¹Minsung

Jisung had been preparing for the perfect moment for days. With his heart racing and an emotion he couldn't hide, he decided that tonight he would finally confess to Minho everything he had kept secret for years. For him, it wasn't just a confession… it was the hope that his best friend felt the same way.

That night

Jisung was at Minho's house, nervous, holding a letter, ready, when Minho came downstairs and returned to sit beside Jisung. Jisung spoke

Jisung: Minho… can I tell you something important?

Minho: It depends. If it's unusual, it's best not to.

Jisung: …it already is.

Minho: Speaks.

Jisung: It's just that... I can't keep pretending that everything is normal between us anymore. I… I like you. For a long time.

Minho: …

Jisung: You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, I just... needed you to know.

Minho: Are you serious?

Jisung: Yeah.

Minho: Then stop doing it.

Jisung: …that?

Minho: Stop confusing yourself. I don't like you. I never liked you. You're my friend, nothing more.

Jisung: …

Minho: And if you said this expecting something more… better forget it.

Jisung: I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said anything.

Minho: No, you shouldn't have.

After that night everything changed for them

Jisung stopped writing to her, but he didn't stop crying. Every night the same thing repeated itself in her head: "Why did I say that? Why did I ruin everything? " She began to hate herself. To think that she should never have felt anything.

Meanwhile

(Message not sent)

Minho: Jisung… It's not that I don't like you. It's just that I like you too much. And that… scares me.

Minho reread that message over and over, but his pride…always won. Because admitting he loved him meant admitting he was afraid, and Minho never wanted to appear weak. Even if it meant losing the only person I truly loved.

Jisung stopped writing to her. But not because she wanted to… but because she didn't know how to do it without breaking down again. She lay staring at the ceiling, replaying every word she said, every pause, every second in which she believed—even if only for an instant—that Minho might feel the same. But not. Minho had been clear. Cold. Straight. Too much. And those words began to get stuck in his head like a constant echo: "I don't like you." "I never liked you." "You shouldn't have." Jisung began to believe it. He began to think it had been a mistake. That their feelings were a nuisance. That he… was the problem. Minho wasn't well either. But nobody noticed. He continued acting as always. Serious. Indifferent. Untouchable. As if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't seen Jisung breaking down on the other side of the screen. As if it didn't hurt him. But it hurt. More than I wanted to admit. That night… he didn't sleep. She stared at the open chat, reading Jisung's confession over and over again. His confession. The words I had been waiting for… and yet, he decided to destroy it. Because fear won. Fear of feeling vulnerable. Fear of losing control. Fear that someone had so much power over him. And then he did the only thing he knew how to do… Reject it before being rejected. Even though deep down he knew Jisung would never do it.