“You’re not even my boyfriend, so what’s the big deal to you?”
I had unknowingly begun to anticipate something. It was an anticipation that, once started, I couldn't stop.
“Because I’m your friend.”
Yes. We're friends. Nothing more, nothing less.
But why does my heart hurt so much when you say you're my friend?
I knew you considered me a friend, and I knew that such words could come out of your mouth...
“If you’re friends, act like friends.”
I said things I didn't mean. No, it wasn't completely out of my mind. I was saying those words to myself.
“Like a friend? Like a friend, I’m worried about you right now!”
Taehyung got angry. He didn't want to fight. He felt like they wouldn't even be friends anymore.
“It was when I came out to go to the convenience store at night.”
So I decided to tell him. I thought if I told him why I became close with him, our relationship wouldn't be torn apart.
•••
The night before I got sick.
I was hungry and craving ramen, so I left the convenience store at night. Of course, my eyes were puffy.
I picked up a cup of ramen and a drink and headed to the checkout counter.
“It’s three thousand won.”
I paid three thousand won and excitedly shook the bag, thinking about eating ramen, and went into the alley to quickly go home.
It was a dark alley, so I was scared and kept walking while talking to Jiyoon on the phone, when someone put a hand on my shoulder from behind.
“Gyaaaaah!!”
I screamed in surprise.
Since I can't watch horror movies, it was natural for me to get scared and scream even in a dark alley.
“Ah.. Sorry, did I surprise you?”
“What! What’s going on!!”
It was Jiyoon's voice coming from over the phone and a man speaking in a panicked voice.
The man bent down and handed me his cell phone.
“Uh uh..”
“Answer the phone~”
It was dark so I couldn't see very well, but I immediately answered the phone to the man who seemed to be considerate.
"hello?"
“What, what? What happened?”
In response to Jiyoon's question, I quickly explained the situation and hung up the phone.
“Hello? I didn’t mean to surprise you.”
Looking closely, it was senior Kim Seok-jin.
“Because I’m scared.”
“Really? Then I’ll take you home. Let’s go.”
My doctor was Seokjin, who walked ahead of me without even asking. I thought it was better to be okay than scared, and after that, Seokjin continued to talk to me without being awkward, and we became close.
***
The female protagonist smiled brightly as she explained why they became friends.
“If you’re scared, just call me.”
He made an absurd excuse.
“Call me from now on. Don’t be alone with that senior.”
I was about to say something that made me feel bad when you laughed while talking about that senior, but I forced it back.
“Who are you?”
The heroine's eyes met mine.
“Who are you to say that?”
When the female protagonist asked the same question, I answered in my heart, ‘Because I like you.’
“Because we’re friends.”
Just like before, I justified it to myself by saying that it was possible because we were friends, and that it was okay because we were friends.
“...”
The female protagonist glared at me without saying anything and walked towards her house.
Again, silence fell between us. It was only when we arrived in front of Yeoju's house that the silence was broken.
"hey."
The heroine called me. When I looked at her, she only showed me her back.
"We're friends, nothing more, nothing less. Don't try to explain our relationship by calling us friends."
For a moment, I flinched involuntarily. I looked around in embarrassment, but there was no one there.
“And… if things go well with Soyeon, don’t meddle in my company, even though we’re just friends. If you do, Soyeon will misunderstand.”
The heroine turned her head, smiled at me, and I saw a tear fall from her eye.
I wanted to wipe away those tears, but because of what the heroine had just said, I couldn't wipe them away, just clenched my fists.
“Then go..”
The heroine's voice trembled slightly. Her words also had a hint of bitterness.
I wanted to hug you.
I took a step towards the heroine, but she had already gone inside the building.
I just held my poor hand tighter than before, to the point where it bled.