Friends Who Seem Like Lovers • Day6 • Jae x Reader

3. I Wish

"It's not that I was scared to love,

I was just afraid of not being loved in return."

-Anon.

"Wait!"

The sound of Jae's voice, slightly out of breath, stops you in your tracks. Turning around, you look at him quizzically.

"Jae? What are you doing out here?" you ask slowly.

He gives you a deep and searching look before he responds.

"Kaila, what's wrong? Did something happen earlier? You're not acting like yourself," he replies.

You feel your whole body stiffen with tension, and you struggle to hold a neutral expression on your face.

"Wh-what do you mean?" you stammer. "Like I said, I just don't feel very good. I really want to go home and sleep."

For a long moment Jae stays silent, but you can tell he's not buying it.

"Did something happen with Sungjin? Didn't you go to meet him this morning?"

At the mention of Sungjin's name you immediately feel guilt flood your body, realizing you haven't thought of him even once since you've met Jae.

"Um, yeah... I did," you mumble, averting your gaze.

Jae nods a couple of times, his eyes not missing your reluctance.

"Was he rude to you or something? I mean, you've been talking about this for days. I thought you would be ecstatic after seeing him, but instead you show up in a bad mood and then make up some lame excuse about being sick before you've even really talked to me," he says in a concerned tone.

His words make you feel even worse. It's true. Jae's never been anything but supportive of you and Sungjin, listening to you go on and on for hours about how brilliant he is and how beautiful he looks when the sunlight reflects off his hair in just the right way. And now that you've finally gotten exactly what you wanted, you can't be bothered to spend even twenty minutes congratulating him and Grace. Well, you're definitely kicking off the new year with a great start.

"No, that's not it," you say emphatically. "Sungjin is great. We had lunch together and—" you hesitate. "And he asked me out on a date."

At your words Jae's eyes widen just a fraction, but then his face breaks into his signature grin.

"That's great! I'm so happy for you. You've liked him for such a long time. I knew it was just a matter of time before he realized how amazing you are."

Staring at the ground as you dig the toe of your sneaker into the sidewalk. Biting your lip, you nod.

"Yeah, it's kind of crazy," you whisper.

You can feel Jae's gaze on you, but for some reason you just can't bring yourself to look at him. He's right. You should be happy. You were happy, until a few minutes ago. You don't know why you're acting this way either, or what's really bothering you.

Jae steps closer, and this time his voice is soft and gentle.

"Kaila, I know something's wrong. Please just talk to me. You're my best friend," he says quietly. As you continue to stare at the ground he heaves a sigh before speaking again.

"Does it bother you that I'm dating Grace?"

His bluntness jars you, and raising your eyes to his, you take a moment to think.

Did it bother you?

You've never seen Jae as anything more than a friend. Was it possible that you could really change your mind after one drunken kiss? You pull at a string on your sleeve, nervously, before you finally raise your eyes to his.