The way Song Joongki looked at Sandara Park could be described as how every woman longed to be looked at by their significant other. Yet Sandara was oblivious to the man's feelings for her. After all, she was inexperienced with men.

“Yah,” Sandara snapped her fingers in front of his face, “You're staring again!”

“Are you flustered?” he teased

“No,” she rolled her eyes

“Then what is it?” he continued

“You're not getting anything done,” she told him

“I'm drawing you so of course I have to stare at you,” he lied

He always stared at her without her knowledge. She is his favorite sight to behold.

“But you've been staring too long,”

“Because you keep moving so I don't know how I am suppose to draw you,”

“It's hard to stay still that long,” she complained

Joongki laughed at her complaint. He knew his best friend couldn't keep still for that long. She is a hyperactive person.

“If you can't, then I'll just get another model,”

“But I want to be drawn by you too,” she frowned.

Little did she know that Joongki already had a collection of sketches of her.

“I can just take a photo of you and base it off that,”

“Oh, that's much easier! Here, take one of me,” she offered her phone

However Joongki rejected. This was an opportunity for him to have a photo of her that was specially for him.

“I have one too,” he took his device out of his jacket's pocket and snapped a photo of her, “There,”

“Let me see.”

She was too close for Joongki's fragile heart. Her forehead being centimeters away from his, her lips off by mere inches. He could clearly note her facial features at their position.

“Look at those two,” a boy stranger said, “I'm envious,”

“Oh, I know those two. They're art major students in our university,” the stranger's girl companion replied

“Are they dating? They must be,”

“I thought so too, but they aren't. It's impossible. Anyway, let's go before they catch us looking at them,” the girl tugged at the boy's sleeves.

Joongki wanted to relish in this rare closeness of theirs. Sure they were best friends but they were still of the opposite . Joongki didn't want others to perceive Sandara as a woman with no value. Plus it was never necessary for them to be this close physically.

“That's a good photo of me,” Sandara commented

“It really is,”

“Can you send it to me?”

“Nope. It's for my eyes only,” he hid his phone

“Eh, not fair,”

“You won't appreciate the sketch as much if you also have the digital copy of what it's based off,”

“No, that's not it,” she argued

“I'll give it to you later,”

“You said that, Joongki. I'll hold you accountable for it,” she stood up

“I guess we should head home now,”he followed

“Alright, neighbor,” she said.

Joongki gathered his belongings and even Sandara's.

“You're already carrying so much stuff, Joongki. Let me carry mine,”

“It's alright. It's not heavy,”

“You have a huge sketchbook in your shoulder bag along with other art materials in boxes. You dare say it isn't heavy,”

“I can manage,” he smiled at her

“Always the gentleman. That's why you have your own fanclub in our school. You'd think those kind of girls were only in high school,”

“It really is nothing,”

“This boy,” she clung to his arm, “How did I end up having you as a best friend?”

“Because we've been neighbors as long as we both could remember and our families are close and,”

“It was a rhetorical question,” she squeezed his arm

“Oh,”

“Always so serious,” she laughed

“That's why we click, right? We balance each other,”

“Again, so serious, but I agree.”

Their walk home was everything but quiet. There was never a dull moment between the pair with Joongki's unintended jokes to Sandara's laughter, and Joongki's habit of making random sound effects to Sandara's quirk of reading out loud signs. It was easy for mistake them as a loving couple, but they weren't.

“It's going to be Valentine's soon,” Sandara blurted out.

Joongki stiffened slightly. February was a painful month for him.

“You're going to receive so much chocolates again. Don't forget to give me some,” she let out a loud laugh

“It isn't funny. They won't leave me alone no matter how much I tell them to,”

“You don't tell them mean enough,”

“You tell them then,”

“Eh, they would attack me and start saying nonsense again like how I do like you romantically,” she made a disgusted noise.

Joongki couldn't help but feel torn. He knew it well that she could never look at him that way but it pained him. They were almost like lovers. So close yet not really. It could never be for her heart was someone else's. He didn't know how it happened or why but he hated himself so much. He hated how he didn't see it coming. How she could fall for not another man, but a woman.

“Oh, Chaerin!” Sandara quickly let go of his arm and ran to her lover

“Surprise,” Chaerin said with arms open wide

“You're back,” Sandara embraced her

“Did you miss me?” asked Chaerin

Joongki looked away. He could never get used to it even if it's been past two years. Maybe he was a masochist, still staying by her side knowing there is no chance of romance. But isn't that what real love is? Loving someone without expecting anything in return.