I expected him to be upset when I saw him the next day, but he wasn't. Instead, Changmin was laughing, as if what I had said to his parents was actually something to laugh about.

Finally, he looked at me and smiled. "Good job," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder and squeezing it as if what I'd done was actually a good job. I yelled at his parents - what kind of good job is that?

"Are you laughing because they deserved it," I started, "or because I'm pathetic?" He went quiet and stared down at his feet, then looked at me.

"You're not pathetic," he said. "If you were," he paused and suddenly smiled, "I probably would've pointed it out, you know."

I snorted and he started laughing again. "You did a good job," he said, genuinely. I stared at him, a smile slowly creeping up to my face as well.

"Why, thank you," I said. "It's nice to see you're happy about this."

"I'm just glad I'm not hurting you anymore," he mumbled, kicking the rocks beneath his feet.

"Huh?"

"Nothing," he said instantly, shaking his head. "It's not important."

I heard him, I know what Changmin said. Seeing him so happy and smiley doesn't hurt me, but the fact that I don't know how long that happiness will last or if his smile is actually real hurts me more. I feel like my heart is being shattered to pieces whenever I'm with him, but that will never compare to what he goes through everyday when I'm not around.

"Changmin," I called his name. He hummed and glanced at me. "Does it still hurt?" I asked.

The smile on his face slowly disappeared, he knows what I'm talking about."Yeah. It still hurts."

"Why won't yo-"

"Mina."

"I just want to help you, Changmin," I said. "I want you to stop hu-"

"It doesn't matter whether I hurt or n-"

"Stop saying it doesn't matter!" I said, raising my voice and standing up from the bench. "It may not matter to you, but it matters to me!" Tears of frustration welled up in my eyes. "You matter to me, Changmin. Why can everyone see it but you?"

"Why does it matter to you when you're not the one that has to deal with it everyday?" he asked, looking at me with watery eyes. I stared into them, trying not to cry in front of him.

He didn't yell, but the way he'd said it, the way he was looking at me - it made me feel that way, like he was yelling at me because I said something wrong.

Because I care too much.

"You're right," I said with anger. These emotions, I didn't know where they were coming from - it scared me to think that I could even get angry at him. "I'm only supposed to get you out of an unfortunate situation, right? That's the only reason why we're even talking to begin with, isn't it?"

"I didn't mean it that way," Changmin said. His voice was quiet, "You know that."

"I don't know anything, actually," I said. "I don't know anything about you, Changmin." I stood up and walked away, leaving him alone on the bench with tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

Why was I so emotional? Why was it that Ji Changmin, a boy I had met less than a month ago, had such an impact on me? It didn't make any sense to me, but one thing was very clear to me, and that was that walking away from him was all I'd ever be good at.