All of these things people told me keep messing in my head; you should've picked honesty, then you may not have blown it.

Most of the time, Sunggyu called Woohyun "tree" just to make fun of his name. Namu-yah! he always .

But sometimes, he called him like that because he reminded him of a real tree.

~~~

People say that spring is the season of love. But for Sunggyu, it was summer that made people fall in love.

At least, that was what applied to Woohyun.

Yoon Hangae was her name, and in Sunggyu's eyes, she was a perfect match to Woohyun: cute, but competitive, greasy, but serious at times, and extremely passionate. When Sunggyu thought about it, then Hangae was like a summer kiss: refreshing and sweet. Woohyun behaved way more greasy – if that was even possible – and loved to talk about his girlfriend as if she was a trophy.

‑

"Your girlfriend is a human, Woohyun-ah," Sunggyu said to him once.

"I know that," he replied, a wide and proud grin on his face.

"So why do you talk about Hangae as if she's your prize?"

"Do I? Oh, that's not on purpose, really. But I'm just happy that I have her, you know."

Sunggyu chuckled, and before he could answer, Woohyun continued, "Sometimes I feel like Hangae is the thing that missed in my life for so long."

The elder couldn't help but smile.

"You know, Woohyun…"

"Hm?"

"It's nice to see that you care so much about your girlfriend."

Woohyun smiled. "Thanks, hyung."

-

Of course, summer also had its dark sides. Dark sides as in, thunder and lightning, or too hot and dry days. Just like every other couple, Hangae and Woohyun did quarrel, but luckily, they managed to get over it. Like a tree after the rain, the leaves shined, wet from raindrops, and the head remained proud and high. Sunggyu never saw Woohyun being angry or sad; he would always be highly motivated and optimistic. Every time they had a verbal fight, Woohyun would always say to Sunggyu, "We'll be better tomorrow," and call Hangae for apology.

Woohyun was indeed confident about his relationship with Hangae.

~~~

Autumn had a melancholic effect on persons, Sunggyu observed. The quirkiness of summer was replaced by a deep, heavy fog of sadness. The leaves became, due to the lack of sunlight and chlorophyll, yellow or red and because the tree needed to save water, it got rid of them.

The leaves, in Woohyun's case, were his hopes, his good memories, his love to Hangae.

It began one day in Indian summer, when Woohyun told Sunggyu that he had smelled a foreign perfume on her.

A foreign perfume for men, that was.

"Maybe it's just coincidental," Woohyun tried to comfort himself. "Maybe, it's her brother."

"She has no brother," Sunggyu remarked.

"I know," was Woohyun's reply; a halfhearted, mumbling reply.

Sunggyu could literally feel how the tree wept over the first falling, dead leave.

-

Woohyun tried to clutch on all of his hopes as long as possible, but it was so heartbreaking to see all his hopes and love fading away. For Sunggyu, it was clear that Hangae cheated on him.

But Woohyun just didn't want to believe it.

They met less, they saw each other less, and they talked less. But Woohyun always found an excuse for her.

"She has a lot of work." (She hadn't.)

"It's alright when we don't see each other that often." (It wasn't.)

"She still loves me, really." (She didn't.)

-

He was good-looking, had deep and charming eyes and a soft laugh. He didn't talk much, but a handsome boy like him didn't need to talk anyways. He wasn’t as manly as Woohyun; he rather looked like a shy boy-next-door.

And he had no idea that Hangae had a boyfriend (whom she cheated on)

"Excuse me, I have no idea what you're talking about," he said to Sunggyu as the elder told him the story about Hangae and Woohyun. "Why should Hangae have a boyfriend?"

That's the wrong question.

"She's a nice girl, why shouldn't she have one?" Sunggyu returned.

The younger looked at him and nodded. "Ah, excuse me, I've phrased it wrong. What I've meant was: Why should she cheat on her boyfriend if she has one?"

If she has one.

"Excuse me – what was your name again?"

"Myungsoo."

"Yeah. Myungsoo-yah, do you know by any chance if Hangae has a boyfriend?"

(The dumb stare Myungsoo gave Sunggyu was annoying.)

"No. At least she didn't tell me about it."

-

"Why?" was all Sunggyu asked Hangae. She was smart enough to know what he was talking about.

"Because with Myungsoo, I feel more human. Woohyun treated me like a prize."

