"Where are you?"

"I'm on my way."

"Thanks, man. Love you!"

A SMILE graced his lips as they ended the phonecall. It left him biting his bottom lip, trying to contain the sudden giddiness that sparks within his chest. It's true that Seoyeon loves him in a platonic way, that's what he believes, but he can no longer hold himself from smiling. He shook his head, unsure of the reason why he's acting up like this.

Then it clicks.

No way.

Does he really have a crush on his bestfriend?

Yes, he did felt jealous before, but it's all about Seoyeon's attention- wait, does that mean he likes her?

The feelings he thought that was nothing, now making him feel crazy. Jeongguk is unsure when it started. Perhaps it begun few days ago, when he went to her house to eat pizza. Or maybe it started from her interview with Yoonki. Or maybe, he liked her since childhood and he just chose to ignore it. He doesn't know, really.

The smile that was once on his lips slowly fades away. He shouldn't like her. She's his bestfriend. Liking her will be the most terrible thing he would ever do to her. He couldn't imagine their precious friendship getting destroyed once she finds it out. That's painfully unbearable. He guessed it would be better for him to ignore these feelings once again and . . . and just . . . watch her beautiful smile from afar.

Crossing a pedestrian lane, he saw her, standing in front of her work place and across the other pedestrian lane.

"Wrong lane, noona." He chortled to himself. It's either he crossed the wrong one, or she's not waiting at the right one. Out of consciousness, he smiled again, something in his heart clenches in fondness. He enjoyed admiring the elder who's apparently tiptoeing and searching for someone from the heard of people on the other lane. He chose to believe she's looking for him. Cute.

Should I surprise her-

"Excuse me." Ironically, he was the one who got caught off guard when a woman approached him. Both of them have finished crossing the pedestrian lane. They are safe to converse. "Your shoelace is untied." Jeongguk followed the woman's gaze, and there he saw gray-ish cords hanging loose on both sides of his left shoe. Those were white.

"Ah." Jeongguk looked up to the woman and let out a breathy laugh. "Thank you." He smiled then ducked his head for respect.

"No problem." The woman smiled back before walking away, leaving Jeongguk behind. The young lad moves, walking to the very edge of the sidewalk so people won't bump onto him. Then he kneeled down, tying his shoelaces. He frowns. His favorite rubbershoes doesn't look cool anymore with its new mismatched color of shoelaces.

.Jeongguk pulled the knot tighter before he straightened his back, pulling himself back up. With a satisfied look on his face, he started to walk again. But to his surprise, Seoyeon is not found on the same spot anymore.

He tilted his head in confusion and his eyebrows begun to furrow. He let his eyes do the search, his head facing from one side to another as he continued to walk, and then he found her. His footsteps are halted, he froze for a moment.

He found her standing at the middle of the pedestrian lane as other people emptied the space. She looks so fragile and scared. She is struggling to breathe for unknown reasons. Jeongguk started to walk again, with a faster pace this time, his eyes won't let go of her sight.

The young lad felt pain in his chest, a huge needle poked his heart, when he saw her suddenly tearing up at the middle of the road. He quickened his steps. He sees her panicking, looking for someone. She's lost. She's losing herself there.

The green light turned to red, signalizing the car drivers that they're good to run now, but Seoyeon is still standing there, being a hindrance to some of them.

"Seoyeon- noona!" Jeongguk called her name as soon as he reached the edge of the pedestrian lane, but she's not able to hear him since a loud horn from a car surpassed the loudness of his voice. She's panicking even more.

Hence, Jeongguk stepped on his shoes, not a bit scared of the car who almost hit him as he ran towards her. He wasted no time and took a hold of her arm, turning her around and pulling her in a tight hug. He feels her trembling inside his arms, and it's twisting his heart in a more painful way.

"It's okay. I'm here now." He had this strong urge to plant a small kiss on top of her head to calm her down, but he chose to cut it out. He pulled her in tighter hug instead. "I'm here." He repeated, softly. He slowly combs hair with his fingers. "I'm here." And from there, the latter slowly calms down.

"I . . . I saw him." Her voice is still shaky though, but the young lad felt relieved to hear her talk again.

"Who?" He asked, softly.

"Yoon Gunho."

──────────✧──────────

Seoyeon drank the small glass of Soju in one go, as if it was her time to quench her thirst after million years.

"Feeling better now?" Jeongguk sank deeper to his seat. Soft chuckles slipped out of his lips. His eyes followed the movement of her hand momentarily as she placed the small glass back on the table with a low thud. Then she lifted it, drying the wetness of her lips with the back of her hand. They are supposed to celebrate the soon-to-be promotion of the latter tonight, but it seems to be long forgotten, they're too distracted by the commotion they caused earlier.

"Did I scare you?" She blurted out, chuckling. She just answered a question with a question as an answer.

"Yeah. You looked crazy." He teased.

"Fair enough." Seoyeon snickered, reaching out for the Soju bottle to pour it on the small glass again. "That guy probably just looked like him. I shouldn't have been so crazy about it. I almost cried, the heck." She cringed, laughing, then she drank again.

