[ 1st May 2018, 6:34PM ]
the last two days, jaehyun tried to apologize to aeri for the weird behaviour he displayed. aeri apologized for what she said too, he was probably tired and had a lot of things on his mind. she wasnt the type to hold grudges. things became normal soon after. i guess you could consider that their 'first argument' and it was over a stupid ex.
aeri got ready for the party. it was a college party so she couldnt look ugly. she put on a simple black skirt with a small slit on the side with a pink lace top. she brought along her sweater just in case she got cold again, she wasnt going to let jaehyun lend her his sweater like the last time. jaehyun just wore loose black pants and on top of that, a sweatshirt over a collared tee. soft academia look.
aeri kept thinking to herself, whether she made it obvious that she liked him that night. not so obvious right? knock! jaehyun appeared at her doorstep. again, jungwoo was driving. they were from the same school, of course they were gonna arrive to the party together. jaehyun smiled and complimented aeri and vice versa.
"aw, look at us! the dynamic trio!" jungwoo yelled from inside the car. on the short walk to the car, jaehyun whispered to aeri, "you're not mad at me right? i know i was a dick," but aeri just cut him off and shook her head. "we're good, trust me," before he hugged her. and then off to the party they go.
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"damn, jaehyun got himself a young one," someone sneered the second the three of them stepped into the party. it already made aeri uncomfortable. jungwoo rolled his eyes, annoyed at how 'boys were being boys'. jaehyun whispered into aeri's ear, "if anyone touches you, just tell me. and if you're uncomfortable, find me or jungwoo," butterflies in her stomach, again.
she was sick of feeling them but what could she do? it's not like she could control how she felt. she nodded then trailed behind jaehyun into the party. why was she even here? she thought to herself. it was a new environment for her, she felt like she shouldnt be there. so she quickly put on her sweater that she brought along.
"would you be okay alone? we have to talk to someone at the moment," jaehyun pulled aeri into a corner. we being him and jungwoo. aeri didnt want to seem clingy so she just agreed. jaehyun smiled then said, "i'll leave you here okay? they are my very good girl friends," tapping on the backs of two girls.
one of the girls had short black hair and the other had long blonde hair. both of them wearing a bodycon dresses, four fingers above their knees. the two girls realized it was jaehyun and they put on a big smile and hugging him tight. according to jaehyun, the one with the black hair was named soomin and the one with the blonde hair was named minsu.
jaehyun left aeri to be alone with two girls he trusted. he knew they would take care of her. "so, you're aeri, right?" soomin asked, taking a sip of her drink. aeri nodded, she was a bit awkward at first, of course. it was understandable. "if you're feeling out of place. dont be, you're not the only highschooler here. these guys bring girls even younger than you," soomin continued, trying to make aeri feel better.
but aeri just furrowed her eyebrows in disgust. "sick, right? men are so gross here," minsu joined in the conversation. "but it's fine, the girls here know the guys who have been preying on highschoolers. when we sense danger, we try to help those girls," she exclaimed. aeri smiled, "you guys are so sweet." was all aeri could say.
"dont mention it. hey! you want a drink?" soomin offered aeri a drink, she left to go get her some and came back with a can of soda. she handed it to her, aeri thanked her and apologized for the trouble. "oh no, dont apologize! i heard from jaehyun you dont drink, and this is the only can they have in the fridge right now,"
the three of them started to talk. soomin and minsu discussed about their college life and aeri just talked about what was going on in her life. surprisingly, they got along well. it was a fun conversation.
"so... tell us all the details, where did you and jaehyun meet? are you guys an item or what? he always doesnt tell us stuff," minsu finally opened up to aeri. aeri took a sip of her drink before replying, "we met at the cafe near sopa. it's kinda embarrassing that he always saw me cry in the cafe," letting out a soft laugh, which lightened the mood among the three of them.
"and no, we're not an item. we both are just, you know - best friends," she continued. the two girls rolled their eyes, "you do realize it's impossible right? i'm sure one of you would catch feelings soon enough," minsu exclaimed. aeri shook her head, she tried to believe that they would forever be bestfriends and nothing more. "hey! wanna know a secret?" soomin spoke, walking closer to aeri.
"i second what minsu said. i thought jaehyun and i could be great friends. but then i caught feelings. shit. i mean he's a great dude and all, who wouldnt fall for him?" she confessed. it shocked aeri a bit, making her subtly choke on her water, but she tried to play it off cool. "and then what happened?" aeri asked.
soomin sighed, "he said he wasnt ready for a relationship of course. it was like six months ago. god! it's so embarrassing that i ever confessed to him, you know?" before chugging down her last shot of beer. she was probably a little tipsy.
