The graduation ceremony already started when YJ entered the hall. He went to sit next to Rian.

“Rian ah.” He softly called out for her.

“Hmmm?” Rian mumbled.

“Gwaenchana?” YJ worriedly asked of her.

“Ohh. Why would I not be?” She lied.

“It’s just that.. y’know.. earlier..” YJ hesistantly told her.

“About that…” she took a deep breath.

He waited. He was feeling butterflies in his stomach.

“Why did you have to do that?” She now looked at him.

 “Kunyang…” he didn’t know what to say exactly..

“I heard everything..” her voice trembled.

 He was shocked to know that she heard how he reprimanded JB.

“I..” he can’t find the right words to explain.

“Forget it. Let’s rather not talk about it. “ She shakily whispered as she focused her attention back to the perf on stage.

YJ felt a pain in his chest as he saw a tear glistened in her eyes.

Meanwhile..

YJ’s words kept ringing on his ears while staring blankly on the flowers, now on the floor, which he gave Rian with his utmost sincere intention. JB picked the bouquet and started grooming it back to its beautiful state. He let out a deep and heavy sigh at how everything turned out to be.

He then decided to attend the ceremony bringing the tulips with him. When he reached the hall, everyone was already taking commemorative photos together. He then went to look around for Rian and spotted her with HershE.

“Rian ah..” he called out for her while approaching. “You forgot about this” He offered the flowers back to her.

Rian just eyed him and the flowers.

“Yah. Rian ah. What are you waiting for?” Nana .

JB took Rian’s hand and placed the bouquet on it. “Take this, I insist. I don’t expect anything. Just accept it.That’s all.” And from there, he started walking away. He knew he can never win her back anymore. He was too late.

 JB went outside the hall to have a fresh air to breathe. He needed air. He, for the many times now, let out a heavy sigh. He then decided to go back to their dorm when Nana approached him.

“Seeing you sigh like that, it’s a waste.” Nana was now walking with JB.

“What do you mean?” JB asked her, oblivious to what she was trying to say.

“Just when you finally realized your true feelings, in the end, you’re just letting go.” Nana expressed her feeling of regret.

“True feelings?” JB wanted to know what Nana was really trying to point out.

“Ohh. That you still love Rian.” Nana said while sighing.

“How can you say that that’s how I truly feel?” JB was stunned at how Nana knew.

“I just know.” Nana confidently said to him.

“Despite how I was holding on to HS?” well, everybody believed that he was really on to HS but it’s like Nana thinks otherwise.

“Ohh.” Nana had always believed it that way.

“What makes you think it that way?”JB ask to quench his curiosity, even Rian was convinced that he really liked HS but not with Nana’s case.

“Well, I’ve been a witness of how you cared for Rian more than anyone. Despite how you kept telling yourself and everyone else how you liked HS, there’s always a part of you that never fails to remind me that deep inside your heart, Rian’s still the one you loved and cared for the most. Ever since the two of you broke up and until this very moment, you never stopped loving her.” Nana conveyed JB on how she perceived and understand JB’s actions and feelings.

“How can you be so sure of that?” JB never knew that Nana can read him that precisely.

“If only you could see yourself on how you gazed at Rian. There’s just something in the way you look at her. You never looked at anyone the way you look at her. Just by that alone, I know she never left your heart.” Nana shared JB on how she noticed his undeniable feelings toward Rian.

“Haven’t it occurred to you that maybe Rian’s just a thing of my past now? That I moved on and found a new one?” somehow, JB just wanted to ask her about it.

“Nope. Not even once.” Nana said in conviction.

“Wae?” JB can’t help but interrogate at how Nana never even doubted once, unlike him.

Nana suddenly grabbed something out of his pocket, “ If you were really over with Rian, why are you always carrying around a picture of the two of you together in your wallet?”

“That’s because…” his voice trailed off. “but how’d you know about my wallet having that picture?”

“I always keep a keen eye on the both of you.” She revealed and added, “I also know that you’re still keeping all those filthy shoes of yours.”

“Yah! They’re my sweat and blood, my treasures. Don’t look down upon them.” He said in defense of how Nana criticized his shoes.

“Hara. And they also served as your couple rings with Rian.” Nana mischievously smiled at JB.

“Yah! How’d you know that too?” He was a bit embarrassed but he tried to hide it from her.

“I told you, I’ve been watching the two of you closely..”

