Watching her boyfriend walk off, Min Kijin leaned against the lamp post until he turned the corner. She knew that she shouldn't have let him walk her to Ilhoon's house, even when she made some bull excuse about finishing a class project or something. The two of then knew that their relationship was rocky, but did she have to rub more salt in the wound? Lee Changseob wasn't an idiot; he was bound to have some speculation about her recent actions. But what was she supposed to tell him when he planned to hang out with her longer than she expected him too? Kijin had already made plans with Ilhoon that night.

Sighing, a white cloud of breath escaped her lips, reminding her of how cold it was outside. She should probably go in. Ilhoon was waiting for her. Brushing aside the thoughts of Changseob, Kijin made her way to his front door and knocked. His parents were out tonight, so the two of them had some time to do whatever. She had a boyfriend and Ilhoon had a girlfriend, so techincally, they shouldn't be doing this. But the two of them needed to have some fun once in a while, and plus, they needed some time to get away from their significant other. Since Ilhoon understood what Kijin was going through, more or less, they became friends with benefits.

Ilhoon opened the door and she gave him a mischievous smile. He returned her smile by offering to take her jacket. The two of them made their way to Ilhoon's large couch in the living room. A fairly new horror movie was playing on the big screen, but neither of them paid much attention to it. Ilhoon only had time to plant a few kisses on Kijin when her phone rang. Foolishly answering it, she cursed in her mind as Changseob's  voice occupied the other line.

"Hey, baby, how's that school project coming along? Everything okay?" Changseob asked as Ilhoon began to kiss Kijin's neck softly.

"Yes," Kijin replied, her lips curling into a smile. "Everything's going great."

-

Sitting at a popular coffee shop in the city a week later, Kijin waited for Changseob to show up. An overly happy waitress took her order before setting a water pitcher down for one. She kindly informed the girl that she was meeting up with her boyfriend, so the waitress apologized and ran to get another glass. Changseob showed up a little later, walking halfheartedly toward the table. Kijin could tell something was up with him. Silently studying her boyfriend, she attempted to find out what was wrong.

"You don't look to happy to see me," Kijin pointed out, taking a sip of her water.

Changseob just stared at her like he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words to say. He chewed on his lower lip, looking hesitant. Blinking at him, Kijin leisurely drank her water. The waitress came back with the water, but she seemed to be distracted about something too, so she accidentally spilled a bit of water on the table. "Watch it!" Changseob snapped, surprising both the waitress and Kijin.

Kijin first turned to the waitress and said, "It's fine, I'll clean it up. You can go now." Then, facing her boyfriend, she asked, "What is with you today?"

Scoffing, Changseob turned to her. "What's with me? How about you, huh? There are things you aren't telling me, Kijin." They stared each other down, neither daring to say anything else. Kijin knew that she was keeping secrets from him, but she didn't want to tell him he was right. The silence ensued for one long minute before Changseob spoke up again. "Tell me. Are you happy being with me?"

"Yes," she said, but she didn't look him in the eyes. It was true that she was happy when she was with him, but there was something missing in their relationship. It lost its spark. Maybe he was being too clingy. Maybe she was moving on. Maybe both of them had changed.

"You know," he said in a low voice, "we don't have to do this anymore." Changseob sounded like he was on the verge of breaking. Kijin had never heard him sound like this before. Not once in her life. He continued, "I've noticed that we've hung out less and less. When we're in public, you kind of...drift further away from me. Yet you pretend nothing is wrong. Nowadays, I..." Changseob took a shaky breath and looked at her. Her eyes were staring in his direction now, but she wasn't looking at him. Instead, her eyes were fixated on something past him. Forcing himself to say it, Changseob admitted, "I wanna hate you."

The silence was back, and it was deafening this time. Finally, Kijin spoke up. "So, now what?" Her eyes were cold and trained on him now. She felt a mixture of emotions take over. Surprisingly, she felt a twinge of regret and pain, but also relief. She was free at last. Kijin knew she was a bad person for making Changseob go through all this, but at least she didn't have to make any more empty promises to him.

"Now, I guess it's over. Everything we were...it's no more. I'll let you go," Changseob said robotically. Kijin tried to keep her face masked of any emotion. She really wanted to comfort Changseob, but she knew that was out of the question. She had basically agreed to break up with him, willingly at that. All she could do now was nod and act forlorn. Finally, she said, "Okay. I'm going to the restroom. I hope..." she trailed, then took one last look at her now ex-boyfriend. "I hope you find someone better."

Walking off, Kijin really meant that last sentence. As she passed by Ilhoon's table, her lips twitched in response to his hungry eyes scanning her body. Kijin knew that she was a bad person, but at least she could be free. Changseob probably hated her now, but it was better for the both of them, really. After her eyes caught Ilhoon's gaze, a single thought flashed through her mind. At least that's one more secret I don't have to tell.