red string | jay

twenty one

jay rolled around in his bed, thinking of how his dynamic with ina had changed in recent days.

he found himself noticing her a lot—too much, actually. the way she scrunched her nose slightly every time her laptop lagged, the way she hummed under her breath when reading something, the way she always had a soft, almost instinctive smile whenever she spoke to his parents, like she belonged there.

he had started noticing every little habit of hers, and it made him question—

"there's no way i went from hating her to liking her in just a month, right?" he asked himself, voice muffled into his pillow before shaking his head quickly.

yeah, no way.

but he couldn't deny that there was no longer hate in his heart for her. or maybe... maybe there never was? he didn't know. all he did know was that something had changed after the hospital month.

she had been different then—calmer, quieter. a little less sharp around the edges, but just as stubborn. she'd stayed by his mother's side longer than he ever expected her to. she even brought snacks jay liked and never admitted to knowing which ones they were. she started calling his mom "eomma" casually, and it hadn't bothered him like he thought it would.

he groaned out loud, punching his pillow a few times before sighing and burying his face in it.

...

the next day, jay walked into the office to find ina already at her desk, typing away on her laptop again like she did every single day.

"genuine question, do your fingers never ache from typing so much?" he asked, leaning over her desk lazily.

ina glanced up briefly, her expression unreadable. "what's up jay? got nothing to do this morning?" she said, eyes flicking back to her screen as her fingers continued tapping away without missing a beat.

jay shrugged and walked over to his own desk, setting down his bag and opening his laptop. "i do, just procrastinating a little."

heeseung looked up from his seat across the room, watching the exchange with a slow-forming smirk. "since when do you talk nicely to ina?"

"since always," jay said nonchalantly, not looking up from his screen.

"you and i both know that's not true. am i missing something?" heeseung asked, voice low and teasing.

jay sighed, casting a sideways glance at ina. she had her headphones on now, completely zoned into her screen like she hadn't just been talked about. his gaze lingered a moment too long before he turned back to heeseung.

"i don't know, hyung," he muttered. "i'll let you know when i find out."

heeseung leaned back in his chair, clearly amused. "so there is something. are you in love with her?"

"WHAT?" jay nearly yelled, his voice echoing across the office space a little too loudly. heads turned, and ina looked up briefly with one brow raised.

jay waved his hand awkwardly and gave a sheepish smile to the room. "nothing, just... bad email," he mumbled.

heeseung chuckled, flipping through a file. "you are so in love with her. i always knew, gotta say."

"i'm not in love with her. ew. stop putting ideas in my head," jay muttered, narrowing his eyes.

"mhm. you keep telling yourself that, my guy," heeseung said, clearly unconvinced.

jay sighed again, this time deeper, longer. his eyes found ina across the room once more. she'd gone back to her work, unbothered, but there was a slight upward twitch at the corner of her lips.

had she heard?

no. probably not.

right?

he turned back to his screen, jaw clenched.
no. there was no way.

...

that evening, jay found himself hovering by the kitchen in the shared office lounge, making two cups of instant coffee out of pure habit. he only wanted one—but the second one was now always for her.

and as if summoned by muscle memory, ina walked in, her hair tied back messily, a few strands falling into her eyes. she looked tired, but still nodded at him in greeting.

he silently handed her the second cup without meeting her gaze.

"thanks," she said, a little too softly.

"don't mention it," jay replied, voice low.

they stood there for a second—quiet, a little too close, yet neither moving away.

ina turned slightly toward him. "so... bad email?"

jay blinked. "...huh?"

"earlier. when you yelled 'what' like someone electrocuted you," she said, sipping her coffee. "just wondering what kind of tragic subject line that was."

jay rubbed the back of his neck, looking down into his cup. "...nothing serious."

"must've been pretty bad to get the whole office's attention," she teased, leaning against the counter.

"it was... surprising, let's say that." he shrugged.

ina tilted her head slightly. "you're being weird."

"am not," he said a little too quickly.

"you're totally being weird." she grinned into her cup.

jay narrowed his eyes, lips twitching. "if you don't want the free coffee anymore, just say it."

"i never said that." ina smiled.

and just like that, the silence didn't feel awkward anymore.

jay looked at her again. really looked.

no. definitely not in love.

but damn, he was in trouble.