A/N: Sorry that this is taking so long. I'm completely redoing the ending, mostly thanks to comments that I've received (making me realize something that I didn't realize myself). I think the story will be better for it.

“I’d offer you some more, but that’s my last one.”

Woohyun placed the now empty beer can onto the table with the other two that he’d finished earlier. He had planned on drinking more, until he’d fall asleep on the spot and forget this whole mess for just a moment, but Hoya had no more beers left in his fridge, and Woohyun didn’t feeling like coming out of his hiding place just yet. Hoya’s apartment, it was the one place that she didn’t know where it was, the only place that she wouldn’t think to look. Hopefully, she wouldn’t call Hoya, asking his whereabouts. But Woohyun was banking on her guilt prohibiting her from doing so.

Did she call Dongwoo? Or...did she call him? These kinds of thoughts, Woohyun wanted to chase them out of his head with alcohol. But they were out of beer. And these thoughts crept back in. Woohyun ruffled his hair in frustration.

“It’s okay,” his tone said it wasn’t, but what could they do. They both had work tomorrow, and it was late as it was. Hoya was in his pajamas and yawning, but still staying up for Woohyun’s sake. “I don’t need another drink,” he lied. “But do you have any paper? And a pen?”

“Paper?” Hoya repeated, his tired eyes widening a little. “What kind? What for?”

“I want to write something, a letter” Woohyun revealed as he fidgeted in his place. His fingers were scratching anxiously against his thighs. He was desperate to get these damn thoughts out of his head. Maybe he’d feel better once he spilled them onto a page. “Or letters. I need lots of paper. Lots and lots of paper.”

Hoya stared at him inquisitively for a few seconds before finally giving in. “Okay,” he spoke with a grunt as he lifted himself off of the couch to go get the paper. In those few moments when Woohyun was alone, things seemed to move slowly. He rubbed the sides of his temples, trying to erase images that his mind was creating, of his future wife and...Stop. Stop thinking. Woohyun’s eyes snapped open searching the table, and he was patting his pockets, looking for his phone. I left it behind, he reminded himself. Good. He didn’t want her to call him, or worse, for him to call her.

“Here.” Hoya came back with a notebook and a pen. “Write away,” he encouraged him. “Make a manifesto.”

“Thanks,” Woohyun mumbled as he accepted them. He then noticed that Hoya was about to sit down next to him again, and so Woohyun tried to stop him: “You can go to bed now. You don’t need to stay up for me.”

Hoya froze, knees still bent, but he soon straightened himself out, staring at his friend all the while. “Okay,” he relented. “I’ll go to bed,” he announced as he walked over to his bedroom, but as he got to the door, he turned around and faced Woohyun again. “But Woohyun, are you going to tell me what happened?” he asked.

Woohyun tossed the notebook onto the table and huffed, not wanting to talk about it, but he owed it to Hoya. Hoya had bitten back his curiosity long enough, after Woohyun barged into his apartment demanding to stay the night and drink. “I think…,” he began but had to take in a deep breath before continuing again (just the idea of it left him breathless), “...Maeri and I just broke up.”

“You think?” Hoya repeated, raising his voice and stomping towards the other with eyes wide in shock. “You don’t know for sure? What happened?”

“Sh, I still need to work through it,” Woohyun tried to silence him, bringing a finger to his lips. He then waved Hoya off. “Go to bed,” he commanded, but Hoya remained still, although his eyes kept darting over to his door, unsure. “Go,” Woohyun repeated. He sighed and picked up the notebook again, opening it up. “I need to figure this out.”

Hoya finally turned around and left him. “Okay, but if you need any help, just wake me up,” he told Woohyun as he walked into the room. Woohyun only grunted in response to show that he’d been listening. He was already quickly moving onto the next task. He placed the open notebook on the table in front of him and clicked the pen. It was time to write and work this all out, spilling his thoughts onto the pages.

His and Maeri’s relationship was a complicated equation. Woohyun had thought it was simple and that he had the answer: a+b=c and c=d so a+b=d. He and Maeri were best friends. People typically marry their best friend, so he and Maeri should get married. However, Woohyun failed to calculate several other factors into their equation. What was the influence of their parents on the relationship? Was the influence positive or negative? How did their relationship change over time? What about the unit of ‘friends’? Were they really the right kind of ‘best friends’ or the wrong kind? But the greatest factor that Woohyun overlooked was Kim Sunggyu, and he was having the hardest time squeezing that bastard into the equation and solving it.

The more he wrote, the harder his mind ran, the more tired he became, his epiphany was drawing nearer.

Eventually he did solve it, as the morning rays began to peek through Hoya’s blinds.

All he had to do was remove something from the equation.

“Whoa.”

The next morning, Hoya stumbled out of his bedroom and into the living room, his mouth hanging wide open as he saw piles of letters on the table and Woohyun also laying on top of the table with bloodshot eyes. “Did you get any sleep last night?” Hoya asked. But it was more of a rhetorical question at this point. It was obvious that Woohyun had barely caught a wink of sleep. Woohyun knew that he couldn’t sleep with these thoughts bouncing around in his head, so he tried to extricate them, writing them down. But then he spent all night writing. And so Hoya’s question was like rubbing salt into his wound. Woohyun narrowed his eyes on him, the best that he could. At that, Hoya cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject, “Who are all of these for?” He pointed to the letters.

Woohyun stood up. With a stretch and a groan, he answered, “Just some people I know. I’m making coffee, do you want any?” He then entered the kitchen and began fiddling with the coffeemaker. Hoya followed him but only replied with a grunt, afraid of making an emotionally and physically exhausted Woohyun upset. Woohyun was somewhat grateful for installing that fear in him. He wasn’t really in the mood for talking today, and maybe he could use it a bit more to his advantage. While the coffee was brewing, Woohyun walked back over to the letters and picked one up from the stack. “Speaking of which, can you give this to that guy you work with?” he asked, handing a thick envelope to Hoya.

“Sunggyu?” Hoya asked for clarification, but still accepted the letter.

“Yea, that’s the bastard,” Woohyun replied with no inflection in his voice.

“Okay,” Hoya drawled out as his eyes dropped to the envelope in his hand. He turned it over a few times, inspecting it, but then shrugged, shoving it into the pockets of his pajama pants. “Is there anything else you need?” he asked.

Woohyun not only had his fear, but his pity too. He gave a tired smile. “Glad you asked,” he muttered and bent over to pick up a list that was also laying on the table. “Can you pick up a few things for me from the apartment? I made a list,” he said as he handed the paper over.

“Sure,” Hoya accepted this task too and immediately folded the list without reading it, then shoving it into the pocket along with the letter. While he was folding, Woohyun began stuffing the rest of the letters into a bag. If he left soon, he’d have enough time to stop by the post office before work and dump off all of his ‘thoughts.’ After he placed the last letter into his bag, Woohyun felt something nudging against his arm. It was a travel mug. Hoya poured him coffee while he was busy and gave it to him. Woohyun mumbled ‘thanks,’ taking the mug and putting it on the table. He then went over to the door and began to put on his coat and shoes. All the while, Hoya was watching him and looked worried. “Woohyun, you’re not going to work like this, are you?” he asked.

Woohyun sighed and zipped up his coat. “I am. I have to,” he mumbled. He knew that he looked like a wreck. He felt like one too. But maybe work would provide him with the distraction that he needed. He walked over to the table, picking up the mug and his bag. “Thanks again. I’ll see you later,” he said and then walked out of the door.