"our theory is that jaehyun probably still has feelings for chungha," minsu spoke out of the blue. it made aeri's heart drop, but she tried to act like she didnt care. she just listened to both of the girls speak. they were both getting more and more tipsy. "he says hes fine but we know he isnt," minsu continued.
soomin, who was already getting another round of drinks, was gone from the conversation. minsu got up from the chair that she's sitting on, her cup empty, before she left to go get a refill, she said, "god, he needs to find a girlfriend. i hope someone will come and make him happy. we're hoping it's you, aeri, dont let us down,"
and then she left. gone. it was just aeri and two empty chairs right next to her. their conversation among the three of them lasted about twenty minutes. jaehyun was still gone. aeri wanted to find him but she didnt want to make it seem as though he brought along a clingy friend, so she just decided to sit down where she was right now and wait.
"you're new," aeri heard someone speak from right behind her. her heart almost fell out of her chest because she suddenly heard a voice over the loud trashy music they were playing. aeri turned around and it was a boy, of course. tall, had brown hair, wore glasses. what he wore, aeri did not seem to care.
he had a nice smile. "yeah, i guess," was all she could say. she was afraid, but the boy seemed nice and harmless. he made himself comfortable and sat right where minsu sat. there was an awkward moment of silence before he introduced himself. "eunsang," was all he said. so all she replied was, "aeri,"
"first name basis, are we?" the boy chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. judging from the colour, aeri guessed it was vodka. but she didnt care. he looked sober. aeri laughed uncomfortably. who the hell says that shit to a girl? she thought.
"so who picked you? taeyong? chanhyuk? jaehyun?" he asked. again, who the hell says that to a girl they just met? aeri just drank her soda, gulped it down and replied. "jaehyun?" her reply was uncertain. she didnt want to make it seem like she got picked by jaehyun to come. jaehyun invited her, his friend. he didnt pick her off the street and made her come.
"really? god, it's been long since jaehyun brought a girl," he laughed. aeri looked at the guy in confusion, "what do you mean?" she asked. "the last time he brought a girl was two years ago? she was so pretty. i think they broke up, then it's like damn this guy goes on a no-girl-streak or something," he replied.
aeri just tried to brush everything eunsang said all off. she brought up a different topic so the conversation wouldnt be awkward. and surprisingly, they got along too. shocker, huh? aeri thought that the party wasnt that bad, since she could click with some of them. they talked about food, dogs, and then about the weirdest thing they've done in school.
aeri enjoyed herself, talking to eunsang. and for the first time, she didnt think of jaehyun and felt butterflies in her stomach. they talked for so long that she finally finished her can of soda. and aeri drinks slowly. like. really slow. so imagine how long they were next to each other.
"come on," eunsang smiled. aeri raised her eyebrows, "excuse me?" she questioned. "let's go somewhere," he said, turning his body to face directly at her. aeri looked around, to see if she knew anyone. jaehyun, jungwoo, or even the two girls were just not in her sight. "i cant, uh, i have to stay put for jaehyun," she said.
"come on," he repeated the second time, but this time, he put her hand slowly on her thigh. aeri quickly moved away and took out her phone, trying to text jaehyun or jungwoo. aeri was always quick when it came to handling her phone, so right on time, she was about to text and send something, eunsang pushed her hand away from her face, the phone dropped on the floor.
"he's not here either. what kind of man ditches their date?" he grinned. aeri got up from her seat to take her phone, and quickly sent out a message before eunsang could even notice. she tried to leave after sending the text but then she felt someone grabbed her hand. "he doesnt have to know," he insisted.
"please leave me alone," she tried to sound firm, but she got scared by the minute. he was too strong and she was not a good match for him. "just one night," his grip getting tighter. "before i scream so loud that the party stops, leave me the fuck alone," she raised her voice.
"hey! that's not nice, right?" a man's voice from afar. coming closer, then breaking eunsang's grip from her. no, it wasnt jaehyun. it was jungwoo. finally, someone aeri knew. eunsang just smirked, "dude. just let me have her man, one night," begging him. standing right behind jungwoo, aeri just whispered, "let's just leave him," but jungwoo wouldnt let that pass.
"who the fuck even are you dude?!" jaehyun appeared from the crowd and finally getting closer to the scene. the music, still blasting on 100% volume, luckily nobody was causing a scene. aeri always hated the attention, so she was praying that both of them would calmly walk away from each other and act like nothing ever happened.
but before eunsang could even say whatever he wanted to say to jaehyun, he sent his fist flying right to eunsang's face, letting him fall with a loud thud. "fucking hell," aeri said to herself. she knew jaehyun well enough, he means every word he says. and when he said that he would beat anyone up for hurting his bestfriend, he meant it.
and before aeri had enough time to even react, the two of them were like cats and dogs, fighting. jungwoo tried to break them apart, but none of that mattered because aeri left. she left the party. no, she didnt go home. she just left to go into jungwoo's car. she didnt want to see her bestfriend get into a fight, plus she felt bad because it seemed like it was her fault for getting into trouble with a random college guy.
everything felt like her fault, and she felt so bad. even worse, because judging from all of jaehyun's friends and acquaintances, it seemed like he still had feelings for his ex girlfriend. but why did that hurt aeri so bad?