It was 1:00 in the morning and Jaemin was tossing and turning in his bed. Beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead as grunts of frustration escaped his lips. His eyes were closed but his brows were furrowed as if he was struggling. He was, because in his dream, he was back again in South Korea, standing beside a hospital bed.

"Time of death, 1:09 A.M." the doctor announced.

Jaemin was standing beside his father yet he had never felt so alone in his whole life. His presence didn't comfort him, not one bit. When the doctor announced his mother's time of death, his father let go of his hand and ran towards his wife. A frown was etched on her face, a permanent sign that she was in pain and yet she still looked beautiful.

"Mom!" Jaemin cried and held his mother's cold hands. His father was sobbing uncontrollably, his shoulders shaking violently.

That moment, Jaemin knew that everything was over. The caring woman he first loved was gone forever and the strong man he looked up to broke down in front of him.

"Mom! Don't leave us please!"

"Mom!"

"Mom!"

"Jaemin! Jaemin, wake up!" Jeno shook Jaemin's shoulders and he finally shot his eyes open. He met Jeno's worried face, hands holding both of his shoulders. That's when he felt the warm liquid cascading down his cheeks. He had been crying while calling his mother.

"What just happened?" he asked Jeno as he ran a hand on his disheveled hair.

"I heard you yelling from the other room. I thought a robber broke in, but you were just having a nightmare," Jeno answered. Jaemin closed his eyes, frustrated for embarrassing himself like that.

"I'm sorry for waking you up."

"It's okay. You can talk to me if you want. I know there's a lot of stuff bothering you right now."

Jaemin heaved a sigh, contemplating whether he should tell his best friend or not until he finally came into a decision. "I will tell you once I sorted things out."

Jeno nodded understandingly, respecting Jaemin's boundaries. That's the thing that Jaemin liked about him. He never persisted on knowing what's going on inside his head and lets him open up on his own.

When Jeno left, he lied on his bed again and stared at the ceiling. His heart was still beating fast, feeling as if he just relived that nightmare. He hated it. He hated everything that has something to do with his painful past.

He hated everything except you.

Your face suddenly appeared in his mind and his heart calmed down, mind at ease.

He whispered your name in the dark. Your name had a calming effect on him, the kind that he would never get tired of saying, the name that made him remember all the good things that had happened to him.

His mind and heart were troubled, yes. Yet there was something in that mess that also made sense, and only he could understand it.

You woke up with a start, earlier than the time you set your alarm clock. On the other side, Giselle was still asleep. You moved silently, trying to make as little noise as possible to not wake your roommate up. You grabbed your towel and a fresh set of clothes before going to the bathroom.

"Why do I feel like something had changed about you," Giselle said while you were walking together.

Indeed, something about you had changed. What encouraged you to do all those things, that you couldn't answer. You were smiling brighter than usual, always in a good mood, extra helpful both at school and in your dorm. Giselle liked it at first but she couldn't pinpoint what triggered those changes.

"You mean I had gotten prettier?" you asked and bat your eyelashes at her. She pretended to gag.

"Seriously though, something changed about you," she said and looked at your face. She noticed how your face glowed brighter than usual. "OMG!" she gasped.

"What?"

"Don't tell me you have a boyfriend?!"

"Wait, I have a boyfriend?"

"I'm asking your stupid ass! You have a boyfriend, don't you?! Say it! Tell me the truth!" Giselle cupped your face and squished your cheeks.

"I don't have a boyfriend!" you answered when you escaped from her. "If I have one, you're the first person who will know!"

Giselle contemplated for a moment. You actually made sense on that part. Her place as your best friend still secured.

On the way to your first class, you unexpectedly saw Nayoung leaning on a pillar while reading a book. A couple of jocks appeared and one of them accidentally bumped into Nayoung. She dropped her book and it was stomped on by the other jocks who didn't see it.

"I'm so sorry!" the one who bumped into Nayoung said. He was extremely tall and had a gentle-looking face and a gentle voice. He picked up Nayoung's book and handed it back to her.

"It's okay, I'm sure you didn't mean it," Nayoung answered as she dusted off her book. You walked towards them and the students automatically parted to clear a path for you. Your arrival caught the jocks' attention, some of them even whistled and you glared at them.

"Nayoung, are you okay?" you asked when you got to her. She looked at you with a surprised expression before nodding. Meanwhile, the guy who bumped into Nayoung was awestruck. You didn't know it but he had been admiring you secretly from afar.

"I'm Jung Sungchan," the tall guy introduced himself to you and he extended his hand, quite nervous since it was the first time he had seen you up close.

"Oh, I'm (Name)," you introduced yourself. "And this is my friend Hong Nayoung." You gestured to Nayoung who was standing there, completely forgotten.

