"You should tell him." Heeseung folds his arms over his chest as he sits across from her, along with the other five guys who seemed to be excited about it all. "I'm sure he feels the same."
"How are you so sure?" You mutter, fidgeting with a loose thread on your sleeve, your eyes darting between the encouraging faces of your friends gathered around you.
"He looks at you like you're his entire world. I've seen it more times than I can count."
"You're not making this any less nerve-wracking, you know," you admit, letting out a nervous laugh.
"I just think it's pretty obvious. You two practically have your own language of inside jokes and glances. Plus, you practically spend all your free time together."
The rest of the group nods in agreement, their expressions ranging from playful to genuinely supportive.
Sunghoon pokes Sunoo, who's sitting next to him, and whispers loudly enough for you to hear, "Remember that time Jay got drunk and told us he'd fight the world for Y/N? Yeah, that was pretty telling."
Sunoo chimes in, his voice gentle, "And don't forget the time they both disappeared at the party, and we found them two hours later in the backyard, stargazing and giggling."
Jungwon adds with a grin, "Yeah, that was definitely a 'we're more than just friends' moment." Your cheeks flush at his words.
"Remember when she was so stressed during finals week? Jay stayed up all night helping her cram for that chemistry exam." Jake speaks, making sure you know how much Jay cares about you.
"And then she aced the exam while Jay fell asleep the next day." Laughter ripples through the group again, and you can't help but feel incredibly lucky to have these friends in your life.
"So, what's your plan?" Heeseung asks, suddenly all business. "Are you going to tell him how you feel?"
You nod hesitantly, making them all stand up and celebrate as if you've just won a championship game. And the next day, you decide to confess to Jay after three years of liking him.
As you stand in front of your mirror, adjusting your outfit for what feels like the hundredth time, your heart races with both excitement and nervousness.
Your palms are sweaty, and you can't help but second-guess yourself. What if this changes everything? What if it ruins the beautiful friendship you've built over the years?
But the guys' encouragement and reminder of the things you were too blind to see make you believe that this is the right step to take.
You recall the countless moments when he gave up on everything just to be with you, or when your car broke down one night and you found him at your door, drenched from the rain, ready to help.
You walk downstairs to find the boys waiting for you before you take a deep breath and call Jay. "Put him on speaker," Heeseung suggests, fidgeting with his fingers as if he's the one about to confess.
Nodding, you dial Jay's number, the sound of your own heartbeat almost drowning out the ringing. "Hello?"
"Oh, Jay, hi," You say, trying to sound casual despite the rapid beating of your heart. "Where are you?"
"I'm heading to the park, and you?" He asks and you turn around, exchanging quick glances with your friends, who are practically bouncing in excitement.
"I'm on my-" Before you get to finish your sentence, the sound of a car crash interrupts the conversation, followed by a moment of shocked silence. "Hello?"
But all you can hear on the other end of the line is a faint murmur of voices and distant sirens. "What is- Jay!" Heeseung snatches the phone out of your hand, his fingers trembling.
His face turns pale, and his eyes widen in shock as if he's receiving news that's impossible to comprehend. With a shaky hand, he ends the call, his gaze meeting yours with both disbelief and sorrow.
And before you know it, the seven of you are running out of the house and to where Jay lay sprawled on the pavement, a scene that seems like a cruel twist of fate.
As you draw nearer, the sight becomes painfully real. And there, just a short distance away, is a mangled wreck of what used to be a car.
You put your hands over your mouth, the tears streaming down your face unchecked as you witness the devastating scene in front of you. You can hear everyone sobbing, the raw emotion of the moment almost overwhelming.
But when you turn to Heeseung, he's standing there, frozen, his hand balled into fits and his knuckles turning white.
Paramedics rush around Jay, carrying him on a stretcher while you approach them, realization hitting you hard. "J-jay..." You call, trying to push them off him, to be closer to him. "Please, n-no-!"
"Y/N-" Jake holds you in his arms, tightening his hold on you as if trying to stop you from collapsing. His voice is strained and his body wracking with each sob that leaves his lips. "He's going to be o-okay."
Tears blur your vision as you clutch his shirt, hoping against hope that Jake's words will come true. It's as if time has frozen in this moment of crisis, and your heart feels like it's being squeezed into a vice.
Then before you realize it, you're standing behind the glass wall while staring at the doctors and nurses trying to save Jay. You whisper his name over and over, your voice a desperate plea to the universe to keep him safe.
Until the sound of the heart monitor begins to wane, its rhythmic beeps slowing into a haunting silence that seems to fill the entire room. The world stops. It's as if the air has been sucked out of your lungs, leaving you breathless and numb.
Your desperate whispers and pleas turn into heart-wrenching sobs. Everyone is on their knees, united in their grief, shedding tears for the friend they had loved so deeply.
"N-no-" You shake your head, not able to process that the love you didn't even get to fully express has been abruptly taken away. It's a realization too painful to fully grasp, that moments you took for granted can vanish in an instant. "Why-!"
Heeseung's numb gaze lifts, his words choked with pain. "I don't... I don't understand... it wasn't supposed to..."
The weight of the tragedy has left everyone grappling for answers that may never come. There's no easy explanation for why life can be so merciless.
You wondered what would go wrong on the day you decided to confess your love to Jay. You thought that rejection was the worst-case scenario, never imagining that this kind of heartbreak was even a possibility.
The pain of not having the chance to fully express your feelings to Jay weighs heavily on your heart, like an unfinished symphony that will forever remain incomplete.
The questions you ask – the "why" that lingers – may never receive answers. And the love you couldn't express in time now becomes an ache that throbs in your chest.
A void that will never be filled, a missing piece that will always linger in your heart.
