Next Monday morning, after a really miserable weekend, I followed Dongwoon across the parking lot to join Junhyung and Doojoon, who were hidden from view by the blue van. As we came alongside the van, I could hear Doojoon’s voice clearly, although I couldn’t see him.

“Three more days,” Junhyung answered. “And it’s a good thing, too. I’m not sure I could keep this up much longer. I’ve got to tell you, Doojoon, this has been the longest six weeks for my life!”

I felt as if my heart had suddenly dropped down to my toes. I stopped in my tracks, grabbing Woonie by the arm. Glancing nervously at me, he said, “Oh, I meant to tell you, Doojoon said Junhyung told him all about-“

“Shhh!” I hissed. I wanted to hear the rest of Junhyung and Doojoon’s conversation, no matter how painful it was.

“If you ask me, I think being unlucky in love is good for you,” Doojoon was saying. “You played the game of your life last Friday.”

“Just trying to forget my problems,” Junhyung answered.

“I still don’t see what you’re waiting for,” Doojoon said. “If you want to ask the person out, what’s stopping you? Admit it. You’re afraid he’ll turn you down.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Junhyung said with humourless laugh. “I thought I was finally getting somewhere but he’s pretty unpredictable. I haven’t been this nervous about asking a person out in a long time. But it’s not just that. It doesn’t seem fair to Yoseob, either.”

“Come on, Junhyung. What about being fair to yourself?”

“I’m trying to be fair to myself! But I want a person who wants me, not just one who’s trying to avoid another. And if that means putting up with three more days of this garbage, I guess that’s what I’ll have to do.”

That did it. To love in vain was one thing; to find out that the love of my life couldn’t wait to ditch me for another person was something else. It was just like what happened with Jinwoon, only worse. Much worse. I my chin into the air and said in a clear, loud voice, “I’ll be so glad to be through with pretending to be crazy about football. I don’t care if I never see another football game as long as I live.”

“Have you gone nuts?” Dongwoon whispered.

The conversation on the other side of the van had ceased abruptly. “This Friday night I’m going to the mall,” I announced. “I want to meet some people whose interests go beyond kicking each other. Want to come with me, Woonie?”

“No thanks,” he said, looking rather pale. “I think I’ll just go and watch Doojoon.”

“Whatever turns you on.” I shrugged. “But almost six weeks with Junhyung has convinced me that I prefer people with brains… Junhyung! Doojoon!” I beamed at them as we rounded the front of the van. “How nice to see you.”

They both sat motionless on the hood of Junhyung’s car as if they were frozen there. Doojoon was the first one to recover. He slowly rose to his feet, casting a worried glance on Junhyung. Then he murmured something on Dongwoon, and the two of them disappeared around the bend of the van, leaving me alone with Junhyung.

“Is something wrong, Yoseob?” he asked. To my surprise, he didn’t look angry, just a little confused.

“Wrong? What could possibly be wrong? This is the happiest week of my life!” If I were any happier, I’d lock myself in the bathroom and bawl like a baby.

“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”

“How perceptive of you,” I said sweetly.

“Am I allowed to ask what I did wrong?” he asked, showing signs of irritation.

“If you don’t know, it wouldn’t do any good for me to tell you.”

“Fine!” Junhyung growled, throwing up his hands in frustration. He stalked off, and for the first time in almost six weeks, I walked to homeroom alone.

I wasn’t prepared for the sight that awaited me there. Dongwoon sat on the windowsill, talking to Doojoon, but when the morning bell rang he seemed almost eager to get rid of him.

“Hyung, have you lost your mind?” he demanded as soon as Doojoon left for his own homeroom. “What was that scene in the parking lot about?”

“You heard him. Junhyung hates me. He said he could hardly wait to break up with me.”

“But I thought you could hardly wait to break up with him.”

“Well, that was then. This is now.”

Dongwoon’s eyes grew larger. “You’re in love with Junhyung, aren’t you?” he breathed.

My eyes filled with tears. “Is it that obvious?”

“To me it is. So what are you going to do?”

“What can I do? If the last five and a half weeks have been so unbearable for him maybe I should just call it quits right now.”

“Oh, no you’re not,” Dongwoon said. “You’ve got three whole days to work on this. I’ll help you out. We’ll think of something.”

For the first time in my life, I actually hoped Dongwoon would come up with some sort of scheme. But by the end of the day, he was forced to admit that he had drawn a complete blank.

Guys, the end is really near. Aww. What do you think would happen? Is it really already goodbye for both of them? Or one would eat their pride? Let's find it out soon. :))

Thanks for the comments. :)

Saranghae. <3