“Kure? Keke” He was shy at how Nana knew almost everything about them.

 “And one more thing, I also know that you still keep that album of yours where all of your pictures together are safely hidden.”

“Yah! You know too much!” JB complained to Nana.

Ignoring JB’s complaint, Nana mocked JB, “Now, tell me, is she really a thing of your past?”

He shook his head, feeling his heart ache so much.

“NO. Even though I’ve gone to great extents convincing myself that I liked HS, deep inside my heart , I still yearn and long for Rian. I was a fool to believe all this time that HS is the one. If only I haven’t confused empathy with love, I should’ve have realized it sooner, it would not have gone this far.. ” There’s no denying it anymore, besides Nana already knew it before he did.

“That’s why it’s high time for you to win her back!” Nana encouraged JB.

“Seeing how I’ve caused Rian too much suffering, how I inflicted so much pain in her heart, I’m afraid I’ll just repeat what I’ve done to her all over again. She’s better off with Yoojin, he’d never break her heart the way I did... She deserves someone better than me. I have to let her go.” He can’t help but feel a stab in his heart everytime he thinks about letting her go.

“Yah! Jang Wo Jae!! Are you sure of that?” Nana still can’t believe at how things are going on between her friends.

“Ohh. Besides, it’s like she doesn’t want me the way I wanted her anymore.” And he knew very well that it’s his fault why that even happened in the first place.

“ Aren’t you going to try at least one last time? Maybe she’s just waiting for you to say the word.” She felt the need to push JB to fight for Rian. It just doesn’t make sense.

“Though how much I wanted to have her by my side again, I guess I’m too late. If being with YJ will make her happy, then I’ll be happy for her.”

Nana was speechless for the first time ever. She’s witnessing now the thing they so called-True love.

On the other hand,

Rian went  to their dorm as the picture taking was done. She placed the flowers on a vase filled with water to let it live.

“I guess, it’s real goodbye now.” Rian muttered to herself. She felt her eyes wet.

As she opened her door, he saw YJ waiting for her outside. She hurriedly dried up her tears.

“Yah? I knew it! You’re here! Why’d you escaped from us?” YJ asked while sulking.

“I just needed something to do.” Rian casually told him.

“Chogi. I wanted to take back what I said earlier.” YJ scratched his head.

Rian just looked at him bewildered.

 “ I told you to stop smiling, right? Well, I was just kidding earlier, I’d rather see you smile than see you like this.” He then made her lips forced into a smile, doing totally the opposite of what he’d done earlier. Rian smiled at her friend who has always been there for her.

“Yah. That’s more like it. You listen to me well, don’t you?” YJ started to again.

“YJ, thank you. for always being there with me everytime you know... “ Rian’s smile was wiped off clean remembering how JB hurt her over and over again.

 “How should I be able to let him go without hurting this much?” She can’t help it now, she can no longer hide her pain and gradually, tears started to run down her cheeks. She hated herself for always being this vulnerable when it comes to JB.

Yoojin cuddled her for comfort. He her hair, “Don’t hold it in, let it all out. ”

She cried even harder this time. YJ can’t help but tear up too. It hurts him that he never even confessed to her and yet, he already knew the answer. They stayed just like that for awhile until Rian regained her composure.

 She’s back to her calm self again and asked, “Yah, jin yoo jin, tell me honestly, how’d you feel when you knew HS could never love you back?”

YJ was taken aback by her question. “To be honest, I realized that I never even loved her.”

“Mwoh? Baltuande!” YJ gave her a shock at his revelation that she can’t believe it.

“Believe it or not, it’s true.” YJ asserted without a doubt.

“What made you realize about it?” She still can't fathom that fact that he never felt that way.

“Well, when I heard that she is already close to achieving her dream, I felt happy for her. I felt that I did make a good choice in helping her. And so when I think back, all I wanted was for her to do well and now that she’s doing well, I don’t know why but somehow I just don’t feel the same way anymore. Maybe because I just sympathized with her all along and I was a fool to even consider that feeling as love, I confused empathy with love.” YJ recounted his realization to Rian.

Rian just waited for YJ to open to her more. It’s like he has something more to say.

“And before I knew it, I started to have feelings for someone the way I never had before. And this time, I’m sure that this feeling is what people call it love.” YJ can’t look at her in the eye.

“Yah! You are really good at surprising people! You have lots of surprises with you, don’t you? But does she know?” Rian excitedly asked YJ.

