Flashback

"Hey Seulgi," Wendy asked as she looked down at her, Seulgi resting her head on her lap.

"Hm?" She hummed as she turned to look up at her.

"Do–do you have a crush on someone?" Wendy asked, trying to make it sound as nonchalant as possible.

'You. It's always been you. It will always be you. But I can't tell you that. What if things go south? It's weird for two girls to like each other right? I don't want to risk losing you. But you won't believe it if I said no one. You'd press me for an answer, wouldn't you?' Seulgi thought as she her chin.

"Ian," she said, giving the name of the first boy she could think of. He's attractive and nice, so it wouldn't be weird to like him.

'Of course. It couldn't be you. It's not natural for girls to like girls, she likes someone else. It's just the way things are meant to be.' Wendy thought as she squeezed Seulgi's cheeks. "Ooh, my best friend is in love~" she cooed teasingly, tickling her sides.

'But I'm in love with you though. If only I could tell you'

"Hey Seulgi, have you confessed?" Wendy asked, leaning her head on her shoulder.

"To?" Seulgi asked, already forgotten the answer she gave a few weeks back.

"Ian, of course," Wendy said, a forced laugh leaving her as she mentioned his name.

"Oh, right. No, no I haven't," she said, her ears turning red as she realised the hole she dug herself into.

"You should do it soon, you know? We're gonna graduate and head for college soon," Wendy said as she nudged her side, trying her best to stay positive about this.

"I'll do it after graduation," Seulgi said, trying to buy as much time as she could, "besides, I don't have any experiences in confessing to people. I won't do it so quickly."

"Practice in a mirror? I've heard that helps," Wendy suggested, sighing internally as she turned to look at her.

"No way, it's so embarrassing to practice in a mirror. At least for me," Seulgi said, visibly shuddering at her suggestion.

"Then practice on me."

"What?"

"Practice on me," Wendy said again.

'What am I talking about? Am I insane? There's no way she's gonna think this is normal! I've messed up big time. I gotta come up with an excu–'

"Sure," Seulgi said as she took Wendy's hands in her own hands gently.

"Eh?" Wendy said, out loud. In pure disbelief and shock.

"I like you, I've liked you for a long time, and I want to try and further our relationship," Seulgi said as she looked Wendy in the eye.

'WHAT THE DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE NO EXPERIENCE? KANG SEULGI, DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ME!'

"Yeah, this is even weirder," Seulgi said as she quickly let go of Wendy's hands, standing up as she looked around. "Let's head home. It's getting dark."

'WHAT THE WERE YOU THINKING! YOU COULD'VE DID SOMETHING YOU REGRETTED!' Seulgi screamed at herself internally, thankful that her red ears couldn't be seen easily.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Wendy said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

'Of course she thinks it's weird. Why did I even suggest that? It just ended up making her uncomfortable and you just hurt yourself in the end.' Wendy thought.

'I wish I could've told you more. How soft your hands were. How you look whenever you get competitive. The glimmer in your eyes when you see the cute puppies in the park. Your sense of justice and your ability to step up when I couldn't. The way your voice cracks when you get nervous. I love everything about you, and I will love everything about you that is to come.' Seulgi thought, mildly happy that she managed to get a tiny weight off her chest.

'No matter what happens. I will always love everything about you'

"H–hey, Wendy," Ian whispered as he tapped her shoulder from behind.

"Yes?" Wendy said, turning around to see Ian. "Oh hey there Ian, how's it going? I heard Seulgi is looking for you," she said, trying to sound as cheerful as she could. Seulgi wasn't actually looking for him, but she wanted her to get it over with. She wanted to go home and not have to think about Seulgi. They'd already graduated. Seulgi was going to confess to Ian, Ian would accept Seulgi.

Seulgi would never be hers.

But that's alright.

As long as she's happy.

"I'll keep it quick, but could we find somewhere private?" Ian asked, a fierce determination in his eyes.

"Alright," Wendy said as she sighed. "But only 5 minutes. I want to take a picture with my parents," she said as she looked around. "Follow me, I know a classroom that isn't used," she continued as she gestured him to follow, going to a nearby classroom not too far from the graduation event.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Wendy asked as she turned around to look at Ian, mildly annoyed that she had to even look at him. Not that she hated him. It's just that his existence had a negative connotation to her.

