The following day, Hae Jin didn’t come to school. Sungmin worried about that. Was it because of what happened at the train station the previous night?

            His fingers went up to his lips as he remembered how it felt. Realizing what he was thinking, he shook his head. On other days that Hae Jin was absent, she would call him early in the morning to inform him, and to ask him to tell her archery coach that she was out. That morning, no message or call came, so Sungmin was only rightfully surprised to find out that she hadn’t come in for class.

            After his last class, he went to the archery range. Although Hae Jin didn’t inform him of her absence, he was sure that she still wanted him to tell her coach.

            He came through the doors that led to the balcony above the range, and he found Jang Yoon-sshi speaking with Hyung Shik. The moment Sungmin saw his upperclassman, he thought of Hae Jin and his heart sank again. No matter how much time they spent together the previous day, no matter how much fun they had, and no matter how real the accidental kiss was, Hae Jin still loved Hyung Shik. Not even a kiss with Sungmin would change that.

            He sighed and came forward, walking towards Jang Yoon-sshi. Hyung Shik noticed him approach and waved. “Hey, Sungmin!”

            Sungmin forced a smile. “Hey, sunbae.” He turned to the coach. “Hae Jin’s absent today, so she won’t make it.”

            “Thanks for coming here like always, Sungmin,” Jang Yoon-sshi told him, “but Hyung Shik already told me.”

            Sungmin stared at his upperclassman.

            “She told me last night that she wouldn’t come today,” Hyung Shik said, rather sadly. “I was calling her last night, but she didn’t answer. But then she called back about an hour after. She said she felt sick and wasn’t coming to school today. Bummer, right?”

            She felt sick? “What else did she tell you?”

            “She was pretty down when she called,” the upperclassman said thoughtfully. “She sounded like she just cried, I think.”

            Sungmin’s eyes widened.

            “She sounded really sad, so I tried to cheer her up. We talked about the Grad Ball this Saturday. Oh, did she tell you that I asked her?”

            Tightening his jaw, Sungmin nodded. “She told me she was very excited,” he said, unable to hold his irritation in.

            Hyung Shik smiled. “She said that? That’s good. Tell her I’m excited for it too.”

            Sungmin turned away and began for the door. “Go tell her yourself.”

            In his room at home, Sungmin couldn’t concentrate on his homework. All he could think about was Hae Jin and Hyung Shik. Did she tell him what happened yesterday? Did she tell him about buying the dress that Sungmin had chosen? Did she tell him about the train station events?

            He gulped.

            Sungmin’s eyes widened and so did Hae Jin’s. The both of them were frozen on the floor, their lips too close for comfort. Hae Jin was the first to collect her wits, and she rolled off her best friend and collected the contents of her bag that dropped to the ground. Sungmin sat up and tried to help, but she shook her head and gathered everything before he could touch anything.

            Without waiting for him, Hae Jin stood up, picked up all the bags, and ran off. Sungmin stood up as well and opened his mouth to yell after her, but he stopped himself. What was anything he’d say going to do now? Nothing would help the situation. Alone and miserable, he dragged his feet and walked by himself back home.

            Sungmin rapidly shook his head to shake those thoughts away. He hadn’t meant for anything to happen that way. He hadn’t meant for Hae Jin to become angry with him. But was she really angry? He sighed. Maybe she was just as confused as he was. Tapping his pen on the desk before him, he hoped that that was the case.

            A few minutes later, his phone rang. He looked up from his schoolbook and checked the message. It was from Hae Jin.

            Sorry I was out today. I’ll meet you at the train station tomorrow. :)

            Sungmin stared at the words for a moment. He was desperate to talk to her and apologize about the previous night—even though it wasn’t really his fault. He was desperate to figure out what she felt about it—about him—now.

            I missed you today. :P See you tomorrow.

            He sent the message reply and put his phone down. It was best to avoid the topic, wasn’t it?

            Later that evening, he received a phone call.

            “Sungmin-sshi!” It was Wang Jun-sshi, their music teacher at school.

            “Good evening, Wang Jun-sshi,” Sungmin greeted. “What’s up?”

            “I have a big favor to request of you, Sungmin-sshi.”

            “What is it?”

            “I’ll be out this Saturday because of some family conflicts, and I need you to be the one to play the piano for the ensemble at the Graduation Ball.”

            “The grad ball?” Sungmin sat up in his bed. His mind raced, thinking of Hae Jin and Hyung Shik being together that night. “No way!”

            “Please, Sungmin-sshi! You’re my only hope left.”

            “There’s no way I’m stepping foot into that area on Saturday night,” he told his teacher firmly. “I’m sorry Wang Jun-sshi, but I just can’t.”

            The teacher was silent for a moment. “Okay. I’m sorry I asked this of you, Sungmin-sshi, and at such late notice as well.”

            “I’m sorry too,” he sighed before putting down his phone.

            The next morning, when Sungmin arrived at the train station, Hae Jin was waiting for him there. She smiled as she saw him coming near.

            “What happened to you yesterday?” Sungmin asked, trying to sound casual, as they waited for the train to arrive.

            “I had a little fever,” Hae Jin answered without looking at him. “Must have been from all the exhaustion last Wednesday night.”

            He nodded, unable to say more.

            They both stood silently as they waited.

            As Sungmin tried to think of what to say, all he could think about was that kiss from two nights ago. Why couldn’t he take it off his mind?

            “Hae Jin,” he began to say.

            “Heeeey, there’s the train!” Hae Jin said. Apparently she didn’t hear him.

            He sighed and waited for the train to stop in front of them. As it did, he saw his reflection and remembered how his reflection was the other night. His heart sank.

            “Come on, Sungmin,” Hae Jin said as she stepped into the train.

            He nodded and followed her.

