In the end, things didn’t change much after the encounter of Myungsoo and Minhyun, the first one still remained by Jiyeon’s side all the time, the only moments when he wasn’t around was when Jiyeon was with Minhyun working on their project.

The end of the year arrived and Jiyeon and Minhyun finally finished their project and they got a really good note for both so they were really happy about it. The holidays were really smooth and Jiyeon was more than ready for the start of the next year.

The third year finally started, Jiyeon didn’t know how three years had already passed, but the fact that she was now enjoying her career, her friends and her life in general made her really happy. There was only one topic still remaining to be settled.

“You like him.”

“I don’t.”

“You like him.”

“How many times do I have to say that I don’t like him?”

Jiyeon and Hyomin were walking through the halls in order to go to their next class, they were discussing the same topic from the last months.

“Jiyeon it’s more than obvious, why do you insist on saying the opposite?” Hyomin asked her friend.

Jiyeon sighed in frustration before answering.

“Hyomin please, I’ll really get angry if we keep on talking about this. I don’t like Myungsoo, I treat all my friends the same and Myungsoo is a dear person to me, it’s just obvious that sometimes I care more about him, but that’s all.”

Hyomin sighed defeated but acknowledged Jiyeon’s discomfort with the situation so she didn’t push the girl further into it.

During class Hyomin watched Jiyeon sometimes and was constantly spacing out, thinking over and over about the relationship of those two.

It’s not that I like to but I truly think they should be together, they look so cute. In fact, everyone here thinks they’re actually dating. I wonder what holds them back from being together. There must be something else behind all of this.

When the class finished, Jiyeon received a text from Minhyun asking to see her at the end of the day, Jiyeon agreed and when the time arrived she went to meet him.

“Hi there.” Jiyeon greeted him cheerfully.

“Hi.” Minhyun answered her with a cute smile. “How’s the start of the new year?”

“It’s great, though it’s only been some weeks.” Jiyeon answered.

Minhyun and Jiyeon didn’t hang out together anymore since the end of their project. Jiyeon sometimes missed having the boy around so she was happy to see him again.

“So did you want to tell me something?” The girl asked him.

“Yeah, you see, the thing is, I have some tickets for the cinema and I thought that maybe we could go together to watch a movie.” Minhyun told her a bit nervously.

Jiyeon smiled at him but on the inside she was actually unsure about accepting that invitation. She wasn’t blind, it was evident that Minhyun liked her but she just labeled him as a friend, besides, there was still Myungsoo’s topic, she still hasn’t deciphered completely what her feelings towards the boy were, even when she told Hyomin she didn’t like Myungsoo at all, she wasn’t sure about anything at that point.

“We’ll go just as friends and I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything, if you don’t want to go that’ll be alright.” Minhyun told her.

Even when the boy said that, Jiyeon could see a bit of sadness in his eyes after saying that. She thought that maybe accepting wouldn’t harm anyone.

“It sounds great, of course I want to go.” Jiyeon answered with a smile.

Minhyun then smiled brightly as if he had received the best notice in his life, Jiyeon couldn’t help but to chuckle a bit because of his cuteness.

“Great, what about going on Saturday, maybe we can also go eat something.” The boy suggested excitedly.

“Sounds like a plan.” Jiyeon said with a smile.

The boy then told her he would text her lately and bid farewell to her. Jiyeon remained standing there with a warm smile until Minhyun couldn’t be seen anymore.

 

The next day, Jiyeon and Hyomin were working on a task during class and were also chatting.

“Oh by the way, I have something to tell you.” Jiyeon told her friend.

“I’m all ears.” Hyomin answered smiling.

“Minhyun asked me on a date.”

Hyomin stopped writing and looked at her friend.

“What?” She asked confused.

“Well, it isn’t exactly a date, since he said we’ll be going just as friends, but yeah, he asked me yesterday.” Jiyeon explained.

“And what did you answer?” Hyomin asked.

“I agreed.” Jiyeon said with a smile.

Hyomin sighed and looked away briefly before looking at Jiyeon again.

“Well it’s good if you actually want to go but what about Myungsoo?”

