INSIDE [jaeyong]

[5]

Jaehyun leaned back and crossed his arms, nodding his head. "Obviously. I take them apart and put them back together all the time," he answered, his eyes troubled.

Taeyong drew in a shattered breath of cold air, hesitating before he muttered, "My webcam... it flickered red when my monitor was off."

Sheer shock cracked Jaehyun's static demeanor and seeing that made Taeyong want to throw up. It wasn't a good feeling at all. Jaehyun softened up his expression, gazing at the shorter seriously. He parted his lips to say something, but—

"Hey guys," Johnny chimed, walking down the stairs with towels hung over his arm and damp hair, only wearing shorts and a tight black t-shirt. Jaehyun pursed his lips, revealing his dimples in the corners of his mouth as he stared at the boy disdainfully. He turned back to Taeyong, giving him an incredulous smile in disbelief.

Taeyong moved inches away from the dimpled boy so he was on the other side of the couch, pink blanketing his cheeks.

Johnny went to throw the towels in the bathroom, afterwards joining the two in the living room. He plopped down on a chair, resting his chin in his hand as he studied the two, an indicative grin on his lips. "What were you guys talking about?" he inquired, tilting his head.

A sulky glower spread across Taeyong's face and Jaehyun stiffened a bit. Jaehyun challenged the male's suggestive smile, staring him down just as strongly. His line of vision flocked to Taeyong for a second before he stated, "Taeyong told me there was something up with his computer."

Taeyong sighed, glaring at Jaehyun.

Johnny's eyes suddenly lit up with panic, but he quickly hid it with a tedious smile. "Whats up?" he asked nonchalantly.

Jaehyun adjusted his annoyed glare into a more concerned look, the vibe of the room flipping upside down despite Johnny's attempt at keeping it lighthearted. "His webcam turned on when his monitor was off," he informed.

"It's not that big of a deal," Taeyong quipped quietly, shrugging his shoulders.

Johnny nodded, relaxing further back into the chair. It was silent for a few moments before the tallest said something. "I set Taeyong up with the best VPN protection and anti-malware that I know," he said carefully, a doubtful guise in the shards of his iris. "I'm sure it was some app that somehow got permission to access his webcam and glitched out. I highly doubt that it was anything serious."

Taeyong shifted uncomfortably as Jaehyun started to laugh, the sound completely apathetic and disbelieving. "You're joking. Johnny don't act stupid. You know as well as I do that's bullshit and if you 'let this one slide' you might just find pictures of him surfacing around the internet selling his information and videos," Jaehyun hissed, empathizing the severity of the situation with his words which made Taeyong begin to freak out.

Johnny raised his eyebrows. "Oh really?" he asked, and Taeyong could tell his lack of concern was really starting to piss Jaehyun off. "Once again, I looked into the protection services and I know for a fact that there's no way in hell that his webcam is tapped," he repeated, glancing over to Taeyong adamantly.

"You're fine," Johnny stated, his confidence almost making Taeyong believe him.

Taeyong felt hot; he didn't want to be a part of any arguments or drama, but unfortunately for this one he was stuck right in the middle of it.

Jaehyun rolled his eyes, an inauthentic smile prickling his lips. "Stop bringing up your 'protection services' argument. Obviously they don't fucking work."

Johnny stood up which caught the breath from Taeyong's lungs, but all he said was, "I think it's time for you to leave until you cool off." It irked Taeyong how calm Johnny acted in this situation and it made seem like Jaehyun was getting mad over nothing, overreacting even; like— like he was the bad guy.

Jaehyun eyed the boy conspicuously before getting off the couch himself, that sarcastic smile still on his face. He went to pick up his bag in the corner of the room and then slipped his shoes on, Johnny watching with an assured placid expression. Jaehyun stood stoically before asking,

"Taeyong, are you leaving soon?"

Oh god. Now he really was in a tug of war, and it made his head pulse.

Taeyong bit his lip, hiding his eyes beneath his aqua blue bangs. He drew out a breath of air, switching his gaze to the oldest, looking for some reassurance. Johnny appeared careless and it totally made Taeyong feel some type of way— like he wanted him to go. He was his best friend and despite not really saying anything, there was a feeling of tension and aversion sat between the two. It pained Taeyong and made him feel like Johnny really didn't care.

"Y-yeah. I'm coming," Taeyong finally mumbled, merely seeing the flicker of pique in Johnny's coffee brown eyes before he slipped his sneakers back on and followed Jaehyun out the door.

Taeyong trailed slightly behind the taller as they walked to the underground parking lot near Johnny's house, head bowed down and occupying his mind with the chalk drawn on the sidewalk. Jaehyun looked behind him, gazing at the boy remorsefully.

He paused and waited for the blue haired to catch up before he said quietly, "I'm sorry for putting you in the spotlight. I don't want to cause any problems, I just wanted to talk to you privately."

Taeyong looked up at the boy who looked so solemn it ached his heart. He nudged Jaehyun slightly, their sleeves continuing to brush against each other as they walked. "You apologize too much," he remarked, swallowing down the urge to catch the boy's hand in his own. Jaehyun bit the inside of his cheek, peering down at the shorter with a glimmer in his iris that made Taeyong's heart beat faster. Taeyong sighed lightly, looking back down to his feet. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"I don't want to freak you out," Jaehyun admitted, his eyelashes fluttering in the passing wind. "So promise me you won't stay up all night because of what I said?"

Taeyong nodded his head, saying, "I promise."

"I might've been over dramatic, but I still think it's better to be safe than sorry. Skilled hackers can can erase traces and weasel their way into your computer without being detected by protection services. On a real note, I'm worried about you," he confessed, anxiously gazing at the rising sun. "Someone could— I don't know," he stuttered, passively looking back to the ground.

Taeyong's heart pounded a little faster.

"I want you to not feel the way you told me," Jaehyun continued, swinging his duffel bag at his side. He gazed back at the boy, only something Taeyong could describe as fondness in his soft eyes. "I can come tomorrow after class and check your computer for you, if you want?"

The blue haired smiled gently, answering "yes" without any second thoughts.