𝟰𝟯: 𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗡𝗢𝗪?
𝙈𝘼𝙍𝙆 𝙇𝙀𝙀'𝙎 𝙋𝙊𝙑
It had been 10 minutes since Jaehyun came to make an appearance as Spiderman, and the party at Chenle's mansion continued. I had been trying to get out of the house to have that talk with Jaehyun, but Chenle had been bribing me to make him meet Spiderman personally again. When I had successfully gotten rid of Chenle with the help of Jisung, Juliane announced me her departure and I offered to get her home. I excused myself and claimed I had to visit the restroom, but in reality I swung out of the mansion and back to the tree where Jaehyun and I were in the beginning of the evening.
"Woah." I expressed after nearly slipping on the thick branch, but with my reflexes, I managed to grab ahold and hung for a bit, before pulling myself up to join Jaehyun who was still suited in the Spiderman suit, seeming to be deep in his contemplation. "Whats up? What did you want to talk about?"
Sure I sounded casual about this, but deep down I was impatient. I wanted to know what the hell was happening.
"Mark," Jaehyun started, letting me take a seat first before continuing. "Juliane is in danger."
"W- What? What do you mean?"
"Do you remember the girl I've been keeping an eye on, almost everyday after our night duties? The one I talked about to you? It's her. It's Juliane Moon."
"But... But you've been talking about her since like... forever. You don't mean to say that she's been under heavy hazard after all this time."
"Ever since the entire high-tech weapon case commenced, she's always been in great danger."
I felt light-headed and a bit disoriented, as mind began buzzing aching concern. I whipped a sweat from my brow, feeling overwhelmed about this sudden information. "You're saying she's involved in this case?"
"She is, and it all stems to her father, Mr. Moon. It's her father business' that allows all these prohibited high-tech weapons and materials get snuck into Queens. MoonDelivery is the most known international shipping company, especially amongst rich people. Apparently, the shipments don't get an inspection from the government for safety precaution because they very much trust Mr Moon. Or so they thought."
I felt surprised by this unexpectedness. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my breathing became short and shallow. I felt overwhelmed with a sudden surge of adrenaline, causing me to feel shaky and anxious. I struggled to collect my thoughts and process of the situation, his body flooding with emotion and shock.
"Wait... Are you saying she's connected to the bad guys?"
"No, fortunately not. I've been trying to connect the dots whilst investigating and inspecting from afar. I believe somebody is using Mr. Moon to get ahold of these prohibited weapons and materials through extortion. They're threatening Mr. Moon through the act of harming his children, both Taeil Moon and Juliane Moon. Though, they never truly intend to hurt them, but there had been cases, especially with Juliane where she could've been possibly harmed because the main culprit had been sending his men to do the job but... I was there to stop them before they could even come in contact with her."
I was mixed with many emotions. I was shocked, overwhelmed, worried, but also a bit angry. And anger was always the strongest emotion, so it took control of my body. "What the fuck Jaehyun... Why the hell didn't you tell me about this way before?"
"Look, I'm sorry Mark, I didn't know you knew her-"
"I do not have to know her to know about this!" My voice raised with intensity, clearly suggesting that I was angry. My pulse raced and I breathed heavily, almost as if I would burst. "This is like a huge lead to the case we've been trying to figure out for over several months now. And you only tell me this now? I thought we were in this together."
"We are-"
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Jaehyun didn't say anything, he kept his gaze away from me.
"Why?"
Yet again, another silence from Jaehyun.
"Why?!"
"I don't know!" Jaehyun shouted, so loud in the silence of the night. He sighed and looked down, his jaw clenching before mumbling. "I don't know."
The tension still hung above us, but the silence was helping it to ease up.
To be honest, if it weren't Juliane and it happened to be a mere random woman, I wouldn't have reacted like this. I would've just been disappointed that Jaehyun didn't tell about this lead he had been keeping to himself.
But in this case, since it was Juliane, I was angry. How could I not? Juliane, whom I cared so profoundly for, had been in danger everywhere she'd been: No wonder why that Goliath appeared at school, and no wonder why those two men appeared at Chenle's last party, claiming to be there for 'something precious' which was her. I just hated it. I hated the fact that I didn't know she was involved in this mess and could've been harmed badly, and I wouldn't have been there to be for her.
Was it my fault that I didn't investigate enough just like Jaehyun? Or was it his fault that he didn't say anything to me?
I liked to believe that it was nobody's fault. I didn't want to argue with Jaehyun, especially after knowing about this, because we needed each other now to finish this case and have danger unlatch on Juliane.
"Look... I'm sorry I snapped." I said, wanting to break the silence. "It's just, she's precious to me and of course I'd react like this. I'm sorry."
Jaehyun shook his head, his lips forming into a small, weak smile. "No, I understand completely. I'd react the same if I were you, she's precious to me too."
Precious to him? Did that mean that this whole time, Jaehyun and I had been sharing the same crush without even knowing?
It was a normal feeling to feel threatened about this, especially when Jaehyun was a person that would be admired both by being Venom but as well as his own self. I had always envied Jaehyun ever since Venom and Spiderman collaborated, well perhaps idolized would be more suitable, and I idolized him because of his abilities and even looks. Now knowing that he had always been out there looking out for the one girl I admired the most, that made me envious of him.
"Does she know?" I asked.
Jaehyun shook his head, but paused, then shrugged. "Not really. I mean, the first time I ever approached her, my plan was to tell her but I ended up not doing it because I didn't want her to live in fear. So I eventually decided to guard her from afar, but approach her as a friend. But I think she might be suspicious about it, she knew I wasn't just there to be her friend, but I didn't tell her anything."
I tilted my head. "How long have you been in contact with her, exactly?"
"Not long. Probably two-three weeks or so. But I mean, I've known her since last year." Jaehyun looked down at his hands and tried to suppress a smile. I could see the blush on his cheeks even in the darkness. "She always walks to school, right? And every morning, I see her... She's quite a sight for sore eyes, I think you'd know that too. And as creepy as it sounds, I'll admit that I followed her around the city from time to time. I wanted to stop because I felt like a total creep, but then I started noticing that there were other people watching her too, and I knew that was a red flag... So I continued."
I knew how Donghyuck felt now, when he said how painful it was for him to hear Naomi talk about Flash back then.
Hearing somebody speak their care and admiration about Juliane like that, crushed my heart. It was painful. Very painful.
And I hated to admit this. But I felt extremely insecure now too.
Of course I didn't want to hear more about his small crush on my crush, so I changed the topic. "Should we tell her?"
Jaehyun's eyes widened a bit, seeming hesitant about my suggestion. "Tell her? I don't know... It could have its pros and cons."
"Yeah, that's true." I said. "We'll keep her safe from the distance, but if things go out of hands, we'll tell her."
Both Jaehyun and I looked each other in the eyes, our heads nodding in agreement.
"Well, I'm gonna take her home now." I said and slowly lifted myself up from the branch, now crouching instead. "You can head to head to my apartment to return the suit. Johnny is there, so you should be fine."
Jaehyun nodded. "Okay~ Get her home safely, and you too, be safe."