red string | jay

twenty five

as jay pulled the car out of the parking lot, the bright afternoon sky had started turning golden, the last traces of blue now dusted in a honey-colored haze. they'd ended up walking around for almost an hour, wandering without direction and talking more than either of them expected.

he rolled down the windows, letting the soft breeze roll in as ina smiled, leaning her head back slightly to feel the wind on her face.

"so what are your plans for today?" she asked casually, her fingers toying with the silver ring still sitting snugly on her finger.

jay shrugged, one hand lazily gripping the wheel. "might need to take a nap to recover from hanging out with you. felt like i ran a marathon."

ina rolled her eyes. "yeah same. i need to sage my entire aura after spending a whole day with you. i'm sure it's tainted now."

he scoffed, giving her a quick side-eye. "you ate free food and got a free ring. where's the trauma? sounds like a luxury day out to me."

"true," she said, nodding with a mock-serious expression. "you actually weren't insufferable today. shocking."

jay glanced at her, amused. "kind of starting to not hate your presence maybe?" he teased, echoing her previous line.

"don't let it get to your head, park," she said, but there was a small smile tugging at her lips.

he grinned, slipping into a ridiculous british accent, "why thank you, ma'am. i shall cherish this day henceforth. a national holiday, if you will."

ina snorted, shaking her head. "you're such an idiot."

"a charming one though," he said smugly, before making a sharp turn that made her lightly smack into the car door.

"yah! what the hell," she glared at him, fixing her seatbelt.

"don't worry," he said with a smirk, "i'm not planning on changing anytime soon."

••••••••••

jay slammed her against the wall, his grip firm but his touch soft. his hands caressed her back slowly, like he was memorizing the feel of her.

she gasped, her breath caught in her throat as her eyes locked with his. he looked down at her with that same smirk—cocky, but this time there was something else behind it. something dangerous.

"what are you—" she whispered, her voice shaky.

he gently placed a finger over her lips, silencing her with the softest touch.

his other hand came up to cup her cheek, thumb grazing her skin like she was porcelain. she gulped, feeling her heart slam against her ribcage like a warning.

"jay..." she called his name again, uncertainly.

he closed his eyes and leaned in—

"INA YOUR PHONE HAS BEEN RINGING FOR AGES!"

her eyes flew open, her heart still racing as she saw her mom standing at the door with a less-than-impressed look on her face.

"sorry, i fell asleep," ina mumbled, grabbing her phone and blindly hitting the silent button.

her mom muttered something under her breath before walking off, leaving ina in stunned silence.

she stared at the ceiling.

"what the fuck," she said slowly, as if her brain was still catching up.

she sat up, running a hand through her hair. "what the actual fuck was that dream?"

"no no, it means nothing. it means absolutely nothing," she said quickly, shaking her head, trying to convince herself.

"no no no no no," she muttered again as she got up and started pacing her room like a woman on the verge of a meltdown.

"it's just because we hung out all day," she reasoned aloud. "and my heart was scared. yeah, it's fear. trauma."

still spiraling, she picked up her phone and opened google.

she gulped, typing slowly:
what does it mean when someone appears in your dream

she hesitated before hitting search. the answer popped up immediately.

When someone appears in your dream, it generally reflects aspects of your own thoughts, feelings, or subconscious processes. The person in your dream might symbolize something you're experiencing or feeling, or represent a desire or fear related to them.

ina stared at the screen.

"...fear. definitely fear," she whispered, nodding to herself.

she tossed her phone onto the bed like it had betrayed her.

walking over to her mirror, she stared at her reflection. "i hung out with him all day, and now my heart is just confused. that's all. a fear response."

she lightly patted her chest like that would calm the erratic beating beneath it. "yeah. nothing else."

still unconvinced, she glanced at her phone again and saw the missed call.

jay.

"what are the actual odds that he called me while i was dreaming about him?" she muttered, pacing again. "ugh, fuck it. i'm reading too much into this. it's nothing. nothing!"

still, her finger hovered over the call button before she finally tapped it and waited, heart embarrassingly loud in her ears.

"hello?" his voice came through casually.

"what's up? you miss me already? it's only been like two hours since we went home, jay," she said, forcing her tone to be light, breezy, unbothered.

she heard him chuckle. "you wish. i just need the email id of that skincare brand you were working on."

ina rolled in her bed, a mix of disappointment and relief washing over her. "you're working on a saturday? and i'm the overachiever?"

"just needed to send them something real quick. i asked juwon, she said you had it."

"right, okay," she said, sitting up. "i'll text it to you."

"cool, thanks, angry bird. bye."

and just like that, the line went dead.

ina stared at her phone for a second longer before falling back on the bed, her hand over her eyes.

"yeah," she whispered to herself, "definitely fear."