Jiyeon sighed heavily and rolled her eyes.

“What does he have to do with this?” Jiyeon asked her a bit annoyed.

“Jiyeon, you’re not even sure about your feelings towards Myungsoo and I think you already know Minhyun’s goal with this date, I don’t want anyone to end up hurt.” Hyomin explained her a bit more serious. “Just stop fooling yourself and accept you like Myungsoo, you don’t need any dates to confirm that fact.”

“You always bring Myungsoo up, he’s not the center of my life and I’m tired already of you always telling me I like him, I don’t know what’s your insistence to make me accept something I don’t feel.”

Jiyeon then got up and went out of the classroom, she was beyond furious. She loved Hyomin but the girl already made her lose her last straw and she wasn’t willing to keep putting up with it. The girl sighed trying to calm down since she still had to go back to finish the work. After some minutes she came back and Hyomin didn’t talk to her, Jiyeon thanked that. At the end of the day, Hyomin finally reached to Jiyeon and apologized.

“Hey I’m sorry, I know I actually made you angry this time.”

Jiyeon sighed before answering.

“Can you tell me why are you trying so hard to make me say I like Myungsoo?” Jiyeon asked her.

“Well it’s because of what I see, I don’t want you to get angry at me again, so I’ll stop insisting with that. But I want to say to you that you both really need to talk things through, the way you behave with each other isn’t simple friendship. I just want you to think about something during the weekend, if you treat Myungsoo as a friend then, would you be able to behave the same way with Minhyun?”

Jiyeon remained silent thinking about what Hyomin told her.

“Don’t answer me right now, just think about it sweetie.” Hyomin said warmly.

 

Saturday finally arrived and Jiyeon had a sleepless night, what Hyomin told her the previous night was going round and round inside her head.

>>”If you treat Myungsoo as a friend then, would you be able to behave the same way with Minhyun?”

Jiyeon shook her head and covered herself with the blanket again.

Ugh this is driving me insane.

The girl sighed heavily and looked at her cellphone screen.

Well, stop thinking about it, I have to get ready.

Jiyeon got up and dressed up for her date with Minhyun, she didn’t know how things would develop and wasn’t really in the mood for a date, but she already made a promise with him, so she put a smile on her face and went away.

She reached the mall and went to the point where they agreed to meet, she wasn’t surprised to see the boy already there waiting for her. Even when she was somewhat forcing her smile, when she saw Minhyun her smile somehow became genuine. Minhyun suddenly turned to her side and spotted her, a smile immediately crossed his face.

“Jiyeon, right here.” He said to her while waving a hand.

Jiyeon chuckled and walked a bit faster to reach him.

“Hello.” She said with a warm smile.

“Hi.” Minhyun answered excitedly but quickly his expression changed to a worried one. “Hey are you okay?”

Jiyeon looked at him confused.

“Didn’t you sleep well last night?” The boy asked her.

“Oh, that.” Jiyeon then knew what the boy was talking about, so in the end the make up wasn’t enough to cover her dark circles. “Yeah I had some trouble sleeping last night, but it’s nothing serious don’t worry.”

“Are you sure? If you don’t feel well we can hang out some other time.” The boy answered worriedly.

“No, I’m really fine, don’t worry.” Jiyeon assured him.

“Alright, but if you start to feel unwell or tired just tell me and I’ll take you home.”

“Thank you.” Jiyeon answered warmly upon the boy’s worry.

After that they went to the cinema and started to look at which movie they were going to watch. A memory came back to Jiyeon’s mind.

>>“Why did it have to be that scary?”

“To be honest I didn’t think it would be that intense.”

“It’ll be your fault if I can’t sleep tonight.”

“Why? You also agreed to watch it.”

“It’ll be your fault.”

“Jiyeon… Jiyeon?”

The girl reacted after hearing her name and turned to see Minhyun who looked at her worriedly.

“Sorry I spaced out for a moment.” The girl answered a bit embarrassed.

“Are you sure you feel alright?” He asked her.

“Of course, now what movie did you say?” Jiyeon said to him changing the topic.

