(A/N: New one-shot book out for your reading pleasure. Thank you for your support.)
Y/N's POV:
Damn this big ass school and its many hallways.
I completely had forgotten how maze-like this school was. Because I was blinded by my emotions from seeing Nayeon and Sangwook together, I foolishly just walked and walked until I had no idea where I was.
It's funny how I said that I wanted to waste as little time as possible, but here I am... wasting all my time trying to get out of here.
After some time, I finally found the exit to the school and I just ran out of there as soon as possible.
From what I could remember from the flashback, Nayeon and I took this rou-
And there they were. I can't believe that I was right based on a flashback from nearly a decade ago.
The way that Nayeon and Sangwook were walking was the spitting image of me and her. Just the two of them happy as ever as they talked, all while holding hands.
Honestly... I chased them with no clear plan in mind, so what should I do now?
Should I turn back and walk away..?
Maybe I'll just casually stroll past them like I was coincidentally going in the same direction.
Nah, scratch that. Sangwook would beat my ass later if I pulled that stunt.
With every thought that passed through, the two of them were slowly inching further and further away from me. I just groaned in dismay as I facepalmed myself. Just what could I do?! What would be the correct choice at this moment?
"Screw it..." I grumbled in a low tone, "I'll just have to follow them."
At this point, I couldn't think of anything else that I could do. If I left the scene, the first incident could happen and I would've failed to prevent it from happening. If I got too close to them, I'd provoke unnecessary violence from Sangwook and his guard would be on high alert after today.
It's a simple deduction process.
Since I couldn't get too far from or too close to the two of them, why not stay in the middle of those two things? So that's why following them was the only option that I saw fit. For one, I wouldn't be too close to Sangwook and I could still be there for Nayeon whenever the first incident happens.
I wouldn't exactly call this a win-win scenario, however... so I guess it's more of a tie-tie scenario? I'm not sure how to exactly label this situation yet.
"Haha! Sangwook, stop!"
My head immediately jerked in the direction of Nayeon's voice. I began to pick up my pace until I was close to them but not TOO close. From behind a tree, I watched the two of them as they just bantered with each other.
It seemed like they were in deep conversation about something. Only being able to see their side profiles, I could see the prominent smiles on both their faces. Whatever Sangwook was telling Nayeon made her laugh so much. And to my dismay, her beautiful smile remained plastered on her face because of him.
"Ugh," I tsked in annoyance, "He's not that funny, Nayeon. I'm way funnier than him."
"Uh, mommy?"
I turned and saw a little boy standing behind me. He wasn't even being discrete with his staring. He just blatantly stared and pointed at me.
See, this is why I despise kids sometimes. They have absolutely no shame and will put your business out there for the whole world to hear! Not only was he just staring at me, but he was also borderline YELLING.
"Why's that guy watching those two people?"
How dare this kid try and blow my cover like this?! I've tried my damn hardest until now to be sneaky so I'm not going to get caught right here.
I didn't want to yell at the kid because that'd blow my cover AND I'd feel a little bad, I guess. So instead, I just gave the kid the meanest piercing glare that I could. I guess I scared him since his eyes got teary as he began to apologize for bothering me. I've never seen a kid run away as fast as that kid did.
Serves him right...
Now that my cover was safe once again, I turned my head back around and sighed in relief.
But of course, my relief didn't last for long. I felt my heart stop once more when I realized that Nayeon and Sangwook were nowhere in sight. They were long gone already.
"You've got to be kidding me," I croaked, tightening my grip on the tree, "Why is nothing going my way today?"
After sprinting non-stop to the JYP building, I was exhausted and my legs hurt. Turning the corner to get to the entrance of the JYP building, I froze and retreated behind the corner when I saw that Sangwook was already waiting there for Nayeon.
Pulling my phone out, I called my mom and told her that I'd be getting home late.
"Alright then... Just be careful, okay?"
"I know, I know... I will be..." I answered.
Ending the phone call, I peeked around the corner and saw that Sangwook was still there. Juwon was correct when he told me what Sangwook had said in the bathroom. The Kishi was serious about the vow that he declared.
It's a shame that I'm stubborn as well. Like Sangwook, I'll just stay here until Nayeon gets here. I just need to make sure that he doesn't see me. The last thing that I needed was an interrogation from him.
