"Just go away already, we hate each other right? Why bother even looking at each other anymore?" Wendy said to Seulgi, a disgusted expression plastered on her face as she shoved Seulgi away.

Seulgi felt her heart skip a beat, her sense of time seemingly slowed down as she felt like she fell forever.

'No. No. Please. I'm sorry' Seulgi wanted to say, the words seemingly jammed in as she felt her tears flow down her cheeks.

"No!" Seulgi yelled out as she jolted up in bed, her sweat cold as she looked around her bedroom, clutching her bedsheets as she touched her cheeks, her tears unknowingly flowing as she wiped them away.

It had been years since the incident, and Seulgi had never had any nightmares as terrible as this. As horrifying as this. Until now of course. Her emotions were ready to burst, her heart was screaming at her every second of the day, her feelings were begging to be released. The chat she had with Irene helped, but only temporarily. Telling someone you like a certain person is a good way to get it off your chest, but the emotions are still pent-up. Removing the lid from a boiling pot helps it to release steam, but if the flames aren't turned off, they will continue to boil. And it'll eventually boil over.

It was time for school, time for another day of playing this game of charades.

"Hey Seulgi, you alright?"Joy asked, packing her bags as the rest of their classmates started streaming out of the room, various exclamations about the weekend and laments about the finals being heard.

"Yeah, I'm just tired," She said as she stood up, pushing her chair in as she started for the door, but was stopped as Joy tugged on her sleeve.

"Not so fast, Irene wants to meet us," Joy said as she pulled Seulgi under her arm, making sure she doesn't bolt off.

"All of us?" She asked in an annoyed tone.

"All of us."

As they walked to Irene's classroom down the hall, Seulgi just trudged along with Joy, letting her guide her as she felt as if her entire body was going to explode. She needed to get her emotions out, fast. She was hoping the final exams would distract her enough, but it did not.

As the two of them entered Irene's classroom, Joy let go of Seulgi as she shuffled over to her usual position on the wall, placing her bag between her legs as she leaned against it. "So what is it this time? If I'm going to end up babysitting Joy, please count me out." Seulgi said, wanting to go home as soon as possible.

"Just go babysit her again if she needs it, it's not like you have a choice," Irene said as she brushed her aside quickly. "No, this is about our final exams. Does anyone want to study together? We all have our specialisations except for Yeri–" she explained as she looked at Yeri as she said her name.

" you"

"–so I was hoping we could help each other out," Irene suggested as she looked at her friends.

"I don't mind, I can use the help too," Yeri said, agreeing to her suggestion despite being insulted less than 5 seconds ago.

"If Yeri's studying, we literally cannot disagree," Joy said as she shrugged, earning her an eye roll from the petite girl.

"Yeah, sure," Wendy said, her head buried in her arms as she rested on Irene's desk, waving her hand dismissively.

"Fine," Seulgi said as she picked up her bag. "Is that all? My head kinda hurts, and I want to get some rest during the weekend–" she said as she glanced at the doorway, her fist clenching around her bag strap as she glared at him.

"And what are you doing here?" Seulgi said as she looked at Ian.

"Uh–I'm here to meet Irene, we have plans for dinner," Ian said, panicking as he recognised the expression that made him cower so many years back.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Wendy?" She asked mockingly as she looked at her, Wendy now sitting up straight as she looked away from Seulgi.

'Not again' Seulgi thought as the jealousy that destroyed everything started festering and boiling over again, determining her actions that she knows she's going to regret.

"Or did you come here to do another confession in front of me?" Seulgi asked as she snapped her attention back to Ian, her fists clenching as she gritted her teeth.

"Wait, Se–" Yeri started, stopped by Irene and Joy as they both shook their heads.

"Don't," Joy whispered as she held Yeri's shoulder.

"Did you come to mock me again? You son of a !" Seulgi yelled as she grabbed her bag tightly, her anger fuelling her to hurl her bag at him, only for Wendy to grab her wrist and stop her.

"Of course, how could I forget? You care for him too much to let anyone hurt him right?" Seulgi said as she roughly pulled her wrist away from Wendy.

"Shut up," Wendy said coldly, Seulgi now realising the fierce glare she had, the same glare she wore herself when it all started.

"What?" Seulgi asked, both taken aback, and deeply saddened as she looked at her.

"I said shut up, that's the one thing you can't do, isn't it?" Wendy asked as she looked up at her, her eyes no longer gentle and accepting of what is to come.

Calm feelings, mere acceptance of everything is a trait some people have, but that doesn't mean they will accept everything. Sometimes they choose to do so to avoid conflict, sometimes they choose to accept everything to avoid other people getting hurt. But that doesn't mean they must accept everything. The repression of the guilt Wendy had was instantly replaced by frustration and annoyance towards Seulgi. If Seulgi had just shut up and listened all those years ago, she wouldn't have to suffer every single day being hated by her. She wouldn't have to suffer every single day without her.

She wouldn't have to suffer every single day without her best friend, and the one she loves.