"I'm really sorry, Nayoung. I didn't mean to do it," Sungchan apologized once again. Nayoung waved her hand in front of her.

"I told you it's okay."

It took a good five minutes to convince Sungchan that what he did was not a terrible crime. Before he and his group walked away, he walked towards you. "It's nice to meet you, (Name)."

You gave him a polite smile, craning your neck up to meet his eyes. "You too, Sungchan."

As they walked away, his friends were teasing him and his grin reached from ear to ear. You turned your attention back to Nayoung who was staring at you. When she caught you looking, she gave you a smile. "I can't believe I will see you first thing in the morning. I am actually planning to ambush you during lunch."

"Ambush me? Why?" you asked.

She took a deep breath, mustering all the courage she got before hooking her arm around yours. Her sudden actions had taken you by surprise but you didn't push her away. "I actually wanted to be your friend," she said in a shy voice. "The moment I met you at the cafeteria, you were so nice to me. You were making eye contact whenever I speak, making me feel comfortable and welcomed. I don't have any friends outside of my department, You will be the first one, if ever..."

Your heart warmed at Nayoung's words. A shy blush crept up to her cheeks and you find her expression adorable. A smile made its way to your lips as you nodded. From her peripheral vision, she saw you bobbed your head up and down so she looked up. You gave her a reassuring smile and her eyes twinkled at your silent answer.

"Yay!" she celebrated and embraced you. You hugged her back before she pulled away, her face lit up with an ecstatic smile. "I'm so happy right now you have no idea!"

"I'm happy, too," you replied.

"Since we're friends now, can I ask for your Instagram?" Nayoung asked. You gave her your username and she typed it on her phone. Her icon was an anime girl with a long black hair and full bangs wearing a white blouse underneath a red jacket. You recognized it as Jabami Yumeko. She tapped a couple more buttons on the screen which you didn't catch. "There, I followed you!"

Right on cue, the phone in your pocket vibrated and when you opened it, a notification was displayed on the screen.

h.nayoung_ followed you on Instagram

The icon was different. It was her picture while smiling, not the anime girl icon you saw earlier.

The two of you went on your separate ways. You were still pondering about what you had seen earlier when you ran into Jisung who was furiously walking ahead, red in his eyes. He didn't notice you walking and accidentally bumped into your shoulder. He was walking in big strides that you weren't able to catch him and reprimand him for not apologizing to you.

"What's the matter with him?" you asked to yourself. You weren't upset with him, it was obvious something was bothering him because you had never seen him ready to kill.

You turned around and saw Chenle with the same angry look painted on his face. He was wearing a headset with his hands tucked inside thr pocket of his jeans. You walked towards him and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up and was a little surprise to see you but then his face fell once again, obviously disappointed.

"What's wrong with Jisung?" you asked.

"I don't know," he answered while looking on the ground. He was obviously lying and you weren't having it. Jisung and Chenle always bicker a lot but you had never seen them got into an actual fight.

"Of course you don't. That's why you were disappointed when you saw me and not him," you said sarcastically.

"Why are you even asking me," Chenle whined.

"Because you are his friend!" you exclaimed. "He had the look of murder on his face. He bumped into me and didn't even apologize. If this continues, I wouldn't be shock if he wreak havoc in the whole city. Tell me what happened."

Chenle heaved a heavy sigh before answering. "I saw him hanging out with this Jung Sungchan from the other department."

Jung Sungchan? you thought. It suddenly clicked to you that that person shared the same name to the tall guy you met earlier.

"Is he tall and handsome? Usually surrounded by jocks?"

"Yeah, that's him. So they had been hanging out for almost a week now. Every time I ask him to play a game with me or hangout with my house, he would decline. Then I found out that every time he turns me down, he's with Sungchan. This morning was the worst..."

Chenle saw Jisung sitting under a tree, chatting with somebody. He didn't know who it was but he knew that he was so handsome and tall based on how long his legs were that were sprawled on the ground. They were both laughing and Jisung would laugh at anything Sungchan says.

Chenle had never seen Jisung so casual and comfortable with somebody else other than him. Sure, he was comfortable with Jaemin, Jeno, Mark, Haechan, and Renjun but with Chenle, they were inseparable.

That's why he found it weird that Jisung was hanging out with somebody other than him.

He was enjoying so much that he didn't even notice Chenle's presence until Sungchan pointed him and Jisung turned his head.

"Oh, Chenle! Morning!" Jisung greeted him. "Sungchan, this is my friend, Chenle. Chenle, my new best friend, Sungchan."

Chenle didn't miss the subtle change in Jisung's introduction. He was introduced as Jisung's friend, not best friend. Meanwhile, Jisung claimed that Sungchan was his new best friend.

An unmistakable jealousy crept up to his system and he couldn't think straight anymore. He had never felt so unwanted in his life, least expected from the person he treated as his best friend.

