Byunghun would've been lying if he had said that there was nothing abnormal going on with his life. Seeing how his crush had kissed the captain of his team, he thought that he would've been moving on with his life. Sure, he was a bit upset whenever he saw the two together, but he was learning to accept their relationship and always told himself that it was for Sunyoung's happiness.

Well, that's what he had always thought. Lately, she had been approaching him more than she was approaching her own boyfriend. He asked around, wondering if the two had fought or if she just liked hanging around him. However, he heard rumors about how Jongdae was cheating on her, and she was only seeking comfort from the people around her.

"You believe that he's cheating?" Sohyun asked. She was moping the gym's floor, while Byunghun—who had just finished taking a shower when basketball practice ended—was watching her close by. He also found it more comforting when he vented his problems to the younger girl. She was a good listener, but he usually didn't like the advices she gave him.

"Well, that's what everyone said. If everyone says it, shouldn't it be true?" he asked her.

"Then if everyone said that I was a second year, would that be true?" She watched him shake his head. "Exactly. You need to calm down a bit and stop over thinking this. What if she just wants to be friends with you?"

"Well, that's what I thought at first, but she's a lot more…touchy…?" He noticed her expression twist. "Sorry. Did I say anything that offended you?"

She paused, then shook her head. "No, nothing was wrong. What do you mean by 'touchy'?"

"I don't know. Like, if she wants to hold my hand, she holds my hand. Or if she wants to cling on me then she clings on me—"

"You let her do as she like with you?" Her tone became icy cold, and Byunghun was lucky enough to not notice. "Isn't it like she's using you?"

He looked down at his hands. "I don't know. If she is, I don't think I mind it too much."

"You're stupid," she muttered. She sighed. "Do you think it's even right for her to touch you like that, especially since she's dating?"

"Well, Jongdae cheated so—"

"You don't know that," Sohyun argued. "You never even heard him admit that he was cheating. Heck, you never even talked to him about it!"

"But it's always awkward when I talk to him!" Byunghun complained. "Isn't it awkward for you, too?"

"W-Well, yeah, but that's because talking to guys is always awkward for me," she argued.

Byunghun stared at her, then smiled. "Well, it's good to see you improving."

"W-What?"

"You don't stutter as much," Byunghun commented. "Well, that's when you're talking to me. You still stutter when you talk to other guys, though. I still say that it's an improvement."

Sohyun blushed. "W-Well, that's because I'm getting u-used to you…"

"Doesn't that mean that she sees you as a girl?" a voice asked them from behind. The two looked up and saw Sunyoung approaching them, smiling with that smile that used to make Byunghun's heart skip.

Used to.

"What are you doing around here?" Byunghun gasped. "If you're looking for Jongdae, then he already left to find you—"

"Oh, I know. I just met him and told him to go ahead. On the other hand…" She lunged forward and hugged one of his arms. "Are you busy right now, Byunghun? From what I heard, basketball practice is over, right?"

"Um, I was planning to help out a bit. The place is big for only one person to clean. You should know that best, right?" Byunghun asked her.

"But isn't that the manager's job? Wouldn't she get in trouble if she gets spotted with you helping? It makes her look like she's unreliable. Besides, where's the other manager?" Sunyoung asked, looking around.

Sohyun forced a smile. "She kind of left with the team. Cleaning up is the least thing on her mind."

"Oh. Well, I'll make sure coach knows about it. Anyway, Byunghun," Sunyoung continued, looking at him straight in the eyes, "are you doing anything else beside cleaning up?"

"Well, not really—"

"Great! Let's go!"

"Go where?"

"To hang out, of course!"

"Wait, only me and you?" Byunghun looked around him. "What about your boyfriend?"

"I told you, he went ahead. Now, let's go!" Sunyoung kept tugging his arm, but he wouldn't move. Instead, he looked at Sohyun, who gestured him to leave with his chin. She looked at him as if she was going to be fine, but Byunghun sensed that there was something else going on.

"Sorry, Sunyoung, but I really feel like it's better for me to stay and help," he said. "You're free to help out, too. I know you know what to do."

Sunyoung gritted her teeth. "Are you really going to be like this? After all, I'm the one who's suggesting to go. Besides, I'm pretty sure she has some other things to do after school. Like maybe hanging out with another girl's boyfriend?"

Sohyun's face grew red in anger. "How could you accuse me of such a thing?"

"Oh, I wasn't accusing you. It was just a small suggestion," Sunyonug muttered. She turned to Byunghun and smiled. "Anyway, let's go! Please? Just this one time?"

"But Luna—"

"Call me Sunyoung," she said.

Shivers went up to Byunghun's spine. He was slightly happy that Sunyoung decided to drop her guard and let him call her by her real name instead of her nickname. However, he knew that something was up, and until he figured it out, he planned to stay put.

