"Jae!"
Jaehwa's heart skipped a beat when Yerin suddenly grabbed her shoulders from behind. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the latter with palm placed over her mouth, laughing at how pale Jaehwa was.
"You could've killed me." Jaehwa hissed under her breath, pulling her knees closer towards her chest before she rested her chin on the top of them. She had no idea if she was too oblivious of her surrounding or the apartment complex had been quite silent recently, sounds of screeching tyres from the nearby roads and men laughing out loud no longer taking over the air of the night. Jaehwa exhaled loudly, faint puff of white smoke left her mouth as the consequence of her action. The temperature had dropped a bit considering spring would come soon, yet she couldn't deny that the chilly breeze was enough to make her teeth chatter.
Yerin smiled cheekily before she pulled out the other chair, sitting on it in a rather forceful manner before propping her elbows on the small table. "You're spacing out." She started, glancing over Jaehwa only to know she wasn't paying any of her attention to her. "It's only the second week of the semester."
Jaehwa huffed, words uttered by Yerin couldn't faze her at all at the moment. Her being was there, sitting at the balcony while staring at the city before her eyes, yet her mind was travelling somewhere. Deep inside, she was debating whether to keep what was happening to herself or let it out and tell Yerin. Yerin probably wouldn't be able to understand her either for her to have no relation with Jeongguk and Hyun, but the wavering emotions inside Jaehwa's chest were starting to kill her that she didn't think she could sleep a blink tonight.
"What are you thinking?" Yerin started, voice sounded monotone as if she wasn't that eager to know. However, knowing her and her nature, Jaehwa knew Yerin was trying to lure her to speak out the words that had been lingering her mind.
Jaehwa bit her inner cheek, the words stuck at the back of her throat when she tilted her head to get a better look of Yerin. Swallowing hard, Jaehwa dragged her chair closer to the table, biting down her lip once she realised that there was no way she could keep everything to herself.
"I'm worried." Korean had never been that difficult that Jaehwa seemed to not be able to speak well, as if the language was too alien for her tongue to pronounce each syllable. "A- about- about Jeongguk."
She saw how Yerin's eyes widened a tad bit upon hearing his name, probably didn't expect that Jaehwa would bring the name up. On daily basis, Yerin would've teased her for thinking about Jeongguk when she should be sleeping but looking at how gloomy Jaehwa was, she chose not to utter anything.
"Jeongguk?" Yerin repeated, a frown gradually formed on her forehead when Jaehwa nodded hesitantly. "Aren't you guys on good terms now? Why? Did he make mess with you again?" Jaehwa shook her head, causing Yerin to sigh out of frustration. "Then what's the problem? It's been long since I saw you spacing out thinking about someone like this. You should be sleeping, not staying outside."
"I'm worried about him." Jaehwa rubbed her face before tucking the loose strands of her hair behind her ears. "He will return Hyun to his real father tomorrow night. He wanted to convince me that he's fine but I know he's not. Yerin, do you think he will be okay? Do you think he can handle this?"
Lips agape, Yerin inched away from Jaehwa, confused at what she just heard. "Okay... look. I don't really get what you're trying to say but I know that Hyun isn't Jeongguk's son. Then, you once told me that Jeongguk hated the boy and now you are telling me that he's returning Hyun to his father? Wait, isn't that a good thing? Considering Jeongguk doesn't like him? Why should he feel sad though?"
"He loves him now." Was all Jaehwa could reply before she turned to look at the panorama again. "I've seen him cry for two times. He cried again just now. God, I don't know how should I say this but seeing how Jeongguk truly loves Hyun now make me want to do something but- but I can't do anything apart from seeing how crumpled he is. Even I myself can't sleep thinking about this, then how about Jeongguk? Can he sleep knowing that tonight is the last night he will sleep with Hyun? Can he go to class tomorrow knowing he's going to lose Hyun forever after that?"
Jaehwa buried her face in her palms, her chest felt heavy just by recalling how devastated Jeongguk sounded when she pulled him into her embrace.
"Then stay with him." Jaehwa jerked her head to Yerin almost immediately, shocked when she saw her friend's faint smile. Before she could respond, Yerin reached for her hand, caressing the back of her palm before giving it a light squeeze. "I'm sure you're the only person who feels him now, the only person who understands his situation. After all, you've been there all along so why don't you stay until the end, right?" Jaehwa's jaw almost dropped, couldn't bring herself to speak properly when Yerin continued. "Men, they're overflowing with pride because that's how men were told to be. Tough and will never let anything break them. But if you think about it again, aren't they humans too? Don't they have feelings too? No matter how tough they look, they are still humans." Yerin chuckled lightly, bringing her index finger to poke Jaehwa's cheek afterwards. "Give him a call. You know, just to make sure if he's okay. Let him know that he's not alone, because you're there. To help him."