But before the door fully closed, it swung right open again. Woohyun came storming back inside, tossing his bag and shoes on the ground.  “I need pants,” he spat out like a swear and searched the apartment for his pants.

“Yea, you do,” Hoya retorted with a chuckle, but it soon clung to his throat, forcing him to choke it down. When Woohyun finally found his pants, he finally remembered that he’d spilled beer on them last night. He threw them onto the floor with a curse and stomped over to Hoya’s bedroom, forcefully asking if he could borrow his clothes. Hoya allowed him, just like he’d allowed Woohyun to stay over (for what would seem to be an indefinite period of time), use him like a servant, and test his patience. But it was all what Woohyun needed right now, and a good friend, which Hoya guessed would be himself now. Hoya watched Woohyun search through his closet, looking for pants that would fit. Woohyun was pitiful. “What’s with this kid?”

“That’s a lot of letters.”

Woohyun bit his tongue and plastered a smile across his face at the postal worker’s remark. “I had a lot to say,” he retorted. Luckily the worker took it as a joke and laughed. Woohyun then waited impatiently for the worker to process his payment. Each second ticked by, feeling like a full minute. Tonight I’ll have my phone, Woohyun thought as he watched the letters move across the desk, one by one. Hopefully, I won’t have any use for it. I have nothing more to say..for now.

“Are you having a party?” the worker asked as she dealt with the last letter.

Woohyun nodded and handed over his card. “Yea, a pity party.”

“Oh, um, okay,” the worker stammered, flustered. “Have a nice day, sir,” she wished him, at loss for anything more to say, and handed his card back.

Woohyun pulled the tight smile across his face even more so. “I won’t,” he retorted, in a fake cheery tone, and then left before the worker could register what he said. However, he couldn’t help but to say it. There was no way that today could ever turn out to be ‘nice,’ but he still had to suffer through it nonetheless.

The day passed by in a haze. He could barely recollect what had happened, with whom he talked, which wasn’t good. Who knows what Sunggyu said to his students while he was slightly feverish? I probably shouldn’t have come today, Sunggyu thought as he blew his nose once more that day. He had done so so many times that his nose was now red and raw. He was still in better shape than he was the day before, in some respects. In others, he felt much worse. What will happen now? Will Woohyun find out? Will we have to keep it a secret forever? Did it even happen? It all could’ve been a dream. Later that night, Sunggyu had dreamed that he was riding on a goat, trying to outrun a dinosaur that wanted to eat him alive. Somehow that dream seemed more believable than that happening. Sunggyu dropped his gaze to his phone. What is she up to now?

“There you are!” Sunggyu whipped his head around (which sent a pain shooting through his head) and saw Hoya standing by his desk, looking exasperated. “Where have you been all day?” the phys ed teacher asked.

“I don’t know,” Sunggyu answered honestly. “Teaching?” He gave a nervous laugh which turned genuine when he took a good look at his co-teacher. Hoya had dark circles, like he hadn’t slept much the night before and his hair was mussed. “What have you been up to?” he asked. “You look like you had a rough night.”

Hoya narrowed his eyes on the other. “Yea, I did. And for some reason, I think you’re to blame,” he replied. His voice was just as tired as he looked.

Sunggyu’s throat tightened. “Me?” he croaked. “Why?”

“I’m like this because of Woohyun,” Hoya revealed, and Sunggyu immediately grew hot and terrified. , , , curses filled his mind. His eyes dropped to Hoya’s feet, too ashamed to look at him in the face anymore. But although Sunggyu felt like he was a mouse caught in a trap, slowly dying, he still held onto the smallest of hope that he’d escape from this unscatched and undiscovered. That, however, wouldn’t be the case. Hoya continued, “Woohyun is even worse than me because of Maeri, and I assume that you’re a part of it all because of this.” He then pulled out a fat envelope out of his back pocket.

“What is it?” Sunggyu whispered, looking at the envelope from several angles.

“It’s a letter,” Hoya answered bluntly. “Woohyun wrote it. It’s for you.”

Sunggyu stiffened straight up in his seat. “Woohyun wrote me a letter?” Sunggyu was in disbelief. “Why?”

Hoya quickly realized that Sunggyu wouldn’t touch the letter, so he tossed the envelope on the other’s desk with a huff. “That’s what I want to know, Sunggyu,” his voice was even more curt now. “Why is Woohyun staying at my place? Why did he call you a ‘bastard’ this morning and spend all night writing everyone he knows a letter? Why are him and Maeri breaking up?”

“They’re breaking up?!” Sunggyu exclaimed. His heart stopped in his chest. His mouth twitched up, but then he bit it back. He quickly fixed his eyes on the letter, avoiding the other.

Hoya had caught it though, that quick smile. He crossed his arms over his chest. “I think I have an idea of what happened. I don’t teach math but I can add two and two together. But I don’t like the solution that I’m getting. I want to be wrong,” he said. Then Hoya’s eyes were drawn to the letter, still unopened, untouched by Sunggyu on the desk. He sighed. “Open it. Read it. It’s not going to read itself like the ones in Harry Potter.”

If Woohyun could do that, I’m sure he would. Sunggyu pushed the letter further back onto his desk with his pen. “I’ll read it later,” he told the other.

Hoya huffed. “When I’m not here?” Sunggyu didn’t answer that question with words but looked up at the other with a sheepish smile. Hoya then raised his hands, finally giving up. “Fine. I’ll go,” he grumbled. He shoved his hands into the pocket of his coat as he walked away from Sunggyu’s desk, muttering below his breath, “This is why I like Dongwoo. Dongwoo tells me things. Dongwoo would read me the letter.”

“Dongwoo wouldn’t do what I did,” Sunggyu replied even though Hoya could no longer hear him, and that was for the better. He then let out a deep breath and gazed back down at the letter, tapping his pen along its edges. “Woohyun knows. Woohyun knows, and he wrote me a letter...What the Hell?” He put down his pen and finally touched the envelope, picking it up gingerly as if it held explosives. He then lifted it up, holding it towards the light and trying to peer through it. “It’s not written in blood is it?” He brought it back down. Looking up at the florescent light made his head hurt even more. All of this made his head hurt. He dropped the letter onto his lap and rubbed his temples with the insides of his wrists, shutting his eyes tightly. “No, the letter is too long. He’d be dead if he wrote it all in blood.” Sunggyu dropped his hands, letting his arms hang at his sides, and threw his head back, eyes still shut. “What’s the worst that can happen?” He opened his eyes again and picked up the letter. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know,” he muttered and ripped the envelope opened. He took out the letter and began to read it, chewing nervously on the pad of his thumb as he did so.

To begin with, Sunggyu didn’t know that Woohyun knew so many curse words. And he had to hand it to him, some of the curse were pretty inventive. Had it been any other situation, when they weren’t directed towards him, Sunggyu would’ve laughed. But now he couldn’t even breath. His stomach sank deeper and deeper, with each line that he read, until it reached the soles of his feet. The drawing of the special circle of Hell reserved for traitorous friends made Sunggyu shiver and was going to give him nightmares that night for certain.

Sunggyu could’ve stopped reading at any point in time and threw the letter into the trash, never to be seen again. But that wasn’t right. That wasn’t what Sunggyu deserved. This was his punishment: to be cursed at relentlessly by Woohyun (and Sunggyu was expecting a second round of insults in person). He needed to know how much he’d hurt Woohyun, and Woohyun wasn’t afraid of letting him know.

