Creator || Lee Jaehyun

five

Hyunjae opened the door to his room, prepared to wake Yerin up. After all, she'd said that she would go out with him, Juyeon, and Hyewon. 

But when his eyes fell on her sleeping form, he felt a twinge of pity in his heart. 

Her face was stained with tears, he could tell that as soon as he turned on the light. Her hair was a mess, and sticking up in all directions. As though she'd been pulling it in frustration. Her hands were balled in fists, and there was worry and fear in her features even as she slept. But she still looked so much more peaceful than she'd been when awake. 

He walked over, sitting on the bed beside her and taking her hands, gently uncurling her fists. He could see crescent moon marks on her palm. She'd been digging her nails into her palm. It was the same thing Hyewon did when she was scared or nervous. 

Using the pain as a distraction. 

He smoothed her hair, and took his thumb, and wiped at her cheeks, though the tears had dried up. He picked up the blanket and draped it over her neatly. 

Then he turned off the light and left, deciding that he didn't have the heart to wake her, not when she looked so much more peaceful sleeping. So he wrote a note telling her exactly that, and then got himself ready and left. 

When he got to the arcade, he was happy to find Hyewon there alone. He wouldn't have competition, not yet. 

Competition from an almost-friend, that was the worst. 

He watched the smile light her face when she saw him, and he felt his heart pound. That smile. It got him every time. 

Hyunjae ran up to her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. She laughed, hugging him back without hesitation. 

"I missed you," he told her. 

"I missed you too," she teased, leaning slightly out of his embrace. He didn't let go of her, but leaned back too, so that they could see each other. "Even though we saw each other hours ago." 

"Hours away from you feel like an eternity," he half teased, playing with a strand of her hair. 

Hyewon laughed again, the sound beautiful to his ears. She slapped his arm lightly, teasingly. He couldn't help but wish that Juyeon would forget about this meeting, and would simply never show up. A part of him felt bad even thinking that. After all, Juyeon was his friend, kind of. Their friendship was off to a rocky start since they basically became friends since they both liked Hyewon. 

It would be an interesting friendship, for sure. 

But still, even though he considered Juyeon as his almost-friend, he wished that Juyeon would forget. He didn't want to compete tonight. He just wanted to enjoy time with Hyewon. 

He wanted her to realize that he liked her. But either she was oblivious to it, or she was pretending not to notice. 

Maybe he should simply tell her. 

Hyunjae took a breath, placing his hands on Hyewon's shoulders. "I want to confess something to you," he said softly. 

A look of alarm passed through her eyes briefly, and she widened her smile in an effort to cover it. But Hyunjae had seen, and his heart sank. 

She knew. She must have always known, and just ignored it. 

She didn't like him back. 

Still, there was no going back now. Maybe she'd consider him. Maybe they could give it a try. He knew he could make her really happy. All he wanted was her happiness. 

But his heart hurt as his mind entertained the possibility that her happiness might tie to Juyeon. 

"I-" 

He looked into her eyes. Hers looked nervous, and she looked away, looked past him.

"Juyeon!" She called excitedly, pulling herself away from Hyunjae and running to greet the boy behind them. 

Hyunjae watched her run over to Juyeon, her smile brighter than the stars. He saw Juyeon's face light up, a small smile gracing his lips. He saw the way the two of them looked at each other. 

And he knew that in the game of love, he'd lost. 

He started to walk towards his two friends. Friends. Because that's all that Hyewon would ever see him as, right? 

"Hyunjae!" 

He stopped in his tracks, trying to place the voice. But without even knowing who it was, his spirits lifted, and he turned around. 

Yerin. 

She ran over to him and threw her arms around him without hesitation. He blinked once, twice, trying to keep the surprise off of his features as he wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her back. 

"We said we'd be third wheels together, didn't we?" she whispered in his ear. "You can't be here without me." 

His smile widened and he hugged her tighter, trying to tell her how grateful he was without words. 

"Thank you," he whispered into her hair, blinking back his tears. He couldn't quite tell if he was in tears because of heartbreak or relief. "Thank you."