Author P.O.V

Minho watched quietly as she adjusted her head into a comfortable position and slowly fell into a deep slumber. Only part of her face was showing but it was enough for him to know all the features on her face; her porcelain skin, her thin oval face, her high cheekbones, her petite nose, her full rosy pink lips and her defined jawline. It didn’t take him much to portray the image of her in his mind. He had known her for nearly seven years and he didn’t regret the amount of time he had spent with her. He didn’t regret ever meeting her. He didn’t regret ever being her best friend.

There were so many things he didn’t regret. But there was one thing he did.

Minho was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Su Hwa squirm in her sleep. Shaking his head, he slowly shook her shoulder.

“Su Hwa, wake up. You’re not supposed to sleep in class. You need to take down notes,” He said ever so softly so that only the two of them could hear his words. Without opening her eyes, Su Hwa let out a soft groan, unwilling to wake up from her sleep.

“Did you sleep late again last night?” He asked only to earn a small nod from her. Minho shook his head.

Su Hwa always slept late. Even though the next day was a schooling day, she still slept late. But she had a reason for that. She had a reason as to why she always slept late.

Every night, Minho and Su Hwa would text each other and talk about the most random things ever. And Minho would always be the one to start the conversation. He would always be the one to say ‘Hey’ first. He would always be the one to keep the conversation going because he knew how Su Hwa at doing so.

But then one day, their conversations grew shorter and as each day passed, they text each other less and less. Minho’s replies would always seem short and unenthusiastic while Su Hwa would always try to keep the conversation going but failed miserably.

Often, Minho would leave the conversation hanging. He would leave her hanging. Yet, never once had she been mad at him. Never once had she told him how sad he made her. Never once had she told him how long she had waited for him to reply her texts.

And Minho never noticed. He never noticed how their conversations were growing lesser. He never noticed the number of times he had left her hanging. He never noticed the amount of pain her had brought to her. He never noticed how long she had waited; for him. For his text.

Eventually, their conversations came to a halt. He didn’t text her anymore. He wasn’t the one to say ‘Hey’ anymore. He wasn’t the one to talk to her throughout the night. And she noticed. She noticed the huge change. She noticed how they didn’t text each other anymore. She noticed how he didn’t start a conversation anymore. She noticed everything.

And she tried. She tried to start one. She tried to be the one to say ‘Hey’ first. She tried to be the one to talk to him throughout the night. But no matter how many times she tried, she never seemed to be able to send that text of hers. Because deep inside, she knew that he wouldn’t reply.

But she still waited. She waited for him; his text. Every night, she’d lie on her bed constantly checking her phone for new messages. But each time she checked, her hope would always be crushed. Because the text she was hoping for never came.

Because of him, she had waited all night. Because of him, she always slept late. Because of him, she was heartbroken.

But he still didn’t notice. He never did. And to her, he probably never will.

As he watched her fall into a deep slumber yet again, he decided to just let her sleep. Taking the abandoned notebook on her table, he opened it to a fresh page and started jotting down the notes for her, abandoning his own notebook. He had put her first instead of himself.

That was what he always did. No matter what happened, he had always put her first. Because throughout the six and a half years they had been best friends, she had always put him first. She had always been there for him when he needed her. She had always given him the support and care he needed. She had always been the one by his side through the thick and thin. She was always the one to cheer him up when he was down. She was always the one to let him know that everything would be okay. She was loyal. She was always there. She was the best ‘best friend’ he could ever ask for.

So when Minho’s mind brought him back to his conversation with Hyun Woo, he couldn’t help but to feel a lump of guilt form in his throat because for the very first time in his life, he had regretted something.

He had regretted not being able to keep to his words.

He had to break the promises he made with her.

He had to quit.

He had to walk away.

He had to say goodbye.

To her.

To his dreams.

To everything.

But he wasn’t ready yet. He wasn’t ready to let her know. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye. He had to keep holding on. He had to stay strong. He had to fake a smile.

Because he didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want to break her heart. He didn’t want to make her cry. He didn’t want to let her down.

But what he didn’t know was that he had already hurt her. He had already broken her heart. He had already made her cry. He had already let her down, so many times. And even though he hadn’t intended to do those things, the pain was still there.