________
Jaehwa leaned her back against the headboard, hand grasping her mobile phone yet half of her heart was unsure if it was okay to do what Yerin told her. It was almost midnight and that made more thoughts seep into her mind—what if Jeongguk had gone to bed? What if she woke him up?
She stared at the contact name again, reading the hangul characters over and over as if they were so foreign to her. One hand reaching for her plushie, one hand with her thumb hovering the green button.
God, making a call had never been this hard.
"Call him and ask if he's okay. Right." Jaehwa talked to herself, mumbling random words within the dimly lit room. "If he asks why, tell him that- damn it what excuse should I give?" Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Jaehwa buried her face into her plushie, screaming at the top of her lungs before she took a sharp inhale. "Whatever."
With a rush of adrenaline, she touched the green button, heart palpitating against her chest as she waited for the beep to end. Jaehwa's grasp on her plushie tightened out of her conscious as time went by. And the moment the beep ended, she swore to God her heart just came to a complete halt.
"Hello?"
Jaehwa wet her lips when Jeongguk's hoarse voice rang into her ear. She had never called him at this late at night and to hear how different he sounded at the moment made her forget everything she had planned to say.
"Jaehwa?" Confusion lacing his voice yet Jaehwa couldn't bring herself to respond properly. All she could do was fidgeting with the plushie, her toes curled out of habit when she heard Jeongguk laugh nervously. "You're planning to prank me, aren't you? I'm hanging u-"
"Are you okay?" Jaehwa finally blurted out as she squished the plushie hard.
"Hmm." Jeongguk hummed from the other end of the line, signalling that he was fine but Jaehwa could tell that he was lying. "I'm okay. Is that why you called?"
Jaehwa chuckled mockingly, shaking her head though she was fully aware Jeongguk wouldn't see the gesture. "Liar."
"Why would I lie?"
"You sound different." Jaehwa deadpanned. "Your voice sounds... deeper?"
"I'm a guy." Jeongguk spat, causing Jaehwa to scoff upon his response.
"You just cried, didn't you?" Jaehwa bit her lower lip when Jeongguk remained silent. Only the sound of his breathing was heard. Scared, she tried to pull a joke, hoping that would help to lift the mood up. "I think I heard someone cried from here."
"You're so sleepy, aren't you? You're talking nonsense now."
"Let's see if you're being honest. Turn on the video call." Jaehwa pressed her palm against her mouth when she realised what she just said, refraining herself from cursing upon her own stupidity. Just when she was about to tell Jeongguk that she was joking, a notification suddenly jolted her up and when she looked down at her phone, she saw Jeonggguk taking over the whole screen.
"Turn on yours."
Snickering in disbelief, Jaehwa then laid on her stomach and propped her chin on her hand. Looking at how dim the light was, she could tell that Jeongguk was currently lying on the couch in his living room. Despite the low intensity, each of his facial features managed to stand out as perfect as they always did. His jet black hair, his glistening big round eyes when he stared at the screen of his phone attentively, his sharp jawline when he angled his head to find a comfortable position on the couch—each of them was simply breathtaking, enough to make Jaehwa speechless.
"I'm not crying." Jeongguk was the first one to break the short moment of silence. "Sorry if it's a bit dark. Can you see me well? I'm here." He giggled, waving his hand towards the camera. "You're not talking alone."
"I can." She beamed. "Good then, if you're not crying. I called just to make sure you're okay." Jaehwa squinted her eyes, only to find Jeongguk staring without blinking even for a split second. "Since you're okay, then... I'm hanging up-"
"We just started video calling." Jeongguk whined, his free hand raking through his jet black locks. "Talk to me."
"I have class tomorrow." Jaehwa raised her eyebrows, but what she got in return was an annoyed stare from Jeongguk. "I need my beauty sleep. Good night, Jeongguk. I'm hanging up-"
"Talk to me." Jaehwa could see his gaze softened, his pleading voice made her stomach do somersault. "Please?"
_________
a/n:
a chapter for jeongguk and jaehwa because it's valentines day tomorrow ❤️