21

                                    

                                          

→ A WHILE LATER

Today there were no cameras surprisingly, It was a good thing though, because today was a rather unproductive day.
And of course, the whole house was walking on thin ice, since Jake was in a horrendous mood. 
I did consider going into his studio, which he locked himself for the whole day, the only time he came out was to grab a drink, and even so, he didn't look at me - completely blanked me as if I didn't even exist to him.
It lowkey hurt my feelings.
I sat on the edge of the kitchen counter, Mira coming in with Taeri. The two looked at me, a little unsure and an uncertain smile coming from their lips.
"What's up?" I asked them, confused about the expressions.
"Are you okay? You know, with all the threats and comments made about you." Taeri rubbed my shoulder, a saddened expression on her face.
I gave a chuckle, finding their care adorable.
"Oh you know me, I don't really take these things to heart." I gave a short laugh as they tried to give a happier smile.
"Yeah but - these are pretty brutal, especially the ones regarding Jake." Mira scrolled through her phone, pressing her lips together as she continued scrolling.
"Come on guys, it's nothing much. It's just comments made by people who can only hide behind a screen." I laughed, reassuring them.
Finally, they gave a smile, hugging me tightly after I reassured them that I was okay. It was one of the best things about being in a group, you have made forever friends.
They pulled away from me, looking up at me with sparkling eyes.
"What is it now?" I crossed my arms, a small smile forming on my lips. They gave me puppy eyes, almost wanting to request something from me.
"Well.. Jay asked if you could.. you know.. check up on Jake.." Mira looked around, as if she had nothing to do with this request.
"Me?!" I widened my eyes at this, out of everybody in the house, they nominated me? I didn't even know Jake for that long, I thought it'd be better to get someone from his own group to console him.
"Listen, you were the chosen one. I thought it would be a good idea to make one of the guys do it, but they all insisted you should do it." Taeri explained hurriedly, the puppy eyes persisting.
I groaned lightly, rolling my eyes but undeniably giving a wide grin.
"Oh alright, fine. Tell the guys next time to ask me personally instead of sending messengers." I chuckled, hopping off the side of the counter.
I was about to leave and head towards Jake's studio, before the girls spoke once again, stopping me.
"Oh and Haerin!" Taeri's voice made me stop, I spun around, looking at her.
"Hm?"
"Mingho is stopping by for weigh-ins. So just to let you know, be careful." Taeri's face was serious, and I thanked her for letting me know, it'd be bad if I just ate the entire fridge before he came.
I nodded my head, turning back round and giving out a quick exhale, heading towards Jake's studio.
I held my hand on his door handle, wondering whether I should really walk in. He seemed to be actually in a horrible mood - really? All over this Jinhyeong clip thing, seriously, it was nothing to be jealous about.
I found myself smiling, he was cute for that.
I gave a brief knock, and before he could even reply and let me come in - I walked in anyways. He had his headphones on, didn't even hear me knock anyways.
He spun around on his chair, glancing at me, and then turning back to face his computer. He slid the headphones down to his neck.
"What do you need?" Jake asked, still staring at the computer and not giving me any other looks.
"Well, just checking up on you.." I gave a light chuckle, feeling his bitter aura all around the room.
"Why?" His tone was very cold and upright, almost made me nervous to be here.
"I haven't seen you all day, you know, after the morning incident." I sat down on a chair, looking around his studio.
There was a wave of silence between us, until he turned to look at me, his face was stoic and cold, lips slightly tightly pressed together, and jaw clenched.
His eyes spared no warmth, and instead, just stared at me with this expression I couldn't quite decipher.
"Let me get one thing straight Haerin, since you clearly can't read the room." He cleared his throat, and already, my heart was starting to ache, "I'm not jealous of whatever relationship you have with Jinhyeong, nor do I care for a fact, you can get with any guy you want for all I care. All it was, was for the sake of the reality show. For content. Do you understand?"
His words were unnecessarily rude, the tone of his voice unlike I've ever heard before. My eyes softened, looking at him with a speechless look.
Jake swallowed hard before looking back at his computer screen and putting his headphones back on his head.
I stood up, not really knowing what to say to this.
"I hope you feel better.." Was all I meekly replied with, my heart feeling like it had just been grinded up into powder.
After that, I left the room in an instance.