"Nari, hurry up!" The girls mother called from down stairs, making her groan as she looked at herself in the mirror one last time.
Sunday meant Church day, the day Nari long dreaded throughout the week but hid her dismay in front of her parents, after all, she did this for them.
But it meant a little something more to her now that Jacob had made it apparent of his faith.
Not that she felt the need to change for him, but she was thinking ahead, and that worried her to an extent but excited her nonetheless.
That being said, she wasn't sure how over Sunwoo she was yet, or even Juyeon for that matter.
Her feelings for the latter were placed on a back-burner, she wasn't able to focus on much else except Sunwoo for a long time. Although, there was times where he occupied her mind. It was hard not to when Sunwoo's words rang in her ears.
She wondered why she had taken his words to heart, only she knew how she felt and that wasn't for him to decide, although she cared a lot more about what he thought of her than she did herself.
And apparently that was now the case with Jacob, which wasn't the worst thing to happen.
"I'm too hungover for this," Sangyeon grumbled to Nari as they walked to the car, making the girl chuckle.
"That's not very Christian of you," she said, earning a glare from the boy who looked the closest to death she had ever seen him. "Where did you even go?"
"Me and Younghoon just chilled in his room," he shrugged as the two got into the car, quieting their voices whilst their parents began to drive.
"That's quite sad," Nari shrugged, earning a slap on the arm from her brother.
"Nari, stop annoying your brother," their mother said from the front seat, eyeing her through the mirror as Nari's jaw dropped.
"Why do you always defend him?" She says as her brother laughs from beside her.
"I always defend you," her father looks at over his shoulder, the girl reaching to fist bump him as Sangyeon stuck his tongue out.
"Wait a minute," she retracts her fist as her father looks at her confused. "You're my dad, defending me is the bare minimum, I take back my fist bump."
Her father rolls his eyes with a chuckle as Nari sat back and relaxed, chuckling a little at her last exchange with her father.
She wondered what led her to having a better relationship with him than her mother, although she didn't question it too much, she wasn't that fussed.
She instead decided to focus on how she would get through an hour long church session without her eyes fluttering closed.
The girl bowed to Hyunjae's parents, despite knowing they weren't too fond of her for whatever reason.
Hyunjae smiled at the girl he hadn't seen in too long, his smile fading when he remembered the rut his best friend found himself in after their encounter.
He knew everything, yet he still didn't feel deterred from his feelings for her. He still couldn't shake them even though the girl gave him barely a flicker of attention at most.
"And later in today's service, we'll hear some music from our new choir."
Those words were the only thing getting the girl through the service. Usually during choir performances, she and Sangyeon would glance at each other from the side of their eyes, trying their best not to giggle.
It seemed disrespectful, but the two cringed at the hymns or the thought of having to sing along with them.
"New choir?" Her brother whispered to her as she stifled her laugh with pursed lips.
"They better be better than the last ones," she whispered back, looking over to see Hyunjae glancing back, a small smile on his lips as he knew what they were talking about.
He would often find it hard not to laugh too if he seen the two, especially if he sat behind and saw their shoulders moving. Although, his parents would scold him for participating.
The choir took to the podium after an excruciating hour, the siblings already half squirming at the thought of listening.
"I should bring earphones," Nari said barely above a whisper, making her brother and the boy who sat in front of them laugh a little.
However, when the group took to the stage, her emotions completely turned around.
"What is he doing here?" Nari whispered to her brother, who gave his friend two thumbs up as he chuckled, waving back at him.
"Jacob is religious," Sangyeon answered casually, as his sister nodded as though she had no idea. "And he can sing."
"He can?" This she didn't know, and her heart melted at her brothers words, and even more so when she would hear his voice.
This time, she didn't cringe or feel tempted to cry, instead she watched the boy intently, following every word of the song because it fell from his lips.
The time came for him to sing along, Nari peaked up in her seat which didn't go unnoticed by her brother, who also noticed that she never faltered a smile the whole time.
His voice was as sweet as he was, and Nari felt somewhat disappointed that he never let her hear him before, but she couldn't complain - what she was hearing right now was angelic, just like he was.
The boy who sat in front of them glanced over, a small smile on his lips as though he expected to see the two holding back laughter, but instead he was greeted with Nari's full eyes, staring in awe of the boy on stage.
When would he realise, it just simply wouldn't be him?
"Jacob!" Nari's mother gushed as they approached the boy who stood beside who the girl assumed to be his mother. "You were wonderful."
"Thank you, Mrs Lee," the boy politely bowed, turning to face Sangyeon as he gave the boy a light cuddle. "Hi, Nari."