"How can you say that?" Jeongguk scooted closer, his forearms are now resting on the top of the flattened surface. He then reached out his hand, grabbing his chopsticks to clasp on a piece of meat. "How can you say he's just a look alike?" Then he shoved the food in his mouth.

"I only saw his face briefly, he was wearing a bucket hat." She pours herself a drink again.

"Yah." Jeongguk is taken aback by both of his wording and Seoyeon's darting gaze. "Noona." He corrected himself. "Stop drinking, you might get drunk." He then dropped his chopsticks and took the small glass of Soju from her grip. He drank it instead.

"Don't worry about me, worry about yourself." Seoyeon teased. She tried to get the small glass back, but Jeongguk tightened his grip.

"Are you calling me a light drinker?"

"Aren't you?"

"I can last longer than most of my friends when we drink." Now Jeongguk is the one to pour himself a shot.

"You have other friends? College friends?" Seoyeon laughed.

"What do you think of me? A loner?" Jeongguk clicked his tongue. He didn't break their eye-contact as he proceeds to gulp the bitter drink.

Seoyeon drilled him with judgmental gaze. "How come you never introduced me to them?" She argued, unconsciously pouting.

There's no way I would let them hit on you, Jeongguk kept his answer to himself. Knowing how perverts his college friends could be, there will be no chance of him letting them see her beauty. Damn. He just realized how cheesy he sounds, even in his head.

"It's unfair. I was going to invite you to our school batch's reunion." Seoyeon continued to babbled, pushing guilt down to the latter's gut by her words.

His lashes swept up and he blinked, a bit of shock from the elder's sudden revelation. School batch's reunion? His cheeks suddenly heated up, but Seoyeon wasn't able to see him blushing due to the dim lights inside the pub. He randomly imagines Seoyeon's arm being wrapped on his own as they enter the party, both dressed in formal attire, like they're in a prom. That would be really nice to happen.

"I was going to brag you to my friends, but nevermind that. You are ashamed of me."

"No, I'm not!" Jeongguk whined. "You never introduced me to your college friends too!"

"Yes, I did!" Seoyeon barked back. "I even set you up to date one of them before, but you ignored!"

"I-"

"Just say you're ashamed of me." Her eyes bulged as she spat, kidding.

Jeongguk was about to argue back, but he chose to give up, Seoyeon will always win anyway. She snickered at the silence. Then seconds after, her low chuckles turn into louder laughs, but it's not boisterous enough to alarm other people. She's clapping her hands though.

"I knew it. You're drunk." Jeongguk smirked. He lifted his freehand, resting his chin on his palm as he continued to eye the latter.

"N-no." She said between laughs, waving a hand in the air as the other holds onto her tummy. "I j-just remembered . . ." Her laughter is contagious, Jeongguk is now laughing as well.

"What?" He looked at her with doe-eyes and mouth agape, attentive to her next words.

"Earlier at the pedestrian lane." Seoyeon calmed herself down a bit to be able to talk. "I just . . . I just realized how we looked like a Korean drama couple earlier."

"Ah." Jeongguk breathed out and playfully rolled his eyes at the sudden shift of their topic.

"You acted like a man earlier."

"I acted like a man?"

"Oh." Seoyeon hummed, showing him a lifted thumb. "Thank you, Gukie!" She beamed. Then her thumb and index finger moved to form a heart-finger.

Jeongguk just shrugged, a pout forming on his lips. He acted like a man? Acted? He's a man! He doesn't need to act like one.

"Oh! Isn't that Jio?" Suddenly, their attention shifted to the stage when they heard the music. It's been about fifteen minutes since the last song played, and both of them are surprised to see the new performer. The pub is not spacious, but it's not small too, maybe that's the reason why the familiar girl is unable to notice the two. Besides, they are seated at the very corner.

"It's Jia." Jeongguk corrected and he pursed his lips. He averted his gaze from the singer slash guitarist back to the table.

"Wah. She's good." Seoyeon is mesmerized, too drawn to the music. "Pretty too."

But you're prettier. Jeongguk's eyes rolled skyward before planting it on the girl in front of him. He started to wonder.

"What do you know about Jia?"

Seoyeon anchored her attention from the stage to Jeongguk. She did not know how to answer. She stared at the latter for few seconds, her eyes questioning whether she heard him wrong or he used wrong wordings again. Is he asking what she knows about her? Or is he asking what she thinks about her? But she still answered the very question anyway.

"I only know her first name, which is Jia." She chortled. Then she hummed. Her eyes started to wander, collecting invisible words from her surroundings. "She's your schoolmate, a musician, and a pretty girl."

"That's all?"

"Yeah, why?" She then crossed her arms. Her eyes narrowed to crinkled slits, eyeing the latter skeptically. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing." Jeongguk simply uttered. He lowered his eyes, his hand moving forward to grab his chopsticks again.

