It was already 3:30 in the morning when Jeno finally reached the rooftop. He is surprised to see only Beomgyu and Yeonjun present.

"Where’s Jaemin?" He asked.

"He wasn’t with us when we went up here. Actually, you’re the third person who went here. Everyone just separated. " Beomgyu said.

"Oh. Thanks. " Jeno said as he headed back to the stairs again.

"Jeno, you might know already, but he is probably screwing with Winter at some levels of the building." Yeonjun told him.

"Yeah, I know. You don’t need to remind me. "

"You know, Jaemin is old enough to take care of himself. Just let him be. "

Jeno ignored what Yeonjun said and headed back to the stairs. Yeah, he is old enough. Why do I still ing want to take care of him?

He passed downstairs, then saw Yeji and Ryujin talking while sitting on the ledge of the floor, watching the city and the sea. He then decided to head downstairs again.

Yeji heard Jeno’s footsteps, so she took a look back to see who it was. Seeing no one, she resumed talking to Ryujin.

"We should take a break." Ryujin said with a deep sigh.

"I'm thinking the same thing. All the while, I thought I'm the one who was going to break up with you. It turns out you’re the one who does it. "

"Yeah, I never thought that it might happen someday. I know at some point we will probably break up, but I thought it was because I did something bad or your parents forced you. I never thought that I would be the one to do it, until I just realized how toxic we are to each other. "

"You’re not alone with that realization. I've just come to terms with it too. I know that there is something wrong with our relationship. Maybe I’m too afraid to admit that we were not fit for each other. We’ve been hurting each other for a while now. "

"Yeah, me with my recklessness and-"

"Me, being a control freak." Yeji finished Ryujin’s sentence.

Ryujin laughed. "We still manage to finish each other’s sentences, after all of this. Maybe we were meant to be, but not in this lifetime. "

"When did you get this cheesy?"

"Probably because I read those books you recommended."

"Wow, I had no idea you actually read them."

"I do, every now and then. I still have a lot of those books left that I haven't read though. to see my reading list outlive our relationship. " She giggled. "I still can't believe it's done. If I hadn't forced you to come, do you think we would still be together?"

"You didn't force me to run away. It was a mutual decision. If you didn't, I'm probably going to be married off to some guy I barely knew. "

"But still, I was the one who brought up that idea."

"And I'm glad you did. I wouldn't have met them and played board games with them. I woildn't experience exploring an abandoned building at 3 AM. I wouldn't experience getting drunk in the club and starting a fight by kissing someone's boyfriend. "

"But that's not a good experience."

"It is still a good experience. Something worth treasuring. I'll probably just look back at this and laugh someday. " Her voice cracked. Tears started streaming down her face. Seeing it, Ryujin proceeded to wipe it off with her hands. Yeji smiled bitterly at her.

"Without your bringing up the idea of running away, we might not have realized that we're bad for each other. Sure there is love, but we're both unstable."

"Maybe we need to fix ourselves first before loving each other again."

"Will you wait for that moment?"

"Maybe if we cross paths with each other again, I will fall in love with you for the second time."

"Aw, come on, stop being so ing cheesy." Yeji said as she got up. "Come on, let's go upstairs. I'm pretty sure we could see the skies better in there. " She then held out her hand for Ryujin to reach.

She reached for it, knowing that this could be the last time she would hold it. They went to the rooftop together, holding hands for one last time.

Twenty minutes earlier, it took Jeno to head down three more floors until he finally heard some noise. noise, which pains his heart.

Jaemin is clearly enjoying his time with Winter. Their sloppy kisses and soft moans, followed by giggles in between, echoed throughout the abandoned building.

Jeno can't understand why it aches his heart every time he sees Jaemin enjoying herself with Winter. I'm his best friend. I should be happy for him. Why am I feeling this?

I feel sorry for Winter. Why does it seem like I dislike her? Why does it anger me to see her laughing with him? She is clearly a nice person. Why can't I bring myself to like her?

Maybe Yeji is right. Maybe I am jealous. And it is too late to realize these feelings of mine. Jaemin is happy now. I don't want to take away his happiness from him. And besides, this was a losing game from the start. Even if I realized it earlier and confessed before he met Winter, I still wouldn't have a chance. He is straight and I should accept it.

I should leave.

Just when he started going upstairs, he accidentally stepped into some rubble, which created a noise.

"Who's there?" Winter asked, which made Jeno hold his breath in an attempt to prevent making any more noise.

He then heard footsteps getting closer to him, which prompted him to run.