The teacher puffed out his cheeks and let out a deep breath as he turned over to the last page of Woohyun’s harangue. “Huh?” Sunggyu gripped the page with both hands, sitting up straighter in his seat, as he read the first line again. Woohyun’s tone had completely changed, along with the topic. He was talking about Maeri now, more specifically, Maeri with Sunggyu. He let out a short laugh. This was unbelievable, so ridiculous, but at the same time, it was so Nam Woohyun.

“Where’s my phone?” Sunggyu muttered as he tossed the pages onto the desk and his hands searched for the phone. When he found it, he scrolled through the contacts and made a call. It wasn’t until the phone was ringing when he realized what he was doing. His emotions had driven him to make the call. After everything that had happened, he couldn’t keep this to himself. But he had to for just a bit longer. The phone kept ringing and ringing until an automated voice said that the phone had been turned off. What is she doing?

“Ah, work,” he thought aloud. His eyes flew to the clock. She was definitely still at work, like he was, Sunggyu had to remind himself. He then gathered his things, getting ready to leave, as he searched for the business’ number on the internet. He shrugged his coat on and walked out the door, while making the call. This time, it was answered within seconds.

“Hello. Grey’s Auction House. How may I help you?”

“Hm?” Sunggyu wasn’t expecting to hear a male’s voice on the other side, but he assumed that he know whose it was. “Sungjong? Is that you?”

“Yes?” Sungjong replied hesitantly.

“This is Sunggyu. Is Maeri there?” he quickly asked, closing his eyes as he did so.

“Oh, Maeri-noona isn’t here,” Sungjong’s voice had fallen down lower as he was talking more casually. “She called in sick.”

Sunggyu halted in his step, in the middle of the hallway. “Sick?”

“Yup,” Sungjong responded nonchalantly, but then his tone took a turn: “But, hyung, why are you asking for…”

“Aah,” Sunggyu yelped and hung up the phone out of panic. He immediately regretted it, hitting the side of his head with his phone. Stupid. It’s all already out there. That’ll just make me look worse, he reminded himself. He already knows. Soon everyone will know. Hoya already suspects, and...He pulled the last page of the letter out of his pocket and read the last line again. And I know what I have to do.

This was her punishment, dying alone. Maeri felt like she was dying right now. She was completely sapped of her strength, robbed of her sense of mind, and frozen yet on fire. She didn’t even know if she was breathing, but she could still see, which meant she was still alive. Unless I’m a ghost, Maeri thought as she stirred on the couch, where she stayed ever since Woohyun left. And she really felt like a ghost of her former self now. She’d forgotten about work and finally called in at 11, saying that she was sick and offered no apologies, no excuses. It wasn’t like her to be so rude and uncaring. But I guess that’s what I am now. Maeri also had no desire, but to haunt her couch, watching the door, waiting for him to come back. I’ll die like this. Then I will haunt this place for real. My grudge...my grudge will be those two men.

Those two men, Woohyun and Sunggyu, they were the reason why she ended up like this. They were the reason for her demise. First, Woohyun: if she had rejected his proposal, he would’ve gotten sulky and their relationship gradually would’ve fallen apart, piece by piece. Every single time they would’ve met up, Woohyun would mention how she rejected his offer, rejected him, either as a joke or to guilt her into it. She knew how Woohyun was, but she cared for him and his feelings greatly. He was the most important man in her life, at the time. And at the time, Woohyun’s idea did seem good. Who else was better for Maeri?

Second, Kim Sunggyu, who had delivered the final blow, striking her heart. He was even worse than Woohyun. Woohyun would gradually leave her life, but if Maeri refused Sunggyu, he was going to leave all at once. Maeri couldn’t have that because...she didn’t want that. But like with Woohyun, what else was she supposed to do at that moment? Leave?

“Oh my gosh,” she grumbled, turning herself away from the door. “That’s what I should’ve done!” Instead of leaving, at that time, she’d lost her mind. She’d given into things she shouldn’t have. However, Maeri knew herself well. If she had the opportunity to go back in time, she would’ve done it all over again. Keeping things the way that they were wasn’t right either, she reminded herself. If I could’ve just done it differently...

There was a knock at her door. Maeri rolled back over, facing the door, wondering if it was just her imagination. Then there was more knocking, more insistent this time. “Who?” It wasn’t Woohyun. He could’ve just unlocked the door and come inside. Who could it be? The knocking still hadn’t stopped, so Maeri slipped off the couch and shuffled towards the door. Once there, she peered through the spy hole and gasped at what she saw. She quickly covered to stop any other noise from escaping.

I didn’t want to lose you, but I didn’t think you’d stick to me like this! Aish, why are you here?

Fed up with being ignored, he finally spoke from the other side of the door, “Maeri, it’s me. Sunggyu. Kim Sunggyu.”

I know. Maeri closed her eyes tightly and pressed her hand closer to . She’d been holding her breath this whole time, and couldn’t last much longer. She felt a tickle creeping up . No, no, please...She was sent into a coughing fit and wheezing. “,” she cursed, after realizing her cover was blown. “, ,” then she cursed at herself for cursing. Maeri then fell down to the floor with a heavy thump, covering with both hands, determined not to let any more noises slip past. At this point, she’d rather die than open up the door.

Sunggyu’s sigh was so loud that Maeri could hear it from the other side.  “I know you’re in there.  Just answer the door,” he sounded irritated. Maeri shook her head. I’m sorry. I can’t. “Are you really not going to answer? I can hear you!” he raised his voice. Maeri kept shaking her head. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. There was another sigh, heavier this time. Maeri could hear something drag against the door. “Really, Maeri? Are you really going to do this?” Maeri dropped her hands to her lap. I have to, she bit her lip, holding that back. Sunggyu finally gave up. “Okay, then. I’m leaving.” Then Maeri heard his footsteps click down the hallway, further and further away from her.

Maeri let out a breath in relief. I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve to be happy, she thought as she crawled on the floor, towards the couch, but she didn’t get far. She fell into another coughing fit and laid flat on the floor. I deserve to die. Like this. She curled up into a ball.

“Maeri, it’s me again. Sunggyu.”

“AACK!” Maeri screamed and flipped onto her stomach. She hadn’t expected him to come back. She didn’t even hear his footsteps. He’s really going to be the death of me.

She could hear Sunggyu chuckle at her reaction. He spoke through it, “Just make sure that you eat something today. And ramyun doesn’t count.” Maeri crawled up to her knees, staring at her coffee table were a cold pot of ramyun was sitting. How did he know? “Make some porridge. And sleep,” he told her. “I’m leaving.”

Maeri’s head whipped towards the door, making her slightly dizzy, but once the two doors that she was seeing became one again, she sat down on her behind, staring at it. Is he really gone this time? She waited and waited. But there was no more knocking, no more voices. He’s really gone. Maeri half-smiled but tightened. “Good,” she croaked. She then crawled the rest of the way to the couch and climbed on top of it. She wrapped herself in her blankets, covering herself from head to toe, shut out from the rest of the world. It was stifling, hot underneath those blankets, but Maeri had to stay there. She was hiding. I’m not here. I’m not anywhere. I’m already gone.

“Yoo Maeri!”

“He found me!” Maeri gasped, cautiously peering between her covers and seeing the door. It was a little less than an hour later and Sunggyu was back. But this time, Maeri knew better than to go near the door again. No, this time, she’d stay on the couch, a safe distance away. He wouldn’t be able to hear her. There’d be no way he’d know that she was inside.

