sua

The agreement was simple.

Well, that's what Juwon initially thought.

Years ago, she and Juhoon made a promise: neither would date each other's friends.

It was an agreement made to protect each other and avoid unwanted conflicts.

Neither of them broke the promise. Neither crossed the line. And it worked.

Until a few weeks ago.

It started with Seonghyeon bringing Juwon her favorite iced tea to band practice. He said he stumbled upon it when buying groceries for his mom in the morning and bought it because he saw her drinking it every day at school. She didn't pay much attention to it. After all, they have known each other since kindergarten; he was always nice to her. This was just his usual self.

Not even two days later, he showed up at their house to hang out with Juhoon and gave Juwon those limited two-pack brownies that she had been eyeing for the past few days. She thanked him and, out of instinct, gave him a quick hug. That short, meaningless moment made Seonghyeon's heart race. Throughout the whole hangout, his mind religiously repeated that moment until he collapsed on his bed.

A week later, Juwon began noticing things. Her favorite snacks with notes like "I hope you'll love these :)" or "I saw you eating these during lunch so I thought you would like some more!" were on the bed every time he came over. Whenever she looked in his way, he would immediately look away. She noticed that his touch lingered a little longer than needed when she passed him her guitar.

But Juwon also noticed that her heart burned whenever his fingers brushed her hand, that her thoughts wandered towards him throughout the day for no reason. And that terrified her. She slowly realized: she was falling for her brother's friend. And if Juhoon noticed, it would probably raise a conflict between them.

So now whenever he came over, she wouldn't walk out of her room until she was sure he left. At school, she stuck with Hyein the whole day and walked the opposite way when he passed by. She was too scared to even think about him at this point.

One day after Seonghyeon had left, Juwon poked her head out of her door, checking if he was really gone. "He's gone." She whispered. "What are you doing?" Her brother's voice startled her, making her lose her balance and fall flat on the floor. "Nothing." She jumped up.

Juhoon's face narrowed. "Are you okay, Juwon?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"You just stuck your head out the door like some spy and said, ' He's gone."

"Oh, that…"

Suddenly, the front door opened. "Hey, I just realized I forgot my phone-" Seonghyeon stood on the doorway, halting in his steps when he noticed Juwon. She immediately looked down.

Juhoon, who didn't seem to sense a thing, walked to the living room. "No problem, I'll help you find it."

Seonghyeon still stood in the doorway. When Juwon looked up at him, she could see disappointment—no, regret—reflected in his eyes. "Sure." He moved past her, their shoulders brushing slightly.

After that day, he didn't take secret glances at her during band practice; he didn't acknowledge her existence at all. And as much as Juwon should've felt relieved, she didn't. Instead, regret crept into the back of her mind. Seonghyeon is one of her childhood friends, and she completely ignored him and treated him like a stranger. She's going to lose a lifelong friendship because of her stupid fear.

For days, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't fall asleep. Whenever her eyes closed, an image of regret on his face appeared. And it made her chest burn. It made her feel awful. How could she act that way towards him?

One night, after turning in bed and adjusting her pillow countless times, she had had enough. In only her pajamas and slippers, Juwon jumped out of her bed and quietly made her way out of her house. She had to talk to him, apologize for the way she acted, and fix whatever she had done. After a few minutes, she reached his house. When she made it to the back, with cautious steps she climbed up to his window.

Her hand reached for the glass, but she didn't knock yet.

With a deep breath, she knocked softly on the window. Suddenly, a loud thud was heard from the inside. "What the-" his voice echoed. The curtains drew open. Seonghyeon's brows drew together as he looked at her, and just as Juwon was about to tell him to open the window, the curtains closed.

She knocked again. "Seonghyeon, please. Let's talk." Nothing.

"Please, just hear me out, and then I won't bother you again! Please…" Silence followed again. When Juwon was about to give up, the curtains opened again. She could hear him mutter, " Fine," before he opened the window and let her in. "I'm listening."

"Seonghyeon, I am so, so sorry for the way I acted towards you. I know this won't erase what I did, and I am not asking you for forgiveness. I was being immature, and you didn't deserve to be treated that way when the only thing you showed me was kindness. Fear took over me, and I thought it would be better if I just ignored you. I thought it would erase the feelings I had for you. But it didn't. It just made it all worse. For both of us."

A bitter laugh escaped his mouth. "You ignored me for a whole week, Juwon. You think I didn't notice when you wouldn't walk out of your room until I left? Or that you would purposely walk past me whenever I approached during practice? I thought I did something wrong or that you started to hate me. I felt— no, I still do—feel like an idiot for trying to show you I love you." His voice turned into a whisper before he muttered the last words.