I found a bench and decided to sit there as I waited for Nayeon to leave. If I had to guess, I knew that I'd be here for a while so I just put on some earbuds and started listening to music as I watched the world around me.
.
.
.
I've been waiting here for 3 hours? Or was it 4..? Or maybe it was 5? Either way, I've been waiting here for a long ass time that I was getting visibly irate. It was close to 9 PM and I stopped keeping track of the time at this point.
The entire time was spent glancing at Sangwook's silhouette and listening to music. For all the time that I spent here, he didn't even move a fucking muscle and I was impressed truthfully. It was like Sangwook was a scarecrow or something with the way he just stayed ever so peacefully in one spot.
Suddenly, I saw a whole ton of people exit the JYP building all at once. I'm guessing that these were the trainees since each one of them looked sweaty, tired, and all-around disheveled in both appearance and spirit.
Those poor souls... seems like being a trainee is hard as hell...
Out of instinct, I quickly stood up and tried to pick Nayeon's face out from the crowd of trainees. I wanted to yell 'IM WHERE ARE YOU?' from the top of my lungs with the hopes that she'd recognize me, but I was exhausted myself.
Plus, that'd be rude on my end, considering that all of these trainees would be the victim of an earful when all they want to do is go home and rest.
To sit in one place for hours at a time while waiting for ANYTHING to happen was mentally exhausting. Truthfully speaking, I don't even know how I was able to do that without getting tired at all. I guess I had an iron will in the past... Considering that I'd do anything for Nayeon's sake, that was explainable.
And then, there she was. I had finally spotted Nayeon. She was the last person—it seems—that had finally left the building. Like the delusional person that I was, I was hoping that she'd run straight to me...
To catch her in my arms and to fully embrace her with a proud heart... that's only a far dream now. It's a dream that I had taken for granted all those times.
Exactly like in the dream, she looked adorably tired as she left the building. Once she saw him, she became energized once more and immediately ran over and hugged him. Blah, blah, blah, I'm sure that I get this already...
All of the things that she did afterward were the same as well. I shouldn't have to bore myself with these types of detail if I already knew what was happening. The only thing that was different about this wasn't her hair color or her tone, it was just Sangwook. Instead of me being the one that she looked forward to, it was Sangwook.
Though it hurt my heart to accept the conditions and differences within this alternate reality, I just couldn't. No matter how hard I tried to, it was just the same outcome every single time: a broken heart and a defeated demeanor.
From where I was standing, I couldn't hear their conversation at all. Truthfully, I could care less about that. The only thing that I wanted to do was just keep an eye on them. In my mind, I only wanted to prevent the first incident from happening; I didn't need any conflicting and trivial thoughts to muddle my thoughts.
I just trailed behind them as the two of them made their way to Nayeon's house. Nothing happened and Sangwook was successful with dropping her off at her home. Once they said their goodbyes to each other, he went home and so did I.
After showering once I got home, I was on the brink of passing out. Laying on my bed, I was conflicted about how today ended. I was relieved that the first incident didn't happen, but for some reason... I kind of wished that it did.
No, I'm not a sadist that wants to see Nayeon in pain from the incident. That's just strange in my opinion... really strange...
I just wanted to show this Nayeon that I could be a hero too. You know, like the ones that save the day? And that I could be someone that she could rely on.
Besides Nayeon, I wanted to prove things to myself as well. I wanted to prove to myself that I'm not all that worthless... and that I would be there for her no matter what.
Just thinking about these things was making my eyelids heavy. I tried to fight the fatigue but it was already settling in. All that I could do now was just embrace it.
"I promise Im..." I tiredly said, "I'll... do anything... to stop... it..."
.
.
.
Day 10, 52 days left...
[Wednesday]
I can't. I don't think that I'll be able to prevent this incident from happening. More precisely, I don't think that this incident will even HAPPEN. Each day that Nayeon has had to train after school, Sangwook is always there without fail.
I'll give him props for keeping his words, but honestly, I wish that he'd just go run off somewhere else. With him here, the first incident won't even trigger and in turn, I'm unable to prevent it from happening!
I guess while Sangwook's routine is to walk with Nayeon to and from the JYP building, my routine has been to trail behind them to and from the building.
