Creator || Lee Jaehyun

six

- 30 minutes earlier - 

Yerin woke up to the dark, and the silence. The blanket was neatly draped over her, but she threw it off and ran out of the room. 

Hyunjae was gone. He'd left without her. 

"You should come," Hyunjae had told her. "So when Hyewon ignores me and only looks at Juyeon, I'll have a friend to comfort me."

She suddenly realized the scene that she'd arrived in. The arcade scene. Oh gosh. 

Hyunjae was going to be heartbroken. 

And he'd asked her to be his friend. He'd asked her for support. He needed someone in this scene. And what had she done? She'd gone to sleep and left him alone. 

She frantically looked around, knowing that he wouldn't leave without a note. She was certain of it. She'd written him, after all. 

And then she found it, on the table with her other belongings. 

You looked so peaceful sleeping, I couldn't bring myself to wake you. Don't worry too much. Don't cry anymore. Everything will be alright, and everything will look brighter after a good rest. Don't worry, I'm here to help you.

His note only served to make her feel worse. 

Yerin ran back into Hyunjae's room, finding her clothes and yanking them on. She grabbed her belongings, which now included his note, and stuffed them in her pocket. 

Something told her that she would never let go of that note. That she would treasure it forever. That it would be a beautiful memory, one day. 

The thought made her sad as she left, finding Hyunjae's spare keys and locking the door behind her. 

But she had to get out someday. She couldn't get attached. Not when she knew these people weren't real. No matter how real they seemed, she had to remember. She had to hold herself together. She couldn't do anything irrational.

So why was she running after Hyunjae then? 

She didn't really know. She just ran. 

When Yerin got to the arcade, Hyunjae was watching Hyewon run over to Juyeon. She saw the way Hyewon and Juyeon looked at each other, just the way she'd written it. Just the way she'd always imagined. 

She watched Hyunjae's face fall, and she watched him struggle to put the pieces of his heart back together. She watched him force a smile on his face and watched as he started to walk over to his friends. 

Friends. Because that's all she'd allowed him to be, with Hyewon. 

"Hyunjae!" she called, running over to him. She saw him turn to face her, watched as his eyes brightened when he saw her. 

She threw her arms around his neck without hesitation, and after a moment, he hugged 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."

Hyunjae held her tighter, as though she were the only thing keeping him grounded at that moment. She felt so happy in his arms that she never wanted to let go. 

"Thank you," he whispered into her hair. She could hear his voice wavering, as though he were struggling to hold back tears. She held him tighter, wanting to give him all of her support. "Thank you," he whispered again. 

She wished she could tell him that he shouldn't thank her. She wished she could tell him that she was the one who did this, that he was simply a character in her book. She wished she could make him move on, and spare him the pain of being more hurt. 

But the words caught in her throat, and she found herself unable to say anything. 

So she just hugged him.