"Do you have any idea how much he loves you?"

"He is a stupid tree!"

"I agree with you. He is  a tree, but that doesn't make him stupid! He isn't stupid at all! You have no idea how much he thinks about you! And if he doesn't mean anything for you, then at least break up with him!"

Hangae sighed. "Okay. I'll do it."

"Thank you."

~~~

Winter began for Sunggyu on the day Hangae and Woohyun broke up.

(It's fate that it indeed was December 21^st when they separated.)

Because Woohyun had to save his energy, he quickly got rid of the leaves.

Not that he felt nothing, though.

When others were present, he acted as if he wasn't affected at all. But with Sunggyu around, he looked exhausted.

"Are you alright?" Sunggyu would ask.

"I'll be better," would Woohyun reply.

"You sure about it?"

Woohyun nodded.

Because a tree bloomed in spring again, he realized.

-

Winter was cold and harsh, and Woohyun became that way. He looked arrogantly at others, barely gave any answers and was so cold that even Sunggyu barely recognized him. On the flip side, he understood that he saved water.

Whenever Woohyun passed Hangae and her (new) boyfriend Myungsoo, he didn't look at Hangae, but kept his gaze rather on Myungsoo.

"I wonder if he's a good boyfriend," Sunggyu said.

"Hm," was Woohyun's reply, "I wonder if she's a good girlfriend."

Maybe Woohyun did know. He was a tree, but not stupid, after all.

-

"Woohyun-ah," Sunggyu said one day (it was New Year's Eve). "Woohyun-ah, stop."

"Stop with what?" They were stargazing, and fireworks enlightened the starry sky now and then.

"Stop thinking about her. Stop wishing for a shooting star to come. Stop, because all you do is hurting yourself. Not more, not less."

There was a long pause.

"I know," Woohyun whispered. When Sunggyu turned to him, he saw Woohyun's tears for the first time.

"But I can't," the younger said.

"Woohyun-ah," Sunggyu said calmly, "You believe that she's your eternal spring. She isn't. Let me tell you a secret."

"Yes?"

"You're your own spring." Sunggyu looked at his watch and added, "Happy New Year."

~~~

It was spring that warmed persons. Birds returned, the days became longer and smiles on people's faces were more present. During the spring, Sunggyu happened to yawn a lot more.

"You're such a hamster, Sunggyu-hyung," Woohyun would .

"Shut up, you greasy tree," Sunggyu would answer and smirk. It was heartwarming for him to see his best friend more often.

Indeed, it was spring who made bloom persons.

-

"Excuse me?"

Sunggyu turned around and faced Hangae's boyfriend (what was his name again? Something along the lines of Moonsoo, that was.)

"Yes?" Sunggyu asked firmly.

"Do you have time?"

"Of course." He sat on a bench, the younger followed.

"I…um, I heard the story of Woohyun and Hangae."

Sunggyu nodded.

"That was the day I broke up with her."

"Why?"

"I don't need a girl who isn't loyal," the younger explained. "I talked with Woohyun about her, and he seemed to love her a lot."

Sunggyu nodded in agreement.

"She told me that he considered her as a prize," the boy continued. "So, well, that was when I got angry. I shouted that she could've just broken up with him instead of cheating." He paused. "It wasn't really cheating what she did, but it was close enough."

"I see. But she was loyal – she broke up with him before she asked you out."

"She told me that you were behind this."

"I just did what I had to do." Sunggyu shrugged.

"You did far more than that. I think you are a great friend."

The elder shrugged again; this time, though, he couldn't help but smile.

~~~

One year had passed since Woohyun had been in a relationship with Hangae. It was summer again, and the two friends were at the beach. They couldn't be happier.

"Sunggyu-hyung," Woohyun said, his eyes closed, his body lying on the sand.

"Hm?"

"I met Hangae today."

"And?"

"She looked so sad. Seems like Myungsoo had broken up with her. So I hugged her and told her that everything would be alright."

"What did she respond?"

Woohyun laughed. "I've forgotten that she was a proud girl. She pushed me away and answered that she wasn't a treehugger."

Sunggyu laughed loudly. "See, there is a reason why I call you like this, Namu-yah!"

~~~

Sometimes, Sunggyu called Woohyun "Tree", just to make fun of his name. Namu-yah! he would say.

But most of the time, he called him like that because he reminded him of a real tree.