A year passed, but the closeness that used to glue Min-jae and me has thinned into something fragile but still friends, but not the "sidekick and hero". Sometimes I laugh too loud with Woo-sung to fill the gaps. Sometimes Min-jae is the one who pulls away first, his smile never quite reaching his eyes when he looks at me.

{ The phrase "sidekick and hero" was used by Min on his first day when he first spoke to Hoon." It means Min-jae casted himself as the star and me(Hoon) as his supporting character. type of teasing.}

Now, we're tenth-graders, navigating classrooms that feel bigger, futures that feel heavier. The weight of unspoken words hangs between us like morning fog never quite clearing, never quite gone.

And then he arrived.

NEW TRASNFER STUDENT

Jin-seok

I first heard about him on first day of school, like whisper that turned into a roar. Jin-seok,  name murmured with a strange mix of awe and scandal. Rich as hell, heir to a family empire that owned half the kitchen appliances of our house. Handsome in a way that made you stop mid-step, but not like my Min-jae 😌 there was an edge, a cold confidence that sliced through the chatter like a blade through silk.

Rumor had, Jin-seok was caught in school kissing his boyfriend at his previous school. Not just kissing,passion tangled in the hallway after class, hands in hair, bodies pressed. The video had gone viral, spreading across social media faster than wildfire, tagged with everything from heart emojis to slurs. But Jin-seok? He didn't care. Not one bit.

He acts like none of it matters.Not act.he just doesnt care.

His first week, girls flocked to him like moths to a flame. Jun-hee(class mate) practically threw herself at his feet during lunch, batting her eyelashes. "Jin-seok oppa, are you sure you're not into girls? Even a little bit?"

Jin-seok barely looked "Pretty sure But thanks for the offer."

She huffed but he just went back to eating like nothing happened. The confidence was intoxicating and terrifying all at once.

Our clingy friend, Woo-sung, was the first to make real contact. Bold as ever, he marched up to Jin-seok during lunch, beaming like he'd found a new favorite toy.

"Hey! You're that guy from the videos, right? I'm Woo-sung, and this is Ji-hoon and Min-jae. if you want Come sit with us!"

Jin-seok looked us over really looked like he was calculating something. Then he shrugged, grabbed his tray, and slid into the bench beside Min-jae. When he glanced at me, there was something sly and amused in his dark eyes. I noticed Min-jae's jaw tighten almost imperceptibly.

"So," Woo-sung said, diving straight in like he always did, "what's it like being internet famous?"

"Overrated," Jin-seok replied, stabbing his kimchi. "People act like kissing someone is groundbreaking news."

"Well, it kind of is," Woo-sung said, then immediately looked panicked. "I mean..not that there's anything wrong with....."

"Relax," Jin-seok laughed, and for the first time, his smile seemed genuine. "I know what you meant."

Seok was cool, unbothered, and refreshingly blunt shooting down every giggling admirer without apology, cruel but never giving false hope either.

What surprised me most was the way he included me. Not just as part of the group, but specifically me. He asked about my art, what anime watching, what music made me feel less alone in crowded rooms. When I showed him a sketch I'd been working on a cityscape from our classroom window , he studied it seriously.

"You see things differently," he said. "Most people would just draw the buildings. You drew the spaces between them."

It started small. Jin-seok suggesting we grab coffee after club hours, just the four of us. Then sometimes just him and me, when Woo-sung had student council and Min-jae claimed he was too busy with art club.

One Thursday after school, he found me sketching on the quad steps, trying to capture the way the late afternoon light hit the old oak tree.

"Want ramen?" he asked, dropping down beside me. "Found a place nearby with the best kimchi jjigae in the district."

Before I could answer, Woo-sung came barreling over, backpack bouncing. "Group ramen date? Count me in!"

Jin-seok laughed. "You're always in, Woo-sung. That's what makes you dangerous."

Min-jae appeared a moment later, hesitant, watching Jin-seok's hand rest casually near my knee. "I guess I could eat," he said quietly.

At the restaurant, laughter crackled between us like electricity. Jin-seok teased me about my spice tolerance when I nearly choked on the first bite. He slid his soft-boiled egg into my bowl when mine broke apart in the broth.

"Here, take mine. I'm not really an egg person anyway."

Under the table, Min-jae kicked my shin. Too hard to be accidental.

