SPIDERMAN 2: MARK LEE

10

Taeil lifted the two neatly folded towels to me and I accepted it with gratefulness.

He stared at me with a weird smile.

I cocked an eyebrow. "What?" I uttered.

"He's quite good looking." Taeil whispered. He lifted his brow up suggestively.

"Oh my God, Taeil." I puckered my face with dissapointment. "You're funny. You know that?"

Taeil slapped my shoulder and tried laughing it off. "I was just kidding, silly! You know me, I just get excited when you bring in new people in the house. The more the merrier!" He said. He realised my unamused face stayed unmoving. He sighed and shook his hands. "Whatever, I'll stop talking. I'll finish cooking and leave you two be. Bye-bye." Taeil placed his hand on my hair and ruffled it, before pulling me in to place a small peck on my head.

I could only roll my eyes.

I continued into the living room and spotted Jaemin enjoying himself on the couch, appearing comfortable and eased.

"Here you go." I spoke, making my presence noticed. I cautiously tossed one of the towels to him and he caught it with ease.

"Thanks." He said.

As we sat together on the couch, we did our best in drying ourselves with the towels we had. The air felt warm and toasty in here, in contrast to the cold rain we faced not long ago. We remained silent for a moment, both of us too tired and busy to even speak. It was a moment to take in the peace and comfort of the environment, a moment to savour the warmth of the space, a moment to enjoy the quiet after the commotion.

"So Juliane..." Jaemin was first to break the silence. "How do you know my brother?"

I placed the towel on my lap and turned to connect my eyes with his. "We had a mutual friend." I explained, but obviously it was all a lie. I couldn't spill the truth. I was positively convinced that he didn't know anything about Jaehyun and his old alter ego, so exposing that was dangerous, especially for him. "We weren't really close, but we weren't that unfamiliar with each other either."

Jaemin proceeded my words and nodded his head.

I looked at him and smiled warmly. "I am... beyond shock that he never told me about you."

Jaemin's smile dropped a bit. "Well, I'm not too surprised." He sighed and shrugged. "We were never close anyways... Well, we used too but.... It's a long story."

I could see hesitance in those eyes of Jaemin's, but if you looked closer, there was also a tinge of desire, desire in telling everything.

"Tell me." I said, showing intrigue and care. "I want to know everything."

I needed to know. I needed to know more about Jaehyun.

Jaemin could see the concentration and keenness in me. It shocked him a bit, as perhaps not everyone might be too interested in his relationship with his brother. Something about my enthusiasm comforted him and encouraged him to spill everything. And he did.

"Jaehyun and I were born in Connecticut. We're merely three years apart. And um, well, our childhood wasn't really the best. Our parents were pretty troubled. They weren't the nicest... especially with Jaehyun. So he did what he had to, he fled and left me but promised to come back."

My eyes flickered and I tilted my head. "Did he?"

"He did... But he was too late. You see, our parents passed away and I had to move in with my aunt, and everything was perfect from that on. Tgat's when Jaehyun came back. He came back when things were better... He wasn't there when I needed him the most. And I hated him for that, so I ignored and pushed him away for as long as I could remember... And suddenly, he just stopped texting and calling me. I figured something was wrong so I came here to New York and visited his apartment yesterday... But the landlord told me he p- passed away."

Jaemin breathed out and avoided eye contact with me. I could see how layers of thick tears were covering his eyes. It was obvious how much he tried to restrain himself from breaking down. And it was painful to watch.

"I think it's funny. I used to pretend that he never existed, but now, I struggle to believe he's gone."

Jaemin tried to hold back those tears, I could see the struggle in him, the emotions battling to be realised. He clenched his hand into a fist, his jaw tightening as he fought to contain all his blue feelings. And once a single drop of tear trickled down his cheek, he hung his head down and sucked in a sharp breath.

"S- Sorry..."

I watched him in silence and I felt a strong wave of empathy for him. This was truly heartbreaking.

"Hey... It's alright Jaemin, you don't have to apologise." I placed my hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "I'm sorry... It must've been hard for you."

Jaemin sniffled and cleared his throat, before straightening his posture. He was trying so hard to pretend as if he wasn't breaking from within. I could tell he was a bit timid to show so much emotions to somebody he barely knew, but the fact that we had one thing in mutual, and that was knownig Jaehyun, made it reasonable.

Jaemin and I sat there and held the eye contact. Our lips twitched up into a small smile. And as seconds passed, I noticed the skin of his face began to turn into a shade of faint pink, his blush so noticeable against his fair skin.

Feeling immensely awkward, I immediately turned away.

And luckily, somebody barged in to interrupt the moment. It was Naomi in a kitchen apron. She sent both Jaemin and I a small smile, before jerking her head to the side. "Food is ready."