“Ani. She doesn’t know. Actually, she doesn’t have any idea. It’s because she’s still in love with someone else that she failed to notice that I do feel something for her.” He painfully replied.

A sudden hit of realization came rushing to her. “Jin yoo jin, don’t tell me…” Her voice trailed off..

“Ohh. You do realize now, don’t you?” He now looked at her with teary eyes.

Rian felt a lot of emotions swarming her up all at once. She didn’t know what to feel exactly.

“ I never even once thought that I’d fall for you but I just did and fall hard.” YJ forced a smile.

“Yoojin..”

Later that night..

YJ was going to see his mom and was stunned to find JB there at his mom’s restaurant, who was drinking nonstop. He was drowning himself with liquor.

“Yah!! Stop that! You already had too much.” YJ tried to stop JB.

“Don’t mind me. I can manage.” JB told YJ off.

 “Yah! Kumane. This won’t help you anything. “ YJ took away the bottle from him.

“Yah! Who are you to take that away anyway?” JB whined, still unaware of who he was talking to.

“I’m your friend” YJ said calmly to JB.

“Ohh. Chincha?” He blinked his eyes a few times to get a better view of YJ. “Oh, so it’s YJ. You’re here too. Yah, come and join me.”

YJ can’t help but sit in front of him. It looks like JB badly needed a company.

“That’s better.” He smiled. “Ajhumma, another case please. I have a friend here with me to share with.”

“Yah! When are you planning to stop ?” YJ barked at JB. "It's like you've been drinking nonstop."

“You just came and you wanted to stop already? Join me.Here, have a drink too.” JB offered a bottle to YJ.

“Yah! What do you think are you doing to yourself?” YJ took the bottle from JB and drink a little.

“Yoojin, please take care of Rian for me, Hara?” JB suddenly pleaded out of the blue.

“I’ll do that without you telling that.” YJ affronted JB.

“Kure? Seems like Rian got a better guy now..” JB shed a tear unknowingly and drunk the liquor, emptying it all at once.

“Yah! You better get a hold of yourself. You’re heavily drunk!” YJ worriedly scoffed at JB. “Stop it already.Go home.”

“I’ll only listen if you promise me you’ll never break Rian’s heart the way I did.”

“Hara.Hara. I promise. Now, go.”

“Oh. Cham. Ajhumma! Here’s my payment..” As he opened his wallet, he fell and lost consciousness. His wallet fell open, revealing the picture to YJ.

YJ got curious and picked JB’s wallet to have a closer look on the photo.. He was astounded at the picture. It contains JB and Rian. They look so inlove and genuinely happy in the photo that he can’t help but get jealous and sad.

“Rian ah, I really want to let you go and let you be happy with YJ.. but there’s this place in me where your fingerprints still rest, your kisses still linger and your whispers softly echo.. It’s the place where a part of you will forever be a part of me. So tell me Rian, how should I let you go without having to hurt this much?” JB blurted out half-unconcious.

“You even said the same thing as her. You do love her so much, don’t you?” YJ said to the now unconscious JB.

YJ noticed that even in JB’s unconscious state, JB’s pain was raw and fresh as he saw a tear run down JB’s cheeks before he totally dozed off.

“Don’t worry. You’re not the one letting go..” YJ whispered.

Whew! Finally done with this chapter! I’ve had many revisions here, I’m just really torn between JJ and G-minor. Despite that, I still ended up choosing the couple who has deeper story.

And about the wallet, I just thought I find it a symbolic way to reveal how strong JB’s feelings for Rian are. Actually, I got the idea from the first season of dh.

And as for YJ’s confession, I don’t know how to let it not be too cheesy and not too showy, so it basically turned out like that.

While for Nana, I included her because she has always been the one who keeps on teasing JB of his feelings for Rian on the first few episodes. And I find it amusing that way.

So how was it? Have I overdid it this time? And oh, thank you for your compliments last time, they’re highly appreciated.  I’m happy to know that you felt the same way as I did and that you loved my first chapter. Somehow I felt pressured doing the second chapter because of your comments, haha. Anyways, I wanna hear your thoughts again. Leave your comments, Hara? Kumowa my dearest readers.

And my sincerest and heartful thanks to my dearest friend, euntaec for always providing me a poster for my chappie. You’ll be blessed chingu..

Btw, You can see JB’s “wallet” on the poster above... Don't forget to subscribe for those who haven't subscribe yet..