“Woo-bin oppa asked you to hang out this weekend?”

“Ah… That’s great.”

Great my ass.

I had to spit out that lifeless line, even though it wasn’t in my heart at all.

In the end, things between them were progressing bit by bit.

Well, with a girl as pretty as her making the first move, their relationship would naturally heat up fast.

And one more thing that bugged me.

Just a few days ago, she called him ‘Woo-bin sunbae,’ but now she casually switched to Woo-bin ‘oppa’ even in front of me.

I had to let that get to me, too, and let it hurt my heart.

“What do guys usually like doing on dates? Movies? Fancy cafes? Shopping?”

Asking me something like that wouldn’t get her the answer she wanted.

For starters, I’d never even been on a date myself.

And even if I had and knew what was good, I wouldn’t tell her.

Why the f*ck would I give advice for someone else?

Just imagining Seo-ah’s face as she asked—full of smiles, probably excited—made my heart race.

Whoever that bastard was, I was insanely jealous.

I’d been by her side all this time and never seen that expression once, but now she wore it just thinking about him.

It got stolen by some random guy.

“I don’t know. Why the hell are you asking me anyway? You should figure out your own dating life.”

I shouted it out, my voice a bit raised, laced with irritation.

At my reaction, Seo-ah stopped walking and stood there.

“……. Why are you suddenly pissed?”

It was because of those thoughts messing up my head from earlier—I’d snapped at her without realizing.

This was probably the first time I’d ever gotten annoyed at Seo-ah like that.

And she couldn’t hide her surprise at my response.

She just stood there, frozen, staring at me with wide eyes.

“What’s wrong? Did something bad happen?”

“No… Sorry for snapping out of nowhere.”

“Is something up? Tell me. Don’t keep secrets from me! It’ll make me sad.”

Ha…

Like she said, I wanted to spill it all right then—why I was mad, what was bothering me, how much my heart hurt.

But I couldn’t.

Of course not.

If I said that stuff, this fragile bond we had—even if it was just like this—would probably end for good.

Pathetic as it was, I wanted to hold onto whatever time I could with Seo-ah.

So this relationship felt like one that could snap if I let go.

Even if I didn’t, it might keep going—as long as she didn’t cut it first.

“Fine. That project I was working on kept glitching out. I was just on edge from that.”

“Really? That’s really why?”

I shot her a glance and started walking first.

Even if it was a bond that could break if I let go, I had to cling to it.

Which meant the opposite—if I didn’t let go, it could last.

Under the condition that she didn’t pull away first.

From the moment I’d snapped, Seo-ah had stayed rooted in place.

Then, when I started moving, she hurried after me and grabbed my hand.

This hand-holding wasn’t some cute skinship.

It was just the bare minimum to stop me from walking ahead.

“I’m asking if that’s really why you got mad.”

“I said it is, didn’t I? Why do you doubt me when I say so?”

“…… Because I’ve never seen you get that angry before.”

I could feel a slight tremble in Seo-ah’s hand gripping mine.

But it probably wasn’t from excitement.

Yeah, she could grab my hand like it was nothing.

My heart pounded like it would burst, trembling at the contact, but she did it casually.

Not holding a guy’s hand—just grasping a body part of another human, same as her.

How could people be so different?

I like Seo-ah, but she likes someone else.

We’ve spent years together… How could her feelings not turn to me?

Why am I the only one who likes her this much?

She could grab my hand without a second thought like this, but with Woo-bin sunbae, she’d be careful.

The tremble and thrill I’d felt holding her hand—she’d feel the exact same when she held his.

Realizing that made even this feel awkward, so I gently pulled my hand away.

Then, against my intentions, to lighten the suddenly heavy mood, I shifted the topic.

“Probably… just being with you is nice. Doesn’t matter what you do.”

“What’re you talking about all of a sudden?”

“You asked, remember? What to do on a date. That’s my answer.”

“Yeah… I see.”

I might’ve been projecting my own feelings into that.

Because that’s how it was for me.

Being with Seo-ah was enough, no matter what.

I just assumed that guy felt the same, on my own.

Seo-ah still seemed a bit shaken from my outburst earlier, her response hesitant.

Even seeing her like that scared me.

Maybe that just now disappointed her.

Maybe it pushed her to think about ending this relationship.

That anxiety hit me hard.

I snap alone, then get scared alone in an instant.

Even I thought I looked like a pathetic idiot.

Cowardly, despicable, utterly miserable.

If I were a girl, I doubt I’d catch feelings for a guy like this.

My mental state was that fragile now.

Self-esteem down in the dumps.

“Min-jae. By any chance… is this about Woo-bin oppa?”

If I said yes, what would she do?

Why even ask me that—what was she planning?

I wondered what mindset she had throwing that question at me.

What answer did she expect?

Hell, why was she asking me this in the first place?

I’d just gotten annoyed—why jump to it being about Woo-bin oppa?

And if so, why think that?

Did she… notice something herself?

Her question left me with a ton of curiosities.

“No, why would I get upset over something like that.”

“R-Right? Good, as long as it’s not.”

But I couldn’t be honest again.

I had to pretend to be tough.

If I admitted it was about Woo-bin oppa, what came after?

The uncertainty of what would unfold next terrified me.

I didn’t know exactly what would happen, but it felt like it’d shift in a bad way for me.

I could sense it—the vibe that she’d draw a line based on my answer.

Look at her face now, relieved as hell at my response.

Even if I’d said it, she would’ve taken his side—not mine, some stranger’s over her longtime friend.

That realization made nausea surge up.

A weird queasy feeling rose in my gut.

Maybe from all the stress.

The weekend came.

It had to.

The day Seo-ah went on a date with that guy.

It was basically a date, right?

The two of them meeting up alone for the whole day.

I wanted to avoid thinking about it as much as possible, so I buried myself in my own tasks.

But that was just a temporary fix.

Whenever I had a spare moment, I grabbed my phone and checked Seo-ah’s SNS.

Wondering if she’d already met him and was having a blast.

Then, up popped a photo of her at a cafe, eating some delicious-looking cake.

F*ck.

She’d never posted stuff like this with me…

It was a scene that hit me with pure deprivation.

How could it be this cruel?

Of course, she hadn’t posted a pic with the guy.

Just the cake, nothing tagged.

It was all in my head—my victim complex turning it sour.

And this was a place we’d gone to together.

The cake jogged my memory.

The one she’d raved about back then.

Now, she was there laughing and eating cake with some other guy—not me.

It felt like even our memories were getting tainted.

Why post a pic from the place we’d gone to together?

How much more miserable did she plan to make me?

From the second I saw that photo, I couldn’t focus on work at all.

I just bolted to my bed and collapsed.

I didn’t want to do anything.

Just burrow under the covers and sleep.

I wished this time would end quick.

I wanted the old Seo-ah back, fast.

Back to those after-school walks home together.

At least then, she’d act the same as always.

That was our time.

Time I could rightfully claim with her.

I closed my eyes, hoping to wake up to the weekend over.

But the world doesn’t flow that simply.

No matter how much I shut my eyes and ignored it, Seo-ah was out spending time with him.

And that would definitely bleed into the alone time I’d hoped for between us going forward.

She’d probably chat casually about whatever they did.

I might need to brace myself for that from now on.

My heart kept stinging since earlier.

That unexplained nausea started creeping up again.

Cold sweat dripped, but I didn’t want to throw off the blanket.

That hellish weekend dragged on.

The weekend my beloved childhood friend shared happiness with another guy.