Three

…we haven’t spoken in almost a month.
…JB and Jiyeon are still together.
…is this the end of our friendship?

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It felt weird, not having JB around.
Well, he was around, just not with me.
I guess I’ve gotten used to always seeing him.
I’ve gotten used to his smile, his jokes, his laughs… him.
And now we don’t even look at each other.

I feel incomplete.

I still couldn’t believe that he would pick her over me.
We’ve always been true to each other.
I’ve never lied to him.
I trusted him.
Yet, he chose another girl over me.

From time to time, I’ll catch him looking at me.
He immediately turns away, but he has the same look every time.
His eyes look empty, sad, incomplete.

I know that it’s killing both of us.
We’ve became so close over the past years, and now this.
But I won’t apologize. Even if it’s the biggest thing, I won’t.
He had no right to question me.

No. I take that back.

I walked over to the table JB was at and took a seat next to Jieyon.
She looked at me like I was crazy, while JB looked at me, speechless.

I turned to Jiyeon and smiled.
“I’m sorry Jiyeon-ah. I shouldn’t have slapped you. It was immature of me.”

She looked at me, shocked.
“Y-yeah… No problem…” she stuttered.

“But, just as a future reference, don’t talk about someone’s past.” I said.
“Even if you’re trying to be nice, or you just want to be a , it isn’t right to talk about someone’s parents like that.”

Then, I turned to JB.
He smiled.

“Sooji-“ he started.

“And to you JB,” I said, cutting him off.
“I’m sorry that I thought we were best friends.”

“W-what are you talking about Soojin-ah?” He asked.
“We are best friends.”

“Were.” I corrected.

JB looked at me, blankly.
“Soojin-ah…”

“Best friends don’t doubt each other.” I said.
“Friendship is a relationship too, JB.”
“Without trust, you can’t really call yourselves best friends, right?”
“Well, you didn’t trust me.” I said.

“It’s not that I didn’t trust you, Soojin-ah.” JB said.
“I just wanted an explanation.”

“Exactly.” I said.
“I shouldn’t have to explain myself to you.”
“Once I said she brought up my parents, you should’ve known why I was upset.”
“And, you know me better than anyone, JB. I wouldn’t have done what I did for no reason, would I?” I asked.

“Okay, I’m sorry Soojin-ah.” He said.
“I shouldn’t have doubted you.”
“It was just a spur of the moment. I’m sorry.” He said, reaching out for my hand.

I snatched my hand away before he could reach it.
“I’ll accept your apology, JB.” I smiled.
“But that won’t patch up our friendship.” I said, and walked away.