#chasingcupidsohee

Throughout the semester, Sohee had been diligently working to capture Arang's attention, and she, in turn, had responded positively to his efforts. He was convinced that a confession from her was imminent.

"Here!" Arang exclaimed, handing Sohee the paper bag. "These are homemade chocolates. I made them extra special," she added with a beaming smile.

"Oh," Sohee blushed, taking the bag containing the sweet treats. "T-Thanks, I mean these are nice, and I—"

"Make sure Seunghan gets these, okay? I wrote a little note there. I hope it's enough to express my feelings for him," she interjected, abruptly cutting him off and shattering his illusions of her affections toward him.

Forced to put on a smile, Sohee responded, "Sure. I'll give it to him." With that, Arang left, leaving Sohee grappling with the disappointment of unrequited love. He sighed, staring at the paper bag with a mixture of annoyance and resignation. "Jeez," he muttered, only to be interrupted by the gaze of his best friend, Seunghan, who was watching him.

"I thought she was confessing?" Seunghan inquired, observing Sohee's deflated demeanor and noticing the paper bag in his hand, which bore his own name.

Understanding the situation, Seunghan gave Sohee a consoling pat on the shoulder. "Times are tough," he commented with empathy.

"You don't even eat chocolates," Sohee retorted, irritated by Seunghan's nonchalant attitude toward the numerous admirers he had at school. "Can you get a girlfriend already? I feel like the girls are only using me to get close to you."

Laughing, Seunghan replied, "You're the one ignoring all the red flags they're showing you. You're blinded by the romance."

"Romance? That's why I'm here! I'm here for romance! I was born to be romantic. I was born to be loved!" Sohee declared with such force that it drew the attention of everyone nearby. Unfazed, he continued, "We're in our last year of high school. I. JUST. WANT. A. GIRLFRIEND. WHO. LOVES. ME." He whined, facing Seunghan with desperation.

"You'll find her eventually," Seunghan assured him, but Sohee continued to sulk as they made their way to their classroom.

Amidst the class discussion, Sohee couldn't shake off the lingering disappointment that the girl he harbored feelings for had eyes only for Seunghan. It was a familiar scenario for him – nobody appreciated him for who he was; they only showed interest because of his close friendship with Seunghan. He sighed, his gaze shifting surreptitiously to his best friend who was absorbed in the lesson.

'That sharp jawline, perfectly shaped lips, his piercing gaze, his perfectly shaped eyebrows, his height… and Seunghan was incredibly smart. The only downside is that he doesn't care about the girls who like him…' Sohee's thoughts seemed like a litany of admiration, though his face appeared to be resentful. In reality, all he could think about were Seunghan's positive qualities.

Even during basketball practice, Sohee's energy was lacking. He played half-heartedly and found himself benched by the coach. The efforts he had put into garnering attention, making the girl happy, and ensuring her laughter and appreciation – all seemed futile.

"Thought Arang was going to confess to you?" Woo-sung asked, sitting beside Sohee and sensing the palpable heartbreak. "Looks like she didn't."

Sohee remained silent, turning his gaze to Woo-sung with vacant eyes. "Jeez, Sohee. Why don't you confess to her instead? What if you're just overthinking?"

"Confess to her?" Sohee blinked, snapping back to reality. "I've never thought of it," he admitted, shifting his attention to Seunghan on the adjacent bench. "Hey, Seunghan. I'm going to confess to Arang. What do you think?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Seunghan retorted coldly. "You'll end up getting hurt."

"Come on! What if she's just waiting for me to tell her? What if she knew that you don't like chocolates, and these chocolates were actually for me?" Sohee's spirits lifted momentarily. "Come on!"

Seunghan sighed, rolling his eyes in annoyance before turning to Sohee. "… No."

"Come on, Seunghan. Why don't you just give your friend a push?" Woosung interjected, but Seunghan remained silent, making his way outside the gym. Sohee, now consumed with thoughts of confessing to Arang, followed closely behind. "Jeez, I hate that bastard," he muttered under his breath.

"Come on, today's gonna be the day, Seunghan! It's now or never!" Sohee pleaded with Seunghan to join him at the music club where Arang was rehearsing for her upcoming recital. "My heart's going to explode if I don't tell her how I feel. I really want to know how she feels about me."

Seunghan, annoyed, halted and turned to Sohee. He wanted to berate Sohee for his desperate romantic pursuits, but witnessing his best friend's obvious and hopeless infatuation was a painful sight. He sighed, reluctantly agreeing, "Fine. I'll go, but I won't show up."

"Sure." Sohee beamed, expressing gratitude for Seunghan's reluctant support.

…

"Sohee! You're here!" Arang exclaimed upon seeing Sohee at the door. She glanced around before turning back to Sohee. "Where's Seunghan?" she inquired.

"Uh, he went home," Sohee replied, his nervous smile betraying his excitement. Gazing at Arang, he was captivated by her long black hair, small face, big boba eyes, and doll-like lips – a perfect combination of beauty. In addition to her looks, she possessed a remarkable singing voice. Sohee handed her the flowers he had picked from the school garden. "These are for you. You like tulips, right?"

"Oh wow. Are these from Seunghan?" she asked, smelling the flowers. "These are so pretty…"

"Actually, those are from me. I want to say that I like you a lot, Arang! I really do!" Sohee declared with an earnest voice, ensuring his sincerity reached her. Excitement, anxiety, and happiness flooded him as he professed his feelings to Arang. His cheeks and ears reddened with the intensity of his emotions.

