I'm sorry for loving you

Yujin stood by the hospital bed as he looked down at the figure currently lying on it. That person's eyes were shut, as if he had been in a deep and long sleep and couldn't be bothered by any sound or movement. He was Yujin's childhood friend.

At least, in Yujin's list, he, Han Chunhee, had always been that to him – nothing more and nothing less.

In truth, Yujin never truly hated Chunhee. What he despised were things that were unknown by the people who knew him or thought were close to him. The idea of an arranged marriage wasn't something he was repulsive about either, but it wasn't also as appealing as most of the people around him made it to be.

Despite all of that, however, the person on this bed… He had been in love with Yujin for a very long time.

In their childhood, Yujin remembered Chunhee giving him the same three words again and again: "I like you." When they crossed the park together, Chunhee would say "I like you!". When Chunhee ran on the field and got mud on his face, he would tell Yujin with a wide grin, "I like you!" When they played within the forest villa of Daehyun's grandparents and somehow got lost, Chunhee held his hand with a crying face and said, "I like you!"

Coming from a young person's mouth, Yujin knew they were nothing but just plain acts and words of young admiration. Simply put, a puppy crush. But as they grew older and reached puberty, Yujin was a bit surprised as he didn't expect he would again receive them from the same person. Only, this time, they came and appeared in different forms.

For example, during the ceremony before they entered junior high, Chunhee wrote him a letter. It was a very long letter where he professed his love for Yujin over and over again and thanked Yujin for being a part of his life. In the last part, he even drew a cute couple holding hands while wearing married couple attires. Of course, there was no doubt – the couple was Yujin and Chunhee.

Chunhee didn't tell Yujin how much he liked him in front of his face as he used to when they were kids anymore, but the fact remained that he still liked Yujin and he showed and expressed them vividly through other means and at any chance he could.

The most intense thing Chunhee did so far was when they reached the first year of their high school. It was then Chunhee's actions became even more peculiar and quite aggressive.

Once, when they were having dinner together with their families and their arranged marriage was brought up, Chunhee, this simple-minded and hopeless romantic person, agreed to it without hesitation. Chunhee's eyes sparkled and his smile almost reached the sky while staring at Yujin with flushed cheeks.

Yujin did not speak a word the entire time at that dinner. He could only glance around him, noting in silence how the people around him played their parts in the future creating of him and Chunhee a pair, as if they were intentionally weaving their destinies together.

And this type of orchestration… Was something that was beginning to feel annoying for Yujin.

Chunhee liked him and it was clear as day that he wanted to marry Yujin. However, Yujin didn't.

"Hn…" A soft whimpering sound came from the bed.

Yujin's thoughts halted as he stared down at the main cause of his life's imbalance recently. Whether it was inside or outside the school, Chunhee followed him and was always eager to see him. Yujin had confirmed this fact once more when he discovered Chunhee was trying to know about his schedule.

With a cold, piercing gaze, Yujin stared at the said person.

It had been a little adorable before, being liked by this person. But at this point, with his recent behavior and his shameful attitude towards other people too – all of it was beginning to annoy Yujin more and more.

Yujin glanced at Chunhee's sleeping face, deciding it would be a waste of time to talk to him for now. He had previously planned to ask Chunhee and his parents to cancel their engagement but to think Chunhee would fall from that stair before Yujin could even continue… Annoyed as he remembered it once more, Yujin walked to the door to head out. Just then, he heard Chunhee's voice which halted his steps.

"..jin… Yujin…"

Yujin glanced around and noticed that Chunhee was still asleep, despite the fact that his lips were slightly moving. Had he always been the kind of person who talks in his sleep?

Yujin froze in place, his brows furrowing ever so slightly, and his gaze becoming ice cold as he made the decision to hear what kind of nonsense things this guy would utter once more. Even his name was mentioned by him. What kind of absurd possibilities did Chunhee have running through his head at this particular moment?

However, the moment he glanced at Chunhee closer, Yujin couldn't help but halt and was completely unable to move. As Yujin listened to Chunhee's words, his eyes, which had previously been icy and uninterested, slowly began to widen and tremble slightly.

"...I'm sorry… for lo…ving you…I'm really sorry…" Chunhee mumbled in his sleep, his face wearing a sad smile. On his face was a tear that had fallen from his eye down to his cheek.

And Yujin didn't know why but he found himself moving towards the bed. Without further hesitation, without further thinking, Yujin moved to where Chunhee was.

The tear on Chunhee's cheek further trickled down until it reached the side of his neck behind his ear where there was a tattoo of a crescent moon with a star on its inner part.

Almost as if it had started to beat on its own, as Yujin began step closer until there was barely any distance left between him and Chunhee, for a brief and disappearing second, that part let out a cascading white glow.