"Sunyoung, I'd appreciate it if you let me help Sohyun out a bit. Maybe the three of us can go and hang out?" he suggested.

"Oh, I can't," Sohyun said. "I have things to do after school."

Sunyoung raised her eyebrow. "You do?"

"Yes. I actually have to help some kids with lay-ups in basketbal. Plus, I believe I agreed to give Junhee and Eunji a tip or two for the game. Daehyun said he was going to tag along. He said that it would be better if he took care of Eunji and if I focused on Junhee," Sohyun explained.

Byunghun made a face. "You didn't invite me?"

"Well, Daehyun did this voluntarily, and I thought you were busy so…"

"When were you close to Daehyun?" he asked.

"Um, I-I'm not sure. A-Actually, he kind of figured it out? Eunji was the one who told me that he was joining. I had no clue," Sohyun explained.

Byunghun paused, thinking for a few minutes. "Oh, are you going to that one park? You know, the park where I found out that you played with those kids?"

"That's the only place I go," Sohyun said. "I live pretty close by there."

"Well, that park is on the way to my house. If you're going there, then I'd rather go home with you instead of making a huge detour alone." He looked at Sunyoung. "Sorry, but maybe we can hang out next time?"

Sunyoung gave him a look of disappointment. "But I thought you were interesting in getting to know me…"

Byunghun bit his tongue. He thought of what Dasom would do in this type of situation: go with Sohyun or go with Sunyoung? He looked up, his eyes wandering around the ceiling as he tried to think of the best solution. Then, he looked at Sohyun, who only encouraged him to go with Sunyoung with a disheartened look.

Thanks! he mentally said, giving Sohyun a soft smile. She quickly turned red and looked away. Taking a deep breath, Byunghun smiled and nodded his head at Sunyoung.

"I guess spending a few minutes together wouldn't be so bad. Where do you want to go?"

After the small hang out, Byunghun decided to head home, anger fuming in his heart. He had spent an hour with Sunyoung at a café, listening to her rant about how Jongdae—her "beloved" boyfriend—was cheating on her with a girl she refused to name. The two separated ways when Sunyoung felt relieved from ranting and she thanked him from the bottom of her heart, saying that the two should spend another day together like this. He was glad for the offer, but his emotional rage took over his feelings and he couldn't help but give her a silent grin and leave without a "goodbye."

How could Jongdae do such a thing? After all the hugging and kissing, how could Jongdae go ahead and cheat with another woman? Sunyoung was one of those rare gems that was difficult to take. Byunghun knew her the best—heck, he had been watching over her since kindergarten! A part of him wished that she would break up with the team captain and come to him, but another part of Byunghun knew that it felt wrong to open his arms to a girl like that.

Basketball, he thought, rubbing the back of his neck. I need to shoot a few hoops.

He was glad that there was a park on the way to his home. Not only would he be relieved of stress before he got home, but he would also be able to talk to Sohyun about this. He silently prayed for Sohyun to still be at the park, with the kids or without.

When he arrived at the park, Byunghun stopped his tracks and stared at a particular court with an odd look. He glowered at the familiar face, who was being surrounded by the kids Sohyun played with. He marched towards the court, reading to give Jongdae a piece of his mind.

"Byunghun!" The boy whirled around and saw Eunji giving him a smile. "You came!"

"Ah, yeah. I had a few things to do before I got here," he said quickly, his eyes glued on Jongdae.

"This is great. Maybe you can give Junhee a few more tips? Daehyun said that I've been doing pretty okay for a rookie, but Junhee's struggling. Sohyun is pretty strict on her, and I can tell that Junhee just wants to go home," Eunji said, biting her bottom lip. She pointed over to another court, where Junhee was practicing alone.

Byunghun looked around for Sohyun. Noticing his curiosity, Eunji tapped on his shoulders and pointed to the group of children. He widened his eyes a bit, surprised to see Sohyun nervously standing next to Jongdae. She looked like she was trying to speak to him, but he appeared to ignore her and focused on the children. The two were clearly keeping their distance, but there was some sort of chemistry between them that lingered around them.

He felt a hollow feeling his chest.

"Sohyun!" Junhee called. She paused and made eye-contact with Byunghun. "Oh! Even better! Byunghun, save me!"

"Don't spoil her, Byunghun!" Sohyun said sharply. She ended her sentence with a toguh glare. "She needs to know how to do this! I've spent over thirty minutes on this, and I want to see her try to make at least one point on her own."

Byunghun looked around. "I have nothing else to do."

"Why don't you talk with Daehyun? I was planning to play with the children a bit, anyway," Eunji said, pointing over to Daehyun, who was leaning against the wired gate. He exchanged a careful look with Byunghun, signaling him that he didn't want to talk and just wanted to be around the girl.

