before you / jung jaehyun

twenty six

[ 7th May, 2018, 8:12PM ]

jaehyun finally stepped into the party, two hours later than he was supposed to. but jungwoo and aeri had no problem with it because they were having fun all by themselves. jungwoo got aeri to meet some of his friends, and the two girls that were close friends of jaehyun were there too.

they were all sitting on the couch, in a circle, talking about stuff - boys, girls, gossip, everything. jungwoo sitting next to aeri, that was all that was important, he promised her he wouldnt leave her again like before, and he kept his promise.

for a second, if an outsider were to look at them, they would think that this friend group existed without jaehyun. he felt bad that he left the two of them. and for a second there, he looked at aeri smiling and laughing along with his group of friends, feeling safe and comfortable with the people around her, he was happy for her.

for a moment, he stood there just looking at kang aeri, and thanked god that she was his bestfriend. you're gonna find yourself caring for someone more than you cared for me. his head filled with the words of his ex girlfriend. he tried to shake it off. he only thought of it because it was still fresh off his mind, it doesnt mean anything.

other than living for yourself, you also want to live for somebody else, you're gonna find yourself caring for someone more than you cared for me. other than living for yourself, you also want to live for somebody else, you're gonna find yourself caring for someone more than you cared for me.

if jaehyun were to look at his texts with jungwoo and tried to search the words - 'care' and 'aeri' in the same sentence, there would be more than over 100 texts. he did care for aeri. he just didnt want to admit the truth. that he cared for her more than anyone in his life at the moment. but he tried to justify himself by thinking - that's because she's like a little sister to me.

he just had an emotional talk with his ex girlfriend. he didnt want to piece anything together. if the time comes where he finds himself loving kang aeri, then it comes. but at the moment, he just wants to be next to her and care for her, like a bestfriend would do.

"jaehyun, you idiot!" minsu yelled from where she was sitting. the group looked up at jaehyun and a huge smile came across their faces. jungwoo was the first one to stand up and hug him, quickly pulling him into the sofa, making him sit next to aeri. the girl just smiled at jaehyun, she was still disappointed about the last conversation they had.

but jaehyun completely forgot about it. "how was it?" she asked softly, kind of awkward. he just softly smiled, "great," was all he said. he tried to recall what he did wrong, for her to feel this way towards him. but he couldnt. until halfway in the party, he finally remembered. it was a struck of epiphany - he remembered jungwoo yelling at him yesterday and then the texts he sent her right after.

jaehyun started to yell at himself in his mind. why are you so stupid? he thought to himself. i need to talk to her. i havent even apologized and told her what happened. they were all talking as a group, but jaehyun grabbed aeri's left arm, making her avert her gaze to himself. she raised her eyebrow, hummed, giving him the what do you want? look. 

"can we talk?" he whispered into her ear. she looked over to jungwoo for awhile, the boy gave her a nod,  god knows what jungwoo meant by that. "here, hold my drink for me, okay?" she smiled, giving jungwoo her drink and then walking off with jaehyun, who was leading her outside the party, out on the front porch, sitting on the staircase. 

the sun just set and now the pink sky turned fully black. well, dark blue actually. you could see some of the stars making its way out, shining brighter each minute. jaehyun ran his fingers through his messy hair, meanwhile, aeri was feeling awkward because of what happened between them over text. 

there was a long silence between them.  "i want to talk about yesterday, aeri," jaehyun made the first move and initiated the conversation first. aeri had her knees up to her chin, covering up her knees under her dress. she looked over to him, humming. "im really sorry, for the way i acted," jaehyun softly spoke. 

"and the things i said to you. it was unfair for me to make you meet my ex girlfriend, you didnt want to meet her for the valid reasons that you have, and i tried to force you to," he explained in details. "and i was being selfish and rude and insensitive and im sorry for it, i really am," he added on, looking at the girl right in her brown eyes. he was genuine. 

aeri shook her head. "no no i should apologize too," she sighed. "for what?" jaehyun asked. she just shrugged, "you know. i was being selfish too. if making me- us, meet chungha would help you move on then i shouldnt have been so harsh on you," she apologized. jaehyun just sat there and laughed at her. which made aeri a little uncomfortable. 

"why are you laughing? you're scaring me!" she pouted, slightly pushing him away as a joke. jaehyun just looked at her, with a wide smile, he said- "you're such a good person, kang aeri. what did i do in my life to deserve such a good person like you?" butterflies. in her stomach. but she had learned how to cope with them. 

"you're pushing it, jae. you're a good person too. and i wouldnt trade anything in the world for you," she confessed. jaehyun blushed, he had never gotten such a genuine remark from someone before. all he did was wrap one of his arm around her, and she laid her head on his shoulder. the two of them just spent the next half an hour sitting down on the front porch, looking at the stars and talking about what went down in the past hour while he was gone. 

and just like that, they became bestfriends again. back to normal. just like how they like it. 

[ a/n ] hey guys! there's gonna be a timeskip in the next few chapters, im sorry if it bothers you!! just a heads up! cause if i dont put a timeskip this fic will never end