"Nothing?" Seoyeon teased. "But she's pretty, Guk. I wonder where she got the looks, her father might be handsome."

Jeongguk choked, although he hadn't drink or eat anything yet, her words are enough to make him choke. I-is she saying Yoon Gunho is handsome? Then he looked back at the elder who is apparently enjoying the music once again. He felt a pang of guilt. Seoyeon is smiling so beautifully, but completely unaware to whom she's smiling for, again. She has no idea that she's loving the music of the daughter of her father's murderer.

"She looks like her mother, not her father." He mumbled.

"Really?"

"I know what her father looks like."

And I apologize, I will continue keep it from you . . . for now.

──────────✧──────────

"Guk, wait."

Jeongguk hummed and his eyebrow perked up in response.

"I'll go to the restroom first, please wait me here."

The young lad nodded. His eyes followed Seoyeon's back until she disappears from his sight. At the very entrance of the pub, Jeongguk looks so pliant, he patiently waits right next to the door like a puppy. It's almost eight o'clock in the evening, he couldn't believe how fast time goes by, but what can he do when he really enjoys his bestfriend's company. In fact, he didn't want to go home yet, it's still too early, but Seoyeon needs to rest. He doesn't want her to have a very bad headache in the next morning. He has to study for their upcoming finals too.

"Jeongguk?" A young lady suddenly walks towards him from the pub.

"Oh. Hi." He almost jumped in surprise. "Jia."

"It's a surprise to see you here."

"Right. I had a drink with my bestfriend." Jeongguk showed her a weak smile. "We enjoyed your music by the way."

"Really? Thank you." As a shy girl, she blushed so easily. Jeongguk is used to it. He prefers this aura of her than to see her being so emotionless at one corner.

Then silence.

Slowly, Jia stepped back and smiled. "I'll get going then." She said, but his voice stopped her from turning her heels around.

"Jia." He called her name, calmly. She looked back at him then and there. She cocked her eyebrows above her doe-eyes, encouraging him to continue talking. Jeongguk, on the other hand, didn't speak right away. He glanced sideways first, looking for Seoyeon. The lack of the elder's presence made him meet the eyes of the musician again. There, he had his opportunity to ask her where her father is. Is it true that he's the one whom Seoyeon saw earlier? When will he surrender? But suddenly his tongue got tied. His lips don't seem to participate with his mind, stopping his words from slipping out.

"Jeongguk?"

"How are things going with Yoonki hyung?" He is smiling, but deeply disappointed inside. He wondered when will he get tough enough to be completely honest.

"Oh. He already found out the truth about us. He's strangely smart enough not to get fooled." She let out soft chuckles, recalling the heated conversation and the rollercoaster-emotions she had with the older guy before. "And I'm getting the hang of the piano, I will perform on the next few days." She flushed a shy smile, her right forearm shifted up, rubbing the other with her palm. "Thank you for your help again." She timidly added.

Are they friends now? Jeongguk asked himself. Is it okay for him to be frank now?

After a short pause, Jeongguk spoke."Jia, do you trust me now?"

His words were hard to decipher at first. It left her hanging for a second. What does he meant by that? Does she need to trust him? Why?

Then something clicks. Reality hits her. Suddenly she remembers that he is Jeon Jeongguk, and she is Yoon Jia. The two of them is unimaginable to be friends.

"Is that why you helped me? To gain my trust? What for?" She still asked despite knowing the obvious answer.

"I didn't mean to offend you-"

"Do you think I would betray my father just because of piano?"

"Jia-"

"I understand." A subtle sigh slipped out of her lips. She's unable to keep their eye-contact longer. The sight of the roughened ground is more comfortable. "I don't know where he is, and don't worry. I'll admit as soon as he admits to me. I have conscience too, Jeongguk."

Jeongguk inched forward, but she stepped away. The stars are shining so brightly above their heads, but it does nothing to shift the mood, the atmosphere between them is now gloomy. It's too late to be fixed.

"I really didn't want to offend you. I just want you to trust me so we can find the truth together." She could hear his beg through his words. It's confirmed, Jeongguk only wants to be her friend because of her father.

"I don't know where he is, Jeongguk."

"I'm sorry."

"Why?" Jia blurted out. Their eyes met again. "I'm the daughter here, not you."

"I'm . . . sorry." Jeongguk only repeated his words, eyes landing on the same ground. He suddenly feels like a jerk, using her to attain justice in a way that he's unsure of, unsure if it will work.

"I apologize too." She said, quietly. She is quite uncertain why she apologized. Maybe because she feels bad that the young lad before her is having a hard time as much as she does. She then turns around. "I'll get going, for real now." She uttered before stepping on her shoes, leaving the latter behind.

There, she left Jeongguk still wondering, did Seoyeon really see him earlier? Was it really Yoon Gunho? Should I tell Jia about it?

He's too late for that. Seoyeon arrives with a huge smile on her face.

"I'm done! Let's go!"

He smiled back, not wanting to show any sign of his distress to her.

Where are you, Yoon Gunho?