In this hopeful moment, Arang appeared delighted with the flowers until…

"What the hell…"

Sohee did a double take upon hearing those words. Confusion crossed his face as Arang's expression drastically changed from moments earlier.

"W-What?" Sohee stammered.

"This is so embarrassing," she muttered, flicking her hair aside and glaring at Sohee. "What? You like me? Can't you hear yourself? It's disgusting!" She snapped, her words echoing through the music room, drawing the attention of other students.

"Wait, did I make you mad? I'm sorry," Sohee apologized, struggling to comprehend the abrupt turn of events. The sweet, kind, and gentle Arang he knew was now replaced by a scarily resentful version.

"How stupid can you get?" she snapped. "Do you know how much I endured just to talk to you, to endure that hideous smile every time you see me just to get close to Seunghan? Gosh! So annoying!" Arang spat out her frustration.

"Y-You don't like me? I thought…" Sohee continued to stammer.

"I hate you! I don't like you!" She yelled, ready to slap the flowers he brought when she noticed Seunghan standing against the wall, observing the whole scene. Swiftly, Arang changed her demeanor, patting Sohee's head and thanking him for the flowers. "You're so sweet. Thank you for this," she giggled, leaving Sohee terrified and emotionally wounded.

"Lee Sohee," Seunghan called, and Sohee, without uttering a word, ignored Arang and headed toward Seunghan. "You alright?" Seunghan inquired, noticing his friend on the verge of tears.

"Seunghan! There must be a misunderstanding," Arang seized the chance to explain herself. "H-How long were you standing there?"

Seunghan ignored her, but she gripped his arm. "Seunghan! I like you," she confessed. However, as she looked at his face, she gasped and started to cry. The intensity of Seunghan's expression was something she hadn't seen before.

"I hate girls like you," Seunghan said in the coldest tone, leaving Arang devastated. He walked away with Sohee, who was purely crushed by the unfolding situation.

They didn't exchange words; Seunghan refrained from mentioning his prior warning to spare Sohee's feelings. He could sense the depth of Sohee's feelings for her, and his emotions were undeniably genuine. Deciding to bring some comfort, Seunghan bought him ice cream before heading home. Sohee remained silent as he was served a generous portion of strawberry chocolate ice cream overload. Seunghan hoped the sweetness would offer solace to his devastated friend.

"You should tell me that you warned me," Sohee finally spoke, shoving a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

"I'm not gonna say that. At least, you got to share your feelings, but…" Seunghan was interrupted as Sohee sighed heavily.

"This ice cream is good," he mumbled. "And, I was more shocked when she talked to me rudely," Sohee commented.

"So, will you be okay?" Seunghan inquired, aware that it would take time for Sohee to move on. Arang had been his crush for three months, dominating his thoughts until this unfortunate revelation. "I mean, try not to find love for a while, you know?"

Seunghan turned to look at Sohee, finding him sitting next to him with an angry expression. Cheeks stuffed with ice cream, Sohee held the spoon tightly before slamming it back on the table.

"Hey, Lee Sohee," Seunghan said, but he became even more confused when Sohee abruptly stood up and stormed out of the cafe. Seunghan followed him quickly, noting that it was unusual for Sohee to leave his food unfinished. He caught up and witnessed a girl being harassed by a group of thugs – four intoxicated men hitting on her and touching her inappropriately.

Sohee took a deep breath and yelled loudly at them, grabbing the men's attention. "Leave her alone!" he demanded.

"S-Sohee, I think we should just leave," Seunghan began to feel uneasy when the men approached him. "Hey! Sohee!"

"I got this." Sohee sternly said, clenching his fist. "I didn't learn taekwondo for nothing." He smirked, skillfully evading a straight punch by shifting his body to the left. He then punched the first man in the gut, swung his leg to hit the second on the side, and back-kicked the third, landing a painful blow to his crotch. The last one was still holding onto the girl's arm. "You! Get lost!" Sohee commanded.

"You want a piece of me?!" the scrawny man spat but was instantly knocked out by a punch from Seunghan.

"Whoo! Attaboy!" Sohee cheered for Seunghan, not accustomed to seeing him in physical altercations. After the scuffle, Sohee approached the girl to check on her, but she winced in fright, closing her eyes to avoid him. "S-Sorry… Please be careful on your way," Sohee politely said, heading back to the cafe.

Seunghan, ahead of him, was about to re-enter the cafe when he noticed Sohee halting his steps.

Sohee stopped when he felt someone tug on his blazer. Slowly turning, he saw the girl from earlier, gripping the hem of his blazer with small hands, panting from chasing him. She lifted her head, and their eyes met.

Sohee's heart raced as he locked eyes with her. Almond-shaped eyes, a small yet tall nose, and cherry-like lips adorned her face. A natural brown wavy bob complemented her pale complexion. She was like autumn in human form.

"I… I want to say that…" she began shyly, her voice sounding like a sweet song. "Thank you… Thank you for saving me earlier," she expressed.

"Oh…" Sohee could only manage that word. Despite his resolution not to fall for anyone after Arang, his heart unexpectedly swelled with happiness. He had found someone new to love. "It's not a big deal. I hope you're not hurt!" he tried to lighten the mood with a laugh.

The girl smiled tenderly at him. "I'm not. Thank you so much!" She let go of his blazer and walked away.

Seunghan joined Sohee, asking, "What was that?"