It’s magic when they first meet.

The moment he locks eyes with her, he’s in too deep, his heart racing and palms sweating and it’s like the world has shifted because everything revolves around her.

Her name is Lee Chaerin and she is the most beautiful woman Youngbae has ever seen in his entire life.

They click immediately and before he knows it they’re best friends, spending all of their time together and sharing laughs and and he’s falling more and more in love with her with every second he spends with her.

“I think I’m going to ask Chaerin to be my girlfriend.”

His head snaps up at Jiyong’s words, unable to truly process their meaning until he sees the sheepish smile on his best friend’s lips. No…

“W-what?”

Jiyong bites his lip, eyes shining happily. “I know, it’s crazy, I don’t know her that well, but...I really like her, Youngbae. She’s...amazing and beautiful, and...I want her to be mine.”

His throat constricts and no matter how hard he pushes, the words won’t come. He can’t...he can’t stop it. He just watches in horror as Jiyong turns away with that smile still in place and rushes off.

...No…

The ring in his pocket feels like an anchor holding him in that spot.

The paper in front of him is filled with circles and stems, floating together into the notes that hold his soul. His heart is on that page, in the keys that he presses lightly, in the pain that works it’s way out in the tears tracing his cheeks.

There’s nothing he can do now.

“Oppa, this is my friend Bom.”

Youngbae tries his best to smile and act friendly, to pretend like he isn’t hating every minute of this, but every step he takes makes it feel like his legs are getting heavier.

It’s been four months.

Four months since it went from Chaerin and him, to Chaeri and Jiyong.

Four months and the weight in his pocket has only gotten heavier and heavier with each passing day.

He can’t take it anymore, reaching forward to wrap his fingers around Chaerin’s wrist gently. “Chaerin-ah, let’s talk.”

She follows him quietly and he’s sure she must know, must feel the way that his body is shaking even through the space separating them. They’re outside the club when he reaches into his pocket, fingers closing around the tiny piece of metal that’s been the heaviest weight he’s ever had to bear.

“Chae-”

“There you guys are!” The door bursts open and Jiyong is standing there smiling at them.

No matter how much he loves his best friend, he’s never hated someone so much in his life.

“I’m glad you’re both here.” Jiyong bites his lip in that sheepish smile again and his heart sinks to his toes. No… “Chaerin-ah,” Jiyong kneels down, holding out a velvet box.

The ring is on her finger and Youngbae’s heart is on the ground.

The ring in his pocket could have burnt through flesh at that moment.

“Oppa, you’re here!” Chaerin screams, reaching out to grab Youngbae in a bone-crushing hug.

Even after all this time, the feeling of her arms around him still has butterflies swarming in his stomach.

He hugs her back, fingers burning against the white fabric draped over her frame. He swallows hard.

This is his last chance before he loses her forever. It’s now or never.

“Chaerin,” he pauses, not even sure how to voice all of the feelings he’s held inside for so long. “Chaerin…” He meets her eyes then, wishing that he could say everything he needed to with a look alone.

But Chaerin is no mind reader and before he even has a chance, he’s lost it, her fiancée beaming at them.

He swallows back the words burning in his throat and moves to take his seat at the piano.

He breathes in. Then out.

He put his heart and soul into this song, but he knows it won’t be enough, that it will never be enough.

He plays out the words that he could never say, and when all is said and done, he has to accept the truth. Chaerin is wearing a wedding dress, and it’s not for him.

He watches as they leave, flower petals showering them and smiles for days radiating around them. He reaches into his pocket and takes one last look at the ring he had bought all that time ago.

A single tear slides down his cheek.

It hits the floor a second before the ring that should have been her’s.