"Hello, Sungchan I'm Zhong Chenle," Chenle forced a polite greeting. Sungchan didn't seem to pick up the anger laced in his voice because he gave him a bright smile.

"I'm Jung Sungchan, nice to meet you. I belong to a different department and I play a lot of sports," Sungchan introduced himself and extended a hand which Chenle reached and shook. After that, Sungchan turned to Jisung. "See you later, bro. I'll be waiting for you at the dorm."

"Yep, I'll be there!"

Sungchan walked away and Chenle turned to Jisung. "You made plans with him?"

Jisung nodded. "Yeah. We'll play PUBG tonight."

"Tonight? But you told me the other day that you're going to have a sleepover in my house because we'll play Call of Duty?" Chenle was angry, no, he was furious. How could Jisung forget about their plans because of Sungchan? Besides, Jisung sucked at playing games so Chenle had to carry the team.

"Did I? Let's cancel it then?" Jisung replied nonchalantly before walking away but Chenle grabbed his arm.

"Not only did you decline me multiple times, you even had the guts to forget our plans. If you're going to keep doing that then I don't want you to be my friend anymore."

Something inside Jisung snapped about Chenle's words. He turned to Chenle, visibly angry before removing his arm from his grasp. "Fine with me. You keep choosing the others over me anyway. How's that? It's not like it's something new."

And just like that, he walked away, leaving Chenle baffled and angry.

"So that's what happened..." you muttered to yourself before turning to Chenle. He was trying to look unaffected but you could see the sadness and regret in his eyes. He wasn't a good liar when it comes to hiding his true feelings. He deeply regretted what he said to is best friend but there was nothing he could do.

"He's acting like a baby," Chenle spat and kicked a random pebble. You sighed. He didn't know why Jisung acted that way when it wasn't too hard to see why.

"What do you think did he mean when he said that you kept choosing the others over him?" you asked. Jisung's last statement was the one that gave him away but given Chenle's state, he was blinded by jealousy that he completely missed the point.

"I don't know about him," he answered but he kept quiet for a moment, the words slowly sinking in as his temper was going back to normal. "Well, there was this one time that I was trying so hard to get Mark's attention, clinging and bickering with him a lot. One day, they asked which of them would I want to travel with in the future and I answered Haechan."

"Chenle..." you trailed off. "Jisung is jealous."

"What is there to be jealous about? We're literally with each other almost 24/7."

"Then why did you become jealous of him hanging out with Sungchan instead of you?"

"That's because he's always declining my offer and he even forgot about the plans we made! He completely disregarded me."

"Are you sure he really forgot about it or did he intentionally say that he forgot about it as a payback for not choosing him?"

"You know we can't always be together all the time! I need to interact with others as well."

"That's exactly what he did. He found a new friend and interacted with him, they clicked and formed a bond, and now they're making plans without you. And you don't want to admit it but you were threatened by the possibility that Sungchan can replace you in Jisung's life."

Chenle opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. He knew it, deep inside, he was afraid to be replaced. He cherished Jisung like his brother and to watch his closest friend drift away would undoubtedly become one of the most painful experiences he would ever had. Silence fell between you and you watched as his tough mask fell off, replaced by a sullen one. You thought he was going to cry so you readied your tissue just in case but when he looked up, his face was completely void of any emotions.

"If he wanted to make a new friend and forget about me then so be it. What's bound to happen will happen. I won't chase after him," he said, his tone final, then walked away. You were left there standing under the shade of the tree where he once stood, watching his form disappear in the sea of students.

"But you were the one who pushed him away," you muttered under your breath. You leaned on the tree, expecting its hard and rough surface hit your back. Instead, you felt a toned and warm body as you leaned your full weight on the tall figure. The first thing you felt was comfort, it was as of your bodies were mold to fit each other perfectly. You felt a warm, minty breath on your ear followed by a deep voice which sent electricity to every nerve of your body.

"Who are you talking to?" Jaemin asked and you immediately pulled away. You felt the regret of losing the physical contact and you mentally slapped yourself for feeling that way.

"Jaemin! Hi!" you greeted him, almost breathless. However, he appeared calm and collected as if it didn't bother him when in fact, his insides were celebrating in ecstasy.

"Who are you talking to?" he asked once again.

"It was Chenle. Something happened between him and Jisung." You proceeded to tell him the gist of the story but not the whole details. You deemed it inappropriate to tell Jaemin the whole thing because Chenle didn't exactly tell you that you're allowed to tell the it. Meanwhile, Jaemin listened carefully to the story, concerned about his two friends. After telling what you know, he remained silent while nodding understandingly.

"That naturally happens among best friends," he said. "When they had gotten so close to each other but then other people will come into the picture and they're afraid that their friend will be taken away. It happened to me and Jeno once."

