Henry and I went down the steps of the stage.

"Thanks so much for saving me back there, Henry." I gave him a smile of gratitude.

"No problem." He smiled back.

 

Then, from some part of the crowd, something was happening, and people were making a ruckus. We turned towards the noise. It seemed to be from the "love test" thing.

"Sungha, let me go!"

 

Henry and I looked at each other, like, uh-oh, and ran towards the voice, Seungah.

When we got there, Sungha was holding Seungah's arms and she was struggling to get free.

"Please, Seungah, let me explain—"

"There's nothing left to explain!" Seungah finally got free from his grasp.

"Please listen to me! I'm doing this so you won't get hurt." His voice softened.

 

Seungah looked down. "Isn't it too late for that?"

 

Just then, Jinyoung broke away from the crowd. "Seungah! Are you okay? Is this guy bothering you?"

Sungha protested, "I'm not bothering anyone!" and then Jinyoung and Sungha got into an intense argument. I quickly went to Seungah's side to comfort her, because she was starting to panic. I was suddenly joined by none other than Kyuhyun oppa.

"Sam, are you alright?" he hugged her. She didn't answer.

 

Henry immediately stepped in between the two arguing guys before things got worse. "Alright, everybody CALM DOWN!"

The crown fell silent. Jinyoung and Sungha were still glaring.

 

"Okay, here's what I propose. Seungah, go with Sungha. Listen to what he has to say."

Seungah began to protest, "But—"

Henry said, "Trust me, okay? He won't hurt you. This might give you closure. And after this, he won't bother you again, right?" He turned to Sungha, who only nodded a bit.

"And Jinyoung hyung, you can be there for her after, but for now, Seungah needs this. Okay?" Jinyoung looked at Seungah. She looked at him and said, "I'll look for you later, okay oppa?"

Sungha and Seungha walked away, Seungah's arms crossed.

 

Henry and I exchanged worried looks.

---

 

Seungah's POV

 

Sungha and I went to the school garden at the back, which was empty since everyone was at the festival. I walked ahead of him and sat down on a bench. I don't think I'd ever been here before, but I think it would have been romantic if the situation weren't as it is now.

Sungha sat down beside me. For a while, we sat there, saying nothing.

 

"So how was the tour?" I started.

"It was okay."

 

Another silence.

 

"Why?"

 

He paused before he answered. "Why did I come back?"

"No, why did you break up with me? Why did you feel the need to explain?" I think I was supposed to be crying, but why did I feel emotionless?

 

"I hope you don't get hurt by this."

I looked at him, waiting.

 

"I never loved you that way."

Silence. My face was stone hard, unmoving.

 

"I loved you only as a friend. I thought that if I accepted your initial confession, I would learn to love you that way, but I didn't." He turned to me. "I'm sorry."

 

"So this whole time, was it all a lie?"

"No, of course not! I may not love you that way, but I still love you as a friend. One of my best friends. You know me better than anyone else. But… I guess that wasn't enough."

 

I nodded. I knew that I should have been heartbroken, begging on my knees, having a fit. Instead, for some reason, I just felt a little sad. I guess I was expecting this all along.

 

We just sat for a while in silence, but this time it seemed a little awkward.

 

I removed the silver bracelet from my wrist. I had it on since Sungha gave it to me when he last left. I handed it to him. He just looked at me, confused.

"This is for some other girl to wear." I smiled, a ghost of a tear escaping my eye. He accepted it, hesitated, and then embraced me.

"Just friends?"

 

I shook my head. "Best friends."

Then I pulled away and got up to look for Jinyoung oppa before I changed my mind.

 

 

 

Where was he? The festival was over and everyone was heading home. I dropped my shoulders. Maybe he already went home. I trudged towards the school gate.

 

"Wow, I thought I was supposed to comfort you. This isn't the bleary-eyed crybaby I was expecting."

I turned to see Jinyoung oppa and laughed. "I'm not that weak."

"Oh really now?"

 

He chuckled. "So I guess I'm not needed?"

"You can keep me company." I smiled.