SPIDER-MAN: MARK LEE

43

"We are-"

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

Jaehyun didn't say anything, he kept his gaze away from me.

"Why?"

Yet again, another silence from Jaehyun.

"Why?!"

"I don't know!" Jaehyun shouted, so loud in the silence of the night. He sighed and looked down, his jaw clenching before mumbling. "I don't know."

The tension still hung above us, but the silence was helping it to ease up.

To be honest, if it weren't Juliane and it happened to be a mere random woman, I wouldn't have reacted like this. I would've just been disappointed that Jaehyun didn't tell about this lead he had been keeping to himself.

But in this case, since it was Juliane, I was angry. How could I not? Juliane, whom I cared so profoundly for, had been in danger everywhere she'd been: No wonder why that Goliath appeared at school, and no wonder why those two men appeared at Chenle's last party, claiming to be there for 'something precious' which was her. I just hated it. I hated the fact that I didn't know she was involved in this mess and could've been harmed badly, and I wouldn't have been there to be for her.

Was it my fault that I didn't investigate enough just like Jaehyun? Or was it his fault that he didn't say anything to me?

I liked to believe that it was nobody's fault. I didn't want to argue with Jaehyun, especially after knowing about this, because we needed each other now to finish this case and have danger unlatch on Juliane.

"Look... I'm sorry I snapped." I said, wanting to break the silence. "It's just, she's precious to me and of course I'd react like this. I'm sorry."

Jaehyun shook his head, his lips forming into a small, weak smile. "No, I understand completely. I'd react the same if I were you, she's precious to me too."

Precious to him? Did that mean that this whole time, Jaehyun and I had been sharing the same crush without even knowing?

It was a normal feeling to feel threatened about this, especially when Jaehyun was a person that would be admired both by being Venom but as well as his own self. I had always envied Jaehyun ever since Venom and Spiderman collaborated, well perhaps idolized would be more suitable, and I idolized him because of his abilities and even looks. Now knowing that he had always been out there looking out for the one girl I admired the most, that made me envious of him.

"Does she know?" I asked.

Jaehyun shook his head, but paused, then shrugged. "Not really. I mean, the first time I ever approached her, my plan was to tell her but I ended up not doing it because I didn't want her to live in fear. So I eventually decided to guard her from afar, but approach her as a friend. But I think she might be suspicious about it, she knew I wasn't just there to be her friend, but I didn't tell her anything."

I tilted my head. "How long have you been in contact with her, exactly?"

"Not long. Probably two-three weeks or so. But I mean, I've known her since last year." Jaehyun looked down at his hands and tried to suppress a smile. I could see the blush on his cheeks even in the darkness. "She always walks to school, right? And every morning, I see her... She's quite a sight for sore eyes, I think you'd know that too. And as creepy as it sounds, I'll admit that I followed her around the city from time to time. I wanted to stop because I felt like a total creep, but then I started noticing that there were other people watching her too, and I knew that was a red flag... So I continued."

I knew how Donghyuck felt now, when he said how painful it was for him to hear Naomi talk about Flash back then.

Hearing somebody speak their care and admiration about Juliane like that, crushed my heart. It was painful. Very painful.

And I hated to admit this. But I felt extremely insecure now too.

Of course I didn't want to hear more about his small crush on my crush, so I changed the topic. "Should we tell her?"

Jaehyun's eyes widened a bit, seeming hesitant about my suggestion. "Tell her? I don't know... It could have its pros and cons."

"Yeah, that's true." I said. "We'll keep her safe from the distance, but if things go out of hands, we'll tell her."

Both Jaehyun and I looked each other in the eyes, our heads nodding in agreement.

"Well, I'm gonna take her home now." I said and slowly lifted myself up from the branch, now crouching instead. "You can head to head to my apartment to return the suit. Johnny is there, so you should be fine."

Jaehyun nodded. "Okay~ Get her home safely, and you too, be safe."