"Alright, I brought some chips and soda for us." Suri says, handing me two plastic bags when she walks into my house. I smile at her.

"Thank you, I'll take this to the kitchen." I respond, she smiles and nods.

Jihoon plops on the couch, chuckling as he watches an overly excited Yeonjun meeting a puppy for what it seems the first time. I place the bags on the counter, and return to the hall with my friends.

"So cute!" He exclaims in a high pitched tone, ruffling her white furr excitedly. Kiyooung stands on her paws and leans against Yeonjun's legs, shaking her tail happily. Yeonjun ends up sitting on the floor and plays with her.

"Aw baby, you're so cute." Suri chuckles when she sees her boyfriend so happy because of a dog.

Jihoon leans forward, resting his arms over his knees and chasking his fingers, trying to get Kiyooung's attention. She rapidly jumps off Yeonjun's legs and jumps onto Jihoon's lap, making all of us laugh and Yeonjun pout.

"She seems to like Jihoon more," I giggle and sit on the armrest of the couch next to Jihoon. He looks up at me and smiles, caressing her soft furr.

Yeonjun stands up, still pouting. Suri chuckles and extends her arms for him.

"Come here baby, I do like you more than Jihoon."

Yeonjun finally chuckles, sitting beside her. She wraps her arms around his neck and places a long lasting peck on his cheek.

I look at them being all cute together and sigh, remembering what could have been, but never was. I start spacing out, and I can hear them starting to play videogames but my mind keeps drifting away, until Suri's hand on my shoulder brings me back to earth.

"Hm?"

She smiles, but with a hint of concern in her eyes.

"Come with me to the kitchen."

I look at her, then divert my gaze to see those two boys playing like kids a random fighter game. I look back at her, and then sigh standing up. I walk towards the kitchen with her following behind, until I lean my back against the counter and she folds her arms over her chest.

"What?" I tilt my head in confusion.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

She sighs.

"You've been crying."

My eyes widen at her words, feeling a knot on my throat.

"How do you know?" I ask, grazing my fingertips over my cheeks.

"You're my best friend, I know you... And your eyes are a little swollen." She exposes, stepping forward to lean against the counter next to me. "What is it? Soobin?"

I take a deep breath, and then let it out. Hearing his name at this point is painful.

"It's a long story..." I mutter, rubbing my forehead.

She glares at me, raising an eyebrow.

"We have time."

No we don't, Jihoon and Yeonjun are here as well." I say, shrugging. She sakes her head.

"Trust me, they will be busy for a while, so speak."

I let out a big breath, knowing that telling her what happened means rummaging into my own pain.

"Soobin kissed me the day you and Yeonjun fought."

Her eyes widen in shock, her mouth is agape and she instantly unfolds her arms.

"He what?!" She asks, raising her voice.

"Shh!" I cover her mouth with my hand, but she soon slaps it away from her face.

"How's that you didn't tell me?" She asks, her eyes filled with hurt. "Aren't I your best friend?"

"You are... But I wasn't planning on telling anyone, and that wasn't a good time for you anyways."

"I would've listened to you anyways!" She whines.

"I told you... I wasn't going to tell anyone."

"But what do you mean?! The guy you've had a crush on for years finally kissed you and you're not dancing around all alone?"

I shake my head, diverting my gaze to my hands as I fidget my fingers.

"Cause I'm not happy about it." I mutter.

Suri frowns, moving her body and placing her arms over my shoulders, turning my body so she can face me.

"Why not?" She asks softly.

"Cause he kissed me and then ran away." I whisper, biting my lip.

Suri's arms drop from my shoulders, and she doesn't say anything. I look up and meet her eyes, but she's looking at me with a pained expresion.

"Why would he do that to you?"

I shrug.

"He... Came here one night, he was drunk... We had a fight because he was acting like a jerk, and I even smashed the bottle against the wall, but right after he was laying with his head on my lap and started saying a lot of things." I explain, feeling my chest tightening as I can still hear his voice saying those words to me, breaking my heart. "He said he liked me, but that he can't love again. He said he wished he had met me before he met his ex, that he thinks we would've been happy and he would've loved me... I almost felt my heart racing even though he was talking about hypotetic things, but then he started to talk about her and how much he loved her, how head over heels he's been for her... And I-" I pause, feeling the burning tears filling my eyes. I swallow hard, trying to hold it back. Suri looks at me, her expression softening when I continue. "I felt like he took me to the sky, but then he just dropped me down to earth without even caring how hurt I'd end."

