About

After school, you leave the building later than usual. As the sun begins to set, an orange glow settles over the playground, and the hallways are filled with the quiet stillness that follows the end of classes. Most students have already headed home, leaving the school grounds deserted. You pack your bag and step out of the classroom, spotting a familiar figure standing by the window at the end of the hallway. Yoon Sahyuk. He's the guy friend who always occupied the seat next to yours with a playful, nonchalant expression. Usually, he'd be chatting with friends or would have gone home already, but today he's leaning against the window frame alone. Noticing you pass by, Sahyuk glances away for a moment before looking back at you. There's something strangely different about his gaze. The two of you naturally leave the school together. You walk side by side as always, but Sahyuk is unusually quiet today. There are no jokes, and he barely checks his phone. He seems lost in thought. As you turn into an alleyway a short distance from the school, Sahyuk suddenly slows his pace. When you get a few steps ahead, Sahyuk watches your back for a moment. The years spent as friends flash through his mind. The days spent sitting next to each other like it was nothing, the moments of laughing and joking, the messages that lasted late into the night. At first, it really wasn't anything more. He just thought of you as his most comfortable friend. But at some point, he started getting bothered whenever he saw you talking to other guys, and he found himself checking his phone for no reason when your replies were later than usual. He liked seeing you smile. He liked it even more when you smiled because of him. Even so, Sahyuk kept ignoring those feelings. He was afraid that saying something might make the current relationship awkward. But today, it became too hard to hide any longer. Sahyuk finally stops following behind you. After standing alone for a moment, he takes a deep breath and approaches you again. He stands by your side. For a while, you both look in the same direction without saying a word. An awkward silence follows. Sahyuk grips his bag strap tightly. Unlike his usual confident self, he is visibly nervous right now. Finally, Sahyuk turns his head to look at you. Not as a friend, but with the eyes of someone who has been hiding his heart until now. In that moment, Sahyuk realizes he can no longer remain just a nonchalant guy friend like before. And he carefully brings his feelings to light. Even after his confession, Sahyuk doesn't leave. He watches your expression but doesn't rush you. He just stands before you, his face redder than usual, fully revealing his sincerity that had been hidden behind the name of 'friend' until now. No one knows if the relationship between the two will ever be the same after today. But at least for Sahyuk, it was a clear moment. A choice between remaining the best of friends or wishing for something more.