Just Friends

LYKN

In the band, there were five of them.

But somehow, the world always noticed only two.

nut the calm and focused one who never missed a step, always controlled his emotions like they were part of choreography.

And hong the one who smiled too easily on stage—but stayed quiet when it really mattered..........

The other members—William, Lego, and Tui—knew about Nut’s feelings for Hong. It wasn’t a secret inside the group anymore. William often tried to help Nut confess, pushing him in small ways, teasing him, creating situations. But Nut always backed out at the last moment.

Tui, however, knew something different. Something the others didn’t. A truth only he and Hong were aware of… something unspoken that tied them in a different way.

From the outside, they looked like just another successful band. But inside, every glance carried meaning, every silence had weight, and every smile was hiding something no one dared to say out loud. Especially between Nut and Hong—where even distance felt intentional...

That morning, they were practicing for their upcoming concert. The studio was filled with music, footsteps, and constant repetition of their choreography. Hours had passed, and exhaustion slowly settled into their bodies.

Hong leaned back first, stretching his arms with a tired sigh.

“I’m sleepy… can I take a break?” he asked casually.

Nut immediately looked at him. “Yeah, yeah, sure,” he replied quickly, then added, “But don’t take too long break, the concert is near.”

Hong made a playful funny face at him in response, making Nut freeze for a second before he looked away.

Without saying much, Hong walked to the other side of the room and collapsed onto the sofa, closing his eyes almost instantly.

A few seconds later, Nut quietly moved and sat on the opposite side, not too far, just enough to see him. His eyes stayed on Hong longer than he intended.

William noticed it immediately.

“Oye, you are staring too hard,” he said, hitting Nut lightly on the head. “He might wake up because of you.”

Lego laughed at William’s words, shaking his head. “Seriously…”

Tui, standing a little away, murmured under his breath, almost too low for anyone to hear, “Let him know then...”

William glanced at Tui. “Huh?”

But Tui had already turned away. He stepped back into his own space and started practicing beatboxing again like nothing had happened.

And the room slowly returned to noise and practice—but Nut’s eyes never fully left Hong.

But silence doesn’t always mean peace. Sometimes it’s just emotions sitting still, waiting for the smallest trigger to fall apart.

After a short while, Hong slowly woke up. He rubbed his eyes, still looking a little tired, and stood up from the sofa.

“Okay… I should get back to practice,” he said, stretching his shoulders.

Just as he was about to join the others, his phone rang. Hong glanced at it and picked up the call, switching it to speaker without thinking.

On the other side, a voice came through clearly.

“Hey, kitty… our project submission date is tomorrow. Come home tonight so we can finish it together.”

The room went quiet for a fraction of a second.

Nut froze in place.

The word “kitty” echoed in his mind more than anything else. His grip tightened slightly, fists clenching without him realizing it. His eyes slowly shifted toward William, as if trying to hide what he felt but failing completely.

“He doesn’t like me…” Nut thought silently. “He already has someone.”

William noticed the change in his expression immediately. But before he could react, Lego leaned slightly toward Nut and whispered,

“You dumbass… he’s just a college friend.”

Tui, standing a little away, let out a quiet chuckle to himself, like he already understood everything happening without needing words.

William leaned closer to Tui and whispered under his breath, “You know something, right?”

Tui didn’t answer. He just kept looking away, a small knowing smile on his face, like he was holding back a truth no one else in the room was ready to hear.

And Nut?

He wasn’t listening anymore.

His eyes were still fixed on Hong......

Jealousy doesn’t always explode. Sometimes it just sits quietly in the chest, heavy and confusing, making even breathing feel different.

Hong sighed into the phone. “Ahh… I’m tired. I can’t come tonight. I’ll complete it at home and send you the photos, okay? Don’t take tension.”

He paused for a second, then added casually, “Now I have to practice. Bye, you idiot.”

Before the other person could respond, Hong ended the call.

He turned back toward the group, slightly confused by the silence. His eyes moved from William to Lego… then to Nut, who was unusually quiet.

Hong frowned a little and walked closer to Tui.

“What happened?” he asked softly. “Why are you all staring at me like this? And… what happened to Nut?”

Tui looked at him for a moment, expression unreadable. Then he leaned slightly closer and whispered, “Nothing.”

His voice was calm, but there was something heavy behind it. “I hope Nut will tell it himself.”

Tui shook his head slightly, as if trying to push away his thoughts.

Because he knew the truth.

Nut liked Hong.

And Hong… also felt something, even if he didn’t fully understand it yet.

But Tui couldn’t say anything.