{shin means front part of your leg below the knee  }

The next week, Jin-seok suggested a movie some American action thing playing at the multiplex. We claimed the middle row seats of an almost-empty theater, popcorn kernels flying everywhere during the loud scenes. Jin-seok had brought snacks his family driver dropped off: expensive chocolate and imported candy I'd never heard of.

"Perks of being a corporate heir," he joked, nudging me with his elbow. "Might as well use the privilege for something good."

When I laughed, Min-jae's expression darkened.

The following Saturday, Jin-seok texted our group chat: "Arcade? I'll pay for tokens."

We spent three hours there, crowding around fighting games and trying to win stuffed animals from claw machines. Jin-seok was surprisingly competitive, trash-talking Woo-sung during a racing game until they were both shouting at the screen. When I struggled with a rhythm game, he(jin-seok) stood behind me, hands guiding mine to the right buttons.

"Feel the beat," he said, his breath warm against my ear.

I cleared the level for the first time ever. Min-jae had disappeared to the bathroom and didn't come back for twenty minutes.

Another day, Jin-seok brought a portable Blutooth speaker to the roof during lunch. "Music makes everything better," he declared, playing everything from K-pop to American indie rock. We ended up having an impromptu dance battle, Woo-sung doing ridiculous moves that had us all crying with laughter. Even Min-jae cracked a real smile only when Jin-seok attempted some choreography and fell flat on his ass.

But I noticed the way Min-jae's eyes followed Jin-seok and me, how his laughter died a little too quickly, how he found excuses to step between us when we stood too close.

With every outing, every shared joke, every moment Jin-seok chose to include me specifically, the dynamic shifted. I felt seen by him in a way I hadn't felt seen in months he really listened when I talked, didn't shy away from my awkward silences, didn't expect me to be braver than I was capable of being.

Min-jae withdrew more each day, his jokes sharper, his presence colder as if his shadow was always positioned between Jin-seok and me like a barrier neither of us acknowledged but both of us felt.

Still, it felt good to have someone want my company, someone who didn't care if the world whispered behind their back, someone who made space for me without making me feel like I owed him something in return.

Then came the rainy Tuesday that changed everything.

I was poking around the vending machines in the old music wing, hunting for my favorite chocolate sticks and trying to avoid the steady drip from a leak in the ceiling. The building was mostly empty because clubs had been canceled due to the storm, and most students had gone straight home.

The door slammed open behind me. Min-jae stood there, soaked from the rain, his eyes wild and fists trembling at his sides.

"We need to talk," he said

Before I could ask what about, Jin-seok appeared in the doorway, smirking like he'd just won a game which I didn't know we were playing.

"Looking for Ji-hoon?" jin-seok asked, way too casual for the tension crackling in air.

Min-jae's voice dropped to a low growl. "What's your deal with him?...uhhh...uhh"

Jin-seok shrugged, water from Min-jae's clothes dripping . "We're friends. Close friends. Maybe something more, if hoon wants. That a problem?"

Min-jae rounded on him, lip curled in something between disgust and desperation. "You just came here, start sitting with us, buying us food, showing off your money, and suddenly you think you get to make moves? Did you even ask how he feels? Did you consider that maybe—"

"Should I ask you instead?" Jin-seok interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "Since you seem to have opinions about what Ji-hoon wants."

Lightning flashed outside, followed by thunder that rattled the windows. I stood frozen, clutching my drink so tightly the plastic crackled. Woo-sung was nowhere to be found probably holed up in the student council room.

It was just Min-jae, Jin-seok, and me.

"Let's get something clear," Min-jae hissed, stepping forward until he was close enough to Jin-seok that their chests almost touched. "I confessed to Ji-hoon two years ago. I loved him first. I bled for that confession. I got rejected because of all this—" his voice cracked, gesturing wildly at the space between them, "because he was scared. Because being with someone like me wasn't worth getting destroyed at school, at home, everywhere that matters."

Jin-seok tilted his head, studying Min-jae like he was a particularly interesting specimen. "And what do you want for that? A trophy? A lifetime guarantee that no one else gets to try?"

Min-jae's fists tightened until his knuckles went white. "You act fearless because you have everything money, connections, power. You kissed, the whole world talks, but you don't care because you're untouchable. Not all of us get to live like that. Not all of us can afford to be that brave.All this because of your only damn money"

Jin-seok's face hardened, the amused mask slipping. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I do have advantages you don't. But it doesn't mean you're the only one who gets to try for his heart."

