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        There was something Jungwon had to confirm. Whether whatever he felt for Jihee was the same to whatever he felt for Byeol.

How does he intend to do that? He has no idea.

Then a ball hit his face, distracting him from his thoughts. He lost his balance but luckily he managed to keep standing. His eyes, filled with annoyance, looked for the culprit who threw the ball at him and he immediately caught Sunoo's guilty ones.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to hit you on the face!" Sunoo quickly apologizes.

It was another weekend of playing basketball with his friends. Jihee was nowhere to be found just as she said so he chose to play with Jay instead. Not that he had any plans made with her nor is he worried because she's nowhere to be found.

"It's fine." Jungwon said, massaging his left cheek that had been hit by the ball. "Why did you even throw it at me? The basket is nowhere near me."

"You were spacing out so I threw the ball. What's wrong? Why are you so out of it today?" Sunoo asked, slowly approaching his best friend in order to talk to him. "You couldn't even shoot one point and that's no problem for you."

"Yeah Jungwon, you okay? Are you sick?" This time Jake asked, approaching them with Sunghoon beside him.

He smiled. "It's nothing, just thinking about some stuff sorry."

"You can go if you're not feeling well." Jay insisted.

Jungwon shook his head, smiling at them in a reassuring way. "I'm fine."

"You can sit for awhile then." Jay smiled before heading back to the court.

He sat in the bleachers, anticipating he was going to be alone but Sunghoon all of a sudden sat next to him, forcing Sunoo to join the game for a while.

"You're not feeling well also?" Jungwon asked him.

Sunghoon nods. "Yeah. Congrats by the way, heard you're joining the team next semester. What changed though? You rejected last time Heeseung asked you."

Jihee was the only reason he even agreed this time. Aside from the fact she encouraged him and never stopped reminding him that he was a great player, she only had eight months left in his reality. He wanted her to at least see him win an actual game.

"Just because." He shrugged.

"I know we've never been friends, especially since we both like Byeol but I guess there's no issue right now for us to get along." Sunghoon says, smiling at him. "I couldn't be friends with you when I was with Byeol because I was jealous but after everything Jihee told me, you seemed a lot better than what my mind made you seem."

Jungwon had a genuine smile on his face. "It's fine I understand. Yeah, let's set our differences aside, we have a lot of mutual friends, might as well get along right?"

"Yeah. Now that we're friends, is Jihee the reason why you're out of it today?" Sunghoon suddenly asked so casually. Jungwon's eyes widened, taken aback by his guess. "Jihee told me yesterday she would be gone for the weekend on a trip, I was also kind of worried when she couldn't tell me where she was going. I even saw her panic a little when I asked."

He raised an eyebrow. Jihee was usually great at coming up with excuses on short notice but the fact that she panicked when someone had asked where she was going. That did not make his worrying any better.

Jungwon leaned back, shrugging as if he didn't care about wherever she was. "I don't really care about where she is, I know she can handle herself." He tried to convince himself that but deep down he knew he didn't actually mean it.

Sunghoon chuckled, standing up. "I don't blame you."

"Hm?"

"I don't blame you for having a crush on her." He looked at him one last time before walking away to join the ongoing game.

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                 The next day, Jungwon rode his bicycle to his old family home during sunset. His grandmother was still busy with her friends but he left her a note in case she looks for him. Throughout the day he contemplated whether he should visit the house or not to check if she has gotten back from her mysterious trip.

But in the end he couldn't help it. He rode his bicycle to the place, expecting to see her there with an explanation ready for him and yet the house remained just as empty it was the past day. There was no sign of her aside from the candle that she had created with her magic. He approached it to check and he noticed a lot more wax has melted, although the candle remains tall, the top part from before was gone, the melted wax now dripping to its side.

He sat on the empty couch, placing his palm in his face as he closed his eyes.

She should be back by now, right?

What if she found something interesting in her trip and never come back?

She's fine, right?

Million of thoughts surrounded his head and they were all about her.

So when a soft hand removed his palm from his face, his mind goes blank.

He immediately got lightheaded when his eyes met her familiar golden ones as she wore a smile like no other. She truly was out of this world. 

"What's with the long face?" She asked with the usual playful tone she carried. "Jungwon? Hello? You there?" 

He stood up and out of the blue, he found himself pulling her to a hug. Something that surprised the both of them but none complained. She never knew she needed that hug so much, especially considering what she did was very tiring. All the worry he felt for the past two days slipped away when she was now in his arms because that was the best proof she was alright. 

She was fine. 

She didn't leave.

She came back to him. And that was more than enough. 

But along the hug, his eyes travelled to the candle that melted by every second that passed.

The sole reminder that it was a temporary moment. A short lived happiness. 

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AUTHOR'S NOTE :

short chap bc author is still not finished cramming