red string | jay

nineteen

ina was smiling to herself as she waited by the hospital's coffee machine, watching the light flicker while the machine whirred. the quiet hum of the corridor felt oddly peaceful—until she heard footsteps behind her.

"what you doing?" jay's voice cut through the silence as he came up beside her.

"hunting giraffes. wanna join?" she deadpanned without turning around.

he rolled his eyes, grabbing a paper cup and pressing the button beside hers. "so uh... it's pretty embarrassing, huh."

she raised an eyebrow, sipping her coffee, unsure what he was going on about.

"i mean, i wouldn't have cried that much if i knew they were gonna wake up literally the next day," he muttered, eyes fixed on the coffee pouring into his cup.

ina didn't reply. she just kept sipping, lips twitching at how flustered he seemed.

"i know we've established that both of us are hell-bent on ruining each other's lives," he continued, "but i'd really appreciate it if you didn't mention yesterday to anyone. especially heeseung."

"i didn't even say anything. you're the one bringing it up." she looked at him, amused.

he cleared his throat and nodded, trying to appear composed. "right. just... thanks. i owe you one."

"you really do," she said, eyes lighting up. "so buy me an expensive ass meal or something. or get me makeup. or a bag. actually, i've had my eye on this prada—"

"sure, whatever," jay interrupted, already regretting this. "you name it. anything to keep your mouth shut."

"i had something so dirty to say but i'm not gonna waste the line on you," ina muttered, shaking her head as they started walking down the hall together, coffee in hand.

jay raised a brow. "don't tell me you were gonna say something like, 'you know what could shut me up...'" he mimicked her voice with an exaggerated eye flutter.

ina stopped and turned to him with a mock glare. "okay, first of all, i do not talk like that. and second... so what if i was?"

"you talk exactly like that, ina kim," he said, opening the door for her.

she scoffed. "don't pretend to be a gentleman just because the parents are here."

"this is exactly why i'm not nice to you," he grumbled, stepping in behind her. "can you ever be normal?"

"not in this lifetime," she replied sweetly before sliding into the seat beside his mom.

"what are you two arguing about now?" myeonghee asked with a fond shake of her head.

"nothing important, mom. just office stuff," jay said smoothly as he sat down.

"speaking of office," junwon chimed in, "i really appreciate you two staying with us here all month, but isn't your boss gonna fire you?"

ina shrugged and took another sip. "she's not. she told us to take our time since we did good on that idol travel show."

myeonghee raised her eyebrows in surprise. "wow, she must really love you guys then."

"maybe," ina said with a grin. "but she's literally the crankiest person ever. y'all need to meet her. i bet uncle would lose his mind within the first five minutes."

"hey, don't say that about her," myeonghee laughed. "she's kind enough to let you work even after your month-long leave."

"true," ina nodded. "but she also once made someone cry just because they formatted an email wrong, so..."

everyone burst into laughter, the energy light, easy.

••••••••••

a week later, jay's parents were finally released from the hospital, though the doctors insisted they rest at home for a few more weeks before returning to work.

today was ina and jay's first day back at the office, and ina was buzzing with excitement.

she practically bounced into the media room where juwon was already waiting.

"you're back!" juwon squealed, running up and crushing ina in a tight hug. "i missed you so much, oh my god."

"i missed you more," ina grinned. "ugh, the past month was so hard. it felt like time froze."

juwon pulled back slightly, giving her a teasing look. "sooo... how was it practically living with jay? did you both make out?"

ina stared at her in disbelief. "his parents were hospitalized, and that's what you're thinking about?"

"hey, a girl can dream," juwon smirked. "seriously though, nothing happened?"

ina hesitated.

her mind flashed back to the moment jay had cried—how vulnerable he'd looked, how she'd instinctively reached for him, how protective she'd felt. it wasn't romantic, exactly. not then. but it wasn't nothing either.

still, she shook her head. she wasn't ready to dissect those feelings. not when she knew how dangerous they could be. not with jay.

"nope. nothing," she said quickly. "and please let's not make this a thing. now update me about work, my brain needs stimulation before it starts rotting."

juwon, sensing the shift in tone, nodded. "you got it. you have no idea how chaotic it's been around here..."

as juwon launched into updates, ina tried her best to focus, to re-enter her normal routine. but some part of her—quiet and stubborn—kept circling back to jay's tear-streaked face, and the way her chest had ached in response.

she didn't want to feel anything more than she already did.

but feelings had a way of sneaking in, even when you told them not to