"10-14-24" Riyoung said to herself as she was twisting the knob to her locker. Hearing the click, Riyoung sighed in happiness and carefully stuffed some gifts her friend gave her. It was Valentines day, the day the Riyoung dreaded the most. Happy couples coming together, showing their affection to each other while she would spend a day by herself alone. Her best friend, Kim Jongin, would usually go out and spend a that day with his girlfriend who was, at the time, Riyoung's best friend. However, the two broke up last year. Riyoung was very happy, thinking she would finally have her chance to confess her love to Jongin. 

"Riyoung!" Her best friend, Minah, cried as she came running to her best friend, tears running down her face.

"What's wrong? Did you fail the test today?" Riyoung asked trying to make a joke as she comforted her friend. Patting her back and reassuring her that it's okay.

"Well...yeah, but that's not the point." Minah replied as she wiped her hot tears away. "Jongin... he... he broke up with me." she finished, only to make her tear up again and hug her friend. Riyoung felt a wet patch on her right shoulder, only to shrug it off. Truth was, Riyoung was bursting with joy. She can finally make him hers. Thinking abaout all of the possibilities, Riyoung came back to her senses. This was her best friend they were talking about. 

'Was I being too selfish?' Riyoung thought to herself. She continued to calm her friend down before bombarding her with questions. "Now tell me, what exactly happened?" the older asked, looking straight into her friends eyes with her hand on both sides of her shoulders.

"He said that...He said that he felt like we shouldn't go on. He said that we're still young and that we should focus on our dreams and become successful. He said he still loves me, but for now, it's not really the best time for him... for the both of us." Minah sniffed. Typical Jongin. He wasn't the type that would put down someone harshly. He wanted to be a dancer ever since he was a kid. He was very passionate about it, which Riyoung didn't complain. Riyoung only sighed in reply.

"You are going to look at me in the eyes and promise me that you'll be strong. Promise me that you'll do as he said and focus on your dreams. When the time is right, he'll come back to you. Nothing lasts forever, Minah."

Riyoung smiled to herself remembering that day. Coming back to reality, Riyoung pulled out a red heart shaped box with various chocolates inside. Riyoung smiled to herself and shut her locker to be greeted by a cheerful Jongin holding out a bouquet with some of Riyoungs favorite flowers inside.

"Happy Valentines Day!"Jongin sang. Riyoung's heart raced. Calm down now, he's just being friendly Riyoung said to herself. She knew she shouldn't feel this way. He wouldn't feel he same for her, it would always be a best friend relationship... nothing more, nothing less. 

"It's pretty~" Riyoung said as she flashed him a smile and took the bouquet out of his hands. 

"Ooh~ what's this I see?" Jongin asked as he took the box of chocolates out of her hands and swiftly turned around. Riyoung smiled to herself and caught up with her best friend who was walking pretty fast. Once she caught up to him, the box was almost empty. Riyoung hung open in shock and snatched the box way from Jongin.

"Hey now, don't be a fatass," Riyoung told him with a straight, serious face." Sharing is caring, am I right?" Riyoung popped a piece of white chocolate into and walked off to her first period. Jongin scoffed as he saw his best friend walk away with his chocolates.

"I'll see you later then!" Jongin shouted across the hallway  so Riyoung could hear. Riyoung just replied with her thumb up in response. Jongin laughed at his friend behavior and walked to first period.

...

The last bell of the day echoed throughout the school. Students rushed out of their classrooms to meet with their significant other. Riyoung took her dear sweet time as she walked out of her chemistry class. As Riyoung stepped out of her class, a pair of hands covered her eyes. "Guess who?" Jongin cooed.

"Gee, I wonder who it might be. Oh,  how the suspense is killing me.' Riyoung sarcastically responded.

"Pff, you don't have to be so mean." Jongin said as he removed his hands away from her face. Riyoung playfully rolled her eyes as the two began walking out of the school, passing by a few couples eating each other's faces out.  This only made Riyoung cringe at the sight as for Jongin only ignored them. C'mon now... sooner or later, Riyoung. Riyoung's heart was beating fast, palms clammy. Should I do this? What if he dosn't feel the same way? Just do it, don't be such a coward. Riyoung paced back and fourth in her head.

The two were nearing the gate of the school. Riyoung took a deep breath and said, "Hey, can I... talk to you for a sec?" Jongin only nodded and the  two were off to the school garden. Riyoung took a quick peek of Jongin's face as the cool breeze hit his face. He was gorgeous, she'll admit that. It's no wonder why girls always cry over him.

"So, what chya wanna talk about? Is everything is okay?" Jongin asked as the two sat down on the wooden bench near by.

"Yeah, everything is okay actually." Riyoung flatly responded. "Jongin, well... I like you." Riyoung slowly said as if she was confessing a mistake to her parents, waiting for the sound of skin hitting each other.

"I like you too, Riyoung" Jongin replied. He turned to his side and ruffled the girls hair and smiled.

"No, you don't understand... I like you." This was it. Everything came down to this. Would he accept her love or regect it. There was silence. The only thing  that could be heard was the sounds of nature. Jongin looked at her shocked.

"You know that I want to focus on my future."

"I know, but... I just had to tell you. I know that you just got out of a relation ship, but I liked you." Riyoung blinked her tears back, refusing them to fall. She was afraid of what might come next. She knew. "You don't have to accept. No one is forcing you to. I just had to, I hope you understand." She looked up and met with his eyes. Jongin had pity in his eyes. If he only knew earlier, he wouldn't be there listening to his best friend confessing her  love towards him. He gets these every day from girls, but this time it was different.

"When Minah was dating you, I felt left out. I felt like I was going to loose you. But yet, I let you two date. I... I wanted you to be happy. I didn't want to be that third wheel or that er that butts in on relationships." Riyoung explained laughing a little."I was happy that day when you guys broke up, thinking that you can be mine and no one else can have you. It was selfish of me to think so, but a small part of me didn't think otherwise." A tear dropped on hand.

"I-" Riyoung started, to only be pulled into a hug by Jongin. She felt his steady heartbeat against her cheek. "I'm sorry." Riyoung repeated over and over, sobbing into his shoulder.

"Riyoung." Jongin seemed to look for the right words. "I'm sorry, I can't. If you had let me know earlier, I could have been yours, but it's too late. I might reconsider it but for know, I don't think it's the right time." He her hair. Riyoung lightly pushed him off, stood up and grabbed her belongings.

"I see. Don't let this effect us okay? Lets just act like this never happened."Riyoung forced a smile on her face. She wiped the tears away by the back of her hand. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Giving him a single wave, she turned her heels and began walking out of the school. You did it she thought to herself. It seemed as if the world was off of her shoulders now. Everything seemed free now. With her cheeks wet with tears, she began to walk back home, taking her dear sweet time.

» Author's Note

Whoo! I took way too long to update this. Procrastination got the best of me. Don't hurt me. I hope you enjoyed the story, I'm pretty satisfied with it. Please excuse some of the rushed parts. And yeah. Happy New Years everyone!