❝Sometimes being the right person is not enough; because sometimes the right time is as important as the right person. So can time solve everything? Is meeting the right person at the wrong time a twist of fate or the beginning of a story that hasn'...
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Yongneul was asking Minho out. Everyone had gathered around them, eagerly waiting for Minho's answer.
It wasn’t very common for girls to be the ones asking someone out. That’s why everyone was watching them curiously. Including me... I was also waiting for the response from the boy I was in love with, just like everyone else.
Before Minho answered Yongneul, he looked around the crowd for a moment. Minho didn’t like being the center of attention, so I could tell he was uncomfortable.
But the girl who asked him out didn't know that. Or maybe she didn’t care about him the way I did.
When Minho’s eyes found mine in the crowd, he seemed more relaxed. Probably because I was a familiar face...
Minho turned his gaze back to Yongneul and nodded. With the answer she received, Yongneul wrapped her arms around Minho's neck. As the surrounding students applauded, I slipped away from the crowd and headed towards the cherry tree in the schoolyard that we had claimed as our own.
The rest of our friend group was sitting on the grass, drinking soda. When I approached them, I sat between Changbin and Felix.
“Wasn’t Minho with you?” Chan asked.
As I grabbed one of the two soda bottles lying on the grass and opened it, I said, “He’s probably busy with his new girlfriend...” trying to stay calm.
Everyone looked at me in shock, and my shoulders involuntarily slumped. Everyone knew I loved Minho, except for Minho himself.
“What?” Hyunjin said, snapping out of his shock. I took a sip of my soda. “Yongneul asked Minho out. In front of everyone. And Minho accepted. So I left them and came here.”
“How do you feel right now?” Jeongin asked calmly. I shook my head. “I don’t know...”
I was grateful that no one asked any more questions. “Hey...” Minho said as he sat down between Chan and Hyunjin. When I turned my head, everyone else had also turned to Minho. “I heard you started going out with Yongneul,” Jisung said to confirm.
Minho nodded shyly. I smiled involuntarily. Cute...
Changbin said, “You never mentioned liking Yongneul before...” and Minho nodded. “Yeah... but I wanted to give it a try... Left to my own devices, I’d probably be single forever,” he said with a chuckle.
My smile slowly faded. So, he accepted even though he didn’t really like that girl? What if I had asked, Minho? Of course, you wouldn’t have accepted; I’m a guy...
“It’s weird to date someone you don’t even like,” I said. I didn’t care if I came off as a bad friend at that moment. I just wanted to speak my mind.
I noticed Minho's smile beginning to fade. He turned to me. I would recognize that cold look anywhere. “Doesn’t seem like you’re happy for your friend, huh? What’s wrong, are you jealous?” he said with that teasing grin.
I tried to keep my expression neutral as I took another sip of my soda. “Oh, come on, why would I be? As your best friend, I’m the happiest one here,” I said.
“You act like you want to say something else, though,” he said, just as I was about to respond, Changbin interjected. “Alright, let’s drop this topic. We don’t want a fight, right?” After staring at Minho for a few seconds, I mumbled, “Yeah,” and looked away. If we had continued talking, it would have seemed like I hated the boy I loved.
As the others started a normal conversation, I could feel Minho's gaze on me. I had never acted this way toward Minho before. He was probably surprised by it, and rightfully so.
Changbin continued the conversation, “As I was saying, my dad found an apartment that’s just what we wanted. It has too many rooms, so no one was interested, which is why it’s pretty cheap.” We were looking for a place to stay after high school when we went to university. Finding a place big enough for all eight of us was usually tough, so we were all happy about this news.
Jisung interjected, asking the most logical question. “How far is it from the bus stop?”
Changbin smiled. “That’s one of the great things about it. It’s less than a five-minute walk to the bus stop. Plus, my dad bought the apartment for us as a gift,” he said, and Chan chimed in.
“Changbin! Why did you let him do that? Didn’t we say we’d do this together?” Chan said in a slightly scolding tone. He was the secret leader of our group.
Changbin smiled. “I told him, but he said he knew we were all working hard and wanted to give it to us as a graduation gift. And he didn’t want any objections,” he said as he opened the bag beside him, and we all watched.
He took out keys with seven different cute keychains attached and handed them out to each of us. I looked at the key with the dog keychain in my hand. The key to our very first home.
Hyunjin leaned towards Changbin. “I guess this is what it’s like to be rich,” he said with a laugh, and Changbin rolled his eyes. He hated when people talked about his wealth. Because most people, except for us, only hung out with him for his money. But we didn’t just see Changbin’s wealth.
Hyunjin giggled and squeezed Changbin’s cheeks with one hand. “Okay, don’t sulk. I was just joking. Thank you, Changbin.” He turned to us for confirmation. “Right?” We all nodded and thanked Changbin.
When the school bell rang, I stood up and brushed myself off. As the others stood up, we headed to our classes.
To me, it was a huge misfortune that none of us were in the same class, except for Felix and Jeongin. But maybe this way, we focused better on our studies.
I took a deep breath, entered my class, and sat at my desk in the middle. The university entrance exam was in a week. But I didn’t feel any stress. At least, not yet.
Until the teacher arrived, the only thing occupying my mind was Minho. I wondered what would have happened if I had acted sooner than Yongneul. Minho and I generally got along well. When the group first got together, we didn’t really like each other, but over time we started getting along well enough for me to fall in love with him.
I was ashamed to admit that I was a coward. I hadn’t shown even a fraction of the courage of someone like Yongneul, who didn’t know Minho as well as I did. Was it funny that I was so afraid of being rejected? I don’t know. I had never felt this way about anyone before in my life. Especially a male friend.
Like most people, I thought one day I’d fall in love with a girl. But life was very keen on turning my expectations upside down. In my final year of school, I fell in love with my best friend. And now, he had a girlfriend.
I needed to focus on my upcoming new life. Minho wasn’t someone I would easily forget. I knew that. But that wasn’t an obstacle to moving on. I had no choice but to keep going.
