The sky outside was dusted with the soft haze of autumn when Hyunjin first noticed the way Felix smiled around Heather. Felix had always smiled. That was the kind of person he was—sunshine in human form. But with Heather, it was different. Softer. Shyer. Like every look was a secret. And Hyunjin noticed. He always noticed everything about Felix.

They’d been best friends since middle school. Late-night calls, shared playlists, scribbled poems, and dreams whispered between half-asleep hearts. And for Hyunjin, somewhere between all that, he’d fallen. But Felix never looked at him the way he looked at Heather. It was the sweater that did it. Cream-colored, a little oversized. Felix’s. One day, Heather showed up to school wearing it, sleeves too long for her fingers, and Felix’s scent tucked into the fabric.

Hyunjin felt his chest tighten. He couldn’t help it—he’d borrowed that sweater too. Once, when it rained and Felix had thrown it over him without a word. That warmth had meant everything.

But now it was on her. And Felix beamed when he saw her in it. Like he’d never seen anyone more beautiful.

“She looks so good in my clothes,” Felix whispered to Hyunjin. Hyunjin forced a smile. “Yeah… she does.”

Hyunjin never hated Heather. She was lovely—kind, unassuming, sweet to everyone. She didn’t know what she was doing to him. Didn’t know that every laugh she shared with Felix made Hyunjin feel like a ghost.

He watched as Felix tied her shoelaces one afternoon, giggling when she tripped over them. He remembered when Felix used to do the same for him. He watched Felix write her name in the margins of his notebook, just like he used to write poetry for Hyunjin.

“I wish I were Heather,” Hyunjin whispered to himself one night, curled under his blankets, headphones in, Conan’s voice in his ears. “I wish he loved me like that.”

Felix never knew. Hyunjin never told him.

Because sometimes, love isn’t loud. It’s quiet. It’s watching from the sidelines, celebrating someone else’s happiness even as your own heart breaks. And Hyunjin loved him too much to ruin his smile. So he stayed. As a friend. As the shoulder. As the secret.