"You're asking me to shut up? If that bastard kept his mouth shut all those years ago–" Seulgi said, heavily interrupted as Wendy slapped her.

"You still don't get it, do you? Did you want me to beat some sense into you until you understand?" Wendy said, her heart aching as she looked at Seulgi, tears welling up in her eyes. "If you had shut up and listened all those years ago. If you had shut up and listened to me. I wouldn't have had to suffer every single day since then whenever I look at you. I've always told myself it's my fault. I've always blamed myself every single day, but now I realise it's not my fault. It's your fault that you couldn't stop yourself and listen for two seconds. It's your fault that I had to live without you. It's your fault that I had to live without the one I–" Wendy said, her heart releasing all the pent-up frustration she felt as she bit her lip, grabbing her bag and storming out of the room.

'The one you what???' Irene, Joy and Yeri thought silently as they looked at Ian, nodding towards Seulgi.

'You want me to deal with this?' Ian thought as he gestured towards himself, then to Seulgi and the door.

'Do it' Irene thought as she glared at him, Ian immediately accepting his task.

"H–hey Seulgi," Ian said as he pulled up a chair, still very cautious about approaching her as he gently held her shoulders, Seulgi not wanting to look up as she took a seat opposite him, slumping over.

"Look, I know we weren't on the best of terms, and I know a few years later isn't the best time to settle something, but I hope you'll listen," Ian said as he gestured to the trio, requesting that they take their leave as he was left alone with a depressed Seulgi.

"Well," he started as he cleared his throat, "first of all, I was the one who confessed to Wendy, and Wendy was trying to let me down, but you were listening in at the wrong time."

"What?" Seulgi finally croaked, breaking her silence as she looked up at Ian, tears streaming down her cheeks as she wiped them away.

Even though it's uncomfortable to be in the presence of someone whom you don't know crying, seeing Seulgi like that gave Ian a small sense of calmness, that Seulgi needed this for a long time.

"She didn't want to go out with me. She didn't even know who I was until you told her you liked me," Ian said, his voice calm as he looked at her with a smile.

"I didn't really like you, I was just–" Seulgi started, sitting up straight as she got flustered.

"Trying to cover up the fact that you liked Wendy?" Ian asked bluntly.

Even though she wanted to say 'no', her heart ached as he mentioned her name, making her nod unknowingly as she felt her tears well up again.

"We're not on the best of terms, and we never were. But you were best friends with Wendy right? You can still make things right, so tell her how you feel. It doesn't have to be today, it doesn't have to be tomorrow, but you don't have much time until graduation right?" Ian asked, his tone gentle as he looked down, "I really liked Wendy, but she made it clear she didn't like me. But trust me when I say she cares about you, you were her best friend, and she was absolutely devastated having to hear you say you hate her."

"I know..." Seulgi choked out as she blinked her tears back, burying her face in her hands as the regret came crashing down on her, overwhelming her as she sobbed uncontrollably.

'You were devastated to hear her say she hates you too right?' Ian thought as he gently rubbed Seulgi's back, trying his best to comfort her as his eyes met his sister's.

'Please help me I have no idea what to do' Ian's eyes begged as Irene walked over, gently hugging Seulgi as Ian quietly took his leave.

'I was devastated, knowing that I'll be living my life without you, my one true love.'

"Hey Wendy, you alright?" Ian asked as he helped Wendy to her feet, trying his best to comfort her after the scene he just witnessed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Wendy mumbled quietly as she got to her feet, looking down as the two of them stood in the empty classroom, the tension from what happened between Seulgi and Wendy still present in the air.

"Hey, look, this probably isn't the best time to talk about what we were talking about. I can treat you to some ice-cream if that'll make you feel better," Ian suggested, trying to defuse the awkwardness as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Ian, I didn't really know you until Seulgi told me she liked you, so I'm not that close with you. Even if I were close with you, I already love someone else," Wendy explained as she sniffed.

"Oh? Then you should go tell him, it's already graduation. You won't have much time left. I pretty much accepted the fact that you weren't interested in me, but I just wanted to get it off my chest, you know?" Ian said cheerfully, trying to make her feel better.

"What's the point?" Wendy asked as she looked at Ian for the first time since she got up.

"They already hate me," she choked out as Ian finally saw the tears that streamed down her cheeks, his heart sinking at the realisation of what she meant.

"I'm sorry," Ian said after a while, not knowing what to do as he awkwardly hugged her shoulders.

"I could never hate her, never in a million years!" Wendy cried out, her regret overflowing as she sobbed into Ian's chest.

"I know, I know," Ian said gently, patting her back as he let her release her emotions. He had no idea what to do, but he knew she was hurt. He knew she was devastated.

"You don't have much time left," Ian mumbled as he leaned against the doorway, quietly watching Seulgi sob in the comfort of Irene, Joy and Yeri, a familiar scene that he was in all those years ago.

"But if you act within what little time you have left, I'm sure you will have all the time in the world with her.'