"Tsk. Why is this shit so hard?" I complained as I watched them from behind a corner.
Like the usual, Sangwook and Nayeon are in front of the building. Nayeon's practice was about to start, but she was saying her final farewells to her... boyfriend. Just calling Sangwook her boyfriend made me want to puke. I could see that he was being playful and he didn't want her to go.
That... I can't blame you on that Sangwook. I was the same way...
"Oh? Aren't you Nayeon's new friend?"
"New? Tsk. I'm her childho-"
Turning around to reprimand whoever was behind me, I jumped from the scare when I finally realized that someone was behind ME.
"OH MY GO-" Before I blew my cover, I placed both hands over my mouth to make myself shut up.
I just stared at Jihyo when I realized that it was her who snuck up behind me. When did she even get there?! I think I was too focused on the two of them that I didn't even hear her sneak up on me.
Jihyo was just laughing at me, "Oh my god. Song Y/N is Mr. Stalker now! I'm calling you that instead of Nayeon's new friend from now on!"
"God Jihyo, I am not a Mr. Stalker!" I retorted.
"Mmm..." She pretended to think deeply about my words, "If you say so." She shrugged as she calmed down from her laughter.
I saw that Jihyo, herself, was wearing a school uniform too. From the uniform itself, I could tell that she 1) went to a different school and 2) just got out of school as well.
"You're doing after-school training too, I'm guessing?"
Jihyo nodded her head, "Been doing that like every day."
"Ah, okay, okay." I turned my attention towards Nayeon and Sangwook again.
It's a good thing that they were still being all lovey-dovey. They hadn't even moved from their spots yet. Hell, Nayeon hadn't even gone inside the building yet.
For some reason, I thought that Jihyo would leave me be, but she stayed right behind me for some reason. Copying me, she peeked her head from the corner and saw what I saw.
"So you're stalking Nayeon and...?" Jihyo squinted her eyes, "Wait... IS THAT HER BOYFRIE-"
I had to put my hand over her mouth this time. Why was everyone trying to blow my cover nowadays?! With her muffled voice and her wide eyes, she couldn't believe that I had done that to her.
"Yes, that's him!" I quickly whispered as I took my hand off her mouth, "And no I'm not 'stalking' them!"
"So if you're not 'stalking' them, then what are you even doing watching them from behind this building?"
Awh shit Y/N... think, THINK...
Scratching my non-itchy nape, I said the first thing that I could think of.
"I was just around in the area and thought that it was them. Wanted to make sure that it was so I wouldn't walk up to random strangers, you know?"
"Mmm, I guess that makes sense."
"Yeah, just don't tell them that I was 'stalking' them," I told her while doing air quotes.
She rolled her eyes and smiled, "Fine, fine. I won't, Mr. Stalker. Since you didn't tell anyone about those 'secret rooms,' I won't tell Nayeon about you stalking them."
Jihyo started to walk off before she looked at me again. I just gave her a puzzled look because she just suddenly stopped like that.
"Aren't you going to go see them?" She asked, "I'll go with you if you're too scared."
"Uh... sure..." With the way that things were now, I couldn't hide anymore. I'd just have to come clean since Jihyo would've ratted me out if I decided not to. Then, Sangwook would interrogate me and I don't need all of that, you know?
The two of us walked towards the JYP building entrance and Nayeon's head turned when she heard Jihyo yell out her name. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw me a few inches from Jihyo and the corner of her lips drooped downwards.
"So this is your boyfriend?" Jihyo asked as she pointed at Sangwook.
Nayeon nodded her head and Sangwook did all of the friendly introductions and whatnot to Jihyo. Once Jihyo and Sangwook exchanged greetings, the two girls went into the building and waved goodbye to us. Of course, Sangwook and I pretended to be cordial until we couldn't see them anymore. When it was finally just the two of us, I heard him sigh a bit.
"So you don't take my fucking warnings it seems," He snarled, making eye contact with me. "What did I tell you?"
"Relax man!" I said, stretching my body, "I came here to try the PC Bang spot around here."
Sangwook's expression softened as he heard my lie, "P- PC Bang?"
I nodded, "State-of-the-art computer and comfy chairs, I heard. It's like Heaven there."