"You were great," a compliment from her was enough to make him smile from ear to ear, the two nodding to each other, holding back the urge to embrace in front of their families.
Sangyeon looked between the two, smiling to himself as he seen how happy his friend was and how much happier his sister had became in recent weeks.
Little did he know, there was more to the two than what currently met his eye, but little did they know - he would be okay with that.
The younger ones watched as their families introduced themselves, speaking of the two boys' friendships as Nari stood awkwardly, her eyes drifting towards the entrance of the church as they stood by the back gate.
She noticed a trail of black cars along with people dressed accordingly, and her heart felt heavy as she watched people gather for what she assumed to be a funeral.
"Shouldn't we go?" She said to her mother, apologising for interrupting the conversation. "There's a funeral about to take place, we could at least move over to be more respectful."
"I'm sure the priest would tell us to move if there was an issue," her mother replied, disregarding her daughters words, which only made her feel embarrassed to be in her presence.
"We should get going, anyway," Jacob's mother said, sending a small smile to Nari, almost one of sympathy for her mother's carelessness. "It was lovely to meet you all properly."
The families said their goodbyes, Jacob looking over his shoulder one last time to wave goodbye to the girl, sneaking in a wink when her brother looked the other way.
"Well, we have to walk by them anyway," her mother grumbled, looking up at the mass of people who gathered. "Just bow to them, out of respect."
Nari bit her tongue, wanting so badly to say she had the nerve to say that now, but instead she obeyed, keeping her head down until they passed the people.
She bowed, as did the other three, finding it difficult to look into the grievers eyes'. Although, when she did, her heart only sank further.
The boys eyes were drained of any life, and the death of one of his closest family members was only half of the reason why, the other was her.
She nonetheless bowed her head to him, her eyes refusing to leave his for what seemed like minutes, but was only a matter of seconds.
Sunwoo wasn't the type to let his emotions wear upon his face often, especially those of grief and sadness, but life wasn't too great for him at the moment, and seeing her here was bittersweet.
Her legs felt weak at the sight of him, although she wouldn't falter, not in front of her family.
Her brother gave her a small smile from the seat beside her, as she silently placed her head against the window.
Jacob's voice rang in her ears, but somehow Sunwoo's eyes sang a thousand more words.
"Thank you," the girl thanked the cashier, taking her water and starting to walk again.
She wasn't one for walking, but today her emotions felt clouded, and she felt truly under the weather for the first time in a while.
Her eyes closed to see his, and she tried so hard to wipe those thoughts away. However, she had to accept that it was only natural for the first time seeing him in so long.
She had always wondered how he was, but she didn't expect to see him suffering, and seeing him in that state earlier only made her worry more.
However, did he worry about her the same way? Was he worth her feeling like this? Everything was going so well.
Although all those thoughts were pushed aside the second she seen the only boy in this town to stroll the streets with bright red hair taking a seat on the park bench.
She pondered the pros and cons of going over to him, but her legs, like always, carried her there, sitting silently beside him as she felt herself begin to tremble.
But she wasn't the only one. The boy glanced over to see her refusing to look at him, almost as if she was offering a comforting presence.
"I don't need your sympathy," Sunwoo said truthfully, swallowing harshly.
"Then I won't offer you it," Nari replied, his first words to her after all this time were like a punch in the gut. "I just wondered if you were okay."
"If I tell you, then you'll offer me unwanted sympathy," he replied, looking the other way.
"Then lie," she shrugged as the boys head turned, the two looking at each other properly for the first time in months. "If you tell me you're okay, I'll be on my way."
Sunwoo contemplated his next words, sealing his mouth closed because he just had to much to say to her, but he didn't know if he should.
"I can't lie to you as easily as you can to me," his chosen words were no wiser than the thoughts in his head, but he couldn't help himself.
Nari let out a sharp breath, almost a laugh as she looked over at the boy in disbelief. "What I said wasn't a lie."
"Okay then," he nodded slowly, not sure if he could ever believe she loved him, but she was here, that's all that mattered. "I'm not fine."
"Okay," the girl nodded with him, watching as he just simply looked at her.
"Are you?" He asked somewhat hopefully.
"I don't know," she answered truthfully, the boy hanging his head low as she heard a noise escape his throat, the stifle of a cry. "Please don't cry."
The boy sucked in a deep breath, not wanting to seem weak before her, but he realised that he had been as vulnerable as he could be around her before, what difference did just now make?
"I don't know if things will ever be the same," he says through tears as the girl watched on, unsure of what to do. "But can I have one more night with you? Just don't go yet, please."
The word that escaped the girls lips next would be the one she would come to regret, but she was now as red as he.
"Yes."