Strings Attached ➤ Jay

|| After the Music

🎙

Backstabber -

"And everybody knows it (and everybody knows it)

Girl (oh, girl), you're such a backstabber"ᯓ‎𝄞 ˎˊ˗

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The hallway behind the stage felt colder than it should have, or maybe it was just me. The adrenaline of performing had worn off, leaving a raw, hollow ache in its place. My chest was tight, my stomach knotted, and the small rhythm of my heartbeat seemed deafening in the sudden quiet.

I walked a few steps away from Minhee, who kept her hand lightly on mine, her steady presence the only tether to reality I could grasp. But the image of Nari and Jay — their lips pressed together, their hands entwined — was burned into my mind. Every nerve, every memory of the past weeks, twisted painfully at that one sight.

Minhee didn't say anything at first. She just guided me back toward a storage corner, where the clutter of backstage equipment and coiled cables offered some semblance of privacy. Even here, though, my vision kept drifting to the hallway I'd just left. I wanted to scream. I wanted to storm back, demand explanations, yell at both of them for what felt like a betrayal, for what I had been completely unprepared to witness.

But I couldn't. My throat was too tight, my voice trapped behind the lump of hurt that refused to move.

Finally, Minhee crouched slightly to meet my eyes. "Byeol... you need to breathe. Look at me. I know this feels... awful. But screaming or running won't help yet. You need to think before you act."

I shook my head violently, the sting of tears threatening again. "Think? How am I supposed to think when I just saw the person I... the person I wanted to tell everything to... with someone else? And Nari — she's... she's... she's Nari."

Minhee's eyes softened. "Yeah. I get it. That's the worst part. It's the betrayal that stings the most because you trusted her."

I let out a shaky laugh, bitter and quiet. "I trusted everyone, Minhee. I trusted him. I trusted her. And now... I feel like I'm floating, like none of it matters anymore."

Her grip tightened on my hand. "It does matter. Every feeling you have, every moment you've lived — it does matter. And you're allowed to feel hurt, angry, confused. But don't let it consume you. Don't make any decisions while your head is spinning."

I swallowed hard, trying to force my heart to slow, to calm, but it wasn't working. Every memory of Jay's easy smile, his teasing, the way he had watched me rehearse, all collided with the image I'd just seen: him pressing his lips against Nari's. It made my stomach lurch, my chest ache, and my throat dry.

I pulled my guitar from its case, fingers brushing the strings as if I could channel the confusion and pain into something tangible. The familiar weight of it was grounding, and yet, the song I had poured so much of myself into earlier felt empty without him there. Without Jay there, it had been for nothing — or at least, it felt that way now.

Minhee crouched beside me again, her silver hair brushing my shoulder. "Listen, Byeol... you need to figure out what you really feel before you do anything. You can't confront anyone yet — not Nari, not Jay. You have to process this first."

I nodded, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. But the raw edge of betrayal didn't ease. "I don't even know what to feel," I admitted quietly. "Anger? Sadness? Disappointment? All of it?"

Minhee squeezed my hand. "All of it, yeah. And that's okay. But first... you need to survive tonight. You still have your song in people's hearts. You've shown them who you are, and that... that's something no one can take away from you."

I let out a shaky breath, trying to push the knot of anguish down, but the image of Jay and Nari's kiss kept flashing in my mind. I couldn't escape it. Not in the corner of the backstage, not in the echoing quiet between performances.

I finally muttered, almost to myself, "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Nari... she would never... she's always so kind, so... innocent. And now..." My voice cracked, and I pressed my palm to my face, blinking rapidly to hold back tears.

"You're allowed to feel shocked," Minhee said gently. "She... she surprised you. And yeah, it hurts. But right now, you need to focus on yourself. And on your music. Nothing else."

I nodded again, gripping my guitar tightly. The polished wood and the smooth strings were the only things that felt like home right now. I ran my fingers lightly over the frets, trying to steady myself, trying to remind myself that even though the world had tilted, at least I still had this. At least I still had the thing that was completely mine.

And then Minhee leaned close, her voice soft but sharp, "We'll figure this out later. Right now, you need to get out of this hallway before the crowd notices you've disappeared. You've got a song to finish, and people are expecting you."

I swallowed hard, forcing my feet to move as we edged back toward the main room. The lights glinted off my guitar case, reflecting in my blurry eyes, and I forced myself to take in the normal chaos of the showcase — the murmurs of the audience, the shuffling of performers preparing for the next act. Normality was a small but necessary comfort.

As we reentered the open area, I realized something even more crushing — I had no idea where Jay was now. Had he left? Had he gone somewhere else? Was he still watching me, or had the moment of seeing me perform, the one thing I'd been so sure he would care about, passed him by?

I clenched my jaw, trying not to think about it, focusing instead on the music still lingering in the room. The vibrations in my chest from the performance, the applause still echoing faintly, the familiar smell of guitars and coffee — all of it reminded me that even though Jay's presence was missing, I had still accomplished something. I had still performed my song. I had still lived it, breathed it, shared it.

But even as I told myself this, even as I focused on the comfort of music, my mind kept drifting back to Nari. The girl I had laughed with, confided in, joked with, had crossed a line I never expected. And Jay — my anchor, my reason to believe in something more than just myself — had chosen to be there with her.

I felt a swirl of emotions I couldn't untangle: shock, anger, disappointment, a hollow ache that threatened to swallow me whole. And somewhere deep beneath it all, a spark of betrayal burned brighter than I thought it could.

Minhee nudged me lightly, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts. "Hey, come on. We need to get out of this corner. Breathe. Remember the music. Focus on what's yours."

I took a shaky breath, nodding. My fingers brushed over my guitar's strings again, the familiar feel grounding me. I could survive this. I could survive them. I could survive this.

Because music had never let me down. And right now, it was the only thing I could hold onto.

Even if everything else — every expectation, every hope, every tiny dream — had been shattered tonight.

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A/N: love this song omg