He seemed tempted and I could tell that he was itching to go to it. I smirked a bit and enticed his temptation a bit more. He was making this way too easy for me.
"Hey man. The PC Bang isn't even far from here. It's only 5 minutes from JYP."
"5 minutes, huh...? That means I could play in the PC Bang, but still be back here for Nayeon..."
"And you could play with your friends in those co-op games!" I chimed in.
"Yeah... yeah you're right," He patted me on the back as he flashed me a devilish grin, "For an idiot, you're smart."
Walking away from me, he left me there as he was going for the PC Bang, I assumed.
"Hey! What about Nayeon?" I yelled.
"Don't worry about it. I'll be back."
============================
3rd Person POV:
"No, no, no. Nayeon, you're doing it wrong again." The dance instructor said, "What's up with your performance tonight? It's sloppy."
"I'm sorry... I'm just out of it today..." Nayeon muttered.
"It's fine. Don't let it consistently happen or else you'll fall behind the others."
With a forced smile, Nayeon nodded, "Ne, ne. I won't."
For the whole practice, Nayeon was in a daze of some sort. She simply didn't understand why you were there with Jihyo. At school, the two of you barely hung out and after school, she didn't have the time for you with her training. And when she did see you outside of school for the first time this week, you were at Jihyo's side.
'I should talk to Y/N more... I don't want to make him feel neglected...'
Something about seeing you and Jihyo together made her feel that uneasy feeling again. It was like the feeling that she felt when she heard you and Jihyo talking the last time you were here.
She didn't know why she was feeling so... unhappy? Annoyed? There were too many words to choose from. It wasn't Jihyo's fault or your fault for the reason that she was feeling this way. It was her conscience's doing.
3 hours later...
The practice was finally over and it was time to head home. Walking out of the building, Nayeon and Jihyo talked to each other about today's session. Standing there outside the building was Sangwook as always. Just seeing her boyfriend there made her energized again and she ran to him.
"Hey Nayeon," Sangwook greeted her as she hugged him back.
"Hey, Sangwoo-"
"ALL HAIL GOD JIHYO!"
Turning her head in the direction of your voice, Nayeon was surprised to see that you were still here. Yet, she was more surprised at the fact that you had already given Jihyo some weird nickname when you two only met one time before this.
"Oh my god, you're so weird!" Jihyo's cheeks crimsoned when you yelled out that embarrassing nickname for her.
She just hit your back as you kept laughing. Nayeon was in that daze again. Just staring at you and Jihyo ever so close to each other. She never heard that laugh in so long. The laugh that you'd always give her when you two always hang out. She missed that.
Sangwook chuckled, "Those two look close, don't you think?"
"A little too close..." Nayeon muttered under her breath.
Day 13, 49 days left...
[Saturday]
Even if it was the weekend, there was still late-night training. Right now, Nayeon was thinking about you since you two haven't talked or anything both outside of and inside of school.
When she saw you in school, she'd try to talk to you, but Sangwook was always there. Outside of school, she didn't want to bother you when Jihyo was there. It really was a lose-lose situation in her mind.
On her phone, Nayeon was scrolling through her contacts when she suddenly saw your name pop up. It's like you've been unreachable these past days. Something inside her was telling her to reach out to you.
Without thinking, she already pressed the send button and waited for you to answer. Almost instantaneously, you messaged back.
—————————————————
Pabo Y/N
Y/N? You there?
Ne, ne. What's up?
Nothing, just missing my best friend ㅠㅠ
Wowwwwwww
Do you really? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
No, I was lying, you dummy
):
I'm kidding, of course, I do :P
Then let's hang out before your practice tonight, ne? (:
Okay (: See you then~
—————————————————
Rereading your last message, Nayeon finally had something to look forward to on this boring Saturday. It'd just be like the old days where it was just you and her... without Jihyo.
Wait... Jihyo?
Nayeon got confused all of a sudden. Why did Jihyo come to her mind when she thought about you? It didn't make any sense to her.
On the other hand...
"YES! YES! YES! YES!"
You were in your room celebrating when you read her messages. It's been so long since you've been able to hang out with her. Between Sangwook and her late-night training, she didn't have the time to talk to you lately. You were glad that you'd finally get to spend some time with her after 13 days in this universe.