Him and Jeno...

You suddenly remembered the time when you were at Starbuxks with them and Doyoung. How close they were to each other, how Jeno knew him so well, how Jeno handled his mood and weirdness. They were so close like the best of friends, soulmates even. Your insides were paralyzed by the thought that you meant nothing, not remarkable enough to be remembered. Five years gone to waste and forgotten after nine years.

"Are you even listening?" Jaemin asked and snapped his finger in front of you. You went back to your senses and tried to swallow the jealousy creeping inside you.

"I, uh, I still have a class. My first period is about to start. See you at lunch!" you said and bid him goodbye. You ran towards the building of your classroom without looking back at him. Afraid that he would see the grudge and sadness you were trying to suppress.

Lunch time came and you trudged your way to the cafeteria, adamant to satiate your hunger. It had been a stressful day not only for you, but for everyone on that table because when you arrived, most of them were slumped on their seats.

You sat beside Ningning who was whining how hungry she was but you waited for the others. You noticed Chenle and Jisung's absence in your table. Jeno and Jaemin were still nowhere to be found and Giselle was late because of her last period.

"I'm so hungry I can eat this table," Ningning said.

"So hungry I can eat including the plate," Karina complained.

"So hungry I can eat all of you," Winter said and everybody went quiet.

"Where are the others anyway? I'm so hungry!" Renjun whined and stomped his feet.

"Jaemin and Jeno are always late, are those two a couple? They're always together every time," Mark said and you pretended not to get affected.

"That's what you call being best friends, Mark Lee. Don't you have any friends?" Haechan dissed Mark

"Hello guys! Sorry we're late!" Giselle said and you saw her with Nayoung, their arms linked to each other. You were feeling extra sensitive today that almost everything bothered you. You looked away and pretended to be busy on your phone.

Giselle was about to sit beside you but then Nayoung stole her spot and Giselle had no choice but to choose a different seat. She convinced herself to ignore it because she thought it might be unintentional, but when she saw how casual Nayoung acted towards you as if you two had known each other since forever, she didn't like it.

"Hello, (Name)!" Nayoung greeted you cheerfully and you only smiled at her, not in the mood to say something. Nayoung's smile slowly disappeared. "Are you okay? Are you sick? Is there something wrong?"

You shook your head and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Just a little hungry."

Just then, a couple of tall students entered the cafeteria and you saw Sungchan towering over the rest. His eyes were scanning the crowd and when they found yours, his lips broke into an adorable smile and waved at you. You were sure he was looking at you so you wave back. Everyone in your table didn't miss that interaction and they were all surprised.

"Did Jung the hecking Sungchan just wave at you?!" Giselle exclaimed and shook your shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm sure he was waving at me," you replied. "If not then I can just pretend I'm waving at somebody."

"That's not my point here! I mean, when did you two know each other? Why didn't you tell me?" Giselle pouted and you smiled because she looked adorable.

"I just met him this morning—" You weren't able to finish the sentence when Nayoung cut you off.

"Actually, they met each other because of me!" Nayoung then proceeded to tell everyone what happened that morning. She took a good long moment to tell her own story where Sungchan bumped into her but when Haechan and Winter got too impatient, she was forced to speed up the story until it got to how you and Sungchan met. Beside Nayoung, somebody was unimpressed.

"OMG! Sungchan and (Name)! I ship you guys!" Ningning squealed.

"I'm the fan club president," Winter said and raised her hand.

"I'll be the Vice President then," Renjun volunteered and Mark laughed like there's no tomorrow. You only shook you head as your palms covered your face in embarrassment. You and Sungchan just waved at each other and your friends already planned your wedding and who will be the godfather and godmother of your future babies.

While everyone was fussing about you and Sungchan, Jeno and Jaemin arrived.

"What's the chaos all about?" Jeno asked as he took a seat beside Giselle.

"(Name) and Sungchan!" Karina answered. Jaemin's eyes searched yours but you didn't look his way.

"What about them?" Jaemin asked, a dangerous tone laced in his voice that only Jeno recognized.

Everyone proceeded to tell everyone about your little interaction earlier and how you met, and they showed Jaemin the wedding plan they made. He didn't find it entertaining at all. Under the table, his hands were balled into a tight fist and his breathing were hard and heavy.

"Tsk, you don't even know that Sungchan guy and you're shipping him with (Name)," Jaemin scolded them but it only fell on deaf ears. "What about you, (Name), why aren't you telling them off?" Jaemin asked you.

You were forced to look at him but only for a short while. "Let them be. The more I try to deny it, the more they will try to push me to him," you answered and looked at your other friends.

Jealousy crept up in your group. Friendships were at risk of breaking. However, that's not the case for Jaemin because his jealousy was undoubtedly for something else.