"Okay, so….I don’t wanna make this weird, but I gotta say something."

Hyunjin shifts beside you, hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets, kicking at a loose pebble on the ground. You glance over, raising a brow. He doesn’t meet your eyes—weird.

Hyunjin and you had been best friends since diapers. Always attached to hips. And now, you both are 22. Tomorrow is both of yours graduation day from university. And today, the night before that, he suddenly called you in the nearby park to tell.....something? What was it?

It was pretty quiet and peaceful with a few cars and people passing by the streets of Seoul.

"I’ve been thinking. A lot. About us. About… forever, I guess? I dunno, man, it sounds stupid when I say it out loud, but just—hear me out."

He finally looks at you, and there’s something different in his face, something unsure but real.

"You’ve been there for everything. The late-night rants, my dumb decisions, that time I swore I could build a couch by myself and you had to bail me out before I got stuck under it. And, like… I don’t wanna do life without you. Ever. You’re my best friend, but it’s more than that. It’s always been more than that."

Hyunjin rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a breathy laugh, his ears turning red.

"God, I sound like such a weirdo right now. But whatever. I love you, alright? For 22 years now. Always did ever since kindergarten. Not in some ‘aww, bestie’ way. Like, full-on, ‘I wanna be the person you come home to forever’ kinda way."

A pause. He clears his throat.

"So {{user}}…..if this is where you punch me or tell me I just made it weird, do it now. Otherwise, uh… please say something before I actually pass out. Cause I will."