A/N: listen, i have no idea how these things work, so i'm improvising. if it's vastly different, then oh well. LET'S DO THIS.

The day finally came, and Nari was a nervous mess.

Sure, she decided to send those letters by herself, but that didn't mean she was terrified. She had contemplated the meaning of her life in the staff room while her coworkers wondered if she was okay, screamed into the pillow at night, chewed off her fingernails out of anxiety, and tested how long she could hold her breath underwater to see if it hurt if she ever tried to drown herself (not that she wanted to drown).

When the 13th of February finally came, she got dressed with trepidation. Her anxiety only grew as she pried Taehyun's letter from between the books on her shelf and reread it, wanting to keep every word committed to memory.

The day before, she had gone to the library, wanting a bit of rest after a busy week filled with assignments, projects, and of course her teaching job. It was rapidly coming to a close and she was going to miss those crazy kids, but she knew where she was applying once she graduated. That very school, filled with memories of the kids she had come to adore, and of course, the feeling of wanting to be close to Taehyun.

When she had arrived at the library, eager to curl up in the same spot she always did, the corner armchair Taehyun often sat in, but the librarian called her over to the table. Confused, she did, and the middle-aged lady handed her a sealed envelope.

"What's this?" she asked, taking it. The librarian simply smiled, watching her examine the envelope and gasp, a wide smile spreading across her face, when she recognized the handwriting of the person who had written 'to Kim Nari' on the front.

She looked at the librarian. "He was here?" she exclaimed, eyes sparkling with delight and tears beginning to well up. "He wrote this?"

"He was always here, wasn't he?"

Nari was already sitting at the nearest couch, tearing the envelope open with haste, but removing the letter with infinite care. She unfolded the paper, reading it first with a smile, thinking, I missed him so much, but by the time she reached the end of the short letter, she was in tears.

That was why she found even more resolve to go. The fact that after so long spent wishing for even a glimpse of him, she would get to see him, talk to him.

The afternoon of the 15th of February, she drove to the high school she had spent three years of her life studying in, and couldn't deny the rush of elation and nostalgia she felt as she saw where a majority of the worst—and best—three years of her life had been spent.

It still stood tall with three buildings, and her eyes automatically landed on the third set of windows on the side of the building on the far left, the six floor, as it always had in her last year of school. Her third-year classroom, where she started her journey on getting better, and spent days in preparing for those horrible huge exams.

Then her eyes landed on the first floor, the last set of windows, where her second-year classroom was. She was tempted to go visit it first, but told herself she would stick to the plan she and Lee Nayoung had made. After they graduated, the two reconnected and remained good friends.

First, though, she and all the alumni had to go to the auditorium, for a little welcome ceremony, and then...the exploration would begin.

***

"So, where to first?" Nayoung asked, looping her arm through Nari's. "Should we stick to the plan we made?"

"Yep, to the first-year class it is!" Nari declared, hiding the anxiety coursing through her. She had seen a man with long, silver-streaked hair go up the stairs with another girl. Though it had been a while since she last saw him, she was sure she was watching Choi Beomgyu.

The boy had also attended the same high school, though they were never in the same class or clubs. They had of course seen each other occasionally but did nothing more than meet eyes briefly and smile awkwardly. Their friendship was far beyond broken, and both of them were too prideful to try to fix it.

Nayoung started recounting a few stories from their school life, making her laugh, as they crossed through the school to the building on the far right, to the fifth floor, where their first-year classroom had been. Nari spotted a balcony tucked into the corner of the corridor, and her heart gave an odd twist, a familiar one that used to hurt but didn't anymore. It was where Yeonjun had broken up with her.

Shaking off the memory, she followed Nayoung to the classroom, which they didn't go inside, feeling like intruders to some extent. It no longer looked like theirs after something like five years, with brand-new posters and quotes stuck on the walls. Nari saw the seating arrangement stuck near the door.

"Remember how we would drive Ms. Jung crazy?" she pointed it out to Nayoung. "We would somehow find a way to make her realize that the current seating arrangements did not help our problem of never shutting up."

"And I was one of those people with the problem, wasn't I?" a familiar voice laughed behind them. Nari's heart skipped a beat and she whirled around, staring into a familiar face. Nayoung took one look at her expression and quickly slipped away, telling her to meet her at the gate in an hour.

Choi Yeonjun hadn't changed much, except that he had obviously matured, and looked even better than before. He was also much taller and she had to look up to see his face with how close they were standing. His hair was also significantly different.

"Why is your hair bright pink?" was the first thing that slipped out of Nari's mouth. "Is that supposed to be a mullet?"

"Just a trial run," Yeonjun shrugged. "How does it look?"

"Amazing," she said. "You look as great as always, Yeonjun. I'm assuming you..."

"Got the letter?" he supplied. "Yeah, I did. I guess I'm the one who had the courage to approach you first, huh?"

Nari was startled into laughing. "Yeah, I guess you are. You were always a bold one, weren't you? I don't think we would have ever been together if you hadn't told me first, and you know it."

"I do," he said. They fell into an awkward silence, unsure of what say, and then Yeonjun blurted out, "thank you, Nari."

"Thank you? For what?"

"For assuring me it wasn't my fault," he said, looking down and shuffling on his feet. "I knew how you felt about breaking up with me, and well, I just felt really guilty. Yes, I know it doesn't make sense. It doesn't change the fact that I felt that way."

