before you / jung jaehyun

twenty four

jaemin was a genuine boy, he doesnt mean any harm at all. he only wants what's best for the people around him. he was even thankful that he bumped into her, because to be honest, he was having a rough day. and seeing aeri made his day better. he missed her, but not in that way you know. 

when jungwoo's shift ended, jaemin said he had to go home. and aeri said, "sure! it's fine, jungwoo and i can walk home together," so jaemin took his bags and went off, waving goodbye to aeri and jungwoo. jungwoo took his bag and ushered aeri out of the cafe, walking her home. 

"so you're friends with jaemin again?" he asked. aeri nodded her head, "he's a nice guy you know. just because we were exes doesnt mean we cant be good friends," she said. until she realized what just came out of her mouth. 

"is this what jaehyun has been trying to tell me?" aeri asked, looking up at jungwoo. the boy just sighed, and shrugged. "it's different with him, he's just complicated," jungwoo exclaimed, brushing it off, telling aeri not to think so much about him and that he can handle the jaehyun situation by himself. 

"but i agree. jaemin is a good kid. he means no harm, i can see he was really happy when he was with you," jungwoo tried to change the topic, aeri hummed, which meant that she agreed too - at the part where he said jaemin was a good person. she always believed that. 

jungwoo walked aeri home that day. it was weird because she realized that jaehyun was never around. usually, he would drop by the cafe, school, or even drop a text. but she never bothered. maybe he was busy, with school or even with chungha. but it's fine, she thought to herself. she doesnt want to waste her time. 

there was no hope for them. 

-
[ 10:23PM ]

jiyeon has sent you a message:
youre friends with jaemin again?

jiyeon has sent you a message:
why?

aeri
i dont have to tell u why

jiyeon
why would you be friends with him again?

aeri
leave me alone

aeri blocked jiyeon's contact.

-

jaehyun has sent you a message:
aeri? can we talk?

aeri
okay

jaehyun
over the phone?

aeri
im kinda tired

aeri
just text me jaeeee

jaehyun
im sorry

jaehyun
for yesterday

jaehyun
i realized i fucked up

jaehyun
im always rambling about chungha 

jaehyun
and i know u hate it

jaehyun
and u probably hate her

aeri
yeah

jaehyun
but i feel like

aeri
??

jaehyun
i feel like i could move on if you just met her

aeri
Um. what

aeri
jae how tf would that help u move on

jaehyun
so that u meet her and u find out shes nice

jaehyun
it would help my conscience 

aeri
mf how 

jaehyun
it would make me feel less bad

aeri
???????????????

jaehyun
if you say shes a nice person

jaehyun
it would make me feel good

jaehyun
because it means that i didnt let myself go for a shitty person

aeri
what the fuck??? are u saying

aeri
why do u need my approval of ur ex gf 

aeri
its ok to admit if ur ex gf is shit btw

aeri
u and i had no problem admitting that mark was a shitty person

jaehyun
.......

aeri
u dont text me the whole day and when u do its to talk about ur ex?

aeri
just go to sleep jae 

aeri
ill see u in the morning

jaehyun
tomorrow is the party

jaehyun
jungwoo will bring you

aeri
whatever
[ seen ]

-

aeri locked her phone and threw it across the room. dont worry, she was cautious, it dropped onto the chair instead of the hard floor. why would jaehyun even say that to her? she just got so upset and she could feel herself getting heated up. 

she was mad that jaehyun left her for the whole day and when he came back it was to only talk about chungha. she knew that contacting his ex would backfire, and she wasnt afraid to tell jaehyun - i told you so. 

aeri just wanted to live in the world before jaehyun ever decided to contact chungha again. she was bad for him, everybody could see that, but why not jaehyun? why was it so hard for jaehyun to let go of her? there's a line of girls wanting to be with him and he's always stuck with the same person. 

the fact that she had to see jaehyun for the whole day tomorrow doesnt make things any easier. she felt like shit. like she just wanted to cry. we cant control who we fall for aeri. jaemin's words keep replaying in her mind. out of all people, why jung jaehyun?