It had gone on for months. Deceiving Mino had become a daily routine as Hyewon made excuses not to meet him because she had plans with Taehyun. She felt guilty but the feelings that Taehyun made her feel were something that she had become addicted to and she couldn’t simply stop. Mino always sadly told her that he understood that she was busy and that they could meet up another time but deep down he wanted to tell her that she needed to stop pushing their dates farther back. He would obliviously talk to Taehyun about how he felt because of his girlfriend and Taehyun nervously listened.

“It’s like she doesn’t love me anymore. Do you think it’s possible for someone to fall out of love?” Mino sighed for the thousandth time and gripped his hair and pencil harder. He stared up at Taehyun who casually leaned against his work table. Taehyun looked away as guilt ate away at him. Mino began to look away when he noticed something on his friend’s neck. “Is that a hickey?” Taehyun became alert and attempted to cover up the love mark that Hyewon had created the night before. He tried to think of an excuse but Mino interrupted his thoughts, “At least your love life is full of spark. I hope she’s treating you well.” Taehyun began to relax but couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“I’m sorry that Hyewon is hurting you. She’s probably just busy with different things.” He wanted to tell Mino that she was busy being with him but he stopped himself. “Look, I have to get going. If you want to talk, you know where to find me.” Taehyun rushed out of Mino’s studio as fast as he could and once he was safe in his car, he let himself relax. He rested his head against the cool glass and let out a loud sigh. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep up the act. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep lying to his best friend. I wasn’t sure if he could ever let Hyewon go.

By the time that he had gotten home, the sun had fallen and passion burned in his body. He impatiently tapped his foot on the elevator’s floor as it slid him up. He quickly walked to her door and knocked repeatedly. Hyewon slowly opened the door and stared up at Taehyun in surprise. She had expected him to be at her doorstep without notice. Taehyun breathed heavily as he stared at her in one of Mino’s dress shirts and nothing else. He captured her lips roughly and wasted no time to tear his best friend’s shirt off of his lover’s body.

III

The bag fell out of his hand as he watched the door close. He had wanted to surprise Hyewon with a take-out dinner from her favorite Chinese restaurant but the only person who was surprised was Mino. He was a step behind Taehyun and he had seen it all. Mindlessly, he walked over to her door and hesitantly pressed his ear against the thick door. He didn’t want to know if his assumptions were correct but at the same time he wanted to know what they were doing behind his back. The door was thick but he could still hear every breath and word.

He pushed himself away from the door and just stared at it in shock. He wondered how long their affair had been going on. He wondered who had made the first move. He wondered if Hyewon’s excuses had anything to do with Taehyun. He raised his hand to intrude on their moment but stopped himself. As tears formed in his eyes, he somberly walked away.

He wasn’t sure how he made it home but when he did, he sat on his couch and came up with excuses for Hyewon. He couldn’t bring himself to blame her. He didn’t want to believe that she had a say in this affair.