After helping Hitomi untying the tight rope around her body and discards it somewhere else, Minjoo sits down a little too far from Hitomi's place, cross-legged and eerily too silent for Hitomi's liking. She's not a loud person, but she has her share of loudness when there are only the two of them.

Having Minjoo like this scares Hitomi. She doesn't like it.

Hitomi forces herself to be the one who breaks the silence.

"I'm sorry."

Minjoo side-glances her, cocking an eyebrow up in question, but speaks nothing. Her eyes are never cold, but right now, Hitomi sees coldness and something else behind Minjoo's eyes.

Hitomi sees pain.

While Hitomi understands it, she is confused as to why does the pain reminds her of a heartbreak instead. But she never told Minjoo that she and Chaewon have been dating since that friendly date with Dongpyo, after all. Minjoo has been her best friend for years by now, so Hitomi thinks that she might be feeling betrayed that she knows it at the same time as everyone else when Hitomi is supposed to tell her a little in advance.

"Min," Hitomi tries again, but Minjoo's jaw only tightens and she looks away from Hitomi. "Minjoo, are you mad at me?"

"No, I'm not," Minjoo is quick to reply, yet her voice sounds... strange, as if she's holding herself back from crying. Hitomi scoots closer, trying to get a closer look until her ears caught a sound that sounds so suspiciously like stifled cries.

It is.

Her best friend is crying.

"Yah, Kim Minjoo!" Panicking, Hitomi pulls Minjoo's shoulders, her heart breaking at the sound of Minjoo's quiet sobbing that sounded so clear in this small space they share. Hitomi tries everything, from shaking Minjoo's shoulders, to lightly hit her there--but to no avail. Minjoo stubbornly keeps her face tucked in her arms, hidden behind her knees. She continues to sob quietly, ignoring Hitomi.

"Min, talk to me..."

Minjoo ignores her, so Hitomi falls back, slumping against the floor, and decides to wait. She doesn't know how long will it take, but it's the first time for her to have Minjoo refuses to talk when she is sad and crying.

Thirty minutes pass. Minjoo doesn't really cry now, but she's still hiding her face away from Hitomi, and still won't respond to Hitomi's gentle calls and touches.

Hitomi is on the verge of giving up when Minjoo suddenly raises her head a little, her eyes puffy and nose still red. The sight breaks Hitomi's heart even more. She is aware of Minjoo's crybaby reputation (she's known her for half of her life, after all) and she has seen Minjoo cried more than she could count.

But this time... it's different.

There's this ache, gut-wrenching feeling that while Hitomi isn't a stranger to that feeling everytime she sees Minjoo bawling her eyes out like this, somehow this hits harder. So much harder.

Hitomi opens , ready to say something to break the silence, but Minjoo beats her to it.

"Hitomi," she begins guiltily, sniffing. "I'm sorry, I'm just scared.”

The shorter girl raises both of her eyebrows. She crawls closer, her heart soaring when Minjoo finally accepts her hug, even practically launching herself over Hitomi, with her face buried on her neck and arms tight around her shoulders, then bawls out her tears again.

"Scared of what?" Hitomi gently queries, frowning as she offers several gentle "it's okay" and comforting backrubs, hoping her attempts on comforting will cease Minjoo's cries. It works.

"I'm scared of losing you."

"You're not losing me, Min." Hitomi assures her with a confused frown on her face. "I... didn't lose you just because you date guys and girls left and right... why would you think that you'll lose me?"

“Because it's not about that, Tomi. It's about my own feelings." The taller girl sighs. She takes Hitomi's hand, then brings it closer to her face. Gently, she lands a small peck there, earning a faint blush to form on Hitomi's cheeks. "Because I don't know since when... I've stopped seeing you as my best friend."

Hitomi exhales sharply, blinking rapidly as her jaw goes slack. She can feel her heart stopping for a brief moment after that shocking sentence, causing coldness to seep into her very core. "I'm... not?"

Minjoo forces out a smile. Tears start to stream down again as she scoots back, away from Hitomi. She turns away, avoiding Hitomi's eyes, and inhales deeply.

Here goes nothing.

"I've seen you more than a best friend."

"Hitomi, I like you."

Last chapter tomorrow~