Byunghun only nodded his head and looked around with a bored expression. Then, he walked over to Jongdae, who finally lifted his head and smiled at Byunghun.

"Oh, hey Byunghun! How are you?" Jongdae greeted.

Byunghun crossed his arms. "Can we talk for a bit? It's about Sunyoung."

Jongdae paused, then glanced down at the children. "Sorry, can you guys excuse us for a bit? Actually, Byunghun, I have a few things I wanted to talk to you about, too…"

"Cool. Let's sit over at that bench?"

Byunghun gestured his chin towards the empty bench. Jongdae nodded and moved out of the crowd, following Byunghun to the outdoor seat. They sat down, then watched the others practice and play around with the orange ball.

After ten minutes of silence and watching, Jongdae took a deep breath. Before had anything to say, Byunghun decided to speak up first. 

"I heard from Sunyoung that you're cheating on her," Byunghun revealed. "Why?"

Jongdae kept oddly quiet. There was definitely a gleam of pain in his eyes, like he was sorrow from hearing that his girlfriend didn't trust him. Byunghun tried to understand Jongdae's point of view from that one look, but he patiently waited for him to continue.

"I don't think Sunyoung really liked me in the first place," Jongdae muttered softly. Byunghun couldn't help but sympathize him. He knew how it felt when a girl didn't return their feelings. "I was sure that she liked someone else before me, and that guy also liked her, too. I was really surprised when she confessed to me over the summer. Maybe it was because she saw me more often that she thought she should date me."

"So you cheated on her to get her attention?" Byunghun asked innocently.

Jongdae sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He stared blankly at an object in front of him, then glanced over to where Sohyun was. He held a funny gaze at Sohyun, who was instructing Taemin how to use his arms to make a point.

Squeeze.

Byunghun stopped and looked down at his stomach. He felt an uneasy tingle in his chest while his stomach churned in a way he didn't like. He looked at Sohyun for a bit longer, then back at Jongdae, who softened his eyes as he gazed at Sohyun smiling.

"Did you?" Byunghun repeated, trying to grab Jongdae's attention. Whatever he was feeling, Byunghun just didn't like the way Jongdae looked at Sohyun. It felt…odd.

"I didn't," Jongdae finally answered. He looked over at Byunghun. "I never cheated on her."

"Then what's with that wild rumor floating around?" Byunghun questioned. He was surprised at himself for believing Jongdae's words. He wasn't sure why, but he thought that Jongdae was somewhat trustable when it came to these kinds of topics. He leaned close. "Do you have someone else you like?"

Jongdae paused, took a quick glance at Sohyun, then shook his head as he made eye-contact with Byunghun.

Squeeze.

Again, the funny feeling in his chest came back. Byunghun bit his bottom lip, took a deep breath, then tried to direct the conversation in a different direction.

"So you never cheated on her, but there has to be some kind of reason that the rumors came up. Do you know who spread the rumor?" Byunghun curiously inquired.

"Sunyoung did," Jongdae quickly responded.

Byunghun's eyes went wide. "Sunyoung? She did it? Why?"

"She saw me hanging around with Sohyun a few days ago," Jongdae said. "All I was doing was watching her play basketball with the kids. Sunyoung misunderstood and thought that I was hanging out with her."

Sohyun hangs out with other guys, too? Byunghun looked down at the ground. "D-Do you come here often?"

"No, not really." Jongdae kept quiet for a few minutes. Then he sighed and looked at the ground. "Ah…I regret it so much!"

"Regret? You mean you regret hanging out with Sohyun? She's not that bad," Byunghun pointed out.

"Of course she's not bad. Sohyun's a great girl."

Squeeze.

Byunghun narrowed his eyes and tried to compose himself. Every time Jongdae made some kind of comment on Sohyun, he always felt his heart squeeze with pain. It was like he knew something was up, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The moment Jongdae looked at Sohyun with regretful eyes, Byunghun knew that the conversation could go two ways: either talking about Sunyoung, or talking about Sohyun.

Let's move the topic to Sunyoung, Byunghun decided. "Sunyoung is a pretty good girl. She's really good at basketball, but since there wasn't a co-ed or a girls' team, she had no choice but just be the manager of the boys' team."

"Sure, Sunyoung is good, but Sohyun? She's awesome. She knows what she wants and she drives for it."

Why do you keep talking about Sohyun? Why do you act like you know so much about her? Byunghun wanted to rip his hair off his head. Why was he getting so emotional over this? All he did was ask the captain if he was cheating, and their conversation had rolled out to talking about Sohyun's greatness.

