It was the middle of the night when Choi Sooyoung woke up. The rain has stopped yet she can still hear the faraway rumble of the thunder. She shifted in her position and buried her face deeper into the pillow. But instead of muffling the sound, the rumble grew louder. Her eyes fluttered open and every single strand of sleepiness hovering above her vanished when she realized that the “pillow” to which her face was buried is actually Shim Changmin’s chest.   Her head snapped up, gaze landing on the face of the sleeping boy. She remembered the previous day’s events and a blunt pang of pain shot through her heart.   She was hurt, yes. It was an obvious reaction. She had been infatuated with Siwon for as long as she can remember. But she never had the chance to say it out loud. She won’t. She was brave on many other things – but she is a coward when it comes to love. It was nice until it wasn’t. Loving from afar and not being able to say what you feel to the person you love must be one of the most painful things on earth. She used to fool herself that what she was doing was bravery. To be able to accept the fact that you won’t receive the love you give. But is it really giving? When you deprive the person the chance of knowing that he is being loved? Is getting hurt alone so much better than facing rejection? She used to reason out that it is better to keep mum. In that way, you free the person of the responsibility of knowing that he has hurt you. But with what has happened, she was stuck on a crossroad. Yes, she is brave for choosing pain yet she is still a coward for choosing the safe way of valuing her pride more than anything. Isn’t that funny? How a person can be valiant and cowardly at the same time? Who says you need to be in a relationship to fall in love? To be hurt?   Her thoughts were disrupted when she felt Changmin move. His arm made its way on her waist. He grunted in his sleep and pulled her closer against him.   She was hurt, yes. But the pain faded away sooner than she expected. And for some reason, she still finds it hard to believe that it was the man sleeping beside her who eased the pain away. He was caring, thoughtful, and gentle with her. Like he wanted to make her feel better without making it look like he was trying hard. He was very careful, very subtle. But she understood what his intentions were. He has been a friend.   Sooyoung smiled unconsciously as she studied his sleeping face. The night was still long and morning would be hours away. She pulled the blanket up and covered the two of them before resting on his arms. In her mind, the breathing of the night and his heartbeat created a symphony which comforted her.   Or perhaps, it was just the latter.                “Good morning.”   Changmin woke up to the smell of butter and eggs filling the cabin. He sat up from the bed and wiped sleep away from his eyes.   “Good morning, too.” he answered with a yawn as he walked towards where Sooyoung was. “Sorry, I