Class had just gotten out for the day and I picked up my back pack when I felt it slowly being taken out of my hands.  I looked up to see Himchan smiling as he took it up and started to walk off with it.  “Oppa!” I cried out as I raced to keep up with him.

            Himchan and I had been good friends for all of our lives.  Our families had joked around saying that sooner or later we would break down and date each other.  So when the time came for us to look at colleges, we decided to go to the same one.  He was going in for music major, and I was going in for business management.  It was our dream to start a music company together and we had two different tastes on what we wanted to do for the company. I finally reached him and grabbed my bag out of his hands and slung it over my shoulder.  “I haven’t broken my arm yet this year oppa, so you don’t have to carry my bag for me,” I , as I pushed him slightly.

            “I know, I just like picking on you,” he beamed as he through his arm around my shoulder as we started walking back to the dorm halls. 

            People watched us as we joked around, a lot of the girls on campus liked Himchan and envied that I was on such close terms with him.  He was always someone that you could get a good laugh when you’re down, but also someone that you could go to for a shoulder to cry on.  The thing was with our relationship we had a mutual agreement, we made as young teenagers, that no matter how much we really like each other, there would be no boyfriend/girlfriend relationship between us.  I loved Himchan too much like a brother all my life; it was about the end of high school and this first semester of college that my feelings for him had changed.  I could tell that he was in the same spot as I was, but the agreement was on the verge of breaking. 

            Without warning another arm slung over my shoulder that made me look to my left.  Yongguk and came out of nowhere and was walking beside us.  Himchan had a few music classes with Yongguk, and even much so, they were suite mates too.  The two of them hit it off really well the first few days at college.  Yongguk had also become another friend of mine that I could go to if Himchan was not around to talk to.

            “What are you two love birds talking about?” Yongguk asked jokingly.  I blushed and turned my face forward, he would always chan and I about not dating, because he always seen the two of us together. 

            “Our wedding,” I heard Himchan reply back with a soft chuckle.  “And you’re not invited.” He stuck out his tounge and I felt myself being tugged into Himchan more and Yongguk’s arm sliding off my shoulder.  I couldn’t help but blush a deeper red at this point and turned my head to see Yongguk dead in his track looking at Himchan.

            “That’s cold,” he answered back before laughing and running up to throw his arm back across my shoulder as the two of them escorted me to the dorm hall that we lived in.  “Dongsang, you wouldn’t do that to me would you?” Yongguk asked, almost half pleading with me.

            “Oppa, I don’t know.  If Himchan-oppa doesn’t want you there, then I have to go by his wishes,” I said jokingly.  I couldn’t help but laugh as I seen Yongguk pout at what I said and hearing Himchan laugh over Yongguk’s face.

            “I got myself a keeper here hyung,” Himchan said as I felt his other hand reach down at take my hand in his.  I couldn’t help but intertwine my fingers in with his.  We had always held each other’s hands since we were kids.  It felt right to hold his hand, but yet I knew people got the wrong idea with what our true relationship was.

            I could hear Yongguk’s eyes rolling at what Himchan had just said.  Himchan had asked a few times what I would do if he did ask me out.  I would always laugh and brush it off, because I knew that I would break our agreement from years ago and say yes to it.  Our families were still surprised that we aren’t dating yet.  Now with Yongguk here, it was getting one hundred times worse to break down.  I love Yongguk as a brother now and I’ve told him how I really felt about Himchan a few times.  He was trying to give that extra push now to have us date.  So far, it was working in his favor.

            As we reached the dorm hall Yongguk had his student ID out and swiped the card to unlock the door.  All three of us lived on the same floor, and even sadder yet, right across the hall from each other.  My suit mate hated the idea that two guy would just randomly come into my room without knocking.  However, the two knew my daily route better than I did some days.  We tracked up the stairs to the second floor and made our way down the hallway.  I stopped first at my door as the two went a little ways before stopping at Himchan’s door.  Yongguk had stopped using his key all together when he was with Himchan, or if Himchan didn’t have class. He would just walk on into Himchan’s room and into his own.

            “What time do you guys want me to make dinner?” I asked before they retreated into Himchan’s cave.

            “Whenever my beautiful wife sees that these two men need to eat,” Himchan replied with a wink. 

            I rolled my eyes and unlocked my door, “then you two are going to be starving,” I replied back.  “You two can eat like a horse and still be hungry.  You two ate enough to last the whole week without food.”

             Yongguk’s deep laugh filled the hall, “Not true, that only lasted us an hour before we got hungry again,” he answered back.  “This time make enough food to feed all of Germany.  Those German’s can eat. And let’s make it 7, we have class at 8:30 tonight,” he said as he pointed to Himchan and himself.

I nodded and opened the door as I answered back with "you'll get as much food as I can make for the three of us. I won't have much left for the week if I cooked that much for you two cows.”  I could hear the two of them laugh as they entered into Himchan’s room and the laughter was muffled.  I smiled as I retreated into my own room and closed the door.  My phone vibrated in the depths of my pocket and I fished it out. 