"Yeonjun," she said firmly, "don't you remember how you told me it wasn't my fault? The same applies here. Like I said, you fell out of love, and even if I regret it, I don't hold it against you. I can't hold you accountable for something that happened when we were barely seventeen, much less something that wasn't your fault."

"There's the Nari I know and love," he said with a smile. "And I wanted to tell you that I did meet someone not too long after we graduated and...um, you can't tell anyone yet, but next month I'm going to propose to her."

"Oh my god! That's amazing!" Nari exclaimed. "I know you'll do great!"

"Thanks," he said, grinning in that embarrassed way of his she found so endearing.

"I mean it," she promised. "Also, I demand an invitation to the wedding."

"No problem, you'll be getting the first invite. Outside of our families, that is."

"Hey, I have a question," Nari was slightly apprehensive about it, but went for it anyway. "Remember when you dated Ryu Sohyun?"

"Yeah, what about it?" he asked, a curious look crossing his face.

"Well, back then when I asked why you guys broke up, she said you guys didn't feel you had strong enough feelings to go on," she said, her hands clenching involuntarily. "But she also said you, uh, flirt with every girl ever."

"She said that?!" Yeonjun looked offended. "No, I only flirt with girls I'm interested in. I guess she didn't like that I was being a good person to others. Why does everyone think nice guys are flirting with you? Why do you ask?"

"You know why," she crossed her arms, waiting for it to dawn on him. Then it hit him and he started laughing.

"Nari," he said between giggles, "I wasn't flirting with you, like ever. I knew you didn't like that sort of thing and I was just plain nice to you!"

She flushed with embarrassment. "I had to ask!"

"Don't be embarrassed. It was a fair question."

"Yeonjun! Where did you go –" a tall man appeared around the corner and stopped dead at the sight of Nari. "Uh..."

"I was just talking to Nari, you were the one who ran off," Yeonjun raised an eyebrow. "Something about wanting to look at the spot where you –"

"Fine, fine," Choi Soobin groaned. Nari couldn't find the courage to look at him. "You win. Still, you were supposed to wait for me. Have you talked it out?"

Yeonjun nodded. "I'll just leave you two here. See you later, Nari."

He walked away, leaving Soobin and Nari alone. "Hi," Soobin said softly. "How have you been lately?"

"Tired," she admitted. "Really tired. I've been completely swamped with assignments. I have no idea what I was thinking when I said high school was the worst."

"Same here, except Yeonjun and I have been working a lot, too," Soobin said. "What are you doing at university?"

"Teaching," she said. "What kind of work do you do?"

"We're assistant songwriters at an entertainment agency," he said with a hint of pride. "It's kind of like an internship, I suppose. Sometimes we record vocal guides for the rookies, but they're beginning to do it themselves."

"Ah, so you landed that dream job," Nari grinned despite herself. "You both were always great singers. Meanwhile I'm here teaching a bunch of little devils at the middle school down the block. Just as an assistant till the end of the year, but it's hell."

"You probably love them."

"I do," she admitted. "Soobin, you got my letter, right?"

"Of course I did," his smile turned a little sad. "Nari, I...I never realized you went through so much in that short year or so we were together. You never...I mean, it's just...I was just as much as fault..."

With a start, Nari realized Soobin was beginning to cry. It gave an awful twist to her heart, seeing her best friend like this. She took his hands and said gently, "Soobin. Listen to me. Do you want to hear the truth or a sugarcoated version of it?"

"The truth, of course," he sniffled. A weak smile played on his lips. "Isn't that why we're talking? To clear up our misunderstandings?"

"Yes, that's right. As for the truth? We're both at fault, and there's no denying it. Yes, I used you, but you knew that and let me use you. Even so, what's the use crying now?"

"You mean crying over the past?"

"Well, obviously. The past is the past and we're better than that now, and we are sensible enough to forgive each other. We will both always carry some guilt of that year, but we won't speak of it again. Let the past stay in the past, now that we have come to terms with it. Don't cry now, you overly emotional rabbit."

"Are we back to the phase where you give me weird nicknames?"

"What do you mean, a phase?" she grinned. "It was always my thing. Now, will you do as I say? We can fix our friendship, Soobin, if we give it a chance. I'm done running away from things that scare me, and I hope you are, too."

Soobin squeezed her hands. "I'll try my best," he promised. "Let me give you my number, and Yeonjun's. We changed them because we went on a fishing trip once and I may or may not have dropped both our phones into the sea by accident..."

Nari burst into laughter. "You're still the same clumsy boy I know, huh? Except with bright blue hair. You look good, by the way."

"Yeah," he said, taking Nari's phone and typing in their numbers, saving their contacts, when she handed it to him. "I guess I am. Thanks for the compliment. Call me one of these days, yeah? I actually scored a date with my friend and I desperately need help."

"Of course," she agreed, taking back her phone. "We're never going to ruin our friendship again, are we?"

"Never."

WORD COUNT: 2177

A/N: legendary quotes from two great people:

leigh bardugo once said, "if i could spend all my days writing emotionally weighted banter, i'd be pretty content."

blue the clown once said, "if i could spend all my days writing couple/friend goals interactions, i'd be pretty content."