They chose a comedy movie and went inside, Jiyeon tried to focus on the movie but her mind didn’t let her, since she was constantly remembering the movie date she had with Myungsoo. When the movie ended, Minhyun asked her if she wanted something to eat, Jiyeon agreed and they went to the food zone, while deciding what to eat, she spotted a donuts place and another memory came back.

>>”You can’t be serious.”

“Of course I am, these are your favorites, I would never forget something like that.”

Jiyeon sighed and shook her head a bit trying to get rid of those thoughts.

“What about hamburgers?” The girl suggested.

“Sounds nice.” The boy smiled.

They went to eat and at least during the meal, Jiyeon was able to focus completely on Minhyun.

“I didn’t know you like to sing.” Jiyeon said surprised.

“Yeah, actually not a lot of people know that but is something I really enjoy.” The boy explained with a smile.

“Then someday we need to make a duet, I like playing the piano so it’d be a pleasure to hear you sing I bet you have a great voice.” Jiyeon praised.

Minhyun blushed a bit and chuckled trying to get rid of his embarrassment.

“Well I may not be that great of a singer but it’ll be great to make some music together.” Minhyun said.

“Then that’s a promise, someday you’ll sing for me and I’ll play the piano for you.” Jiyeon answered with a smile showing her pinky finger to him.

Minhyun chuckled again and intertwined his pinky with hers, making a pinky promise.

“That’s a promise.” Minhyun repeated with a warm smile.

They finished their meal and decided to walk around the mall just looking at the stores. Jiyeon thought she finally got rid of her thoughts about Myungsoo but then she spotted a clothing store and she realized her thoughts didn’t fade even a bit.

>>“Just keep it a bit more, you look absolutely beautiful. I’ll come back and buy it for you, it seriously looks so good on you.”

“Maybe we should come to buy clothes together some day, that way we can help each other to choose the correct ones.”

“We’ll for sure do that.”

Jiyeon stopped her track, chuckled sadly and closed her eyes when she realized something. Myungsoo never left her mind, not even for a second. No matter how hard she tried to focus on Minhyun, Myungsoo always came back at some point.

Minhyun noticed the change of mood of the girl and looked at her.

“Jiyeon? Are you alright?”

Jiyeon opened her eyes again and looked at him. Minhyun was a really nice guy, Jiyeon would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy spending time with him. But there was just a problem, he wasn’t Myungsoo…

“I’m sorry Minhyun but I don’t feel well right now. Would you mind if I go back?” Jiyeon said in an apologetic tone.

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it, let me take you back home.” The boy offered.

“Thank you, but there’s no need, I’ll go back on my own.” Jiyeon assured him.

“But…” The boy hesitated.

“I can go back by myself don’t worry, keep enjoying your evening. I had a lot of fun today, thank you.” The girl said with a smile.

Even when he was a bit reluctant, Minhyun accepted her decision and both bid farewell. When Jiyeon reached her home she went straight to her room and leaned on her bed, looking at the ceiling. She couldn’t stop thinking about Myungsoo but was also feeling somehow guilty towards Minhyun, he was a good boy and she didn’t want to play with his feelings.

Jiyeon sighed heavily, she didn’t want to stop seeing Minhyun since he was a great friend and she actually cared for him, but she knew the boy didn’t only saw her as a friend. On the other side, she was a bit surprised because of the sudden realize of her feelings towards Myungsoo.

>>”If you treat Myungsoo as a friend then, would you be able to behave the same way with Minhyun?”

Hyomin’s question came back again and she already had an answer for it.

Hell no, there was no way she would behave like that with any other person aside Myungsoo, the place Myungsoo had in her heart was special and it definitely was more than a simple friendship.

This is a disaster. Jiyeon thought overwhelmed while putting her hands over her face.

 

When Monday arrived, the first person she looked for was Hyomin, they agreed the previous day to arrive early so they could talk, so both girls greeted and started to talk.

“So how did the date go?” Hyomin asked.

“It was good, but I think I ruined it.” Jiyeon answered after a sigh.

“Why?” Hyomin asked a bit worried.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about Myungsoo and comparing the dates, I couldn’t focus in Minhyun at all.” Jiyeon answered a bit frustrated.

