“Youngbae told me what happened… I went directly here to see if she’s now okay…”





Heechul stood up from his seat and slowly went to Jiyong… it’s been years since he last saw Heechul… though they weren’t that close, he and Jiyong still maintained a good relationship.





Upon reaching Jiyong, Heechul tapped him on his shoulder… glanced back towards Sohee and then turned back to Jiyong.





“Can we talk outside for a minute…?”





Heechul said in a calm manner.





Jiyong nodded and checked on Sohee before following Heechul outside.





--





“Dara-ah… Are you okay…?”





Seunghyun asked her as he noticed that she’s been spacing out… He invited her outside for a tea when he had a spare time before his meeting…





He still didn’t know what happened to Sohee… and last night for him was still a torture… imagining the two being left in her apartment wants him to go back in there and stay with her… but he knows he can’t… he’s not in the right place to tell Dara who to meet and especially who to love…





Just what he’s doing right now… he would always just be the man from afar… watching her and hoping for a change of heart from her… and just by making her happy with his small deeds is enough to show her how much she really is to him.





She looked up… stirring her tea with her other hand… she let out a slight smile…





“I’m fine…”






His forehead creased… he knows something’s bothering her… her voice is weak and she can’t even look at him straight in the eyes.






He reached for her other hand on the table… she quickly looked up to him and saw his worried face… somehow by the warmth of his hand she felt a little calm.





“You can tell me anything Dara…”






He said in a sweet voice… apart from his aching heart, he should still let her feel that he’s still right there for her no matter what.






She pressed her lips together… avoiding herself to cry in front of him… doesn’t want to bother her friend just because of her selfish love.






He saw her tears forming at the side of her eyes… and just then he began to worry more…






‘Did something happen between them last night…?’





He thought… he held her hand tight… lifting it up and enveloped it on his big hand… he smiled towards her…






“Seunghyun-ah… Sohee’s in the hospital… she tried committing suicide…”





Her voice cracked down… but she thinks telling it to someone would be the best way to lessen the guilt inside of her… His eyes widen in surprise… mouth opened a bit but at first unable to speak…






“Why…?”






He asked… and just then tears started to roll down from Dara’s eyes… she let go of his hand to covers her face with her hands as she cried.






“It’s all my fault…”






He felt his heart sunk once again… seeing the girl he loves broke down in front of him is like more painful than seeing her with some other man… he quickly stood up and went to her side… making her to face him, he ducked down in front of her…






He pulled one of her hand away from her face… enveloped it with his on her lap… he reached for her face and caressed it… people inside the café started to look at them but he didn’t care…






She continuously sobbed… and his heart continuously ached seeing her like that… somehow he got the hint of what happened… knowing how Sohee would do anything just to keep Jiyong for herself… but he never expected for her to do such thing like trying to take her own life.






“I shouldn’t have come back…”





She whispered between her sobs…





He pulled Dara towards him… hugged her tight and her back…






“Sssshhh Dara… why are you telling that…”






His voice is hurt… her, telling that she shouldn’t have come back was like that they too shouldn’t have met each other… which would be a great mistake if he had never met her… meeting her was one of the best part in his life and even heartaches comes with it… he never regrets meeting her.






After a while she stopped… as she felt another pain inside her head… she told him that they should just go back to their office… all he could do is nod… supported her from going outside.






Once they reached his car she held on to his arm which made him stop…






“I have to tell you something…”







He lowered his head… curved a forced smile for somehow he knew what she was going to say… he opened the door of his car for her… settled himself on the other side… at first silence filled his car…






“Jiyong and I were lovers before…”







She looked down on her hands… expecting a surprised reaction from Seunghyun which never happened… he stayed quiet… heaved a deep breath as he reached for her hand… trying not to broke down in front of her… he waited more of what she’ll say next.






She looked up when she got nothing from him… only to be welcomed by his warm smile… she looked away once again as tears started to form from her eyes.







“I came back here because of him… hoping that he’ll forgive me and to continue what we used to have… but when I came back… everything already changed…”







And just then tears started to fall from her eyes again…







He reached for her face and wiped off the tears… this is more painful than earlier… her words were like millions of knives stabbing his heart… rubbing it to his wounded heart that his friend was the real reason why he got to meet her….







“I tried… I tried to forget him… especially when I knew about Sohee and him… but no matter what… my feelings for him keeps on coming back to me… I just can’t forget about him that easily… he was the reason why I was able to survive… I can’t… I don’t know how I could continue without him Seunghyun-ah…”







He couldn’t take it anymore… a tear escaped his eye and in order to hide it from her, he quickly pulled her to a hug… she sobbed on his chest soaking his suit but he didn’t care… he quickly wiped off the tear on his cheek and began caressing the back of her head.
He looked to the side… biting his trembling lower lip as he suppressed more of his tears to come out… he shouldn’t cry… not in front of her…







He shouldn’t blame her… for he himself was the one to decide loving her… a one-sided love that will ever be hidden from her….







