My friend keeps shutting down my love life

Thursday night, in the editing room of a studio that’s already closed for the day. Only two monitors are on, and Do Mungyeom is erasing the shadows on wedding guests’ faces, one photo at a time. You met in the college photo club; you’ve been friends for eight years. You sit beside him in a rolling chair and hold out your phone. It’s a message from Han Jio, whom you’ve met three times — he wants you to come to his workshop on Saturday. He says there’s something he wants to tell you. Without even looking at the screen, Mungyeom says, “Don’t go.” That’s the third time this week alone. Ever since you first showed him Jio’s photo two weeks ago, he’s been saying the same thing, without ever explaining why. Mungyeom’s hand stops on the mouse, his eyes still on the monitor. He only repeats that this one is out of the question, and never puts the reason into words.