"Eh Top get up and let's go dance." the drunk Jiyong mumbled, swinging his arms around like a mad man.

"Shut up." Seunghyun simply replied. I couldn't help but laugh at that.

Daesung and Seungri were sleeping in my guest room. Taeyang sent Hwayoung back and went home too. I should have known inviting these guys over would turn my apartment into a complete mess. But fortunately, Seunghyun didn't drink this time.

"You should have went home with Hwayoung unnie." I said, settling myself on the couch beside Seunghyun.

"You heard her. She insisted I stay."

I nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"Do you... want a can of beer?" I suggested.
He shook his head, giving me polite smile.

"Why did you move out?" he asked, looking at me as he waited for an answer. I shrugged.

"I wanted to be independent..." I replied, not changing my reasons even after Seungri's outburst the day before.

"But you were independent from the start."

"No. I was never independent."

"Well, you were always dependable." he stated.


I frowned, trying to understand what he meant.

"You took care of me ever since we met. You were only thirteen then. I think you're independent enough." he explained, painfully bringing up the past again.

That was the thing about Seunghyun. He never understood that I needed him. All he knew was that he needed to lean on me. And even that wasn't entirely
true. I was easy to replace. It wasn't difficult to find someone that would love him enough to want to protect him all their lives. He was, after all, extremely lovable. But for me, I knew that I was never going to find another person quite like Seunghyun. The things we've been through, the days we spent together... I was never going to meet another person who can give me those. Seunghyun was the only one in this entire world. And knowing that hurt the most.

"If you need a particular someone with you in order to be dependable, that's not independence, Top oppa. That's pretend."

His eyes bore into mine, as if knowing exactly what I meant, yet still searching for traces of falsity to convince himself otherwise. And from the look in his eyes that moment, I knew exactly what he was going to say next. 'I'm sorry'. Those were the words that Seunghyun found so difficult to spur to anyone else, yet constantly showered me with. It was no surprise that he spilled them once more, for the guilt in his eyes obviously ate him up inside every night. But I was wrong. Those weren't the words he wanted to say, and the look in his eyes were not guilt.

"I love you, Rin." he whispered, his gaze not darting elsewhere like it usually did as he spoke to me. I stared at him, utterly stunned by his bold words.

"I love you, Rin." he repeated, his eyes begging for a reply.

'I love you'...three words I never imagined to hear from Seunghyun. Not when we were younger, and definitely not now that he was married. Those three words, even when we were in an affair, never escaped his lips. And though I thought I knew he felt it, I never realized the weight of those words when actually spoken.

"No, Top oppa. You love Hwayoung unnie." I said, trying my best to keep my voice from shaking.

"I'll always love you, Rin." he muttered, as if not hearing what I had just said, "But I want to be a responsible man."

He gave me a small smile, tears b in this eyes. I nodded, returning a smile.

There were many moments of ours that I declared to myself as the last. But time and again, I went against my own word. This time, however, was indeed the last. Because I knew there was nothing left to say. Seunghyun had finally spoken his mind. And even though those words I've always dreamt of hearing were finally out, at the same time... they marked the end of our story.