What Can I Do

Chapter 27 ~Epilogue - They would all be just fine

Epilogue

The end of June had the weather looking beautiful. The strawberry blonde walking up the path however, hardly noticed it as his thoughts were consumed with excitement.

"Yah! Chicken little!" A female voice teased from behind him, jogging lightly to catch up to him.

"Haru!" Jae called in surprise, finding his friend beside him.

"Excited?" she grinned, smiling largely at her best friend.

Jae shrugged, then grinned back. "Who wouldn't be, it's graduation."

The pair exchanged banter and laughed as they continued up the path to the school, for what would be, their last time.

The thought made Haru a little melancholy, reflecting on the past decade with her best friend by her side. She remembered when they were barely six years old, the loud little boy who had decided to borrow her crayon and begin a friendship that would continue until they were old.

Haru had been shy and immediately intimidated by the outgoing and boisterous attitude of the other boy, but had quickly grown close to him within only a matter of days. Jae had grown to be someone as close as a brother to her, and she couldn't even imagine living without him by her side. He always knew when she was feeling sad and how to cheer her up.

Jae had grown so much over the years, but he hadn't changed. He was still the loud and energetic boy she had met back when they were barely old enough to count, always able to make friends with even the toughest kids and bring the best out of everyone. They had always been inseparable and that wouldn't change.

She sighed, thinking on the past few weeks.

She had been so caught up in her own feelings that she hadn't even noticed her best friends, or Brian's for that matter.

She must have been blind not to notice the way Brian stared fondly at Jae, almost like he shone whenever he spoke. The way Jae was always his brightest around Brian, his smile ten times as wide compared to when he was around anyone else. She had been an idiot, only thinking about herself and being blinded by her jealousy.

Jae had been a nervous mess, stuttering in his attempts to tell her that he and Brian were now dating. They had never been able to keep secrets from each other, and Haru knew something was up when Jae came to her blushing and oddly serious for once.

"The thing is. Well..." Jae frowned, trying to organize his thoughts.

"Jae, you know we'll be best friends forever, right?" Haru said, trying to calm his concerns.

Jae brightened, grinning, "Of course."

Then his smile dimmed again. "You won't hate me right?" he asked.

How could she hate her best friend for having the same feelings that she did? The only difference was that Brian actually reciprocated them in his case. And how could she have not seen that in the first place. Brian had tried to tell her, she really did not know anything about him.

His favourite colour, favourite food? What music does he listen to? What is his family like? Haru had only been infatuated with the Brian she had seen on the surface and realized she really did not know him at all. The only person able to uncover his layers was Jae.

Haru had never wanted her feelings make Jae feel like he couldn't be with the one he loved. She would rather stick by her best friend through whatever then have Jae feel like she hated him.

A figure came up beside Jae, looping an arm around his waist. Brian's face was still as stoic as ever, looking unconcerned, as he loosely gripped Jae's waist. He didn't even acknowledge either of them, but Haru saw his lips quirk up as Jae enthusiastically greeted him with a loud "Hyung!" and continued to babble excitedly about graduation. Brian's eyes were full of fondness as he listened to the boy talk.