He knows he’s already defeated… for she said it all herself… he would never be that man she was talking about… would never be the man inside her heart.







He hugged her tight… knowing she would also be the one who could heal his now dead heart… they stayed like that for a while… until her sobs lessened he finally let go of her…







Her eyes were swollen… still trails of her tears could be seen from her cheeks… he held her face in his hands…







“I’m sorry…”







She whispered… his forehead creased… for him those words meant a lot… but shook the thought off as he stood in his belief that she shouldn’t be sorry for anything.







“You don’t have to...”







He finally curved a true smile…







“I should have told you about Jiyong and I earlier… and I’m sorry that I have to involve you in my problems…”







He sighed deeply before letting go of her face and turned ahead…







“I’m your friend Dara… listening would be the last thing I could do for you… and as your friend… I’ll do anything to support you…”







She reached for his hand and squeezed it tight.







“Thank you Seunghyun-ah…”







He quickly looked back at her… and one last time he smiled to her… dropping his gaze before turning his head back on the road.







“Do you still want to go back in the office…?”







He asked… she just nodded and smile… she let go of his hand as he started the engine of his car… the ride was quiet while she just looked outside…







He still could feel that she’s bothered… and even though he’s already tired from what happened earlier… he just couldn’t take seeing her like that.







“Dara…”







He called her







“You don’t have to punish and blame yourself for what’s happening… everything has a reason… just stay strong and follow what your heart tells you…”






He said without looking at her… as much as those words were painful to speak… he must do it to bring back her smile… completely letting her go now… even though she never became his in the first place.







She looked at his friend and can’t help but to really feel grateful meeting such a person like him… she smiled and nodded on his words… lucky to have him on her side… another person that gave strength to her…






--







“Do you know why I suddenly broke up with her back then…?”







Heechul asked him as they were on a bench outside the hospital… he was looking afar… still wearing his business suit…







Jiyong didn’t speak… he just waited for him to continue…







“Because I can never be you…”







He quickly looked at the man beside him as soon as those words came out from his mouth… he opened his mouth but unable to let out words for her doesn’t even know what to say.






“She really likes you a lot… always envied her best friend because of you… she always tried to be like Dara in order to be noticed especially by you… she hid her true self just to be someone she is not just because of you…”







And just then, Heechul crept a bitter smile… he lowered his gaze as he heaved up a deep sigh.







“I love her… until now I still do… and I know I’m the only one who could understand her… for we’re just like the same… she pretending to be someone for you to notice her… and me also pretending to be someone just to be noticed by her… but no matter what… I can’t still beat you in her eyes…”






“I don’t…-“







Jiyong started but Heechul cut him off.







“You don’t love her… I know… I saw how you love Dara… I saw how the two of you were like back then… how I wish I could be like that to Sohee… but she never gave me a chance to prove myself… always comparing me to you…. maybe I’m just not enough for her…”






His voice is weak… reminiscing his time with Sohee… he sure do loves her… but she was too busy doing other things for someone who doesn’t even notice her shadow…







“You’re wrong… if you do really love her you shouldn’t have left her… you said you were the only one who could understand her and yet you still left her…”






Jiyong finally spoke which caught Heechul off guard…







He looked at Jiyong and again a bitter smile crept on his lips before he looked away again.







“You’re right… I was a coward back then… I was really afraid that I would never fit her… she was really stubborn… if only I was more patient with her maybe she would love me back… and until now she’s still stubborn… until now she’s still trying to be with you… I guess I’m still no match for you…”







“I will only hurt her more Heechul-ah… I can’t be with her…”







He was stopped as Heechul tapped his shoulder.







“Then I guess it’s time for me to take her back…”







Jiyong looked at him wonderingly but Heechul just smiled at him.






--







He was on his way home… Heechul insisted that he’ll be the one to stay with Sohee until she wakes up… he has changed… he was not the shy guy back then… time really changes a person… but how come Dara never changed her pure kindness… she still the same innocent and unselfish girl that he met years ago…







Thinking that she’s still maybe at the office, he changed his way… wanting to see her now and comfort her for he knows she’s still bothered to what happened…







Upon reaching their building he parked his car… quickly went out but stopped on his tracks when he saw a familiar guy walking around the area… his eyes widen when he recognized the guy… a smile slowly curved on his lips as he began walking towards the guy’s direction.







“Sanghyun..!”







Jiyong called him.