ANAGAPESIS

25

Jealousy.

Iris had never thought that she would feel this way towards her best friends. She'd never thought that she could envy them for having such a good fairy tale she used to imagine back in school days.

But she knew she was in no position to argue.

It all started from the moment Anne picked her up to go to Alice's place, for the last touch before her engagement party this weekend. At first, everything looked normal, until Anne looked anxious along the journey.

Iris did notice but she decided to pretend as nothing, not to put her friend in discomfort. She tried to change the topic of their conversation but Anne kept being distracted.

"Jaehyun and Juyeon are here too," Iris said as soon as her friend parked the car, Jaehyun slowly scooting closer toward them. "Maybe Younghoon called them here."

"Maybe," Anne smiled bitterly, unlocking the doors for the girl to greet her new friend.

"Hey ladies," Jaehyun beamed, holding the car door for Iris. "Alice told me that you got something heavy to bring in."

"In the trunk," Anne announced, attracting Jaehyun's focus.

"I'll talk to you again later," he smiled, patting Iris' arm before he left for the stuff in the car trunk.

The girl would never lie, that she found comfort in the small action of Jaehyun. How much she wanted to brag that he treated her nicely, she told herself that he was always good to all girls he encountered.

Sounded hurt but it was a fact - maybe.

"Suddenly I'm hungry," Iris pouted, taking the small stuff with her as the big and heaviest one had been taken by Jaehyun.

They were about to walk into the house when Anne nervously grabbed her wrist, stopping her at all costs.

"I have something to tell you," the seriousness on Anne's face was something Iris had never seen before, and it scared her to the core.

"What is it?" the girl gulped, her heart started beating abnormally.

Taking a deep breath, Anne felt her palms sweaty and she kept wiping them. Strangely, they never dried though she had done it for 10th times already.

"I.." she bit her lower lip, raising tensions to the limit. "I'm dating someone."

"What?" Iris yelled, even the dog from the neighbor's house barking, startled by the high pitch. "When did this happen? How? What exactly happened?"

"He confessed to me last night, and I'm scared right now!" Anne's eyes getting teary, by reflex crashed into Iris' arms. "I am nervous as well."

"Why are you crying?" Iris questioned, stroking her friend's back.

"I'm scared, even to tell you," they pulled away, staring into each other's orbs. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you. You know-"

"I'm fine," Iris assured, excitement then flashing in her eyes. "I am excited right now. Tell me more about him."

"Nope," with that, Anne walked away into the house, leaving her friend dumbfounded, watching her back view getting smaller.

What shocked Iris the most was, that her friend, Anne was someone who never dated and barely had a boyfriend except for a crush though it did not last long.

And now she received such a long-awaited confession from a guy Iris hoped was the best, a guy who had made his first move.

Unlike her love story.

Everything about her all started with her. She was the one who kept chasing until he noticed her existence, she was the one who confessed her feelings.

Only once, she hoped that she could have what other girls have, but it seemed too long to come.

Tragically, she kept waiting until she no longer felt the spark.

"What are you looking at?" Alice nudged Iris who was so deep in her thought, watching Juyeon help Anne with some boxes.

"Aren't they cute?" Iris smiled like a fool, admiring the view. "Has Anne told you anything?"

"No," she shook her head. "Tell me what?"

"That she's someone's girl now," as soon as Iris told her that, Alice screamed at the top of her lungs - the same reaction from Iris earlier.

Her scream did attract all attention, especially Younghoon who in no minute came running, just to check on her.

Once again, Iris was jealous.

"Wait," Alice raised a palm in the air, ignoring her fiancee-to-be, who was nudging her. She averted her gaze from looking at Iris to where Anne and Juyeon were, and that was when the realization hit. "Do you mean.."

"I think so," Iris smiled adoringly, crossing her arms as he continued admiring the sight.

"Younghoon, you must have known about this right?" and the confrontation began between the love birds, leaving Iris alone with her thoughts.

She was happy, of course, she did. The feeling of seeing her best friends slowly achieving something they had always imagined was like a proud mother watching her kids grow.

However, she could not resist having thought, "When will my turn come?"

"When the timing is right," she flinched at the sudden approach, Jaehyun smiled beautifully, and his eyes turned into crescents.

"You know, don't you?" she faced him with a confront, cupping her waist in the process.

"About Anne and Juyeon? Yes, I do," he shrugged nonchalantly, copying the girl's posture. "I am the one who encouraged him to confess."

Scoffing, Iris was in a state of confusion. The way Jaehyun bragged seemed like he was joking but thinking back on the close bond they shared, nothing seemed impossible.

"At this rate, you should find yourself a girlfriend," she crouched down, reaching for a piece of cloth they used for the decoration on the floor but it slipped away from her grasp when Jaehyun spoke up.

"I'm waiting until she is available if it's possible."