            The train started moving again, and the two of them stood in awkward silence.

            After a minute, Hae Jin turned to Sungmin. “Minnie?”

            He looked at her. “Yeah?”

            “I want to talk about two nights ago.”

            He bit his lower lip. “Yeah, I do too.”

            “I mean,” she chuckled, “I don’t know why we’re feeling so awkward about this.”

            Sungmin was silent.

            “I guess it happens to some guy-girl best friends, right? And it wasn’t intentional. Most of all, there was nothing to it.” She chuckled again. “Don’t you find it funny?”

            “Haha, yeah…”

            “Anyway, I’m happy we finally cleared that out. I was worrying you’d be thinking about it too much or something. I didn’t want you to think too much about something meaningless.” She smiled.

            Meaningless? Sungmin felt his chest ache. He forced a smile. “Yup. At least this is all over.” He looked away from her and sighed.

            All through his classes, all Sungmin could think about was his best friend again. The great time they had together two nights ago, their moments at the train station, the kiss, what Hyung Shik had said the previous day, and what Hae Jin told him that morning.

            Meaningless, he repeated in his head. How could Hae Jin have dismissed it as meaningless whereas he was going crazy thinking about it?

            “You two look very cute together. How long have you been going out?”

            “That’s a pity. You two are an adorable couple.”

            “You two look perfect for each other!”

            “So you dolike her!”

            Sungmin thought over and over about that last line. Did he really like Hae Jin? They’ve been best friends for years. He stood by her through every thing. He supported her every decision. He grew angry with anyone who tried to hurt her. He grew jealous whenever she’d spend time with another guy. He grew jealous whenever she’d spend time with Hyung Shik.

            “I guess it happens to some guy-girl best friends, right?”

            “Maybe you should try. She’ll understand, I’m sure.”

            That was it; the answer to his question and his problem. It’s time to confess.

            After his last class, Sungmin went over to the range. Hae Jin’s class always finished before his on Fridays, so he was sure she’d be there already.

            When he entered the balcony, no one was there. All the members of the team were shooting at the range downstairs, and Jang Yoon-sshi was probably at the office. He placed his bag down beside Hae Jin’s at the side of the room and sat down on the bench for a while.

            Am I really going to do this now? he worried. What if I distract her from training? What if I distract her from tomorrow’s event? What if she hates me and never wants to talk to me again? He sighed. What could he do? He already put his mind to it, and he went to the range just for that.

            He looked around. Maybe if he left now, he wouldn’t be seen—

            “Hey, Minnie.”

            Sungmin looked at the stairs and found Hae Jin, who just came up. He smiled slightly. “Hey.”

            “What are you doing here?” She came over and took a drink from her water bottle.

            “You know, just visiting,” he lied. “Sorry if I’m disturbing you. Do you want me to leave?”

            Hae Jin looked at him silently for a moment. “You’re not disturbing.” She sat beside him. “What’s on your mind? You seem pretty… engrossed in your thoughts.” She chuckled.

            “Umm.” What am I supposed to do? “Where’s Hyung Shik sunbae?” he changed the topic.

            “He’s preparing the stuff for the Grad Ball.” She swooned. “He’s just an all-around guy—almost perfect,” she said, almost to herself.

            Sungmin blinked. What have I done?

            “I can’t believe tomorrow’s the Grad Ball,” Hae Jin continued. “Since I was at home all day yesterday, umma and unni made me wear the dress and shoes.” She grinned. “They even put make up. I had such a good time.”

            “You’re really excited for tomorrow, aren’t you?” Sungmin said, regretting that he asked the moment he said the words.

            She nodded. “I’m more excited than I’ve ever been.” Her smile widened. “I can hardly think anymore—Yang Joon-sshi’s going to kill me once he sees me on the range today.” She laughed.

            “Hae Jin.” Sungmin stood up in one swift motion. “This has to stop.”

            She looked up at him. “What are you talking about, Minnie?”

            He curled his right hand into a tight fist. “In our five years of being best friends, I’ve never been more disappointed and irritated at you than now, Hae Jin.”

            She stared. “Wha—?”

            “This past week has been all about you, the Graduation Ball, and Hyung Shik sunbae. It’s all you can ever think about! I don’t think I can live with this any longer.” He took his bag and turned away from her. “I don’t think I can live with being your best friend anymore.”

            “Sungmin, what are you talking about?”

            “I’m sorry, Hae Jin.” Sungmin inhaled deeply and left the balcony without looking back at her.

            The moment he stepped out into the corridor, he sank down to the ground and held his heart. He felt like crying. He felt like screaming. He felt like going back into the balcony and just embrace her and apologize for everything he had said. But he did none of those. Instead, Sungmin forced himself to get up, grab his bag, and walk off.

            Before leaving the campus, he passed by the music room, hoping to catch Wang Jun-sshi still inside. Fortunately for him, the teacher was fixing his music sheets on his desk.

            “Ah, Sungmin-sshi,” Wang Jun-sshi greeted as the boy knocked on the door and came into the room. “What brings you here?”

            “Did you… did you find someone to replace you tomorrow night?” he asked softly.

            The teacher shook his head. “I think the ensemble can succeed even without a pianist.”

            “Wang Jun-sshi,” Sungmin said and looked at him seriously. “Please, may I be the one to play the piano tomorrow evening?”

            Wang Jun-sshi’s eyes widened. “I thought you didn’t want to—”

            He shook his head. “I know what I said. I didn’t mean it. I want to be there tomorrow. Please, let me be the one to play the piano. Please.”

            The man chuckled and looked back at his papers. “I don’t know what has gotten into you, Sungmin-sshi, but please do come tomorrow and play for us. Thank you.”

            “Thank you, Wang Jun-sshi!” He bowed to his teacher and ran off, feeling a little bit better.