“I went out and got you some porridge. I’m going to set it in front of the door, okay? Get it before it gets cold. I’m going now, okay? I’m just setting this right here...” Maeri heard something being dropped in front of the door. “...and now I going to leave. Bye!” Sunggyu announced, and footfalls followed soon after.

Maeri poked her head out of her blankets. “Sunggyu?” she whispered lowly, testing to see if he was still there. There was no response. She sighed in relief. “He’s gone!” She wiggled a bit more, loosening the blankets around her, giving herself more range of motion, and then stood up. Not picking up her feet, she shuffled over to the door and carefully opened it up just a crack so that she could peer through. She saw nothing but an empty hallway and part of the black plastic bag waiting for her on the ground. And no Sunggyu. Happy, Maeri opened the door wider and crouched down to pick up the bag.

“Got ya!”

“Ack!” Maeri screamed and toppled onto the floor, landing hard on her . Sunggyu had jumped out from behind the door.

He smiled proudly. “You’re so easy to trick,” he teased and then stepped over her to enter the apartment.

“Wh-what?” Maeri stammered as she rolled over, watching him walk over her and trying to grab at his ankles, but she narrowly missed them. “Where are you going? You can’t go in there! No!” she whined, getting up on her knees and then slowly, clumsily onto her feet. When she was up straight, and her dizzy world straightened out, she saw Sunggyu walking around the room, picking up her used tissues (wincing) and the cold pot of ramyun. Maeri took a few steps inside leaned herself against the wall, steadying herself, as she watched him. “Sunggyu, what are you doing?” she asked.

“Taking care of you,” he plainly replied. Sunggyu then looked over at her. “Pick up the bag,” he said and gestured with his elbow towards the porridge still out in the hall.

Maeri went back, picked up the bag, and returned to her spot on the wall. “Why?” she asked with a raspy voice. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t talked to anybody all day. Maeri cleared and tried asking again, “Why are you doing this?”

Sunggyu grew gloomy. “Why do you think?” he turned the question back on her. He then walked into the kitchen, putting the pot in the sink and disposing of the tissues. When he came back, he leaned in the doorway, across from Maeri, and asked her in a grave tone. “I’m serious. Why do you think I’m here?”

“You, um, you like…” Maeri stuttered as she dropped her gaze onto the floor, and her voice dropped along with it, falling into uncertainty, “You like me? Maybe?”

“If it was just that, I wouldn’t be here,” he responded.

Maeri winced. He’s going to make me say it. “Because…” she began but lost confidence again. She then forced out a hacking cough, giving her a reason to stop and trying to gain his pity. It didn’t work.

“What?” he pressured her a bit more.

Maeri groaned and pressed herself against the wall, whimpering. But Sunggyu wasn’t relenting, even in his gaze. So she pulled a blanket over her head, covering her reddening face. “Because I like you,” she finally said it.

“Yea, you do,” Sunggyu sounded happy once more. Maeri heard him come closer and felt pats caressing her head. “You dork,” he teased and removed the blanket from her face. When Maeri could see more than just the inside of her blanket again, she saw Sunggyu only inches away. When she looked up, he was smiling. She’d hate to take it away but..

“We can’t,” Maeri responded, taking a faltering step back. “Never. You should go. You need to go.” Her head craned back to the door behind her. “What if he…”

“He won’t. Woohyun won’t come back,” he cut her off. Maeri’s head snapped back towards him. Sunggyu had his arms across his chest, and he wasn’t looking her in the eye. “The real reason why I’m here is because Woohyun told me to. Trust me, I wouldn’t be here otherwise,” he admitted. With a heavy sigh, he uncrossed his arms and pulled a few folded pages out of his pocket. He then raised his gaze back up. “I think you should read this.”

Maeri took the pages from his hand, but kept her eyes on his. “What is it?” she asked.

“A letter...from Woohyun.”

“HUH?!” Maeri gasped and dropped the letter onto the floor.

Sunggyu chuckled. “Scary, isn’t it?” he joked.

Maeri smiled weakly. “Terrifying.”

The letter was just as terrifying as Maeri expected it to be. “I didn’t know that he knew so many curses,” she remarked as she flipped the first page back and forth, scanning it while wincing.

“Right? I think he used a thesaurus,” Sunggyu added. The two of them were now sitting on the couch. Maeri was still wrapped in her cocoon of blankets, but there wasn’t much else between them. Sunggyu was leaning in closely in order to read the letter along with her.

“He reads a lot though,” she remarked. “He could’ve learned some through that.”

“Maybe,” Sunggyu gave in. “But what I want to know is where he learned how to do this.” He took the second page, the one with the drawing, and put it in her hands. “Look,” he urged her pointing a figure that was tied to a stake and being eaten alive by a dog.

“Is that you?” she asked, leaning closer to the drawing and squinting her eyes.

“Eung,” Sunggyu grunted.

“These are very detailed. Better than that one student drew. It’s impressive,” Maeri said as she turned the page in her hands, analyzing it from every angle.

Sunggyu snorted. “Impressive is one word for it. You can stop looking at that. You shouldn’t read the captions,” he told her and tried to pull the page out of grip.

“Why? Why? Why?” she argued, trying to hold onto it. “It’s interesting.”

“No, no, no. You don’t want to see drawings of me dying 100 different ways. It would make you sad,” he insisted, to which Maeri scoffed. “You like me. Me dying should make you sad,” he reminded her. Maeri slackened her grip, growing flustered, and Sunggyu was able to get the drawing from her. He grinned a bit in triumph as he put the drawing aside. He then picked up the last page of the letter and handed it to her. “Instead read this. This is the important part.”

“More important than him calling you a succubus?” Maeri joked and cocked her head. “I don’t know.”

Sunggyu shoved her lightly. “Trust me. It is. Just read it,” he told her. “Go on.”

Out of everything that Maeri had read, this last page was the most terrifying. It was scary how well Woohyun knew her. It was scary how cold Woohyun’s tone was when he wrote about her. He knew her, better than she knew herself, but Woohyun was writing as if he were writing about a stranger. A strangled noise escaped as she read. I had no idea you felt like this. This wasn’t even about how he felt after she cheated, but beforehand, when she unknowingly had become more distant with him, when Woohyun could see her heart going towards another. He knew it. He probably knew about my feelings before I did. But he’d ignored it, the best that he could, because Maeri had been faithful regardless. She had been.

It was also scary how he divulged about her past boyfriends to Sunggyu, how they started and how they ended, including her first love Myungsoo and himself. Maeri groaned and cast a quick glance over to the man next to her. What did he think when he read about all of this? It’s so detailed.

Sunggyu lifted his eyes from the page and met hers. “You done reading?” he asked.

“Ah no,” she stuttered. “Just a few more lines left.” And her eyes fell back down to the page. Revealing Maeri’s torrid love life (or lack thereof), all lead up to one point: to Maeri, Sunggyu was something different, something special, special enough for her to cheat for the first time in her life, and on the person who least deserved it.

However, the scariest part the letter was the last line: “For my last act as a friend to either of you...I give you two my blessing. Be happy.”

“Oh, you’re crying. Why?” Maeri hadn’t even noticed that she was crying until Sunggyu started to wipe away her tears. Honestly, for a woman who once had dry tears, she had cried so much the past 24 hours that she thought she’d grow calluses on her cheeks. Now, she couldn’t even feel them fall.

He’s gone. Woohyun’s gone. He hates me this much. Maeri drew in a shaky breath, but began coughing again. Sunggyu immediately pulled back. She began wiping her own face, still coughing. I’ll never see him again. Her chest and throat constricted, and now she was coughing more than crying. Maeri thought that she’d see him at least once more. She’d been waiting for him. All she wanted was to talk with him again, to try to make things right between them, or at least better than this, but now she’d never get that chance. I’ll never see him again.

