Jihoon was sprawled out on his back on the couch. His right arm lay across his face, shielding his eyes from the sunlight that shone in through the living room window. Ashley took the opportunity to pounce on the young man while he was vulnerable. She jumped on top of him knocking the wind out of him and snuggled against his chest.

“Uh… what are you doing?” He asked opening his eyes to find Ashley staring up at him.

“You just looked so comfortable.”

“I was…”

“Well now I’m comfortable.” She grinned.

Jihoon raised an eyebrow and went to question her further but once he heard her soft breathing he thought better of it. The older girl must have been quite tired to fall asleep so suddenly like that. He her hair gently, lulling her in her sleep with a soft smile on his face. Zuny happened to stroll down the hallway and stopped to admire the scene. She was pleasantly surprised at how well Ashley and Jihoon got along. They’d been pretty much inseparable since they met, becoming fast friends. And then it clicked. The reason they had become friends so quickly, the reason Jihoon put Ashley even before himself, the reason he looked at her the way he did. Zuny nearly smacked herself. How could she not have realized it before? She dashed down the hallway and into Sojungs room.

“What is wrong with you?” Sojung asked.

“Jihoon loves Ashley.”

“Wow, brilliant. No really. I’m shocked… He loves all of us you idiot.”

“No Sojung, you don’t understand.”

“Then enlighten me like you have so clearly been enlightened.”

“Jihoon is in love with Ashley.”

Sojung was silent. No witty comeback, no snarky remark, nothing.

“But he… And she’s…”

“I know.”

Sojung tried to wrap her head around the new information but couldn’t seem to understand it. Zuny sat beside her and placed her head in her hands.

“After all these years. It was her. It was always her.” She mumbled.

“Then why wasn’t he with her?” Sojung wondered.

“I don’t know… but I want to find out.”

--------------------------------------

Jihoon shut the door to Ashleys bed room carefully. He figured it’d be better for her to sleep in her bed than on the couch. After putting the older girl to bed he began to rummage around the kitchen so he could prepare dinner for the girls. As he was cooking Zuny and Sojung slipped into the kitchen without a sound, nearly giving Jihoon a heart attack when he turned around and found them sitting at the kitchen table.

“Where’s Ashley?” Sojung asked.

“In her room.”

She didn’t reply but instead just nodded. Jihoon was suspicious as to why they were so quiet, especially Sojung. She always had something to say to him whether it was good or bad. Unfortunately for him, this time it was bad.

“Uh, Jihoon...” Zuny started cautiously as to not dive right into this clearly touchy subject.

“Hm?” He mumbled in response as he cut vegetables.

“When were you going to tell us you were in love with Ashley?” Sojung cut her off.

Jihoon lost his focus on what he was doing and accidently sliced his hand with the knife. Sojung and Zuny both jumped to their feet at the sight of blood dripping down his arm.

“I’ll go take care of this.” He said, stopping them from coming any closer.

The two girls were very surprised, not just because of the blood but because this was the first time Jihoon had ever avoided anything they had ever asked him.

“Smooth Sojung. Smooth.” Zuny groaned slinking back into her chair.

“I didn’t know he was going to nearly cut his hand off.” Sojung defended.

“What did you think was going to happen?! Ugh, this isn’t helping. Let’s just make dinner.”

Jihoon rushed back into Ashleys room trying to find the older girls first aid kit she had stashed in her bathroom incase of emergencies. All the noise made Ashley stir from her slumber and when she saw Jihoon rummaging around her cabinets in a panic she immediately hopped out of bed.

“Jihoon what did you do?!” She cried at the sight of his blood painting the inside of her sink red.

Jihoon jumped in place clearly frightened by Ashley’s sudden appearance.

“It’s nothing.”

“You’re bleeding all over the place what do you mean it’s nothing?”

“I cut myself making dinner.” He stated as if it was of no importance.

Ashley sat him down and quickly found her first aid kit, grabbing as much gauze as she could in an effort to stop the bleeding.

“Jihoon it’s not stopping… I think you need stitches.”

“Ash, I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine Jihoon! Stop acting like you’re fine!” She yelled.

Jihoon froze. This was the first time in all their years of friendship that Ashley had ever raised her voice when she was talking to him. Ashley sighed cupping his face in her hands.

“You don’t have to be okay all the time. It’s okay to not be okay.”

It was then that he knew this was about more than him needing stitches. This was years of pent up frustration and therefore he said nothing, not wanting to upset her any further.

“Come on. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Jihoon followed her like a little lost puppy not saying a word as he did so. The doctor was quick to sew up the wound and much to Ashleys relief Jihoon hadn’t lost as much blood as she thought. Zuny and Sojung hadn’t even noticed that the two were no longer in the apartment until they returned.

“Where’d you go?” Zuny asked.

“The hospital. He needed stitches.” Ashley replied sitting down at the table, resting her head against the wood.

Sojung and Zuny looked to Jihoon who stood awkwardly in the doorway contemplating if he should try and comfort the older girl or just let her be.

“I’m sorry.” Sojung apologized.

Ashleys head shot up.

“You did that?”

“They were quiet when they came into the kitchen and they didn’t know I was cutting the vegetables so they surprised me. It was an accident. My own fault really for not being careful.”

“Are you alright?” Sojung asked.

Jihoon wanted to reply. He wanted to say he was okay but when he saw Ashley looking at him from the corner of his eye he could only nod, finding it hard to speak.

“I’m tired.” He stated, turning abruptly around and walking out of the kitchen.

“What am I going to do with him?” Ashley groaned letting her head slam against the table.

Zuny and Sojung shot each other nervous looks before going back to their cooking.

--------------------------------------

Jihoon had not come to dinner and Ashley was a little worried that it was because of her. When she entered her bedroom and found him fast asleep she felt relieved that at least if she was the reason, she wasn’t the only reason. She crawled into bed next to him and laid her head on his chest, snuggling against his side and throwing her arm across his body in a half hug.

“I’m sorry.” She said not expecting a response from the sleeping Jihoon.

“Why are you sorry? You took me to the hospital, where as I would’ve just put a band aid on and tried to continue dinner.”

Ashley wasn’t as surprised as she probably should’ve been. Jihoon was known for being more than observant. One minute he’d be asleep, or be listening to music and the next he’d be answering a question she thought he hadn’t even heard.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

“I deserved it.”

“No you didn’t. Well, you did… But not while you were bleeding out in my bathroom.”

“You wouldn’t have let me.”

“No I wouldn’t have.”