Hyomin sighed heavily.

“Are you still going to deny it?”

Jiyeon clearly knew what she was talking about.

“I don’t think keep denying it will get me anywhere, so I’ll just stop.”

“Then say it.” Hyomin answered.

“Why?” Jiyeon asked confused.

“That way you won’t have any doubts anymore.” Hyomin explained.

“No.”

“Say it.”

“No.”

“Girl just say it!” Hyomin pushed.

“Alright, alright, I like Myungsoo, happy now?” Jiyeon finally confessed.

Hyomin smiled at her and was about to say something else when suddenly her smile faded when she looked behind Jiyeon.

“Jiyeon.”

The girl froze and turned around.

“Minhyun…” She answered.

“Can we have a talk?”

Hyomin left so the two could talk. Minhyun sat down and looked at the table. Jiyeon didn’t know what to say, she was sure he heard what she just said. When she was about to speak, Minhyun did it instead.

“I need to confess something to you.” The boy started and Jiyeon remained silent. “I like you Jiyeon.” The boy said while looking at her straightly in the eyes.

Jiyeon felt her heart race but it wasn’t because of happiness, it was nervousness by not knowing what to say. But she needed to be honest with him, no matter if that truth hurt him, it was better than playing with his feelings. So when Jiyeon was about to say something else, she was cut off again.

“Don’t say it.” Minhyun said averting her eyes. “I know that you’re in love with Myungsoo.”

Jiyeon widened her eyes, though she shouldn’t be that surprised, she now knew it was more than evident and anyone would be able to notice it.

“I only wanted to be sincere with you, but I want to ask for something.” He looked at her again. “Please let me remain by your side, I promise I won’t interfere in your relationship, I just want to be by your side as a friend, just like in the beginning. I wouldn’t like to lose your friendship because of this.”

Jiyeon sighed, the boy had an expectant look in his eyes. Even when Jiyeon actually liked the idea of remaining friends since she cared for the boy and had a great time with him, she didn’t know if that would be the right thing for him.

“I don’t know if that’ll work Minhyun.” Jiyeon answered sincerely.

“I promise it’ll work, trust me.” Minhyun insisted.

Jiyeon didn’t have any other option but to agree, besides she also didn’t want to lose a friend.

 

Things seemed to start falling in their right place, Minhyun and Jiyeon were actually working out what they agreed and the boy seemed to be alright, she was relieved with that.

With the passing days she thought it’d be a good idea to actually tell Myungsoo about her feelings. She didn’t know how would he react but she was confident that nothing could go wrong, since the boy seemed to like her as well.

She decided to look for Myungsoo, it’s been some days since they saw each other, so Jiyeon had to go look for him at his classroom, she spotted him and was about to call him when suddenly a girl asked for his attention, they seemed to be talking cheerfully so Jiyeon decided to wait for some other chance. She didn’t give that scene more thought and went away.

The next day, she was decided to finally tell Myungsoo about her feelings, she arrived early and looked for Myungsoo at his classroom.

I know he won’t be around at this hour but this way I’ll be able to talk with him when he arrives.

“Jiyeon?”

The girl smiled when she heard his voice behind her and turned around with a bright smile.

Smile that faded a bit when she saw he wasn’t alone. The same girl from the previous day accompanied him. The girl smiled at her and Jiyeon smiled back.

What’s going on? Jiyeon thought a bit worried, she had a bad feeling about that.

“It’s great that you’re here, I was going to look for you a bit later.” Myungsoo said to her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Really? Why?” She asked confused.

“I want to introduce someone to you.”

The boy then looked at the girl beside him and started to talk.

“Kyungri this is my best friend Jiyeon, the one I told you about.” He looked at Jiyeon with a smile. “And Jiyeon this is Kyungri, my girlfriend.”

After saying that, Myungsoo looked at Kyungri with warm eyes again and took her hand.

Jiyeon felt like the whole world suddenly froze and she could only see that scene in front of her unable to talk or react.

Girl… friend…?

 

A/N: New chapter is up! ^^

As always, thank you so so much for reading, and your patience, comments are appreciated ^^ stay safe and have a beautiful day <3