While she was having this internal dilemma, Sunggyu had put his arm around her and drew her in closer, wiping her face with her blanket. “Are you okay? You sound like you’re dying,” he sounded worried.

“I’m okay,” she whispered through her raw throat. “I think I finally understand.”

“Understand what? Woohyun?” Sunggyu asked. He sounded like he was smiling, probably because Maeri wasn’t a blubbering mess anymore.

“No, the people in dramas,” Maeri replied, which earned a laugh from Sunggyu. Maeri lightly tapped him, in reprimand. “No, I’m serious. I feel like I understand every damn drama now,” she insisted, scowling. “Like when you think the couple can finally be together, but they aren’t for ty reasons. I understand those ty reasons now!”

“Wait. What?” Sunggyu stammered. Maeri looked up, and he was now frowning, deeply, and scooted away from her. “Do...do you not want us to be together?”

“I, uh…” she stopped to think about how to phrase this. She didn’t need both men that she cared deeply about to hate her. Her tired mind wasn’t cooperating well, though. “I do. I really do, but at the same time…”

“You feel guilty,” Sunggyu had found the word she was searching for.

“I do,” Maeri agreed and nodded. “I am though. I am guilty. I’ve done him a great wrong. I really did. I’m the biggest traitor in the country. I can’t believe. I can’t believe I hurt him, my best friend. And now he’s gone,” the last sentence she could barely get out because she started crying again. No, she was bawling right now, crying so much that her head was hurting. She was in the most pain now than she’d been all day, in body and soul. And while she was writhing in this pain, she was still able to feel Sunggyu leave her side. Of course he’d leave. I’d run away from me too. I’m a mess. I haven’t even cried this much in front of Woohyun. I don’t think I’ve ever cried this hard since I was a child.  

“Here.” Maeri raised her head from her hands. Sunggyu was in front of her with a glass of water.

“Thank you,” Maeri squeaked as she took the glass from him with both hands.

“This too,” he said as he took her hand, flipped it over, and pressed a few pills into her palm. “You’re exhausted. You need to sleep.”

Maeri sniggered. “So you’re drugging me?”

Sunggyu gave a small smile as he sat back down next to her. “More or less,” he joked right back. “But I promise I won’t do anything.”

“You better not. I know where you live,” she teased. “What is this anyway?” she asked. Sunggyu showed her the bag that was on the table. It was your typical cold medicine, which would help her sleep. Satisfied, she popped the pills in and swallowed them down along with the water.

“Aigoo, good job,” he praised and patted her head. Maeri looked up at him, with cheeks still puffed out and filled with water. Smiling, he lightly poked at one of those cheeks. I want to...Her eyes fell down to those smiling lips, and then further down to her own lap.

She swallowed the rest of the water down hard before talking, “I don’t think I can do this. I can’t be with you right now without feeling ashamed.”

“What? But what about me?” Sunggyu blubbered. He stirred in his spot, agitated, and faced her. “You tortured me for so long. Don’t you feel guilty for that?”

Maeri shut her eyes and tightened her grip on the cup. She took in a deep breath. I’m stuck again. This isn’t unfair. I’m wrong no matter what I do. When she exhaled, Maeri also let out an, “I do.” She opened her eyes and lifted up her chin, challenging him, “How was I supposed to know that I liked you? I’m not supposed to but...” She bit her lip. I should’ve know. I did know. I should’ve just told Woohyun, as soon as I realized it. It’s my fault, all my fault. Maeri lost all of her confidence and deflated, leaning hard into the cushions of the couch, hiding half of her face in it. “But you’re right. It’s not fair for you to be punished either for something that I did,” she grumbled in a muffled voice.

Surprisingly, Sunggyu deflated as well, letting out a long and deep breath as he hung his head. A few seconds later, he joined Maeri, pressing himself into the cushions of the couch and matching her eye level. “I was joking,” he confessed in an uneasy voice, looking guilty himself. He then dropped his gaze. “Besides, I kissed you too. It’s not like you did that by yourself. Heck, I kissed you first,” Sunggyu spoke the last part with a slight laugh, but he soon grew grim again as he continued talking, “You’re not the only one with feelings you shouldn’t have. You’re not the only one who hurt Woohyun.” At that, Maeri couldn’t help but to feel a bit relieved. She still was guilty but at least she had an accomplice to share her penance with. Her own feelings were reflected onto his face. That had comforted her so much that she nearly smiled, but then Sunggyu pulled himself away and got onto his feet. As  he was pulling down his shirt and straightening his clothes, he turned back to Maeri. “I think you’re right. We should hold off on this, not only for Woohyun’s sake but for yours as well,” he said.

“Thank you for understanding,” Maeri replied. Now she was really smiling, brightly. “You’re a good person.”

Sunggyu snorted. “No, I’m not” he denied it. “I’m really not.”

Maeri got up with him, teetering on her feet. Her head was lighter. The medicine was kicking in, slowly but surely, or she was just exhausted by everything that happened, after having her emotions batter her sore. But even though she was tired, that didn’t make what she said next any less sincere, “You are to me.”

“Okay,” Sunggyu gave in, bowing his head to hide his shy smile. But then he bit it back and announced, “I’ll get going then, and let you rest. You look like you’re about to fall over.”

“N-no, no I’m not,” Maeri argued as she stumbled; just from standing up she’d lost her balance. She hardly noticed though. Her eyes were drooping so low that she could barely see. “I’m fine.”

“Whatever,” Sunggyu replied with a scoff, still grinning. He then began to walk towards the door, with Maeri following closely him his footsteps. “The porridge is right here, okay? Eat it,” he reminded her as they passed by the bag. Maeri nodded while making a small noise. He chuckled and began to put on his coat and shoes. “If you need anything, call me,” he told her. Maeri nodded once more, but that wasn’t enough for him. “You’ll call, right?”

“Yes,” Maeri answered with words and leaned against the wall for support. Her cheek was smushed against the wall, distorting her face, eyes fully shut now.

“Keep your phone charged too.”

“Okay,” Maeri agreed with an embarrassed giggle. She had no idea where her phone was, or her blankets. The wall was cold. She hugged herself tightly, trying to get warm.

“Just one thing before I go,” Sunggyu’s voice sounded apprehensive. Maeri opened her eyes just a crack. He looked nervous too. “When you said that you’d be ashamed...you aren’t ashamed of me, right?”

Maeri’s eyes snapped wide open, and she stood up straight. She felt wide awake now. “I could never,” she quickly replied, her voice stronger than it’d been all afternoon. “I could never be ashamed of you. I’m ashamed of what I did, but, at the same time…” The words halted in . The next part was hard for her to admit aloud, so her voice was small, just above a whisper, “If I went back in time, I would probably do it again.” She hated the thought, that she’d still hurt Woohyun. She was afraid what Sunggyu would think about that. But Maeri couldn’t deny it. If that moment were to occur again, she’d still feel how she felt. That was something that wouldn’t change, no matter how many times she’d relive that moment. She’d still like Sunggyu and wouldn’t be able to hold back. She’d make the mistake again especially if she knew that Sunggyu would end up here, by her side, right now. But Woohyun...

“Really? Why?” Luckily Sunggyu looked pleasantly surprised by what she said.

“I had to do it,” Maeri answered. I really thought you’d leave if I didn’t.