Not because he didn’t want to—

but because he had made a promise.

And some promises… were heavier than truth itself

And in that silence, truth didn’t disappear—it only waited.

Tui stood a little away from the group, watching everything quietly. On the surface, he always looked calm—almost like he didn’t care much. But inside, he carried the heaviest knowledge in the entire band.

He wasn’t just observing Nut’s feelings for Hong.

He knew something deeper.

Tui slowly exhaled, eyes lowering for a moment as memories came back.

He and Hong had known each other before the band became famous. Not in a dramatic way—nothing loud or obvious—but through a past connection that none of the others ever discovered. Late-night talks during training days, small shared moments, and a quiet understanding that never turned into anything official, but also never fully disappeared.

Before the band, before fame, Hong had once trusted Tui with something personal:

“If I ever start liking someone again… don’t let anyone interfere before I understand it myself.”

Tui had agreed.

And that was the promise he carried.

So when Nut started developing feelings for Hong, Tui noticed it first. And when Hong began showing subtle signs—longer glances, softer reactions around Nut—Tui noticed that too.

But he stayed silent.

Because his promise wasn’t just about keeping secrets.

It was about not influencing what Hong might feel on his own.

Now, standing in the practice room, watching Nut struggle silently and Hong remain unaware of the emotional storm around him, Tui understood the irony of it all.

Both of them were already connected in ways they hadn’t realized yet.

And Tui… was the only one who knew how close they were to crossing a line they could never go back from.

He looked away quietly, tightening his jaw.

“This is something they have to figure out themselves,” he thought.

Even if it hurt to watch.

Some truths don’t free people. They trap the ones who know them.

Hong stood a little apart from the group, his voice low as he leaned slightly toward Tui.

“I can’t… like him, right?” he whispered, almost like he was trying to convince himself more than ask a question.

Tui didn’t answer immediately.

Hong’s fingers tightened around the edge of his sleeve. His eyes flicked briefly toward Nut, who was still standing quietly on the other side of the room.

Then Hong added in a softer voice, almost breaking it, “I promised myself not to…”

He stopped there.

Tui finally looked at him, expression calm but serious. He understood exactly what Hong wasn’t finishing.

But instead of giving an answer, Tui simply said nothing.

Because some truths weren’t meant to be spoken out loud—not yet.

Tui stayed silent for a moment longer, but something in his expression changed—like a weight he had been holding finally started to crack.

He exhaled slowly and looked away from Hong.

“You already broke that promise a long time ago,” Tui said quietly.

Hong froze.

Tui continued, voice lower now, careful but honest. “Not because of Nut… but because you never actually stopped noticing him.”

Hong’s eyes widened slightly. “Tui…”

Tui finally turned to face him fully. The calm was still there, but now it felt heavier.

“That’s my secret,” he admitted. “I knew before anyone else did.”

Hong didn’t speak. He couldn’t.

Tui’s gaze softened a little, but his words stayed firm. “I see everything in this room, Hong. Nut’s feelings… William trying too hard… Lego pretending it’s funny… and you…”

He paused for a second.

“…you pretending you don’t feel anything at all.”

Hong looked down, his grip on his sleeve loosening slowly.

Tui lowered his voice even more. “I made a promise a long time ago—to let you figure it out yourself. Not to interfere. Not to push you. Not to tell anyone what I see.”

He gave a small, tired smile.

“But you should know… nothing in this story is one-sided.”

And once that truth is spoken—even softly—nothing inside them stays the same again.

Hong didn’t move at first. His mind replayed Tui’s words again and again, each sentence hitting deeper than the last. “Nothing is one-sided.”

He swallowed hard, finally forcing himself to look up. “Then… what am I supposed to do?” he asked quietly.

Tui didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he glanced across the room where William and Lego were still trying to lighten the mood, joking around and telling Nut to relax, as if nothing in the room had shifted at all.

Their laughter echoed softly, trying to pull everything back into normal.

But it wasn’t normal anymore.

Tui noticed it again—the way Nut kept pretending to focus on anything except Hong, even while his attention always drifted back to him. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, it was always the same.

Tui spoke at last, voice calm but serious.

“Nothing… until you stop running from what you already know.”

Hong frowned slightly. “And what do I know?”

Tui gave a small, almost helpless smile.

“That’s the part only you can admit.”

A few seconds passed.

Then Tui added softly, “Just don’t hurt him while you’re figuring it out.”

Hong’s gaze shifted again toward Nut. This time, it stayed longer than before.

Nut felt it.

He looked up—and for a brief moment, their eyes met.

But Hong quickly looked away first.

Not because he didn’t care…