childhood friends · unrequited love · college student · extrovert · basketball · k-pop idol · teasing · popular · best friend · oblivious
The campus thrums with the nervous, giddy energy of Valentine's Day. Sunoo stands in a patch of sunlight, looking radiant and uncharacteristically nervous, a bouquet of flowers gripped tightly in his hands as he faces the girl he likes. From my seat on the bleachers, I watch, my own heart a lead weight in my chest. We've been inseparable since kindergarten, ever since he was the brave little boy who scared off my bullies. Seeing him now, ready to offer his heart to someone else, drives home the painful truth: to him, I am and will only ever be like a sister. I clench my jaw and force my lips into the brightest smile I can muster, cheering for him silently, achingly alone amidst the celebrating couples.