“You had  to kiss me?” Sunggyu took a step forward and .

“Eung,” she hummed. “Or else I’d...die.”

Against her expectations, he didn’t snort or scoff at her; instead, he bent down and kissed her. “I wouldn’t want you to die,” he spoke lowly, still close, and then he pulled away a bit further and caressed her cheek with his knuckle. “We aren’t good at this waiting-thing, are we?”

“Nope,” Maeri replied with a pop of her lips. Then she fell forward slightly, relying on him for support. Like just moments before when she smashed her cheek against the wall, her cheek was now pressed into the woolen fibers of his sweater. “We . We totally at it.” She felt Sunggyu’s laugh reverberate in his chest, and she laughed along with him. And when she felt his arms wrap around her, she did the same, but held onto him more tightly. Maeri sighed, contented. “I like you. I like Gyu,” she declared, closing her eyes.

“I like you too, Maeri,” he responded with a laugh.

Maeri then opened her eyes, as if she realized something. “Maybe we don’t have wait,” she suggested. “I don’t want to anymore.”

Sunggyu snorted. “You change your mind quickly,” he teased.

“I can’t think straight,” Maeri excused herself. “My head hurts. Everything’s fuzzy,” she complained. While she was talking, Sunggyu had let her go and spun her around. Now he was guiding her back to the couch with his hands on her shoulder. When they got closer, she pointed to a large, brown lump that was sitting down in her spot. “What is this? Oh my blanket,” she murmured out an answer to her own question and picked up the blanket as she crawled back into her spot. After she settled in and spread the blanket tediously on her lap, Maeri looked up at the other, who had slipped off his shoes and coat again at the doorway. “I’m a mess,” she announced and then tried to blow the bangs away that were sticking to her forehead.

“I know,” Sunggyu muttered, helping her out by pushing the strands out of her face. “A big mess.”

“Aish,” Maeri cursed suddenly, scaring him. But it’d slipped out of as she felt another wave of guilt crashing down on her. She felt bad for being selfish again. “We should wait...should we?” she directed the question to Sunggyu, hoping that he had the (miraculous) right answer.

But he had none to give. “Maybe this isn’t the right time to be making decisions,” Sunggyu replied sternly. He then stood straight up again and rubbed his eyes roughly. “My head hurts too. I’m still sick,” it was his turn to whine.

“You are?” Maeri gasped. Sunggyu dropped his hands, revealing his still pale and tired face, and nodded with a deep pout. Maeri furrowed her brow in worry. Of course, he’s still sick. He looked like he was going to die yesterday. He couldn’t have recovered that quickly. I can’t believe I forgot. Maeri then grabbed his wrists and pulled him down. “Sit down,” she urged him. He didn’t need much convincing (or pulling); he quickly took a spot next to her. Once he was settled, Maeri spread part of her blanket over his lap. “Here. Better?”

“Eung,” he grunted and scooted closer to get more of the blanket (and probably to get closer to Maeri as well). For a lack of a pillow, Sunggyu rest his head on her shoulder. While he did so, Maeri fiddled with the blanket, lifting it higher to cover the both of them better.

Once fully settled, Maeri placed her cheek on his head. “What are we going to do?” she mused out loud. She closed her eyes. “What should Maeri and Sunggyu do?”

“Sleep.” Maeri didn’t realize that she spoke out loud, and so she didn’t expect Sunggyu to answer. “Sunggyu and Maeri should sleep,” he repeated and quickly followed up by a yawn as he nestled in.

“Maeri likes that,” she replied back.

Sunggyu groaned, “Maeri should stop talking and go to sleep.”

“Maeri likes that too,” she intentionally went against his wishes and kept talking.

Sunggyu sputtered into a laugh. “What doesn’t Maeri like?” he asked.

“You. Ow!” Maeri felt a pinch at her side. “I’m joking. I’m joking. I like you.”

“I know,” Sunggyu responded in a cheeky voice. “Now stop saying that you like me, and let’s sleep,” he suggested through another yawn. He must be tired, Maeri thought as her tired eyes fluttered closed once more. If only she could shut her brain as easily. He has no parents. His sister is miles away. Now with Woohyun gone, who else will be by his side? Who else will take care of him? Just me?

What am I going to do?

When Sunggyu woke up hours later, he found himself in a precarious position. Maeri was still asleep, passed out and drooling, but at some point in her sleep, she’d fall backwards onto the couches, no longer sitting up but lying on her side. And Sunggyu, he had gone from using her shoulder as a pillow, to using her hip as one (which was cushier and all around made for a better pillow but also made the situation much more embarrassing). When he tried to carefully extract himself from the situation, Maeri stirred awake, apparently not as dead asleep as he thought she was. She didn’t seem to mind Sunggyu hovering awkwardly over her hips, or she was too tired to realize it. Maeri just asked him what time it was and then who he was. Yep, Maeri was slightly out of her mind.

Before he left to let her sleep some more, Sunggyu (sort of successfully) reheated the porridge and tried to get her to eat it. After a few spoonfuls, she claimed to be too nauseous to eat anymore, and so Sunggyu finished the rest of it. There was no point in letting lukewarm porridge go to waste, and he was hungry as it was past dinner time. And so he ate, and Maeri mumbled on about some strange dream she had about a campfire and wild wolves in the forest that wanted to eat her friend.

“Sounds like a nightmare,” Sunggyu remarked.

Maeri rubbed her eyes. “Eung, it was. It was scary. I hate having people die in my dreams. It leaves me in a funk,” she mumbled lowly.

“Your friend died in the dream?” he deduced, and Maeri bobbed her head in reply. “Who was it? Your friend?”

“Just an old friend from high school,” she answered. Her hands then went for the now empty bowl. “Are you done?” she asked. “Let me clean it up.”

“Ah, no let me,” he argued as he arrested the bowl from her hands. “You just go back to sleep.”

“Okay,” Maeri gave in and began to clamber back onto the couch. “But what if the wolves come back?” she asked as she laid down and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

“Eh, they won’t. There are no wolves here, silly,” he assured her. “Go to sleep.”

“Okay,” Maeri yielded and closed her eyes. “Good night, Gyu.”

“Good night, Maeri,” he whispered back. He then left to clean up the dishes in the kitchen. When he was done, Sunggyu came back and found Maeri snoring, fast asleep. There was nothing cute at all about how she looked, mouth wide open and hair in a nest, but the word still fell from his lips as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her head. Then he left.

It was odd, their first night of, well, whatever he and Maeri were now. They weren’t exactly dating, but they weren’t ‘just friends’ now either. And how they spent the night made their relationship even more ambiguous. All they did was sleep together. Sunggyu sniggered at that, ‘sleeping together.’ The only thing ‘hot’ about the night was Maeri’s fever, and the only things Sunggyu took off that night were his coat and shoes. But his smile fell from his face at the recollection of their only conversation that night: should they get together? Or should they not? They didn’t even answer that question. All we did was sleep. We didn’t resolve anything, he thought with a groan as he unlocked the door to his own apartment. Even though Woohyun gave us his blessing, it still doesn’t feel right.

“Where did you just come back from?”

“Huh?” Sunggyu lifted his head after placing his shoes on the floor. Dongwoo was standing right in front of him, hands on his hips and a great frown on his face. Sunggyu had never seen him this stern before.

“It’s late,” Dongwoo stated and pointed towards the clock on the wall.

“I was out,” Sunggyu answered with an apologetic smile. But Dongwoo’s icy exterior didn’t melt away, so Sunggyu elaborated, “Just out with a friend? Is that not okay?”

