. Her eyes curiously stared at Seulyi who immediately choked on her drink, nearly spraying her friends if they hadn’t moved out of the way.   “No! I… I don’t even know why he chose me,” Seulyi said, unusually shy and bashful when talking about Myungsoo.   “He might like you,” Ahreum suggested. And despite being a member of Myungsoo’s fanclub, she seemed giddy of the idea.   “Of course he does,” Hyunmi acknowledged, nodding proudly at her knowledge. “I don’t understand how you guys can’t see it. He’s so obvious.”   The other three squinted their eyes at her.   “You’re the last person we need to hear that from,” Maerin laughed.   “Yeah, we don’t understand how you can’t see Woohyun’s feelings for you,” Seulyi bluntly said.   Hyunmi froze for a second before she forced a laugh. “Don’t say that. I know he likes someone, but it isn’t me.”   “What?” The others asked in unison, completely at disbelief.   “Yeah, he’ll probably have a new girlfriend by the end of today,” Hyunmi said, keeping her face as neutral as possible, trying her hardest to hide how much those words broke her from the inside out.   When she and Woohyun arrived at school together, Hime had already left a note by his locker asking him to meet up after school. Hyunmi knew exactly what it was for. She had delayed Hime’s confession since the sports festival, but it was inevitable now. She couldn’t keep her best friend forever.   “Wait for me. It won’t take long,” Woohyun had said, which made Hyunmi want to laugh. The boy was clueless. If he knew he’d be Hime’s boyfriend by that time, he’d regret asking her to wait.   “I have cleanup duties today. So I might take longer than you. Don’t wait for me.”   That made him laugh instead as he affectionately patted her head. “You know I’d wait for you forever.”   She could only flash him a small smile. If only those words could bear more weight to it. But who knew ‘forever’ would end up feeling so finite?   ***   Out of every classmate to be paired up with for cleanup duty, of course she had to be paired with Kibum.   “What’s wrong? If you look so depressed even Woohyun would leave you,” was the first thing he said when they were alone in class. He even taunted a grin, not knowing it ripped her to shreds.   Hyunmi huffed a breath, gripping the broom in her hand with the urge to smack him. “Whether I’m depressed or not, he‘ll leave me anyway,” she blurted out. Kibum knew of her one-sided crush, so there was no need to hide it from him.   “Why?”   “Because he’s bound to get a girlfriend. Hime is confessing to him right now and is gonna become his girlfriend while I’ll forever be the best friend,” Hyunmi said. Saying the words out loud hurt more than thinking them in her head. It was like a verbal confirmation of the truth she furtively hoped to be wrong about.   “If you like him that much, why don’t you confess to him?” Kibum asked as if it was the simplest solution in the world.   Hyunmi blinked. “Because it would ruin our friendship. I’d rather stay this way and see him with someone else than be rejected and make things awkward between us.”   Any normal friend would’ve sympathized with her dilemma, but it was her fault for expecting too much from Kibum. He burst into laughter while she was on the verge of tears. Hyunmi really wanted to smack him.   “You’re supposed to comfort me, not laugh at me.”   “I’m sorry, but if you were in my position and had my superior knowledge, you’d find this hilarious,” Kibum said, having the audacity to wipe a fake tear away.    “First time I actually like someone and he likes someone else. Ha ha, hilarious.” She rolled her eyes and continued sweeping the floor. Maybe focusing on her duty could take her mind away from the useless conversation.   “First of all, what makes you think he likes someone else?” Kibum then asked.   Hyunmi’s heart jolted. “Don’t do that. Don’t say things that give me false hope.”   “No, I’m genuinely curious what made you think so.”   She bit her lip, annoyed for having to remember that time in her bedroom when she came to terms with her feelings for the first time. “He told me he didn’t want to meet anyone new because he already has someone he’s interested in.”   “And you assumed it was Hime?”   “Yeah. Who else could it be?”   Kibum smacked his own forehead, shaking his head. “I can no longer feel any sort of sympathy for you when all the wallowing you’ve done is a result of your own assumption.”   “Don’t talk as if you’ve ever shown the slightest bit of sympathy for me,” she mumbled.   Kibum laughed, acknowledging that. His gaze happened to fall towards the window, seeing two familiar figures at the back of the building. Their classroom had the perfect scenery sometimes.   “Here’s something that can comfort you,” Kibum said, grabbing her by her elbow toward the window. He excitedly tapped the glass, pointing at Woohyun and Hime who were standing alone in the secluded area.   “Do you have a distorted definition of comfort or something? How is this going to comfort me?” Hyunmi asked, raising her voice when she could no longer suppress her emotions.   “No, wait, just watch,” Kibum insisted, playfully holding her in place. Seeing how much strength she put into her struggles, he used both hands to keep her steady.   In the midst of their small dispute, they caught sight of Woohyun approaching Hime, gently patting her head in the way he had done to Hyunmi that morning. Hime looked up at him with a bright smile as they both seemed to laugh about something.   Kibum’s hold loosened as Hyunmi’s strength faded. They both watched the unfolding scene with similar disbelief. Though Hyunmi had known this would happen, a teeny, tiny part of her hoped she would be wrong.    “This is not supposed to happen. I’m sure there’s a misunderstanding here,” Kibum stammered. Suddenly, this was no longer a laughing matter to him.   Hyunmi’s mind had already begun conjuring images of what her future days would look like. Woohyun would no longer wait at her house every morning so they could walk to school together. He would no longer play with her hair or pat her head, and even if he did, it was her duty to stop him. He was not allowed to make cheesy remarks to her, even if they had never meant anything in the first place. He would stop coming over to play video games at her place. He wouldn’t call her to take care of him in his sick days. He would celebrate h