In his heart, Sunghoon knew he had lost. He could tell by the way Aera's eyes changed when he sang looking straight at her, trying to convey his feelings. He knew they weren't reciprocated. 

He could tell from the way her face kind of fell when they finished the presentation and realized Heeseung wasn't there. 

She liked Heeseung. She had from the start. He'd been playing a game he'd been doomed to lose. A game with his own feelings, at that. 

It was clear that Heeseung liked Aera too, so Sunghoon was unsure as to why he'd left. He walked out of the classroom, intent on finding him and scolding him for hurting her feelings... but those thoughts disappeared when he saw him. 

When he saw Heeseung in a state he hadn't seen since Hyerin's death. 

Crying. 

No, not even crying. Sobbing. 

"Heeseung?" he whispered, forgetting his annoyance in that moment. Forgetting his jealousy. Forgetting the fact that Heeseung had been a jerk for the years after her death, making Sunghoon feel like sh*t, like he'd been the cause, even when he hadn't. 

None of those other feelings mattered. 

He sat down next to his long-time friend, putting an arm around his shoulder in comfort. Heeseung looked up at him for a moment, and then looked down and continued to cry. 

"I'm sorry," Heeseung sobbed. "I'm so so sorry." 

***

A/N 

I love Sunghoon so so much this boy really has my heart like... LOOK AT HIM😭😍

Look at his lil pout omg time to cryyyy~