"You're so happy over something so... trivial?"
Zadkiel's voice flooded your mind again and you swore that you'd have a heart attack from him one of these days.
"You wouldn't understand, Zadkiel. You've never been in love." You said as you tidied up around your room. If anyone had come into your room right now, they would've thought that you were talking to yourself.
"You're right I wouldn't understand... but I do understand that the first incident hasn't been resolved either."
"C'mon, give me a break. I've been trying here, but I don't know if it'll ever happen honestly."
"Just saying Y/N, I have a hunch that that'll change today."
Few hours later...
Ever since Zadkiel had said those subtle words, you were on the edge the whole time. From his words, Zadkiel was implying that the first incident was happening tonight, regardless of the situation.
"Hello? Y/N?" You felt a napkin hit your face as you awoke from your deep concentration. The perpetrator was just laughing when she saw your face.
You and Nayeon were hanging out at a cafe close to JYP. You were just zoning out for the most part ever since Zadkiel had told you that. For the first incident, it wasn't a matter of if it'd happen now. It was just a matter of when it'd happen.
"I'm sorry, I'm just thinking about some...stuff..." You told her as you used your straw to mix your drink.
"Care to tell me? You know I'm always open to listening to your problems."
The way that Nayeon gave you that reassuring smile made you feel butterflies in your stomach. It made you feel like a big idiot that had a crush all over again.
"Ah, it's fine Im. Don't wo-"
"Boo." Hearing that in your ear when you were out of it today made you almost lose it. It seemed like everyone loved scaring you nowadays.
"OH MY GOD," Your voice raised from the scare. Turning to see who scared you, it was none other than Jihyo, "Jihyo?! You gotta stop scaring me!"
Nayeon didn't even realize that it was Jihyo either. At first, she thought it was just some random girl until she saw those distinctive eyes of hers. Her smile subtly dropped once she saw you talking to her again.
And just like Jihyo's surprise visit to the cafe, Sangwook was here as well. He was going to quickly order a drink and leave, but decided to stay once he heard your voice. When he saw you, Nayeon, and Jihyo sitting together at a table, he was very upset. Without thinking, Sangwook left the counter and headed toward their table.
"Hey, Sangwook? Where are you going, bro?"
"I gotta deal with something."
"But bro, we were gonna hang out at that PC Bang today!" His friend said.
All week, Sangwook and his friends planned to hang out at that PC Bang ever since Sangwook told them about it. His friends were annoyed at how he was flaking on their plans now.
"We'll still play at the PC Bang but you guys just go on ahead, alright? I'll catch up."
Sigh "Yeah, okay okay. We'll save you a spot." His friend reluctantly said, grabbing their to-go drinks as they left.
"Hey, babe!" Sangwook said as he got to the table. Everyone, including Nayeon, was surprised to see his face.
"Sangwook... you're here?" Nayeon asked in a half-surprised, half-deflated tone.
"Was getting a drink until I saw a familiar face," He smiled, "So what're you doing here?"
"Ah, I was just hanging out with Y/N here," Nayeon said, pointing to you.
"Is that so?" Though Sangwook's tone was calm, his thoughts were a chaotic maelstrom, "Well, I'll just hang with you 3 then."
To be honest, Nayeon felt happy that he was here now. She felt like she wouldn't be 'left out' now that Sangwook was here. Yet, you weren't leaving her out of the conversation at all. Both you and Jihyo were including her in the conversations but she just didn't engage for some reason.
While you and Jihyo were talking, you couldn't help but steal glimpses of Nayeon. It seemed like her mood had improved once that wretched devil came by. You were upset that this whole plan to hang out with her was a total bust. Ever since his self-insert into the hangout, Nayeon was practically ignoring you now and you were getting annoyed.
The chair squeaked as you quickly arose from your chair. Everyone's head turned to you as they saw that enigmatic look on your face.
"It's time for practice. Shouldn't you both be going?" You asked disdainfully, looking at Nayeon and Sangwook.
Your thoughts were lost at that moment and you weren't thinking clearly. Turning to Jihyo, you held her hand as you made eye contact with Nayeon. At this point, you were desperate. You just wanted her to feel the same things that you felt every time that you saw her with Sangwook.
End