12 | "Should I just tell her?"

"So she told you that he wears glasses as well as the same color hair as you?"

Sunghoon nodded swiftly, a determined yet unsure look written across his face. "Yes."

"And she said that he lives on the same floor as you guys, correct?" Jongseong gives Sunghoon the stupidest look, but the boy is still oblivious.

"...Yes."

"Goddamnit, Sunghoon, she's talking about you!" Jongseong was horrified at the fact that Sunghoon was this absent-minded. The two sit together in Sunghoon's apartment while Yeojin and Yerin are at their house. Yeojin texted him not too long ago that Yerin was mourning over the fact she indirectly confessed and he didn't shed one tear or speak a word. The real tragedy was that once the two exited the transit bus, Sunghoon ran off. Jongseong presses his fingertips to his temples, aggravated at his stupidity. "Do you not know? Are you playing dumb?"

"What are you talking about, hyung?"

"She likes you, dimwit!" Jongseong finally says the dying words everyone (including the spectators) has been wanting to hear, Sunghoon widening his eyes as he can't believe what he's heard. "Cha Yerin likes you so much, she can't help herself! Why are you still so unaware of that? She makes it so deathly obvious, I don't know why you're denying it."

Sunghoon was silent, taking the hits like a man.

"There's no way-"

"Shut up!" Jongseong mourns, but for a moment, he wants to hear what the younger has to say. "Fine, fine. Go ahead, say it. Why do you doubt it?"

"She and I... live in two different worlds, hyung," Sunghoon explains, hands fisted against the table. The two sit in the dining room, trying to figure out his feelings and decipher if his intuition was surely correct. "She's a busybody, Yerin loves her work. People adore her for her determination, and Yerin is simply a goddess. Me? While your girlfriend may have landed me my job, can't I be brutally honest? People only think of me as a good-looking person. I walk and people swoon over it. I breathe? People cower around me. I can't help but think the main reason I got my job was that I can gather people easily."

"Well, how do you think Yerin started liking you? Hell, she saw you at first glance and thought you were beautiful," Jongseong shrugs. "But, that changed when she saw your ability to work. You guys are made for the same world, Sunghoon, whether you believe that or not. It doesn't matter how feelings are created, how the first impression changed. If you love her, you should tell her. Give love a chance, even if it's hard to believe love is possible between a busybody and notoriety."

Sunghoon looks up at his older friend and co-worker, shaking his head. "Are you... sure? Are you completely sure I should give it a chance? Because she likes me?"

"Yes! You might be asking the wrong person, but yes!" The frustration growing in Sunghoon causes him to yell a growl, laying back against Jongseong's chair. "God, what now? Still not going for it?!"

"You're messing with my head, hyung!" Sunghoon whines, holding the crown of his head with both hands. "She makes me stammer, blush, and cry! WHAT DO I DO!?"

"All at once? Sunghoon, your feelings are a mess."

"Stop it, hyung," Sunghoon then hits his fists against the table, wary of the situation at hand. "Should I just tell her? I don't want to lose her to the other guy, the one who brought her a big bouquet of roses. I don't want to lose to someone... who doesn't love her as much as I do."

"Well, let me ask you this," Jongseong situates himself in a chair (finally, after walking around as if this was his first relationship) and places his hands on Sunghoon's. Awkwardly, the younger takes his hands from his friend's grip, wiping the sweat on his jeans. "Why would she give the students the boy's roses while keeping your flowers? Why would she take it home with her, and cherish it like it's the only flower she's owned? You're spiraling, Sunghoon, and have to face the facts. She likes you. You make a move, or let Jaeyun make way."

"I should quit before this crush gets too far," On the other side of this mutual relationship, Yerin makes a fuss as Yeojin tsks. "BUT HE'S SO CUTE. Yeojin, what do I do? What if he doesn't like me too?"

"I don't know how you've missed out on hearing him talk absolute loads of love about you," Yeojin presses her lips together, confused. "You'll be right behind him waiting for me in the office, listening to him praise you, but you choose to pretend like he's still a friend? Face the facts, Yerin."

Yeojin and Jongseong truly were the same person, it seems.

"Face what facts?"

"He likes you! To what extent would a friend go to accompany you everywhere, to tell people you're dating, to get you a sunflower from god knows where? No man goes to that length, not even Jongseong, and it's a bit disappointing. He's adored you for years, Yerin, so you better get your head out of the clouds and confess."

"But... Jaeyun?"

"Jaeyun's a friend. Friends don't have to know your business if you don't want them to," Yeojin explains. "You could keep it a secret, although Sunghoon might be upset with that. How about if you both date, you keep it private?"

"Isn't that a synonym for secret, ma'am?"

"Well, not in the dating world," Yeojin shakes her head. "You can tell people, but you don't have to tell them what you do behind the scenes. It's just giving the heads up like 'hey, I'm dating someone so eff off,' instead of kissing in the office."

With that mention, Yerin's thoughts start to wander, Yeojin rolling her eyes at the fact she's going crazy again. So, snapping her fingers, she drags Yerin back to earth. "Hey, sweets. You're not dating yet, so get your feet on the ground. However, if you were to, I don't know, confess! You'd have dreams come true."

"Don't try to convince me, Choi Yeojin, your love succeeded," Yerin places her head against the pillow, frowning. "But mine? We're just from two different worlds."

"Maybe one of you should allow entry into another," Yeojin suggests. "Give it a try, Yerin. Ask him. Ask him to come into your world."

"Sunghoon..." She practices, pretending Yeojin was the love of her life. "Please come into my w- wor- Shoot, never mind! This is embarrassing!"

"Is it because I'm a girl? I can cut my hair to make this more realistic-"

"Stop it, Choi Yeojin!" Just as Yerin screams at the fact that Yeojin's determined to make this work, the department head's phone rings. Her boyfriend.

The couple planned to help each friend sort out their feelings, but that wasn't working as well as they anticipated. With both friends failing (somewhat?), Jongseong groans into the phone. "Ms. Choi, this is more than I bargained for. This one's giving me a headache."

"Me too, Mr. Park."

"Oh, these two... we need to try a bit harder to set them up, don't you think?"

"Definitely, Mr. Park. Let's discuss over late dinner?"

"Coming over!"