“Liar,” Dongwoo sneered.

“What?”

“Sunggyu, I love you, but I’m so angry and disappointed in you right now,” Dongwoo spoke through gritted teeth. He then turned his head to the side. “I can’t even bear look at you.” Dongwoo then took a step and picked up the fishbowl from the countertop. “We can’t look at you,” he declared as he splayed his hand across the bowl in order to protect Little Woohyun’s innocent eyes, and then Dongwoo stomped into the bedroom with the beta fish and slammed the door shut.

“D-dongwoo,” Sunggyu stammered. He wasn’t expecting Dongwoo to welcome him back home with open arms, but he’d never guess that he’d come home to this reception. Jang Dongwoo had never been this frosty to Sunggyu his entire life. “Wh-what? What was that about?” Sunggyu muttered under his breath as he stepped inside the apartment. The answer soon became clear. On the countertop, right next to where Little Woohyun normally was, there was an open letter. Sunggyu narrowed his eyes on the envelope. “Just how many of those did he send out?” He was about to pick up the letter, when Dongwoo burst through his bedroom door, without Little Woohyun but with his coat and hat on. “Oh, where are you going?” Sunggyu blubbered, ing his hand into his pocket and acting like he wasn’t going to violate Dongwoo’s privacy.

“Out,” Dongwoo’s voice was as cold as the winter air blowing outside. Leaving behind that one word, Dongwoo marched out the door.

Suddenly, Sunggyu didn’t want to know what was in Dongwoo’s letter anymore. He just wanted to go to bed and just sleep the rest of the night away.

Sleep wouldn’t come to everyone that night. After a long day at work (during which he had snapped at Sungyeol for being too cheery and felt guilty about it but didn’t care at the same time), Woohyun had spent the night walking at the park nearby. He had planned to walk until he felt hungry, but he never did. Now, as it was past dinner time, he decided to walk until he felt tired enough to go to sleep, but that didn’t even seem to be working either. Although his legs were dragging on the ground, and he was limping along like a zombie, Woohyun’s mind was more awake than ever.

I’m going to die at this rate, he thought. Yes, I am going to die and then haunt her for the rest of her life. No one does this to me and gets away with it. New plan! I’m going to walk until I die!

But like the rest of his ‘well laid-out’ plans, this one fell into pieces too. After taking a turn on the path, Woohyun noticed a young woman walking towards him with a dog pulling her down the path by its leash. Hani. Woohyun scowled; his already dark mood became blacker. The last time he’d run in with Hani, she tried to ignore him and then pretended to be a mere acquaintance of his. I guess that’s all we are without Maeri to connect us anymore, he thought as he hung his head, preparing to ignore her as he walked past. We’re better off just being strangers. I didn’t even know she had a dog. That’s how unfamiliar with each other we are. But they hadn’t completely ignored each other as they passed by. Both of them nodded and wished the other a good night. However, it didn’t end there.

“Ack! Koko! Don’t jump! No! Get down!” The dog wouldn’t let Woohyun pass it by and jumped on him. Hani was doing her best to pull the dog away and managed to get him off of Woohyun. Unfortunately, their mutual plans of ignoring each other fell through. Now they were forced to talk. Hani smiled meekly and apologized, “I’m sorry. He’s my dad’s dog. He doesn’t listen to me well.” She turned her attention down to the dog. “Koko, bad boy,” Hani reprimanded sternly wagging her finger at the dog, but Koko truly didn’t listen to her. He tried to get closer to Woohyun again. “Sorry,” Hani apologized once more for being unable to restrain the dog.

“No, it’s okay,” Woohyun dismissed it as a problem and got down onto his knees, approaching the dog himself. “He’s just friendly, aren’t you?” he cooed at the dog and pet it. Woohyun then looked over at Hani, who had crouched down along with him while keeping a close eye on her pup. “He’s cute. He’s your dad’s?” Woohyun asked.

Hani nodded, “Yea, my sister and I got it for him before I left for school so that he wouldn’t be alone,” she explained. “My dad is not too creative with names.”

“I think it suits him,” Woohyun remarked. And to him it truly did, the dog’s coat was dark brown and the dog seemed to be as sweet as chocolate (with perhaps a bit of a bitter bite to it). Although petting this dog was the highlight of his gloomy day, Woohyun couldn’t spend all night doing so. “Well…” he began and stood up again. It was time to leave. Things were quickly becoming more awkward, and they had already successfully exchanged more words than last time. And Woohyun was about ready to call it a night, or at least his legs did. They nearly gave out at he tried to get up from his crouch.

Hani watched him, worried. “Woohyun, are you okay? You don’t look so good,” she pointed out. Hani’s head then swung over to look at where Woohyun had just walked from. “Where’s…”

“Well, I’m not. I’m not doing good,” Woohyun cut her off before she could ask the question. Hani whipped her head back towards him. Now not only she looked worried but confused too. Before she could think of asking anything else, Woohyun explained, “Maeri and I broke up.” He shook his head and amended the statement, “I broke up with her.” It was the first time he had managed to say it out loud. He broke off his engagement with Maeri. They were done. His chest felt one iota lighter after admitting that.

“No! What?” Hani exclaimed in disbelief. “Why?” She stood still, even though Koko was barking and pulling at the leash to continue walking. She wasn’t going to leave. “What happened?”

“She...god, this is embarrassing,” Woohyun faltered almost as soon as he started, and his legs faltered again too. So he finally decided to take a rest from all of his walking, for his body at least, and sat down at a bench right off the path. Hani joined him, quiet but the look on her face was speaking volumes. Her mind was racing, running through every possible scenario that could’ve lead to Woohyun and Maeri breaking up. I bet she didn’t think of this one. Woohyun inhaled, finally gathering enough breath and courage to say, “Did you know that she and Sunggyu had a thing...have a thing for each other?” Hani stiffened and she refused to look over at Woohyun or answer his question. She just kept patting Koko’s head. But that reaction was an answer enough for Woohyun. He cringed and buried his face in his hands, utterly embarrassed. “Oh my god, you do.” Who else knew? Did everyone know? Why didn’t anyone tell me?

Hani finally met his gaze. “Woohyun,” she spoke his name softly. “Did Maeri and him…”

“Yea,” he interrupted her again. Hani’s jaw dropped. “I mean, they kissed,” he tried to clear away any atrocious image flitting across her mind. But to be honest, her kissing another man was atrocious enough. “But for Maeri…” he tried to tell Hani that, but he lost his voice again. He sniffed loudly. “Aish.” And he threw his head back, forcing his tears to flow back into the ducts. It wasn’t going to work. He closed his eyes and felt a few tears fall down his cheek. Maeri wasn’t thinking of me. She doesn’t love me. She doesn’t even care.

“That’s bad,” Hani filled in his blank. “That’s really bad. I never thought this would happen.”

Woohyun sniffed and looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, with his head still back. “But you knew that they liked each other?” he challenged her.

“Yea, but...It’s Maeri. She’s not...the type to do that,” Hani struggled to explain. She shook her head and muttered in disbelief, “I can’t believe it.”

Woohyun sputtered into a bitter laugh. “Yea, well, me either,” he spat back. Woohyun’s head fell back down and his eyes fixed on Hani’s. “Do you know how much we’ve been through? She’s always been there for me, and now she goes and does this?!” he ranted to her. He kicked his foot out in frustration. “What is this bull? What is my life?”