"Uh, well, I wanted to talk to you about–" he started before slapping his cheeks, taking a deep breath. "I like you, as more than a friend," he said, looking at her as his expression softened, clearly embarrassed at what he just said.

"What?" Wendy asked, more in disbelief than anything.

"I like you, as more than a friend, and I want to develop a relationship with you, and I hope you'll give me the chance to," he said, squinting his eyes shut as he repeated his confession one more time, taking a deep bow, both out of politeness and embarrassment.

"W-well, I like you too–" Wendy began, trying to find the words to reply to his sudden confession.

"What?" Seulgi's voice said, her tone cold and distant as she stood in the doorway of the classroom they were in.

"Seulgi?" Wendy jumped at the sound of her voice, panic taking over as she saw the expression on her face. "What are you doing here?" she asked as Ian straightened up, backing away instinctively as he saw the expression of anger on Seulgi's face.

"What do you mean "What am I doing here?", you asked me to meet you here after the graduation ceremony, or did you just want to act dumb and make me watch this sappy scene?" she asked as she clenched her fists.

'Nononono, stop right now and calm down, it's just a misunderstanding. There's no way. But, she thinks I like Ian, and now she's trying to take him away? I don't even like him, but why did she ask me to come here?' Seulgi's thoughts echoed uselessly in the back of her head, anger and disappointment filling her mind as she glared at Wendy.

"I told you I liked Ian, and you asked me to come here and watch you confess to him?" She yelled at Wendy, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm herself.

"She didn't conf–" Ian started, trying to defuse the situation as best and as fast as he could.

"Shut up, I don't want to hear it," Seulgi said, her tone filled with disgust as she glared at him.

"Don't talk to him like that, it's not his fault," Wendy said, her tone getting slightly more aggressive to combat Seulgi's as she took his arm, gently pulling him back.

'Oh, so you care for him now?' The anger in her head yelled as she clenched her teeth.

"So it's your fault then?" Seulgi asked mockingly as she glared at Wendy.

'Don't look at me like that. Please.' Wendy's thoughts whispered as she looked at Seulgi.

"Look, we can talk this out, it's just a misunderstanding," Wendy said as she stepped towards Seulgi, gently placing her hands on her shoulders.

'Don't touch me' The rage said in disgust as it festered in her mind, hot tears filling up her eyes.

"The only misunderstanding here is believing you were my best friend," Seulgi said as she shrugged her hands off roughly, shoving Wendy onto the floor.

'Nononononononononono, stop it right now, stop right now and help her up before it's too late. You can still save the situa–' Seulgi thought as she looked down at Wendy with a distant expression.

'Too late' The jealousy in her heart whispered.

The emotions that Seulgi feels are strong. That may be a good thing, or it could be a bad thing. In this case, it was the cause of the destruction of everything the two shared until now. Only a minute, a single minute of seeing Wendy with someone else, and the jealousy, the rage, the sheer amount of hatred festered in her heart and grew exponentially. But the regret she felt as she saw herself act on her jealousy, grew much faster. She knew that if she had calmed down and listened, things might have been fine. But she didn't. She knew this was her fault. It was her fault that their relationship had been destroyed. The three words she said to her, with the utmost disgust towards herself for saying them in the first place, made her wish she could turn back time, but it was too late. There was no going back.

"I hate you," she said, her expression filled with disgust.

The emotions that Wendy feels are calm. That may be a good thing, or it could be a bad thing. In this case, it completely reshaped her outlook on life. Had the situation been reversed, Seulgi might have fought back, she would have fought back. Everything might still be fine. But not now. Her calm emotions accepted that it was her fault. It was her fault that their relationship had been destroyed. The three words that she heard from her, with the utmost sincerity, made her accept that this was the way things were now. There was no going back.

"I hate you too," Wendy said, glaring up at her as she held back the tears that threatened to spill.

"Then we're on the same page," Seulgi said, her heart aching as she looked at Wendy, hearing the words that she said to her in the first place as she turned and left the room.

'But I could never hate you, never in my lifetime, never in all eternity.'

'No matter what, I will always love you.'