"Seonghyeon, I-" she stopped. Until now, she didn't realize how deeply she had hurt him. Instead of saying anything, she stepped closer, her hands slowly finding his.

"I should tell you the real reason for the way I acted." Before she continued, a tear slowly fell down her cheek. "Years ago, Juhoon and I made a promise to each other. We wouldn't date each other's friends. We did it so there would be no conflicts, and so none would get hurt."

"But it did create a conflict." He replied.

"Yes, it did. And it was all my fault, and I'm sorry." Another tear slipped.

"Juwon, let me be your boyfriend. I know that you don't want to break your promise to Juhoon. But ignoring our feelings is going to hurt us both more than him being mad about it."

He was right. These past few weeks have been insufferable, and as much as Juwon didn't want to disappoint her brother, she couldn't just ignore her feelings. It wasn't really effective either way.

She nodded slowly before muttering, "Yes." With that, she closed the distance between them, embracing him in a tight hug. "I think I should head home now." She whispered as she broke the hug.

But before she could turn away, his hand reached for hers. "Wait." His other hand gently pushed a few stray strands of hair from her face and then cupped her cheek. His gaze dropped from her eyes to her lips, then back up. She gave him a small nod, and in that moment he slowly leaned in, closing the distance between them.

He didn’t kiss her like it was the first time. He kissed her like he’d been waiting his whole life for this exact moment. Juwon's hands wrapped around his neck, pulling him in just a little bit more.

They pulled back just an inch, resting their foreheads together while they caught their breath. "I should really go now." Her hands slowly slipped from the back of his neck, trailing reluctantly down his shoulders before they dropped to her sides. She didn't want to move, but she forced herself to take a slow, half-step back, meeting his eyes one final time before slipping out the window.

Juwon and Seonghyeon had been dating for a whole month. It was a blur of lunch hours on the school's rooftop and stolen glances across the noisy band practice room. He would sneak into her room at 1 am with the excuse "I missed you," even though they saw each other a few hours ago. She would scold him for coming in so late but still left her window open every night.

One night, around midnight, they lay curled under her blanket. They had been laughing about some weird video Keonho sent in the band group chat. As the video continued, Seonghyeon let out a teasing comment a little too loud. They both froze, and Juwon gave him a quick glare. Suddenly, a knock echoed from the other side of the door. "Juwon, is everything alright?" It was Juhoon's voice.

Adrenaline pulsed through Juwon's body. She quickly pulled Seonghyeon from her bed and pushed him to the window. He winced quietly as he hung from the window stool. "Everything's fine." Her voice hinted at nervousness. "Are you sure?" The door opened with a creak. Her voice was calm despite the slight trembling of her hands. "Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't it be?" She rushed to the door before he could enter and pushed him out firmly. "Everything's fine. Go back to sleep!" When she was sure that he left, her legs immediately ran towards the window. Her head popped out slightly as she whispered. "Seonghyeon, are you alright?" He pushed himself up and climbed in. "You didn't have to push me like that, you know?" He teased. "Sorry." She whispered back, her expression sheepish. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll go now, good night, love." And with that, he slipped out, leaving Juwon dumbfounded. "He called me love." A wide smile plastered across her face as she buried her face in her pillow. "He called me love!" Her feet kicked joyfully.

The sunset cast warm light over the pavement. Some kids were laughing in the distance, and a dog barked after a cat that rested on the sidewalk. Juhoon was at Martin's; they were trying out some new game he bought. So Juwon and Seonghyeon thought it would be a good idea if they watched a movie at her house. Their hands were linked as they made their way to the doorway. "When are we gonna tell him?" He turned to her slightly. "Soon, I promise." She replied, pushing the door open. They stepped into the house, but froze the second their eyes landed in the living room. Hyein, Juwon's best friend, and Juhoon were sitting on the couch, giggling like kids with their hands intertwined. Hyein's face turned pale when she spotted her best friend at the door. Juhoon seemed to notice and turned around; his jaw dropped open when he spotted his sister holding hands with his best friend.

The room stayed silent for a few moments. No one dared to make a move until Juwon finally decided to break the tension. She spoke, her voice echoing calm even though her hands trembled lightly. "What are you two doing together?"

"I could ask you the same question." Juhoon immediately replied.

Again, silence.

The twins looked at each other, and then both burst out laughing. "This is so stupid," Juhoon rubbed his temples.

"Yes, it really is."

Their simple agreement was now long forgotten. Both couples sat in the living room, awkwardness was still there, but laughs and teasing words overtook.