And so there I sat. I leaned against the tree. I texted Onew our picture, giggling to myself. Jonghyun probably figured out that I was at the park near my place and sure enough, he came.

It wasn’t long before I saw Jonghyun coming at me- and when I say coming at me, I mean charging at me. He was running towards me so quickly, it was almost unreal. I mean, I never knew he could run that fast. I stood up only to get knocked down again by the force of Jonghyun throwing his arms around my neck for a hug/tackle.

“Jonghyun?” I squeaked, a little really surprised.

“DOYOUKNOWHOWWORRIEDIWAS? Where’d you go? I thought you were just getting a drink! I seriously thought you got kidnapped or something! Don’t ever do that again,” he scolded, holding me closer and tighter. I could feel my cheeks warming up.

“Jonghyun, are you ok?” I said quietly.

“Aish, you really scared me. You weren’t even answering your phone. Pabo, don’t do that again,” he said, his voice becoming a little calmer, weaker almost. With a final squeeze, he let go and sat down beside me. It was quiet for a little bit before I spoke.

“Neh, Jonghyun, I was doing you a favor, try to relax a little,” I said, nudging him with my elbow.

“How was making me worried sick a favor?” he asked rigidly.

“Oh, cmon Jonghyun. You’re a boy.  You liked that girl who came along, didn’t you? What did she say her name was? Sekyung?” It was quiet for a second before he looked at me with intense eyes.

“You think I like her?” he asked rigidly.

“Well do you?” I asked. He gave me that look again.

“No..i..i like someone else,” he said.

“Ehhh? Really? Who?” I asked, really curious. I mean, Jonghyun has liked girls in the past but he never had the balls to ask any out. Maybe now that we’re older he just might.

“I’m not telling you,” he said as he stuck out his tongue.

“Yah! Kim Jonghyun! After all we’ve been through, you can’t tell me?” I pouted.

“Aw Eunjung, don’t be like that,” he said, reaching out to pinch my cheek. I only turned out of his reach and continued to pout. He sighed.

“Yah..Eunjung. I’ll tell you but not today ok?” he said with a pleading but calm tone. I sighed and nodded. Then, he reached out and gave me a noogie.

“Kim Jonghyun!! You pabo!!”

The month went by and the more time I spent with Jonghyun, the more I realized that I really liked being around him. My heart would beat quickly around him and sometimes I would even stutter when I talked to him. It was hard to have this kind of crush on your best friend knowing he likes someone else. But I dealt with it somehow. Another month was about to end, with only 3 more weeks until school began.

August was fast approaching, along with my birthday. Since we were young, Jonghyun and I usually spent birthdays together and I was looking forward to it this year, the year that I turned 18 in Korea. August 13^th, my birthday, finally came. I woke up that morning to the buzzing sound of my phone. I groggily reached for it and found that I had a text message from Jonghyun.

Jonghyun: Eunjung-ah! Happy Birthday! You’re 17 internationally now!

I was content with that message, excited and ready to look forward to a great day, that is, until I received another text.

Jonghyun: Because you’ve been dying to know, I’ll confess to the girl I like and introduce her to you. It’s my birthday gift to you! Wish me luck!

My heart dropped into my stomach. My god, boys are thick. My phone buzzed again.

Jonghyun: Be ready at 4! Dress nice, ok? I’ll see you later!

My mood was ruined in a matter of 3 text messages. I did not want to get out of bed anymore. My phone buzzed once again. I swear to god, if it’s him again, I’m going to punch something. Thank god it wasn’t him.

Onew-sunbae: Happy Birthday, Eunjung! Are you free on your birthday? Give me a call if you are!

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Well I’m not doing anything today really since Jonghyun canceled on me sooo….I dialed Onew’s number.

“Yoboseo?”

“Onew-sunbae!”

“Eunjung-ah! Happy birthday! Are you free today? I have a surprise for you if you are,” he chuckled.

“Mhm! I’ll meet you at the train station at 11 ok?”

“Ok, see you there!” I shut my phone closed and began to get ready.

Onew took me to a movie first and truth be told, it did get a little awkward at the lovey-dovey scenes. When we left Onew and I decided to take a walk.

“Ta-da!” He said holding out a red box with a bow on it. I grinned.

“Thank you sunbae!” I said, excited. I opened the box to find a small chain with a heart pendant on it. “It’s so pretty!” I said pulling out the chain from the box.

“I wasn’t sure what kind of things you liked so I kinda hoped you would like this. Do you like it?” he asked a little pink in the cheeks.

“I love it!” I said smiling at him. I slipped it back into its box and into my purse. Suddenly the musical chorus to Big Bang’s Haru Haru rang out from Onew’s pocket. He fished out his phone and answered it. I couldn’t hear what the person on the other line was saying but Onew’s smile faltered a little and he only replied with a few mumbles ok “ok” or “I understand” here and there. When he finally hung up he turned towards me.

“Erm, Eunjung, I hafta go. Something urgent came up. It’s work related. I’m sorry I hafta leave you like this. I’ll see you later ok?”

I nodded and waved goodbye as he began jogging away. I sighed to myself. It was only 2 PM. I walked home slowly and plopped down on my bed when I got there. I was exhausted and fell asleep. I woke up again and groggily dragged myself to look at the time. It was already 6.

OH JONGHYUN. I jumped up and ran to the train station as fast as I could. When I got there, I searched desperately for Jonghyun, hoping he’d still be there. After who-knows-how-long, I found him, sitting on a bench. Well this was awkward.

I sat down next to him and sighed.

“So where’s that girl you were supposed to introduce me to?” I asked him. His ears perked up a little.

“She stood me up,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“I..i’m sorry. And I’m sorry for being late too….” I trailed off. Then he looked at me. “Erm…so what’s this girl like?”

“She’s beautiful, even after she’s woken up from a nap. She’s funny and smart, and I feel like I’ve known her my whole life.” My heart sank with each compliment that left his mouth.

“She sounds…great,” I said, my voice threatening to falter. “She can’t be that great if she stood you up, though.” It was silent for a moment.

“She came around eventually. She just overslept.” Ok, what? Wait, hold ooonnnn. I’m so confused. I looked at Jonghyun, one eyebrow raised. Is he talking about…me? No he couldn’t possibly be….

“Aish, how dense can you get, pabo,” he said before he leaned in and pecked me on the cheek.

And so, we became an official “golden couple.” Our second year of high school went smoothly. Many of my classmates audibly vocalized their jealousy and just attributed my relationship with Jonghyun as part of my “queenka status” but I could care less what others thought. Being in love with your best friend can do that to you.

But in time, I learned that that love just wasn’t enough. At least not coming from me. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: hey guys! sorry for the SUPER late update! i know i said i'd update it earlier but MEH school took over my life for a while. And it will for a little longer too cuz I have AP exams in like a week. Also, I went to KMF this year so if anyone is interested in seeing hte fancams and pics i took, just tell me and i'll upload it somewhere where you can watch, ok?^^ hmmm what else...ok idk. 

Thanks for reading this fics and PLEASE leave comments! it makes me more motivated to write, so pleeeaaaseeee? :'3

-Katrina (saranghandago)