Time passes, and you become an almost permanent third wheel. Being used to it, you simply use that time to get over Jimin as much as possible since he is with your best friend. You finally reach a state of relative passivity where you just do not care what they do.

You are listening to your favorite group, BTS, and in a very good mood one day when your phone chimes. It is B/F/N. She tells you that she and Jimin are having problems, and sends you multiple 2000 character texts explaining the situation. Feeling a pang from your still fresh heartbreak, you feel exhausted all of a sudden. You reply tentatively.

"I'm sorry to hear that, B/F/N, but I want no part of this, you know why. I know it is my job to help you with your relationships, but it still hurts and I'd rather we not go into it. I'm sorry", you text, feeling guilty that you cannot help her in this.

"Oh, okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I'll just leave you alone and figure it out myself", she says.

The guilt slowly turns to irritation as you think:

I didn't ask for this! Besides, now she knows how it feels when your best friend isn't there to help you! I had to get over my last 2 boyfriends without her! She never knew I was suffering because I didn't heap any of my problems on her!

You know you sound bratty, but you don't care. You switch albums and go to "You Never Walk Alone", click shuffle, and snort as "Lie" begins to play, the irony not lost on you.

How fitting, eh?

A FEW WEEKS LATER

You walk into your room after a long day and slump onto your bed, your limbs gladly buckling as you lay there with your eyes closed for a minute. Noticing that your phone has been strangely silent, you decide to check your messages, only to realise you forgot to change the mode after your last class. You open the app, scroll through your notifications, then check your messages. You have only one, sent a few hours ago by Jimin.

"I'm sure B/F/N has told you already, but we broke up. We're staying friends though, so that's good"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! I'm glad you're staying friends though"

"So, wyd?"

"Nothing much"

You tell him the bare minimum of your day, as you always did when he dated B/F/N.

"You sound busy! Well, nothin much here, but since I've been feeling down lately, it felt good when someone paid for my coffee and another complimented me today"

Realising you have been completely selfish and forgotten that he also must be in a rough time, you send him a genuine reply, feeling guilty that you can't comfort him face to face because of your long distance friendship.

"You know, I'm really happy someone was able to cheer you up today. Just know that if you want to talk, I'm here, but if you don't, I understand"

"Thanks, you're a really awesome person, and that means a lot"

"You're welcome. I know you would do the same for me, especially since you are one of the few people who actually listen when I rant"

A warm feeling spreads in your chest as you realise how much you have missed talking to him. Not just the occasional "Hi, how are you" texts you two have been passing the whole time he and B/F/N were together, but actual conversations that allowed you to connect on a deeper level and helped you know more about each other. Since that kind of conversation had stopped, you found a hole in your heart that those conversations used to fill. Now, the hole was being filled up again.

Soon, you and Jimin are back to having actual conversations that last 3, 4, even 5 or more hours at a time as both of you rapidly respond. Soon, the hole is almost gone. But, another hole is still there, gnawing on the far recesses of your consciousness. As your conversations stretch, your long buried feelings rise up, like a phoenix out of the ashes.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°