Not Alone || Jung Jaehyun

Chapter 12 | "protect you"

Jeno dipped his head and went back to practice.

"Thanks, Taeyong, uh sorry for interrupting." Jaehyun said with an awkward smile, turning to leave, but Taeyong quickly grabbed his arm.

"Text me when you find her, and um.... thanks. For looking out for her."

Jaehyun just nodded at him as Taeyong released his arm and went to go look for Hyemi.

- - -

Hyemi tore through the hallways, all of a sudden feeling like she couldn't breathe. She ran up the stairs and pushed through the double doors, the blue sky and fresh air welcoming her.

She went to the edge to sit by the railing, staring out over the campus. Finally feeling like she could let go, she cried. She didn't even know why she was crying but she felt so helpless.

As Hyemi looked over the railing at the ground below, she felt an uncomfortable familiarity, a deja vu sorts as she had been in this position before. She shook off the painful memory and stared at the sky, her tears still streaming down her face as she got lost in the silence.

Her leave was interrupted by the sound of doors slamming open. She instantly turned around to see Jaehyun standing there, relief washing over his face the moment his eyes met hers.

"Hyemi, what are you doing. You can't just run off like that. Let's go, we have to get back to practice-" he cut off as he approached her, now close enough to see the tears streaming down her face.

"Woah." He said, instantly pausing to look her in the eyes. "Hyemi, are you okay?"

She didn't respond, the tears still streaming down her face as she stared off into the distance. Jaehyun felt a pull in his heart, he'd never seen someone look so broken. Especially someone as tough as her. Carefully he took a seat next to her, using one of his hands to gently turn her face to look at him.

"I'm here for you, Hyemi, whatever's going on, it going to be okay."

She looked into his eyes, and for the first time, she saw warmth. He wasn't going to judge her or yell at her or manipulate her. She knew that in this moment, he was being real.

Overcome by emotions, she couldn't help herself and she wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. Jaehyun was stunned for a moment before carefully placing his arms around her back and simply letting her cry.

Eventually her sobs turned into sniffles and her tears stopped falling. Jaehyun felt her breathing calm down so he carefully let her go and held her at arms length.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He said softly.

"D-dont we have to get back to p-practice?" She choked out.

"Practice can wait. This is more important right now." He said gently. "But only if you're comfortable.

Hyemi took a deep breath before nodding her head.

"So, what's been going on recently?"

"There's a lot."

"I'm here to listen."

"I'm just feeling overwhelmed. I don't want to let the team down."

"You won't." Jaehyun said, rubbing her arm. "I know I can be hard on you, but you really are a good dancer. I'm sorry if I-"

"It's not you." She said cutting him off. "Well, I mean a part of it is you, but that's not the main reason."

"Then what is?" He asked in shock. She stayed silence. "Hyemi, I'm not going to force you, but I do think you need to talk this out with someone, for the sake of the dance and your own mental health."