"Tried so hard to be everything that you liked, just for you to say you're not the compliment type."
- enough for you, Olivia Rodrigo

The next week I busy myself with school and studying in hopes that it will go by fast. Sunwoo and I allow ourselves to be friends at school-- occasionally walking from class together and back to the house. I notice how girls stare at him down the hallways, and how he sometimes gets random dms on instagram. Many people even approach him, seemingly wanting to be friends, or more.

But Sunwoo doesn't pay any mind to them. To be honest, he's not even that polite to strangers. It's almost like how he used to be to me when we were in high school. But for some reason it's a little comforting knowing he's still the same two-faced person he is. And I don't know why.

Friday comes soon enough, and two hours before the time Marcus and I agreed to meet, I start getting ready.

Putting my shoes on, Sunwoo walks down the stairs to get dinner.

"You have a date?" he asks.

"I sure do." I tell him.

"Hm. Have fun then," he says dryly.

"Thanks. I will," I say, and he walks off. I shake my head and call a cab to the bar we planned to go to.

When I arrive, he's not here yet, so I grab a seat and scroll through my phone. After ten minutes I text him. I wait and wait, watching the people around me. I feel like a loner, sitting here alone while other couples and groups of friends drink and talk around me. I probably look ridiculous.

||

I tilt my head back, the cold drink running down my throat. I place the glass cup onto the wooden bar, tapping my fingernails against the surface.

For the 50th time I check my phone.

1 hour. It's been an hour since we agreed to meet.

I feel stupid, sitting here alone in a skin tight black dress I bought wondering if it would make a difference to Marcus. Asking myself if he'd look up from his phone or his book if maybe I just looked more to his appeal. But he's not even here.

All I want to hear from him, just once, 'you look nice.'

'you look good today, Daeun'

'I missed you.'

I rest my chin in my hand, closing my eyes for a second and letting myself breathe in the faint smell of cigars and alcohol.

Is this really what I deserve?

I hear footsteps and someone sitting in the leather stool next to me. But I don't open my eyes.

"What she's having, please." The familiar voice speaks.

"shit."I mutter under my breath, facing my head the other way as not to look at him.

"Thanks." Sunwoo nods to the bartender.

I finally bring myself to face him in all my embarrassment. And Sunwoo knows this, and I hate that he knows what he's doing to me.

Sunwoo opens his mouth to say something and closes it again.

"Don't even." I stop him. "you don't have to tell me. I know. He didn't show up again. I'm just here, alone, waiting for someone who disappoints me again and again."

"..." Sunwoo looks away from me and circles his finger around the rim of the glass. "I was going to say, you look nice."

My lips part and my eyes brim with tears.

"And I'm sorry." Sunwoo adds. "But I know you know, that you shouldn't have to go through this. You deserve better."

I stay silent.

"You deserve someone who will appreciate you. Someone who thinks about you every second of everyday no matter how busy they are." Sunwoo adds.

My phone that's sitting on the counter in the middle of us lights up. A single text.

Marcus

we should end this.

My breath hitches and I turn my phone around, the screen shutting off as it touches the bar table. But I know Sunwoo saw.

I blink and a tear runs down my cheek. i'm not even surprised. He took long enough dragging our relationship on like that, just keeping me waiting and hoping. But it still hurts, nevertheless.

I look up at the lights above the bar, trying not to cry or show any sort of emotion that Sunwoo might grab onto.

But I can't hold it in anymore. My face is covered with tears that built up ever since I started dating Marcus, pretty much.

Sunwoo stands up from his seat and pulls me closer to him. He wraps his arms around me and there's nowhere to lean except for his chest. I finally feel like I can relax in his grasp, as much as I hate it.

I sob and I expect Sunwoo to rub it in. To tell me how much Marcus sucked and how I shouldn't have dated him in the first place. But he doesn't say anything. He just stands there and runs his fingers through my hair like he used to. I hate how he makes it feel like everything will be okay when I'm with him.

When I come to my senses, and realize I'm crying over a boy I wasted my time on, I pull away from Sunwoo. He looks down at me with more sympathy on his face than I would expect.

"I know I know." I sniffle. "He's an asshole."

"No," Sunwoo shrugs, wiping a tear off my cheek with his thumb. "I was just going to say he's stupid for letting someone like you go."

I swallow. I've spent so much energy trying to resist Sunwoo, yet only now do I feel relieved when I feel like i can let him in again.

"And it's his loss, really." Sunwoo adds. "Because you look so hot tonight and he didn't even bother to call."

That only makes me cry harder when I realize I just got a text breakup.

"Ack! I'm sorry I'm sorry, that is so not helping!" Sunwoo pulls my head against his chest again. "How about we get out of here yeah?"

