━✧ Seven

                                    

                                          
"I never knew somebody like you, Kim Jennie." Jongin softly spoke out, a shade of a certain vulnerability painted on his face. Sincerity could be deciphered in the depth of his gaze.
                          
 Jennie, stunned by his sudden confession, was at loss for words. Her pinkish lips were slightly apart, and her eyes were sparkling with stars.
                          
"What...?" She let out in a staggered breath.
                          
There was a pause. Everything around them was wrapped in a unsure silence. Their eyes were lost in each other's gaze. Their lips held in thousands questions. 
                          
"Nothing." Jongin shook his thoughts off and broke their eye contact. 
                          
"O-Oh..." She looked away as she rubbed her sweaty palms against her thighs, letting out an awkward cough.
                          
"We should leave, it's getting late." He simply said.
                          
Jennie bit her lips as she still avoided meeting his gaze. 
                          
"Ah!" Jongin yelped in pain and sat back down in a hurry after trying to stand up.
                          
Jennie immediately looked at the older man who was grimacing in pain as he held his ankle. She quickly stood on her feet and rushed to his side.
                          
"Are you alright?" She asked, panic taking over her.
                          
"Y-Yeah.." He lied.
                          
He attempted standing up again, but his attempt was quickly followed by a pained complaint as his it failed. 
                          
"You're not ok at all!" She scolded the tall man.
                          
Jongin looked up at her in surprise upon hearing her raising her voice at him. It was the first time he ever encountered a junior who not only dared speaking to him in a manner no other junior would ever dare speaking to him in, but she also called him a liar and raised her voice at him. 
                          
It was at this moment he realized.
                          
She, who usually looked so intimidated by him, now had dropped the barriers she had set between them.
                          
She clicked her tongue in both annoyance and worry as she crouched down in front of him. Jongin's eyes were glued to her, surprised by her every move.

                          
She hesitated for a while, wondering whether he would think she was being disrespectful, but reached for his ankle anyway, worry taking over all of her other worries.
                          
"Does it hurt?" She asked before gently squeezing his ankle. 
                          
"Ah!" He grimaced, feeling an acute pain in his ankle.
                          
Jennie immediately removed her hold from his ankle and looked up at him, fearing she had hurt him.
                          
Jongin simply looked away and closed his eyes as he swallowed his saliva and clenched his jaw, a strong feeling of annoyance growing inside of him, ready to escape like a lion in cage.
                          
"Fuck this..." He murmured as he balled his hands into fists.
                          
Jennie silenced her wish to ask more questions when she noticed a tear falling down his cheek. She suddenly remembered the scene she had scene a month before. She remembered having seen him sinking to the floor and moaning in pain as he held his ankle when she had coincidentally saw him after the Seoul Music Awards. She remembered his cursing, the lies he had told his girlfriend over the phone, his pained expressions.
                          
She bit her lips in worry, realizing his ankle must have troubled him for a while. She wanted to burst into tears as her heart sunk down to her stomach at the sight of the man showing vulnerability. 
                          
She contained her emotions and quickly rose up to her feet. "Wait here for me. I'll get some medicine." She said in assured tone before turning around.