before you / jung jaehyun

eleven

and she didn't want him to leave her soon. who would walk her to school?

"jiyeon!" a shriek was let out. a girl's shriek. somebody was  screaming while running along the hallway. jiyeon screamed back. everyone's attention was focused on the shrieking girl.

when mark turned his back to see who was yelling so loud, his eyes widened. it was his classmate. not just his classmate. his ex girlfriend. the one he cheated on aeri with. aeri never knew her name.

kim yena. that was her name. she dated mark lee back when they were freshmen in high school. they lasted about eight months. apparently they were better off as friends. some people were just like that.

how come yena was screaming jiyeon's name so excitedly?

oh, thats right. jiyeon's new bestfriend is none other than mark's ex girlfriend. the devil herself. mark furrowed his eyebrow, "literally what the fuck is wrong with jiyeon? shes clearly being friends with my ex to make you angry. shes a sociopath, aeri," mark whispered closely into her ear as his arms wrapped around her body, pulling her into a hug.

aeri didnt care. she knew her friendship with jiyeon had already ended. as long as she had mark, and jaehyun still. it didnt matter. dont forget, sometimes jaehyun asks jungwoo to hang out with them too.

of course it still hurt, she still wanted to a girl bestfriend. but i guess she just hadnt found the right one yet. the look on jiyeon's face was indescribable. while the two of them saw mark and aeri hugging each other, minding his business, they both looked at each other and then at them again.

they had a plan. yes— a plan. a plan that nobody saw coming.

—
[ 4:48pm ]

jaehyun brings over a hot chocolate and a caramel macchiato over to the table. his shift ended. the cafe brought in a new worker. they realized jaehyun was actually putting in too much time into his shift and less time in his education. they needed to find someone to help replace jaehyun.

so that jaehyun could spend more time to concentrate on his studies. and that new worker was jungwoo, jaehyun's bestfriend. jungwoo was jobless. he was doing well in his studies, he needed a break. thus, only making him the best person for this job.

"remember woo! dont drop the tray!" jaehyun waved over to jungwoo who was at the counter, rolling his eyes, dreading work. jaehyun laughed. he looked back over to aeri who was also laughing away.

yes, jaehyun knew that mark got back together with aeri. life had been easier for him, for both of them, really. the day jaehyun called things off with jiyeon, he found himself to be a little happier. actually, he had no feelings at all. because he never really did feel anything for her.

aeri's life was a little easier. nobody was there to always criticise her. jaehyun and mark were always the ones to ask her if shes doing good. something jiyeon couldnt ask when they were friends because she changed. yes- jiyeon changed. for the worst.

jaehyun wasnt really supportive of them getting back together. jaehyun believed to never run back to what hurt you, there was a reason to leave, right? aeri believed in that too. that's why she never ran back to what hurt her, jaemin. jaehyun knew something would go wrong.

he had a gut feeling. he just didnt want to tell aeri. he knew she was happy. and it made him felt really good, seeing her happy. sometimes, he'd sit back and wonder, whether he would find the one, yet. he was lonely. aeri seemed so happy and he wanted someone to be there for him.

aeri used to be his emotional support human. but now it doesnt feel the same way anymore, especially since she's with mark now. things arent the same. but he just shut himself up.

"phew, life has been awesome these days. i dont have to force myself to like jiyeon anymore," jaehyun chuckled, sipping on his drink. he glanced over at aeri who has her eyes on the table, fiddling with her own fingers. she had a lot on her mind but she didnt wanna share. she wasnt going to be that kind of girl that wont shut up about herself.

"hey, whats wrong?" jaehyun noticed she wasnt herself ever since she walked into that cafe. jaehyun and aeri were always kind of the same person. they always put others' happiness infront of their own. it's a bad habit of them, but neither of them can help it. they care. they're just like that.

aeri shook her head. "no, im not gonna talk about me jaehyun, it's finally your day off-" she got interrupted by the boy infront of her. his hand on hers, he smiled, "something's bothering you, whats up?" he asked again. this time, his eyes reassuring her that its okay to just tell him whats on her mind.

she took a deep breath, before admitting whats on her mind. "did you know jiyeon's new bestfriend is yena?" she blurted out. it felt good, saying what was bothering her. she figured she didnt have to explain who yena was. since he was mark's senior and his good friend. wait. acquaintance?

his eyes widened. yes, he had a gut feeling that something bad was gonna happen. and now he's just sure something is going to happen. not later, but soon. especially if yena and jiyeon are friends now. should he say something? should he not? but she's happy. but he doesnt want her to get hurt later when she couldve done something earlier.

"aeri, please. something is off, dont you think? i have seen mark and yena together for months in that shit school. she's crazy, what makes you think they broke up?" jaehyun sighed, trying his best not to hurt her feelings. but all she could do was furrow her brows and think about what he had just said.

"why did they break up?" she couldnt help but ask. "she's crazy, aeri. she got so overprotective of every little thing it actually drove mark crazy," jaehyun explained what happened between the couple. he noticed how tense she got. "im afraid she'll do something bad to you, aeri," he exclaimed.

"i dont want you to get hurt," he confessed. suddenly he got a text notification from jungwoo, who was supposed to be cleaning tables.

new text message from: jungwoo
im eavesdropping ur convo and is
jiyeon friends with yena?

new text message from: jungwoo
bcs i just saw yena outside the cafe
2 minutes ago with mark???

new text message from: jungwoo
is ur gf meeting up with mark or what?
why would mark b with yena??

texting: jungwoo
stop calling aeri my gf u dick

new text message from: jungwoo
hoes mad

jaehyun just rolled his eyes and put his phone at the back of his pocket. he tried to look outside the cafe to see if he could find yena or mark. he knew something bad was gonna happen. jaehyun never trusted mark. he believed that some men are just evil.

and he believed that once a man cheats, he turns evil and that evil will never go away. the day he saw aeri cried her eyes out because mark cheated on her, he knew that mark had the type of evil that wouldnt go away easily. he would do anything to not see aeri hurt like that again.

and sometimes it frustrates him everytime aeri tells him that mark is perfect and that he has changed. men dont change. men are all the same. according to jaehyun. he just wanted to prove to aeri that he has been right all along.

"you wanna go for a walk?" jaehyun asked out of the blue. before aeri could even answer, he pulled her up and out the cafe for a walk. he turned around to look at jungwoo, the boys exchanged looks. they dont know what would happen next but jaehyun hoped that it wont hurt aeri as much as before.

this is the time for jaehyun to prove to aeri that mark lee wasnt the perfect man she thought he would be.