"Hey! Stop right there!" Jaemin said as he started running. Winter lagged behind as she put on a shirt first, then eventually ran to him.

"Jeno! Jeno! I know it's you!" Jaemin shouted.

"." Jeno muttered, already exhausted from all the stair climbs. I'm just a floor away, I can make it.

Too late. He felt a wrist grab his left arm. His heart started beating uncontrollably.

"Are you spying on us? You didn't film us, didn't you?" Jaemin asked him. Jeno kept getting distracted because Jaemin was shirtless and sweaty from all the shenanigans he did with Winter. His scars, bruises, and hickeys.

"W-what? No, I wouldn't do that."

"Wait, hold on. Let me put on this shirt first." He said as he started putting on the shirt that he had been holding the whole time.

"Wait, it doesn't fit me." He realized. As soon as he said that, Winter came upstairs wearing his shirt.

Oh. They did ed.

"Win! I might've taken your shirt. "

"I figured it out." She giggled.

I should run upstairs while they’re still talking, but why can't I?

"Here, catch!" He said as he tossed Winter's shirt to her.

"Thanks, I'll just change downstairs. "

Jaemin waited for Winter to leave before he started speaking again.

"Jen, you have been acting weird these past few hours. We should talk about it."

Jeno gulped. Beads of sweat began forming on his forehead.

"Do you like Winter?"

"W-what? N-no. No."

"Then why are you stuttering? Why are you acting like this?"

"I... was just caught off guard by your question."

"So tell me, why are you acting like this? You have been giving us weird looks since earlier."

"I did not."

"Jen, tell me, what is the problem? I'm your best friend. I will listen to you."

"Exactly. You're only my best friend. " Some words aren't meant to be said aloud.

"What?"

"I don't like this. I don't like the fact that we're just best friends, and I hate that I am thinking about that."

"I don't understand. I'm confused. "

"My feelings have been crossing the line. I'm just supposed to treat you as my best friend, but I wanted you to be more. Why did it turn out this way?"

"Jen..."

"God, I said it. This is why it is better to keep my mouth shut. Now our friendship is ruined. It's never going to be the same again. Go on and ing reject me. Hopefully, my feelings will turn into anger and resentment instead of love. "

"I don't know what to say. I don't even know how to react to this. I-"

"I should be happy that you have a good time with Winter and that she is making you happy. You just met her hours ago, and she was able to make you smile like that. But why do I feel sad seeing you smiling because of others?"

"You like me... is that why you insisted on running away with me, despite the fact that you have a good life?"

"It won't be a good life without you. I ran away because I wanted to be with you. I want to protect you from harm. I want to make sure that no one beats you up again. I want you to feel loved, unlike what your parents did. I want to stand with you. "

"You don't have to. You have a good life, your grades aren't failing, you have a considerate family; heck, you even have an assured job once you graduate. "

"But I don't want that. I just wanted to protect you. "

"I don't know how to say this, but..." He hesitated. "I think I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, I figured it out." His voice cracked. Tears fell from his left eye. "Right, I know this is where it leads to. Even knowing what would happen, my still said these things to you. Sorry for dumping all of this on you."

"No no no, it's okay. It's fine. I'm cool with it. I just don't know how to react.

"I still feel that you might be uncomfortable with it. Don't worry, I'll manage these feelings alone. By the time I come back, it will have disappeared. I promise.

"Wait, what are talking-" He suddenly pulled Jaemin into an embrace.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you again. I just can't seem to wait. Consider this my last embrace for the time being. "

"Jeno... we're still friends, right?"

"You'll still be my best friend." I just have to get away first, clear my thoughts, sort out my feelings, and yeah, I'll be back once it's all gone now. " He then let go of their embrace. "Now go on, Winter is waiting." He said as he tapped his friend's shoulder.

Jaemin turned around to look at the stairs. Winter immediately hid from them. Jaemin followed her.

"Winter, have you been listening the whole time?"

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping."

"No, I think I should be the one who should apologize because you heard all of that."

"I'm the one who listened to your conversation. Why are you apologizing for it?"

"I don't know, you might feel jealous, I guess?"

"We just met a few hours ago. I mean yeah I like you and I love those moments that I spent with you. I am looking forward to spending my time with you in the future, and it that our make-out session was cut off. I was actually looking forward to doing something way beyond that. "

They both laughed to ease the awkwardness.