"You know, Sohyun never stuttered a lot like that. She used to talk really well to other guys. I messed up in middle school—No, I made her into that in middle school," Jongdae muttered.

Byunghun paused shortly. Middle school? He remembered one of the kids talking about Sohyun's middle school life and how her life was ruined because of her ex-boyfriend…

"You dated Sohyun?" Byunghun asked softly.

Jongdae widened his eyes. "What?"

"Did you date Sohyun back in middle school?"

"How did you—"

"The kids told me that the reason why she stutters is because a guy traumatized her in middle school, and that the guy was her boyfriend." He watched Jongdae give him a judgmental look. "Sohyun was there. She shut them up before they could give Dasom the details."

Jongdae heaved a sigh. "Damn those kids…"

"You must've been very close to Sohyun if you guys played with the same kids," Byunghun mentioned. He frowned. "Does she know you, though? It looks like she treats you like any other guys."

"Well, you can say that I've changed a lot since middle school. I've been wearing contacts and wear my uniform more fashionably. I don't really mind if she doesn't remember me. It's best that she doesn't." He paused, then let out a soft chuckle "I'm jealous of you."

Byunghun widened his eyes. "Of me?"

"Yep. You're able to have Sohyun talk to you like you're just another friend. I think it'll be better if she gets along with you and interact with more guys while treating them like how she treats you." Jongdae noticed a hint of worry in his eyes. "I'm not going to try to get Sohyun to date me. That was over back in middle school. I'm sincerely hoping that she gets over her fear of guys." He smiled. "Besides, I have Sunyoung right now."

A wave of relief washed over Byunghun. He slowly nodded his head, as if he understood what Jongdae was trying to say. He kept quiet for a moment, then opened his mouth again to ask him another question.

"Are you planning to tell her that you're her ex-boyfriend?" Byunghun inquired.

Jongdae gave him a look of surprise. "Tell her? About that? Of course not."

"Why not?"

"I'm pretty sure she knows that I'm her ex-boyfriend, but she's not acknowledging it. Besides, it she 'forgot' about me, then I wasn't that important to her. I'd like to do this all over again with her, too. Like a do over. Plus, if I came and told Sohyun that I was her ex-boyfriend, then it'll just cause more problems for Sunyoung. She gets really jealous easily," Jongdae revealed.

Byunghun wondered how jealous Sunyoung could be. He was curious, but he became more curious of how Sohyun would be if she was jealous. 

Then again, I did get a small peek, he thought, remembering the small incident earlier in the day. He couldn't help but remind himself of the dejected expression displayed on Sohyun's face when she silently told him to go along with Sunyoung.

"Well, I better get going," Jongdae said. He got up and patted his knees. "I'm not supposed to be around here when Sohyun is. Today was just one of those bad days where I meet up with Sohyun. Thank goodness she doesn't remember me and focuses on basketball. I used to call her a freak for that because she never really looked at me in a romantic way. I think she just admired me and didn't want me to look at other things except for sports." He looked down at Byunghun, who was gazing up at his silhouette. "Oh, and Byunghun? I'm sorry."

Byunghun frowned. "Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry for dating Sunyoung. Truth be told, I knew you liked her in the first place. I was feigning innocence and decided to date her since she wasn't a bad girl," Jongdae said earnestly. Byunghun didn't know what else to say, so he let Jongdae continue his apology. "It's not very mature of me to date someone for such a petty reason, but I'm confident that I can make her happy now. I think she just realized how happy she could've been with you, and I'm pretty sure that if I wasn't dating her, you could've shared that same happiness with her."

"But I don't want her anymore," Byunghun blurted. "I found someone else to cherish."

"Yep, I can definitely see that." Jongdae let out a cheery laugh. "I hope you don't see me and Sunyoung with that gloomy look you always put on. I'm going to go to her right now and clear everything up. I know that she's getting close to you right now because she wants to make me jealous or break up with her so she could go to you."

"Sunyoung isn't a bad girl. She has a really cool side to her," Byunghun mentioned.

Jongdae grinned. "Of course! Dating her because she wasn't bad wasn't the only reason that I decided to go out with her. I go out with people I'm serious with, and I'd like Sunyoung to know that."

Byunghun couldn't help but smirk. "Don't make her feel lonely again, okay? She's a good acquaintance of mine."

"Alright. You watch out for Sohyun, too, okay? Don't make her fall again like I did."

And just like Jongdae told him, Byunghun watched Sohyun. He watched her play with the kids and help out with the co-ed team. He watched her sweat, he watched her shout for teamwork, and he watched her scold the members when they were fooling around. He kept watching her, studying her as the sun casted down a rich shade of orange-yellow.

But above call, Byunghun watched Sohyun smile and laugh, and every time she sparkled, his heart skipped a passionate beat.