Falling | JAEMIN

Chapter 8

"Are you okay?" Yerin asked, her voice breaking. She swallowed the rising lump in her throat, sniffling.

The person looked up and Yerin was surprised to see Jaemin's face staring at hers, with the same red puffy eyes that she had.

...

"Are you okay?"

Han Yerin.

Even in their broken states, Jaemin could tell who it was just from her voice. But for some reason, Jaemin had to look up at the girl to confirm that it really was her.

He had heard her voice break yet a part of Jaemin was still surprised when he saw that she had been crying as well.

Jaemin took a deep breath before wiped the tears that had accumulated on his cheeks, pushing himself up and off the floor.

"Come with me."

Jaemin took the girl's hand in his as he led her through the halls of the school, twisting and turning until they reached one of the editing studios.

Jaemin was surprised that the girl didn't let go or push him away with some snarky comment, but instead, silently followed, allowing herself to be dragged by the male.

Whatever made her cry must have hurt her a lot for her to act like this.

Jaemin placed his bag down before plopping down on the leather couches.

"This room is soundproof so no one can hear our conversation." Jaemin told her as he patted the empty space beside him.

Yerin nodded her head, taking the seat. Jaemin let out a deep sigh, turning to face the girl sitting next to him.

"So tell me, what made the firm-hearted girl inside you cry like that?"

...

Yerin didn't know what made her spill her heart out that night. Perhaps it was the fact that she was broken. Perhaps it was because Jaemin had also been crying.

Or maybe it was simply because she wanted someone to talk to.

"My parents got into a fight. A bad one." Yerin told him.

"Oh," was all Jaemin said as he scooted closer to the girl, leaning on the couch as he listened attentively. "Is there more?"

Yerin hesitated before nodding.

"They've been fighting for a while. My mother and father don't see eye to eye but they pretend to be the perfect couple in front of me and the press but the second the door closes it's just constant yelling and screaming, I don't know what to do, it's just so much."

Yerin had her head bowed, fiddling with her fingers as she spoke. She was surprised to feel a hand on her head, lightly brushing her hair.

"That must be frustrating." Jaemin said softly. Yerin nodded. "I don't live with my parents so I wouldn't know."

Yerin looked up to meet Jaemin's eyes. "You don't?"

Jaemin shook his head. "No, I live with the boys. Renjun, Jeno, and Haechan. We all moved out as soon as we came here."

"Wow, must be nice." Yerin said. Jaemin shrugged.

"I mean it's nice to live with friends but the reasoning behind it is kind of saddening." Jaemin told her.

"What is it?" Yerin asked.

"The reason?" Yerin nodded.

"Oh." Jaemin said, removing his hand from her hair and looking away. "We were kicked out."

"Kicked out?!" Yerin accidentally exclaimed. Jaemin nodded.

"Coming here was a decision we all made on our own, regardless of what our parents thought. Being an artist just wasn't what they wanted so we all left our homes." Jaemin said before looking up in thought.

"Actually, I think Renjun's good with his parents but he moved from China. And Haechan's family supports him too, he just lives far. But Jeno and I, we were both kicked out."

Yerin couldn't help but giggle at Jaemin's words. She quickly covered her mouth once Jaemin began staring at her.

"Sorry, I probably shouldn't laugh."

"No, it's alright." Jaemin said, smiling back. "At least you're not crying."

That reminded Yerin of why they were both in there. "Why were you crying?"

Jaemin's smiled faded instantly. "I'm banned from outside gigs."

Yerin's eyes widened in surprise. "That can happen?"

Jaemin nodded. "Yeah, I kind of deserved it though. I kept overbooking myself so I was always late for class, which kind of got me in the bad books. Taeyong gave me a warning to so I honestly should have saw it coming."

"Doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt." Yerin told him.

She heard a chuckle escape Jaemin's lips. "You know, Yerin, you're actually not a terrible person to talk to."

"You're not too bad yourself, Jaemin."

———————————————————————————

Is this.... friendship?