There was a friend group that had existed so long it felt permanent, like something unbreakable simply because it had always been there.

It started with Ellie and Dae-hyun.

They didn't remember meeting. No dramatic first encounter, no clear beginning. Their parents liked to joke that Ellie learned to walk in Dae-hyun's house and Dae-hyun learned to talk in Ellie's. Their families were bound together through business long before the kids were old enough to understand what money or power meant. Construction dinners, shared vacations, long meetings where adults talked while two children played at their feet.

Ellie had been borned in Korea, still she felt slightly different at a very young age. Dae-hyun had been the first constant. He punched a boy once in kindergarten for calling her weird. He got grounded for it, and Ellie cried harder than he did.

They grew up side by side ; birthdays, holidays, scraped knees, first phones. Everyone assumed they'd end up together one day. They didn't. They never felt that way. Their bond was older than romance, deeper than attraction. Ellie was family. Dae-hyun was home.

Seojoon entered their lives like friction.

He transferred in middle school, sharp eyes, careless smile, reputation already half-formed. Teachers watched him too closely. Students either wanted to be him or stand with him. He didn't belong to Ellie's world of polished manners and untouchable wealth, and Ellie didn't belong to his.

They clashed instantly. Ellie thought he was reckless, arrogant, infuriatingly disrespectful.

Seojoon thought she was spoiled, cold, and hid behind money and status.

They argued in class. Snapped at each other in hallways. Made passive-aggressive comments sharp enough to draw blood. Dae-hyun stood awkwardly between them, trying and failing to keep the peace.

And yet, somehow, Seojoon stuck. Because Dae-hyun chose him.

Dae-hyun and Seojoon became best friends in the way boys do when they recognize something familiar in each other, sincerity, passion, loyalty, they understood each other. Seojoon didn't care who Dae-hyun's parents were. Dae-hyun didn't flinch when Seojoon showed up with bruised knuckles and bad excuses as they grew older.

He covered for him. Fought together. Got into trouble together. Seojoon was the one person who could call Dae-hyun out without consequences. Dae-hyun was the one person Seojoon would listen to.

Ellie hated how close they were. Not because she was jealous, because she saw what Seojoon brought out in Dae-hyun. Recklessness. Pride. A willingness to step into danger without thinking about the cost. And Seojoon hated how Ellie saw through him. They became enemies not because they wanted to be but because neither knew how to step back.

Soo-ah came later. She wasn't part of their childhood world. She didn't come from money or connections. She was quiet, observant, underestimated, the kind of girl people overlooked until they needed someone steady.

Ellie noticed her first.

It started small. Shared classes. A borrowed pen. Sitting next to each other during group work because no one else had chosen either of them. Soo-ah didn't treat Ellie like she was untouchable or intimidating. She treated her like a person, blunt when needed, gentle when it mattered.

Ellie hadn't realized how lonely she was until Soo-ah filled the space beside her without asking. They bonded over late-night messages, shared secrets, and mutual frustration with the boys in their lives. Soo-ah was the first-person. Ellie trusted with her anger toward Seojoon and the first person who listened without judgment. They became best friends quietly. Naturally. Permanently.

Ellie introduced Soo-ah to Dae-hyun without meaning to change anything.

She brought Soo-ah to hangouts. To late study sessions. To cafés they'd been going to for years. Dae-hyun noticed Soo-ah slowly, the way she stood her ground, the way she cared deeply but didn't demand attention, the way she worried about others before herself.

Soo-ah saw something in Dae-hyun too, beneath the confidence and reputation. Someone kind. Someone protective. Someone who took responsibility too seriously.

Ellie noticed it before either of them did.

She teased them. Nudged conversations. Left them alone on purpose. When they finally got together, Ellie felt relief more than surprise. It felt right. Like a piece clicking into place.

And for a while, everything worked.

They had routines.

Lunch together. After-school hangouts. Late-night walks. Arguments that ended in laughter. Seojoon and Ellie constantly at odds, Dae-hyun playing mediator, Soo-ah grounding them all.

They protected each other