“I wish I knew what to say. I’m still so shocked,” Hani floundered at offering him any condolence. “This isn’t like Maeri, and I thought Sunggyu would get over it or try to like…” Hani stopped herself, tucking her lips into . Woohyun turned towards her, hooking his arm the back of the bench. He was about to ask her to continue, but then Hani gave him a smile. “This . This really ,” she said.

Woohyun sighed. “It does,” he agreed. “And if I can’t trust her, I can’t trust anyone,” he concluded. Woohyun brought his arm back over and crossed them over his chest. “I’m going to be alone forever.”

“Woohyun, don’t say that,” Hani reprimanded him. “You can still trust people.”

Woohyun pouted. “No, I can’t. I hate everyone,” he retorted, narrowing his eyes, glaring at nothing in particular, just at the whole world. He hated it all.

“Okay.” Hani gave up and got up from the bench. Woohyun scoffed. Figures that she would leave too. She was probably going to someone else. Just like her. “You need to concentrate on something that isn’t you,” Hani added.

“Huh?” That only made him angrier. He turned to her, frowning deeply, but was met with a leash in his face.

“Here,” Hani said as she put the leash around Woohyun’s wrist. With a proud smile, she pulled back and waved goodbye to him. “I’ll come back for Koko later,” she told Woohyun as she walked down the path.

“Noona! When’s later?” Woohyun shouted after her.

Hani hollered back at him, with two hand cupped at , “Just take another lap, and I’ll meet you back here!”

Woohyun wanted to decline the offer, but Hani broke into a run and disappeared around the turn. “She’s gone. Now what?” Woohyun muttered. As if he could understand, Koko whined. Woohyun glared down at him. “What are you looking at?” he sneered. Koko then barked loudly, startling Woohyun. “Aish,” Woohyun cursed. When he calmed down again, he let out a deep breath. “I guess things could be worse. At least, I’m not fixed like you.” Koko didn’t seem to like that and pulled at the leash again, dragging Woohyun off of the bench. He barely managed to get onto his feet and Koko had Woohyun walking briskly down the path.

“Wo-woah! Where are you going?”

Even though Woohyun had thought walking wasn’t solving any of his problems, this particular lap did. It was good to have company as he walked. And Koko was the ideal thing to talk to. He always listened to Woohyun and never interrupted. Humans always felt obligated to respond, to offer comfort or advice. Koko just felt obligated to keep walking. And occasionally the dog would look up at Woohyun with his brown eyes, which just melted his icy heart. “Do I have to take you back?” Woohyun ended up asking the dog. “You like me more than Hani, don’t you? I’m a nice guy. Any dog would be happy to be with me. Forget love. All the love I need is a love from a dog. Isn’t that right?” Koko barked in what Woohyun took as agreement.

Other than maybe getting a dog in a near future, Woohyun came to some other conclusions. Besides the whole cheating thing, what else made Woohyun incredibly angry was when Maeri claimed that he didn’t love her. Woohyun did. He did love her more than he realized, and romantically too. Woohyun had a habit of having an unguarded heart, which let others in easily. Maeri was already in there, deeply. Before he had only liked her, and he liked how consistent and faithful she was, how well they got along. Then he proposed and they played at being a couple. And the more that they played, the deeper and deeper she ventured into his heart. He liked them as a couple, and he was starting to really love her. And then it fell to pieces.

Another conclusion that he came to was how toxic his relationship with Maeri was. There was a reason why all of their previous relationships had failed. They wouldn't let anyone else come between them. Even Dongwoo seemed disgruntled at times with them because of that. They spoke like they had a secret language. They played games that only each other knew, laughed at jokes that no one else got. They acted as one unit, one person, and that wasn’t good. It was getting unhealthier as they got older. They’ve been too dependent on each other for too long, refusing to rely on anyone else or rely on their own strength alone. And so it was high time that they learned how to live without.

“Men in their 30s don’t cling onto their Teddy Bears, right, Koko? So I need to give away mine.”

“Ah! You’re back!” Hani exclaimed. Woohyun perked up at the sound of her voice, and so did Koko. The dog ran over to her, dragging Woohyun behind him. Hani must’ve run while he was gone. She was sitting on the bench, waiting for them, with a thin layer of sweat coating her faces and fly-aways plastered to her skin.

“Eung, thank you for this,” Woohyun said as he handed back the leash. “It did help.”

“I’m glad,” Hani responded, looking somewhat relieved. “I was afraid that Koko would drive you nuts like he does with me.”

“Eh, of course not,” Woohyun denied. “He’s a good dog,” he praised, patting Koko’s head one last time. “I’m going to miss him.”

“If you want, you can walk him again,” Hani offered. “I normally try to walk him around this time. After dinner.”

“Really?”

“Yea, you’d be doing me a favor actually,” Hani said as she crouched down next to Koko. She played with his cheeks. “I love you, but you’re a crazy dog. A crazy dog!” she spoke in a baby voice and was interrupted when Koko her nose. Hani immediately stood up, wincing and wiping . “It would be a big favor. Trust me.”

Woohyun smiled down at the dog. “Yea, I’ll think about it.” He then looked up at Hani. “So I guess I’ll see you around, Noona. Good night!” he wished her as he walked away, waving.

“Good night, Woohyun!” she yelled back and turned to go home herself.

She didn’t call me ‘Woohyun-ssi’ again. She must feel really bad for me, he concluded as he walked back to Hoya’s apartment. She’s pretending to be my friend again. But can I trust her? Can I trust anyone?

If Woohyun could trust anyone, those people were waiting back at the apartment. When he opened up the door, Woohyun saw a familiar duffle bag on the floor, his duffle bag. Hoya had gotten his stuff from the apartment. Or he assumed in was Hoya.

“You’re back!”

“Hm?” Woohyun looked up from his bag and saw Dongwoo standing there with his arms wide open and Woohyun’s cell phone in his hand. “Dongwoo?” Woohyun felt a smile creeping onto his face.

“Come here, buddy,” Dongwoo encouraged him. It didn’t take much more than that for Woohyun to leap into his arms and accept the hug.

“I should’ve just married you,” Woohyun’s voice was muffled by Dongwoo’s shoulder.

“I know. I know. We all make mistakes,” Dongwoo joked as he patted his friend’s back.

That joke hit a little too close to home. Woohyun pulled away, out of the hug. “Thanks for getting my stuff,” he said.

“It’s no problem,” Dongwoo replied. “I’m just sorry that it took so long. I had to wait for something.”

Woohyun narrowed his eyes on the other. “Wait for what?”

Dongwoo averted his gaze and his mouth fell open. “Uuuh…”

“Yah!” A shout came from a few feet away, where Hoya was (apparently this whole time). “Are you just going to ignore me? I even bought a new case of beer for you in the fridge.”

“Really?”

“Yea,” Dongwoo answered for him. “Hey, did you eat any dinner?”

“Ah, no I didn’t,” Woohyun replied sheepishly. “But it’s okay. It doesn’t matter.”

“It does!” Dongwoo insisted. He slung his arm around Woohyun, not taking ‘no‘ for an answer and dragging him into the kitchen. “Let’s get you something to eat.”

“And drink,” Hoya added as he walked ahead of them and opened up the fridge.

“Thanks guys,” Woohyun said as he sat down. “For everything.” For just being here.

Dongwoo grinned and responded, “That’s what friends do.”

Dongwoo had a point. This was what friends do. Friends stuck with each other through thick and thin. Friends would always be there for you. They were people that you could trust. What friends don’t do were lie, steal, and cheat. They did all three. They aren’t friends of mine…not anymore. Not ever again.