Taegi traced her foot in circles on the snow as she waited by the front gates of the tuition centre for Sungyeol to come out. She remembered him pointing out to her that this was where he worked, all five evenings of the school week, as a teacher at the local arts school for primary children. He told her something about needing the money, but Taegi didn't understand, neither did she ever ask why. He seemed reluctant to tell her too, brushing it off with the usual 'Don't worry about me' whenever the topic resurfaced.

Not being able to wait to see his expression when he saw her after a long day at the campus tutorials and teaching kids, Taegi hugged the blueprint like a baby in her arms and smiled wildly to herself. He should have known better than to overlook the chances of her secretly practising her drawings behind his back; now he couldn’t for not being able to sketch as well as he could design.

Scurry of footsteps sounded every once in a while, but Taegi would always steal a gaze only be disappointed. Child after child filed down the stairway at the lobby onto the mounts of melting snow on the open street, yet still, Taegi couldn’t catch sight of Sungyeol. Could it be possible that he was already gone? Taegi’s heart sunk a little at the thought, but ultimately unconvinced, she yielded to the thought that was telling her to stay for a little longer. And glad she had, it wasn’t until another ten minutes that the boy she had been waiting for had come out through the front door.

Spotting him abruptly, Taegi placed herself in his line of sight from across the parking lot, and moved out of the shadow of the gates to get a better view of him in the setting oranges spilling over the skyline. He must have gotten home and changed before he came because he was dressed in a furry, pastoral green cloak now and a pair of loose denim jeans which starkly contrasted the white sneakers at its ends.

When Taegi managed to get the tube with her blueprint secured in one hand, she put the other one up and began waving it around above her head.

“Sungy–”

But before Taegi’s voice could reach him, she was cut out of the picture completely and lost to a woman who had just come beside Sungyeol in some semi sensible office attire, her hair beautifully done. Separating his jaws as he flashed his pearly whites at her, he bowed, and Taegi could only frown because surely, she was the one who he should've acknowledged. She was the one who was waiting all night for him.

❖❖❖

Taegi was confused for the remainder of the time she was following the two, with their backs facing her.

They looked as though caught up in fervent dialogue, and Taegi had no idea what the conversation could possibly be about. She couldn’t see their faces still, and their backs were close to nothing in the well of darkness in front of her, but every time she imagined his smiling face, a tinge of pain would pierce her heart. Taegi didn’t dare say it was jealousy she was feeling though, because truly, she didn’t even know if it was a misunderstanding she was wallowing over. But when they turned to walk in the direction of the main street, their faces finally caught in the streamlet of light from the streetlamp above, she could almost swear that she recognised her as a sunbae from their campus. No names in particular rang a bell, but when Taegi was certain that she was from a grade higher, she just couldn’t shake off the phrase that had been playing repeatedly in her head.

“There’s something important I have to do so I can’t spend today with you, mianhae.”

Still incapable of drawing a palpable connection between the two, Taegi found it hard to believe that Sungyeol had actually invited a noona over her on the night just before Valentine’s Day. With Sungyeol’s abnormal height, any outsider would have taken him for the potential sweet-loving partner of the young lady strung at his side, but for Taegi, there was definitely something unsatisfying about the whole scenario unfolding before her.

She took in a deep breath.

There was nothing between them.

There was nothing between them.

There was nothing between th-

Suddenly, Sungyeol pivoted on his right foot and dragged her into a shop.

A jewellery shop.

He sat her down, wrapping his arms around her from the back, and then leaned in to ask the lady at the counter something. She complied immediately, like he was a frequent customer of their's, and came back as quickly as she left. She handed him a coral blue box, and Sungyeol ended up putting around the noona’s neck the necklace he had called for. It glistened proudly in his fist. As the chain unfolded from his careful handling, like stars plucked out of the sky, the rose petalled jewels shimmered to her collar bones. The jewels were so extravagant they were almost unreal, even from a distance, but that wasn’t what surprised Taegi. The fact that she could recognise the design immediately did.

It was the necklace Sungyeol had been working on for the love of his life, in its physical form.

A symbol which marked a catalyst in their friendship.

It was... their necklace.

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a/n: I don't know what to say...... comment and subscribe please? :-)