30 minutes and 30 years

2018

"No matter where you are, or what you are doing or what you are with, I will always honestly, truly, completely love you."

That line from Love, Rosie struck him like lightning.

The day was Sunday. He was backreading Sana's texts to him years ago, and apparently, she recommended him a movie which he never watched.

Love, Rosie.

30 minutes into the movie, he already felt drawn to the characters. It was like the movie was based on his own life, although some major parts in the movie never happened. He felt like he was the main character.

That he was Alex and Sana was Rosie.

But the ending was different, or so he thought.

After crying tons of tears because of the movie, he decided he should clean up and take a walk at the park to cleanse his mind.

He was thinking too much again; "What would've happened if I realized I loved her earlier and told her?"

He didn't want to think about it.

He met Jungwoo 2 years ago coincidentally when he had a game in Spain.

He told him Sana would talk a lot about him, and boasted about her best friend being a famous football player. Jungwoo's eyes shimmered when he talked about her, and Yuta could tell he loves her very much. Yuta knew Sana deserved his love, or more, Jungwoo deserved her love.

Yuta was on his way to the park, he was looking at the cafes on his way. He liked looking at cafes and sometimes, he'd go to various cafes to make time pass by. But his favorite cafe by far was Sana's.

He was passing by and looking through the cafe's glass window one by one when he noticed a familiar figure sitting by the corner of a cafe.

He decided to go inside and take a closer look.

The figure was Jungwoo.

He approached him, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Jungwoo?"

Jungwoo looked up from his book and smiled in shock.

"Oh my..." He chuckled. "Yuta!" He stood up from his chair and hugged Yuta.

Yuta continued to sit on the chair in front of Jungwoo's.

"How are you? It's been a while!" The enthusiasm in Yuta's voice was real. Although he was the man Sana loved, he felt no distaste towards him and considered Jungwoo as his good friend. He was happy to see Jungwoo.

"I'm fine." He smiled back at him. "Do you want to order something? I'll treat you."

"No no no, I'm all good." He paused. He wanted to ask how Sana was, but he decided he shouldn't. "How's everything back in Japan?" Yuta drank from his water, avoiding Jungwoo's look.

Jungwoo took a sip of his iced coffee. "Everything's fine. Sana's doing good."

Yuta swallowed hard and was still in denial. "I didn't ask about Sana, but I'm happy she's doing well." He smiled a little.

"I knew you wanted to ask about her. You don't have to lie."

They both laughed.

Yuta looked down, "I'm not."

"If you insist," Jungwoo paused and took a sip from his iced coffee. "but I know deep down, you are."

"Okay okay" Yuta put his hands mid-air, like he was defeated. He put it down after seconds, and he looked at the book Jungwoo was reading.

'Love, Rosie.'

He was in shock. He felt like everything that happened today, from watching Love, Rosie, to meeting Jungwoo who was reading Love, Rosie, wasn't just a mere coincidence.

Jungwoo looked outside through the window beside him and folded his arms.

"I can always tell how people feel about each other."

Yuta was just staring at Jungwoo, he didn't know what to say. Jungwoo picked up the book.

"Love, Rosie." He read the title, as if Yuta asked him to read it. "This book is so good by far. But I also hate it. I hate how it's very real."

"I watched it earlier, it's good." Yuta responded.

Jungwoo hummed. "Sana constantly brought this book up. She told me to read it and told me how she loved this book so much. I never read it, I only started reading it 2 days ago. I came across this book 3 days ago when I was at a bookshop."

Yuta didn't know why Jungwoo was saying these but he kept quiet and continued listening.

Jungwoo flipped through the pages, "How ironic isn't it? Best friends, one reaches his dream, the other one left alone. They both drift apart, they love each other, but when they realize it, it's already too late." Jungwoo paused to look at him, "Just like you and Sana."

Yuta was confused. He didn't get it. Jungwoo and Sana love each other, so why was Jungwoo telling him this? He smirked and shook his head. "What?"

Jungwoo just smiled. "Sana loves you, Yuta, ever since."

Yuta laughed in disbelief, "What are you talking about? She loves you, Jungwoo."

Jungwoo stared through him, "I guess she didn't tell you." He whispered something audible to Yuta, "She didn't want to bother you."

"Tell me what?"

"We broke up months ago, Yuta." He smiled, but his smile didn't completely conceal the hurt in his face. "It was a mutual decision, there were a lot of factors, but you weren't one." He assured him.

Yuta couldn't believe what he was hearing. But his eyes shimmered when he talked about her, they were happy. He thought.

"What made you say that?"

"Say what?" Jungwoo asked blankly until he realized what he was referring to. "Ohhh."

Jungwoo smiled, he believed they were meant to be with each other. The familiarity of the moment was unbelievable to him.

He told him what he told Sana years ago. "I could tell." He paused and sighed. "And I'm not wrong."

"Her eyes shimmered when she talked about you, but those eyes never shimmered when she talked about me."

Although Jungwoo already knew the answer, he didn't hesitate to ask, "Do you love Sana, Yuta?"

Yuta knew he didn't have to lie. That there was no reason to lie and deny. That there was no reason to prolong his sadness.

He smiled and played along, "What made you say that?"

Jungwoo knew he was just playing along. He smiled back, "I could tell."

"You're not wrong." Yuta smiled widely. Finally, he thought. "I love her, more than just my best friend and more than just someone who I grew up with."

Jungwoo folded his arms. "Then would you give it a chance?"

Yuta smiled. That smile was his answer, and Jungwoo clearly knew what it meant.

"I do think I was put in your lives to slap some sense to the both of you."

Yuta laughed.

Jungwoo stood up and reprimanded Yuta. "What the hell are you doing? You should be running back to your apartment and booking a ticket to Japan! You should be saying those to her, not to me!"

Yuta laughed out loud and stood up from his chair.

"I will forever thank you, Jungwoo." Yuta was shaking from happiness and excitement, but he still found the time to joke. "Thank you for saving me from the hell hole of misery."

Jungwoo nodded and sighed, "Please make her happy, Yuta. I may have failed to do it in some ways, but I know you won't. Do it for me."

"I will, Jungwoo."

Yuta ran back to his apartment. He never thought his love for Sana would see the light of day. Now, it wasn't just going to see the light of day, it was already sunbathing.