“Thanks for taking me out Jin, I had a lot of fun.” You wrap your arms around your best friend in a tight hug, just outside your apartment building.

            He chuckles softly and hugs you back tightly. “I’d take you out more often if you’d ditch that boyfriend of yours and make more time for me.” He says the words in a teasing manner, but you still smack his chest anyways because of the added sarcasm.

            “Walk me to my door please.” You ignore his statement and roll your eyes.

            “Alright, alright.” He opens the door wide so you can step through it and grabs your hand, leading you down the hallway to the elevator.

            You and Jin stop in front of your door and exchange sad smiles. You feel sad that you can’t spend more time together, but between your jobs and school there isn’t much free time to make plans. Your boyfriend Yugyeom moved in with you only six months ago and he takes up almost all of your free time. You make sure to always hang out with Jin on Thursdays while Yugyeom goes out with his friends, but it’s never enough. Jin lets out a deep sigh and looks down at you, almost frowning.

            “I’ll see you next week right?” You ask cheerfully and smile brightly up at him.

            His lips turn up into a matching smile. “Of course.” He assures you and cups your face in his hands, squishing your cheeks.

            “Jin, stop.” You whines and try to pull his hands off while he laughs at your cute expression.

            “I don’t want to.” He states childishly. “You’re so cute like this.”

            You roll your eyes and give up trying to fight against him, you know he’ll stop once he’s satisfied, which should only be a minute or so. You close your eyes and wait it out until Jin loosens his grip and stops laughing after about thirty seconds. You open your eyes and Jin’s face is serious now. His eyes are focused on your face and his thumbs are smoothing gently along your soft cheeks.

            “Jin?” He’s giving you an odd look that you’ve never seen before and it’s concerning you a little.

            “Katelyn.” He whispers your name so lightly that you barely hear him.

            “Yes?”

            He takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” He mumbles before leaning down and surprising you by pressing his lips against yours.

            You don’t react right away due to the fact that you’re so shocked that Jin is kissing you. You’ve known Jin all your life and have always been able to tell him anything and trust him with everything. You’ve been best friends since the day you met and this is the first time he’s ever done anything like this.

            “Katelyn?” A familiar voice brings you back to reality and you shove Jin away, immediately bringing a trembling hand up to your lips.

            “Yugyeom,” Your voice is filled with desperation, he saw everything. “It’s not what it looks like.”

            Yugyeom’s facial expression is a mixture of rage and hurt. He looks at you in disbelief and back at Jin who is still trying to recover from the rejection.

             “You bastard!” Yugyeom shouts and charges for Jin, grabbing handfuls of the elder’s jacket.

             Jin let out a grunt as Yugyeom smashes him against the door. The younger male stares into Jin's eyes with defiance and anger as he holds him in place. You flinch at the sudden action and back away from the two men, unsure of what to do.

             "What the hell do you think you’re doing? Katelyn is mine, hyung." Yugyeom growls through clenched teeth, spitting the honorific like a curse word.

             Jin doesn’t say anything back, instead he shoves Yugyeom as hard as he can, causing him to lose his death grip on Jin's biceps. While Yugyeom is stunned, Jin takes the opportunity to land a powerful punch to Yugyeom's jaw, sending him against the wall with a loud thud. Yugeum’s hand comes up in disbelief and his eyes widen.

             "I’ll kill you!" Yugyeom shouts and lunges at Jin again with fire in his eyes.

             Yugyeom swings his fist and makes solid contact with Jin’s cheekbone as his fist comes up to clip Yugyeom’s chin. Both boys stumble back from each other panting heavily, Yugyeom bleeding from his bottom lip and Jin’s cheek bruising already.

             “Stop!” You didn’t mean to shout, but all the nervous energy you’ve got from watching the two boys you love the most fighting each other is too much to take. Both boys look at you with a mixture of emotions. "What the hell are you two doing? Are you five year olds?" You scold them and both boys bruised faces soften at the sight of you.