A new text message flashed, and I opened it, a new friend that I made from college had texted me ‘So, are you two finally dating?  I saw you two holding hands.’

My face turned bright red and I shot her a text saying ‘NO!’ I looked at the calendar to see what day it was, and shot her another text ‘Aren’t you in class right now?’

Within a few seconds a text of ‘Yes, but that still didn’t stop me from looking out the window to see you three walk by and you and Himchan holding hands.  You’re dating him, but you’re too proud to say otherwise.’

I screamed at my phone and threw it on the bed. She had a point.  In a way I did feel like I was dating him, but I didn’t want the long term friendship that we had be lost if we broke up.  My back pack slumped to the floor as I made my way to the office chair in my room.  I slowly slumped into it.  Everyone was out to get me about Himchan, and it was slowly starting to get to me.

I was deep in thought when my dorm room opened as I watched Yongguk come into my room and lock the door, “ok, if you won’t go out with Himchan, please go out with me,” he managed to say between breaths of air.  I was shocked at first then the pounding on the door told me that Himchan didn’t beat him to my room quick enough.

“So help me Yongguk!  If you KISS her I will hurt you!” Himchan yelled outside my door. I raised an eye brow at Yongguk for his true purpose for saying that.

Yongguk could see my confusion on my face and added, “ok, so I lied to him saying that I was going to kiss you, but really if you two won’t go out with each other, then why not me?” 

There were a lot of reasons why I couldn’t date Yongguk.  For one I would be dating my best friend’s best guy friend.  And second, I didn’t really see Yongguk as boyfriend status for me.  He was a brother that I had no issue going to if there was something wrong.  I got up off of my chair and walked over to Yongguk, his eyes widened slightly.  “Oppa,” I whispered, I had to let him know how I really felt about Himchan, “I can’t date you.  Someone else has taken my heart years ago, and I can’t seem to get it back no matter how hard I try.” I was on the verge of tears.  “Go hide in the bathroom. I think it’s time for me to tell Himchan how I really feel.”

I watched as Yongguk nodded and smiled softly, this was his plan all along.  He had made me snap the feelings of keeping this relationship just as friends to something more than that.  Yongguk had retreated into the bathroom when I unlocked and opened the door.  Himchan stood in front of my door, crying.  I was bewildered. The years that I’ve known Himchan, I’ve only seen him cry at funerals and nothing else.

“Where is he,” Himchan managed to get out.  He walked into my room looking around for Yongguk, the thought of beating him to a bloody pulp must have been on his mind.

“Oppa, let him be,” I said softly.  I walked up to him and hugged him, I felt his arms wrap around me, and his head softly lay on my shoulder.  “Oppa,” I was in a loss for words. I didn’t know what to tell him.  It was easy when I was around Yongguk or my other friend, but here with the person that has every last bit of my life all in his hands was hard.  He was a brother to me most of my life, a friend when I got older, and now, I shivered at the thought that he really had been my unsaid boyfriend for the past year.

“I’m sorry,” I heard him say.  I turned my head slightly, puzzled at his words.  “I should have asked you out years ago, but I was afraid of being rejected by the person that meant the most to me.” He turned his head slightly and his tear filled eyes looked into mine.

I shook my head slowly, my eyes starting to water, “oppa, I was too afraid that something would come between us and our friendship would have been lost.  I still feel that, but something tells me with our families behind us and Yongguk,” my head turned toward his hiding place with in the bathroom, “I’m sure that nothing can break us apart.”

Yongguk poked his head out and smiled “see, that wasn’t too hard now, was it?” I watched as Himchan gave him the murder eyes as Yongguk made his way over to the two of us.

“You better lock your door tonight, you still treaded in waters that you shouldn’t have.  And also for punishment YOU’LL be cooking dinner, not my beautiful wife,” Himchan replied.  I couldn’t help but laugh seeing Yongguk’s mouth fall and his eyes widen as he was told he would be doing the cooking instead of me.  I couldn’t leave the poor soul hanging; I would help him out no matter how hard Himchan didn’t want me to.

I mouthed to Yongguk ‘I’ll help you out.’ His smile was faint, because I knew he didn’t want Himchan to think that I said something about the matter. 

“If I have to cook, I guess I have to do something special for the two of you.  I should call your parents and tell them the good news,” he boasted as he ran out the door and into the hallway to the safe haven, or soon not to be, of his room.  Himchan shook his head and hung it with defeat on my shoulder.

“I can never win with him,” he said softly.  “But in a way I can be happy that he gave that push.  Aein, we can overcome whatever life has to throw at us, as long as we stay by each other’s side.”

I smiled and nodded, my long life friend, and soon to be business partner when we get out of college, will always be with me, no matter what.  Our families had seen it coming years before we did, and soon, there would be a party for celebrating when the two stubborn friends finally left that stupid agreement to test the waters of love.