Min-jae was breathing hard now, chest rising and falling like he'd been running. "You don't understand what it's like"

"You're right," Jin-seok said quietly. "I don't understand settling for fear. I don't understand giving up on someone I care about because other people might have opinions."

That's when Min-jae lost it completely.

He shoved Jin-seok hard against the vending machine, the impact loud enough to echo down the empty hallway. "You don't get to walk into our lives and act like history never happened!" he shouted, voice breaking on the last word. "You don't get to act like two years of pain doesn't matter!"

Jin-seok shoved him back, harder, sending Min-jae stumbling. His voice was ice-cold when he spoke "It doesn't mean you get priority just because you confessed first and got rejected. Maybe he said no for a reason. Maybe that says something about what he really wants."

Min-jae lashed out without warning his fist crashing into Jin-seok's jaw, fueled by raw fury, unspoken heartbreak, and two unbearable years of watching me pretend he was nothing more than a friend.

Jin-seok reeled back, touching his split lip, blood bright against his pale skin. But he didn'thit back. If anything, he looked more determined.

"Is that it?" he asked, wiping the blood with the back of his hand. "You going to hit me until I go away? Until Ji-hoon chooses you out of pity?"

He stepped forward, close enough that Min-jae could hit him again if he wanted to.

"Maybe he'll not choose you out of pain, out the fear Or maybe " Jin-seok's voice dropped to a whisper, "maybe he'll choose someone who isn't afraid, who actually goes after what he wants instead of hiding behind social norm, i have power to bend that norm of society before him.Do you have that min? "

The room felt smaller than a closet, the air thick with tension and the smell of rain and teenage desperation. I stared at both of them, heart hammering so hard I was sure they could hear it over the storm outside.

For the first time in the entire confrontation, Min-jae looked directly at me. His eyes were red rimmed, desperate, angry, and so painfully vulnerable that my chest physically hurt.

"Say something, Ji-hoon," he whispered, voice completely shattered. "Please. Just... say something."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. The words I'd been holding back for two years, the explanations, the apologies, the truth all of it stuck in my throat like broken glass.

Min-jae's face crumpled. He turned and stormed toward the door, pausing only when Jin-seok called after him.

"Hey, Min-jae."

Min-jae stopped but didn't turn around.

Jin-seok's voice was steady, almost gentle. "For what it's worth... I think Ji-hoon cares about you more than you know. Maybe more than he knows."

Then Jin-seok did something that made my world tilt completely off its axis.

"But I care only about you min-jae"

Min-jae whirled around, eyes wide with shock.

"What?"

Jin-seok took a step forward, then another, until he was close enough to touch Min-jae's rain-damp sleeve. "I said I care about you only. Not Ji-hoon. You."

The silence stretched like a taut wire ready to snap.

"I know you hate me from past 3 years," Jin-seok continued, voice softer than I'd ever heard it. "I know you think I'm some rich asshole who doesn't understand struggle. Maybe you're right about some of that. But I've been watching you for weeks, Min-jae. The way you make Ji-hoon laugh when he's sad. The way you remember what everyone likes to eat. The way you draw in your notebook when you think no one's looking and thats why am liking You more than before min jae."

Min-jae was staring at him like he'd started speaking in tongues.

"I've been trying to get close to Ji-hoon, yes. not because i like him..just to see how you behave.sorry for past mistakes i did.sorry for your family...min jae"

My drink slipped from my numb fingers, hitting the floor with a splash because all this conversation not making fucking sense to me.

Jin-seok turned to look at me, then back at Min-jae. "can't you just forget Ji-hoon? can't just you start liking me? I know I'm an asshole but I can't forget you, Min-jae."

The words hung in the air like a confession and a threat all at once. Min-jae's face went through a series of emotions confusion, recognition, and then something that looked like pure terror.

"No," Min-jae whispered, backing away until he hit the wall. "No, no, no. You can't say it here not beofore hoon. You can't—this isn't happening."

Jin-seok's confident mask finally cracked completely, revealing something desperate and raw underneath. "Min-jae, please. Just listen to me."

"Listen to you?" Min-jae's voice rose to nearly a shout. "Listen to YOU? After what you did? After what your family did to mine?"

I stood there, completely lost, watching this exchange like it was happening in a foreign language. The tension had shifted from a love triangle to something much darker, much more complicated.

"What the hell is going on?" I finally managed to say.

To be Continued..