"But... He was drunk, and he said he liked you... It's understandable that he says how much he loved her, you know how the situation was before they broke up. Besides, he's just scared of falling in love, he's been hurt, but if you give him a chance I'm sure you two w-"

"She asked him to get back with her." I cut her off, my voice cracking.

"What? What did he say?"

"He said he was going to consider it... He told me he still loves her." I respond, running my fingers through my hair before we lock eyes again. "I've been so dumb. Suri, why is this happening to me?" I ask, now sobbing. Suri sighs, and wraps her arms around my body in a tight embrace.

"He's... Just not the one, I guess." She says, caressing my hair as I keep sobbing on her shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with you babe, you're amazing... He's just dumb."

"It hurts, it hurts a lot."

"Shh, I know." She whispers, rocking me side to side. "But you will be okay, I promise. We all love you."

I pull back from the hug, sniffling.

"I love him, Suri." I confess, wiping my tears with the back of my hand, exhaling. "But I decided I'm going distance myself from him."

Suri smiles sympathetically.

"If that's what makes you feel better, you know I'll support you." She assures, caressing my head.

I nod with a slight smile on my face.

"Thank you."

She hugs me again, but then someone walks into the kitchen. We pull back from the hug and then see Jihoon looking at us, confused.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." He apologizes, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's okay, we were just being emotional." Suri says winking, then grabbing the chips and walking towards the couch, sitting with her boyfriend.

I take a few steps, and smile at Jihoon. He smiles lightly at me, but his eyes are full of concern.

"Are you okay?" He asks, tilting his head.

I nod.

"Yeah, don't worry. Let's go back with the others." I respond, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the living room.

It's almost midnight. Yeonjun and Suri stand up from the couch and stretch, walking towards the door with Jihoon and I following behind.

"It was really fun." Yeonjun says "I love Kiyooung."

"Yeah, she's too cute." Suri agrees, placing her palms on her cheeks. "Anyways, just call me if you need to talk, okay?" She asks and I nod, wrapping her with my arms in a hug.

"Thank you." I whisper, and she smiles at me when we pull back. "Bye Yeonjunie."

Yeonjun hugs me tightly, patting my head.

"Goodbye little girl. See you around." He says, pulling back right after and then shaking Jihoon's hand. "Bye, mate."

"Bye, I'll see you soon so we can rematch." Jihoon responds, smiling softly. Yeonjun winks.

"I'll win next time." He assures.

They wave goodbye to us, and then leave. I look at Jihoon, who walks outside with his hands in his pockets. My phone buzzes, so I unblock it and check the messages, feeling an arrow crushing against my chest when I read his name.

I block it again, sighing and tucking my phone in my pocket. I follow Jihoon, and when he sits on the porch, I decide to do the same and sit next to him.

Silence fills the place for a couple of minutes. The moonlight shines right above us, and we both get lost at the sight of such majestic thing. We're both looking up at the starry sky, until he turns his head and looks at me.

"y/n."

"Yeah?" I turn my face, looking at him.

His expression is serious, but gentle. He looks at me dead in the eyes, with his hair blowing softly in the wind. He licks his lips gently before he speaks. I must admit, he's stunning.

"Are you okay?"

I frown, tilting my head.

"Yes, why?"

He smiles at me sadly.

"Cause I know you're not."

I feel my stomach sink. His stare is too intense for me to keep eye contact, so I divert my gaze and look down at my feet.

"I'm okay... Seriously." I assure.

He sighs.

"Why do you keep trying to pretend you're strong?" He asks softly. "If you're not okay, you don't have to deal with it alone."

I widen my eyes, feeling pain in my heart as I look at him.

"What do you mean?" I whisper.

"I can't stand seeing you cry like this." He whispers backs, grabbing my hand and holding it between his warm ones. "He keeps hurting you, doesn't he?"

"Jihoon... I-"

"Why do you keep crying for him? Can't you see that he doesn't deserve it? It's killing me seeing you like this." He says softly. He looks at me with so much sympathy and hurt in his eyes, I don't even know how to take it.

I feel at the verge of crying again. His words are nothing big, but somehow they hit me like a truck.

"I... I don't know." I admit, tightening the grip on his hand as I look down biting my lip. "But it hurts to feel like I'm not good enough."

"You're not good enough?" He asks, placing his index finger and his thumb on my chin, lifting my face so we can lock eyes again. "What are you saying? I've never met someone like you." He confesses.