I nod my head and pull away. I stand up and we walk out of the stuffy bar and into the cold night.

"I hate to admit it but..." I trail off when I see a familiar face with brown fluffy hair.

"But what?" Sunwoo asks.

I stop in my tracks.

Marcus?

There he is. not in his dorm working like I thought he always was, but with his arm around another girl.

"Is that him?" Sunwoo asks, and I don't respond as Marcus walks closer. I can hear him laughing and talking with the girl.

"fuck this." I swear under my breath, and Sunwoo gapes at me.

The moment I catch Marcus looking this way, I push Sunwoo against the wall of the nearest building. I hesitate for a second but he doesn't push me away. I grab his loose black tie and pull his face closer to mine before our lips crash together.

I sense Sunwoo's eyes widening for a second before he deepens the kiss, and slides his hand to rest on my waist.

Lost in the moment of the sweet yet familiar kiss, I pull away from him slowly.

Both of us look at each other in shock, but not an ounce of regret written on our faces. Marcus and the girl walk past us, but I know he saw.

"I'm sorry I used you." I tell Sunwoo, not looking him in the eye.

"Don't be sorry." Sunwoo smirks, leaning against the wall. "You can use me anytime."

At home, in our comfortable clothes, Sunwoo and I decide to sit down on the couch for a much needed talk.

"So now are we like... dating?" Sunwoo speaks up hesitantly.

"I don't-I don't know." I say. "I'm afraid."

"Afraid?"

"Because I loved you so much then, so it made the heartbreak so much worse." I admit.

Sunwoo's face darkens. "I'm sorry. A day hasn't gone by where I didn't feel the guilt for making you feel like that. And even though I didn't prompt that kiss, I take full responsibility."

"I believe you." I say.

"A-and I think it's worth noting that we've changed since then. We were so young and being in such a strong relationship was more difficult than we would have liked to admit." Sunwoo says, and I realize how much he's matured since then.

"I agree, I just don't want us to go through that again." I add.

"... It was the right person just at the wrong time." Sunwoo says quietly.

"My old roommate told me that if it's the right person there's no such thing as a wrong time." I tell him.

"maybe. But there is such thing as a right time, and all I know is, we're given the chance to redo it. Our right time wasn't in high school... it's now." Sunwoo looks up at me, and I have nothing more to say. My fears are washed away by his confidence, that's one thing that hasn't changed.

"We can go slow." Sunwoo adds. "As slow as you want."

"Thank you." I say after a long pause.

"You have nothing to thank me for."

"No, I do." I say. "Thank you for reminding me what I deserve."

Sunwoo's face melts into a smile. "Of course." he holds out his hand and I take it. We intertwine our fingers again after all these years.

But this time, it feels different. In high school it was a burning passion that never slowed down. But it was just waiting for one thing to go wrong before it exploded into nothing.

But now it feels safe and steady. Like something that will last forever.

Sunwoo presses his lips gently on the back of my hand. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," I say, and rest my head on his shoulder. "You know I never thought I would do this again. I thought I would never feel your comfort again."

"Really?" Sunwoo grins. "I knew that fate would bring us back. There's no way we could be kept apart."

I grin. "I'm a pretty stubborn person I guess."

"Just a little," Sunwoo laughs, and I pinch his arm.

We end up watching a movie and enjoy each other's presence when I begin to think.

"I just don't know what I did wrong." I say. "With Marcus, I mean."

"Marcus?" Sunwoo says. "That guy?"

"yeah. him."

"You did nothing wrong!" Sunwoo says angrily. "He broke up with you and that's on him."

"I-it's not just the breakup." I say. "I mean the whole relationship was screwed up and I don't know what I was doing wrong."

"Still, it wasn't you." Sunwoo says. "I'm sure of it. I can sense an asshole when I see one."

"Whatever. Let's just drop it. I never want to see his face again anyway." I sigh.

Sunwoo pauses for a moment before he speaks again, "So. He was foreign."

"Are we still talking about my ex?" I ask.

"Sorry."

"Yeah. He's from Germany ." I respond.

"Oh? What did you like about him? His hair? Because mine is way better than his." Sunwoo says.

"...He was safe, I guess. Predictable, you could say." I tell him. "It just made me feel like... like everything was in control."

"I see, well I can be like that. Easy peasy." Sunwoo says quickly.

"But I'm starting to realize that also made it easier to let him go." I add. "He was too predictable. There were no sparks in the relationship."

"Never mind. I could never be like that boring ass doctor man." Sunwoo shudders.

"I know you couldn't." I rest my hand on his chest and I can feel his heart beating quickly.

If there's one thing I learned from being with Sunwoo, and from not being with him, it's that fate always plays out.