             "I'm sorry Katelyn." Jin hangs his head, embarrassed that he took advantage of you and lost his cool with Yugyeom so easily.

             Your eyes turn to Yugyeom who is silently brooding with his arms across his chest. You look at him expectantly. "And what about you?" 

             Yugyeom shakes his head and shoots Jin a razor blade stare. “I’m not sorry.” He tells you. “I knew he liked you this entire time. I told you that months ago, but you denied it up and down didn’t you.” His voice is accusing and filled with an underlying sadness that makes your heart heavy. He points his finger at Jin’s chest and takes a step toward him.

             “Yugyeom!” You threaten, rushing in front of your boyfriend and stopping him with your hands on his chest.

             One of Yugyeom’s arms wraps protectively around your waist, crushing you against his chest. “If you ever touch her like that again, I’ll kill you.”

             Jin glares back at Yugyeom, hatred for the younger man who stole his girl clearly evident on his face. The awkwardness hangs heavy in the air and everyone can feel it. You aren’t really sure what to do, you’re torn between taking Yugyeom’s side, which you know you should, and forgiving your best friend.

             “Yugyeom.” You whisper hoarsely.

             He looks down at you, tearing his eyes away from Jin for the moment. “Hmm?”

             “I think you should go inside. I need to talk to Jin.” You explain softly, unable to really look him directly in the eyes.

             Yugyeom looks like he wants to say no. His big hand comes up to cup your cheek and it softly until you make eye contact with him. You see the love sparkling in his eyes and return the gaze. You’ve never doubted that Yugyeom loves you and you’ve never had doubts about your love for him.

             “You know I love you right?” Yugyeom your cheeks lightly, looking at you with a touch of insecurity in his eyes.

             You nod your head and reach up to cradle his face in your hands. “Yugyeom, I love you and nothing is going to change that.” You assure him sincerely.

             Yugyeom smiles at your words and grabs your cheeks before leaning down to kiss your forehead tenderly. You smile at the affection and drop your hands to your sides. Yugyeom smiles at again before looking up, face hardening as he makes eye contact with Jin. He points a threatening finger at Jin and narrows his eyes.

             “Don’t try anything else.” He warns the older man. “You have five minutes.”

             Jin nods his head in understanding. Yugyeom gives you one last longing glance before going into the apartment, leaving you alone with Jin. There’s an awkwardness that has never once been a part of your relationship and it feels wrong. You’re unsure of exactly what to say but you know that Yugyeom meant five minutes and that he’ll come out and get you if it takes longer than that and the last thing you need is another fight breaking out between the two of them. Lucky for you, Jin breaks the silence first.

             “Listen Katelyn,” He sighs softly and fidgets with the buttons on his black pea coat. “I crossed the line and I’m really sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

             Truthfully you should be mad at Jin for jeopardizing your three year relationship with Yugyeom. You should be furious that he kissed you against your will. But the truth is, you’re not mad at all because a part of you has always sensed that he’s got feelings for you.

             “It was wrong of you to kiss me.” You say matter-of-factly.

             “I know.”

             “It was wrong of you to hit my boyfriend.”

             Jin hangs his head. “I know.”

             You sigh deeply. “Jin, you’re my best friend, I love you like a brother and I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s true. I don’t want things to change and become weird between us because of this.”

             He takes a breath and tries to hide the pain he’s clearly feeling at being family zoned. “I don’t want anything to change between us and nothing like this will ever happen again,” he promises before a cocky smile stretches his lips. “Unless you want it to of course.”

             “Kim Seokjin!” You scold him by using his full name and smack his chest lightly. “Go home!”

             He chuckles and winks at you. “I’ll see you next week.” He calls over his shoulder as he walks to the elevator.

             You smile and shake your head. “See you next week.” You call back, still unable to believe what just happened.

             Somehow you know that matter isn’t resolved completely but in your heart you know that everything will work out in the end.