My lip quivers. I feel a couple of tears running down my face. I didn't know I needed so much to hear these words until he said them.

"There's always someone who will be better than me."

He frowns, shaking his head.

"I can't believe you're saying such a thing." He says, annoyance in his voice as he releases my hands and runs his hand over his face.

"Why are you mad, Jihoon?" I ask, confused. "Have you ever had feelings for someone who doesn't look your way?"

"Yes I have." He admits, looking back at me with a blank expression. "You haven't noticed, have you?"

I tilt my head, knitting my brows together.

"What?"

He lets out a humorless, breathy chuckle.

"That I am in love with you?" He finally says. My heart stops.

"You... What?" I ask softly. "Why would you?"

He sighs.

"Why wouldn't I?" He asks back. "I've been crazy about you since the very first time I saw you. You were standing there so pure, so innocent and so beautiful. You didn't even need to try, but you soon had me at your feet. I knew I had to know you, cause I had never seen someone so beautiful in my life." He explains. "Then I met you, and you were even more beautiful on the inside... I knew you loved that guy and that's why I kept it all locked inside my chest, but seeing you suffer so much, seeing him making you cry... I couldn't stand it, because I can treat you the way you deserve. It killed me seeing him around you, you never looked my way, at least not more than a friend. But the truth is, I've always had strong feelings for you... This feeling just got stronger as the time passed and I got to know you better."

"I... Me, I m-mean..." I stutter, feeling my wet cheeks blush, and my stomach flip. No one had ever said something like this to me. His words are like a soft caress over my wounded body. My eyes keep watering and my feelings are overwhelming.

He licks his lips, extending his hand and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"You are amazing, and if you could see how beautiful you are to me, you'd know I'm not lying." He whispers cofessing, his fingers grazing gently my cheek. "You deserve to be loved, and I would do anything to make you happy... If you like me at least a little bit, let me try to make it happen."

A lot of things are going through my mind. How sweet he's always been with me, how gentle, how he would look at me with sparkly eyes... I knew he was in love, but I never thought it was with me. I look into his eyes and I see it again, they're shining and looking at me with so much adoration... How's that I didn't notice before? Even Soobin did.

Maybe this is the path I should take.

I know I'm still in love with Soobin... But Jihoon is a wonderful man, and I like him. Maybe... I should try.

"I'm scared." I admit. Jihoon is inches apart from my face at this point, and his eyes are looking now at my lips.

He grabs my hand, moving it to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on my knuckles.

"I swear I won't hurt you." He whispers, making me feel safe and warm. "I care a lot about you, haven't I showed that to you? You don't have to say yes tonight."

I smile, nodding.

He cups my cheek with his hand, caressing my skin with his thumb as he leans in. My heart is racing, and I feel mixed emotions, but I just let myself do that... Feel. His nose brushes against mine and I can feel his hot breath against my lips. I close my eyes, and then he ends the distance between us, pressing his lips on mine in a sweet kiss. His lips move smoothly and gently with mine, his fingers running through my hair incredibly gently as he pulls me in, so our bodies are pressed flush together. My hands shake, but I manage to move them and wrap my arms around his neck, tangling my fingers in his soft hair. He tilts his head soflty to his right, deepening the kiss and licking my bottom lip asking for entrance. I open my mouth a little wider, and our tongues instantly connect and start playing with each other. However, the kiss is slow, tender, delicate.

And it feels... Good. It feels right.

I start kissing him more confidently, pulling on his hair gently before we run out of oxygen and have to pull away. He rests his forehead against mine, both of us panting as we try to catch our breaths. None of us say a word, but he then places a long lasting peck on my forehead.

"You are beautiful and I'll give the world to you the second you say you'd like me to." He says, standing up and helping me up by holding my hand. "I am always here for you. To me, there's only you. Please rest well, and I'll see you soon." He adds, placing a kiss on my hand.

I smile at him. He's been so nice with me, being my best friend and now I have the chance to find happiness with someone who loves me... And puts me first. I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him again.

"Thank you, Jihoonie. Sleep well." I say shyly, pulling back. He smiles at me and bows gently, waving goodbye.

Maybe this is crazy... But... What if he is the right one for me?

I walk into my house and close the door behind me. I grab my phone once again, deciding to respond his message.

Forgive me, Soobin. I need to do this for my own sake. Loving you hurts me too much. I don't want to hurt you, and it kills me to know I have to turn my back on you... But if I don't, I'm going to agonize in this pain.