"My point is, I somehow feel a bit uncertain about us. I feel like we've just met , and I'm not sure if I should feel jealous. We like each other, made out, and we had a fun time, even if we just met. I can't really say if I have the right to be jealous of the best friend of the boy I just met. "

"You can feel jealous if you feel it, but don't worry, I only love him, platonically." It is true, but somehow it left a bitter taste at his mouth after saying it.

"I don't need to worry about that. After all, this is probably just a once in a lifetime thing."

"Yeah, we might not meet again. Wait, we could, maybe. My phone is low, but I'll give you my number. " Jaemin then reached out his hand.

"Is this a booty call situation?" Winter joked as he gave Jaemin her phone.

"Who knows? Maybe we'll date or maybe we'll call each other just for good times. "

"Yeah, We don't know what the future holds. We should go up, I'd like to see the morning stars. " Jaemin agreed, and the pair started walking upstairs.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here's your shirt. " She said as she handed it to him. "You don't want them to see that, don't you?"

He smiled as he put on his shirt, hiding the traces of Winter's kisses and his scars and bruises.

"Come on, you're the last ones." Yeonjun called them. "Now that we're complete, let's watch all the stars together."

Yeonjun is happy, but his eyes are still red from all the crying that he did, just thirty minutes ago. It happened after Jeno went down to find Jaemin. Yeonjun was left with Beomgyu on the rooftop.

"The view is gorgeous. Now I know why you love it here. " Yeonjun remarked as he sat on the ledge of the rooftop. He then removed his guitar that had been on his back, to place it on his lap.

"That's just part of the reason." Beomgyu said as he sat beside Yeonjun. "Do you know why I really love this place? It's because I could easily die the moment my body hits the ground."

"What?"

"Another reason is that my family owns this building. Chicago Heights that's the name. Now, everyone calls it the abandoned building in York St. We used to be wealthy, until a tragedy happened. My mother was kidnapped, held for ransom. My father cancelled this whole project to redirect his funds to pay the ransom. In the end, I saw her lifeless body."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all in the past. My father used to bring me here, make me wear a hard hat, and then explore the lower levels of the building while it was still under construction. After my mother died, I expected my father to be someone to lean on. Unfortunately, I was wrong. He became an alcoholic, and even died because of it. "

Yeonjun can't find the right words to say. He wants to say something, but he is afraid he will make it worse for him. He just listened.

"I was so young at that time. I don't even know how I managed to survive up to this age. I fell into depression, hanged out in this place a lot of times. And then, I met her. "

Beomgyu smiled bitterly.

"I saw her while I was on my way here. It turns out, she also hangs out at this place when she is lonely, only on the lower floors though. I brought her to the rooftop, where we talked while gazing at the stars and listening to songs. It was fun."

Having an idea about where this is going to lead to, Yeonjun put his arm on Beomgyu's back.

"She was my light amidst the darkness for four years, but eventually our relationship got stale. Maybe that's why she found another. "

"It's not your fault."

"I know. I know she is a cheating , but I can't be angry at her. I can't bring myself to hate her. I just become sadder and sadder each day. I have a feeling about where it might lead, so as much as possible I want to prevent it. That's why I worked at the motel, even though the pay is low. Then you guys came along. You brought me back to this place. "

Yeonjun smiled. He made someone happy. He is satisfied.

"Oh no, I overshared, didn't I? Maybe it is time for you to overshare as well, to call it quits. "

"You will hate me for this."

"I can't judge yet. Go on, tell me about this, if you're comfortable. "

"I killed someone. I killed a friend, or a former friend rather. I killed the lead vocalist of our band with my other guitar. "

Beomgyu wasn't so shocked anymore to hear all of this. He already had suspicions when he heard the mob yelling at Yeonjun.

"He had it all. Good voice talent, looks, fame, money, girls, and even boys. Maybe I was just envious. Or maybe it was a lent up anger on how treated me ever since we started this band. Maybe it's because he made a laughing stock for the masses to see. Maybe it's because he beats me up every time he's drunk. Maybe it's because he blames me for every blunder the band went through. Maybe that's why I fought back. Maybe that's why I caused irreversible damage in the heat of the moment. "

"I killed him. I smashed his head with my electric guitar. Both of them are broken. " He laughed. It was a hopeless laugh. "That's probably how they felt about me. I killed him. Will I still go to heaven?" His voice cracked. Tears started streaming down his face. He then buried his face in Beomgyu's shoulder.

"You will be forgiven. There are people who will listen." He said as he tapped Yeonjun's shoulder.

As soon as Beomgyu did that, they heard footsteps coming towards them. This signals the end of their conversation.