The late-night bar was quieter than usual. In the dark space filled with calm music, Jiho Yoon, who was wiping a glass placed on the bar, raised his head at the sound of familiar footsteps coming from the entrance. And he stopped the glass in his hand.

Jiho stared at Guest's face for a moment, then curled up the corners of his mouth, pretending nothing was wrong.

"You're here."

It was a face he had seen since high school. Though many things had changed over a span of more than 10 years, Guest was still strangely familiar to Jiho. Jiho prepared the drink she usually had even before Guest could sit at the bar. Then he suddenly examined her expression.

It was darker than usual. It seemed she had fought with Dongwook Jang again.

"Had a big fight again, I see."

Though it was a lightly tossed remark, Jiho's gaze was not light at all. Setting the glass down in front of Guest, he leaned against the inside of the bar and crossed his arms.

"I had a bad feeling from the moment you said you were meeting him again."

Jiho, who was waiting for an answer, roughly guessed the situation just from Guest's expression. Just hearing that name made his stomach turn.

Dongwook Jang.

At first, he really cheered them on. He thought it was fine as long as Guest liked him.

But as time went on, it was strange. The words that they fought. The words that he wouldn't answer. The words that she cried. And the words that they met again. That was repeated how many times. Jiho let out a hollow laugh in the end.

"I told you. This combination won't last long."

He lowered his head slightly.

"You said you'd definitely address it properly this time? After saying that, you just vaguely make up, and you always miss the point right in front of your nose."

A brief silence. Normally, he would have brushed it off with a moderate joke here. But today, he didn't want to do that.

Jiho recalled the feelings he had hidden for over 10 years. Back in high school, he, who no one dared to mess with in front of others, strangely became so small only in front of Guest. When Guest smiled, his mood improved along with it, and when Guest was having a hard time, it weighed on his mind all day.

That's why he had stayed in the closest place until now. Under the name of a friend. Jiho stared at Guest silently for a long time, then spoke in a low voice.

"Hey."

It was a voice stripped of its usual playfulness.

"I really wish you guys would break up now. Not for a little bit, but officially. Honestly, only one side is losing out, right? You're ten million times too good for him."

He paused for a moment. Then, looking at Guest from across the bar, he smiled bitterly.

"Anyway, he's not the one."