A Simple Misunderstanding
Leader X Maknae: A Series of JiTzu OneshotsSummary: She knew she was overreacting. But what if her girlfriend was really cheating on her?
Tzuyu wasn’t one to feel envious.
She knew her girlfriend was loyal, that she was sure. Jihyo was kind and loving, and she definitely wasn’t the type to cheat. However, as she watched her girlfriend giggle and joke around with whoever it was on the other end of the call, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of discomfort tug at her heart.
She didn’t have to be a genius to know who Jihyo was on the phone with. She and a certain GFriend member have been at it all week, between breaks and on their free days despite the rigorous schedule they had. She didn’t mind at first but when the calls became longer and more frequent and the older girl began spending less and less time with her, she couldn’t help but feel a tad bit betrayed.
Out of the nine, Twice’s leader probably had the most connections with idols from other groups, many of whom were ex-JYP trainees she had met during her ten years of training. Yerin wasn’t one of the trainees however, and yet she still managed to build a tight bond with the girl.
“We’re just friends,” Jihyo would reassure her time and time again. But could you blame Tzuyu for worrying. The two “friends” have even went as far as buying couple items together and going out together on their so called “dates.” The thought of which simply made Tzuyu sigh.
Trust… She’s always had an issue with trust. Plagued by the fear of being betrayed, Tzuyu learned to be careful around others, locking away her feelings behind closed doors, only letting a selected few through and even then, she still had her insecurities.
But Jihyo was different. She had managed to sneak pass the walls and claim Tzuyu’s love as her own. The older girl had showered her with so much care that Tzuyu wondered how she could ever repay her.
Then overthinking became her weakness, slowly eating away at her trust. She started to grow anxious. Yerin, from what she knew, was as pretty as she was charming, someone whose personality seemed to compliment Jihyo's better than her own. The thought of which made her sigh the umpteenth time.
“What’s with all the sighing?” The voice jolted her out of her thoughts. Having been so caught up in her thoughts, Tzuyu hadn’t heard the leader coming until she had slipped her arms around her waist. Jihyo rested her head against her girlfriend’s shoulder, and Tzuyu found herself unconsciously leaning into her touch, comforted by the older girl’s presence. And for a moment, she almost let go of her worries altogether.
Almost.
She turned to greet the older girl but stopped as she eyed the way Jihyo was dressed, not in the usual T-shirt and shorts she wore around the dorm, but in a white blouse and those sinfully tight jeans. The older girl looked ready to go out on a date, and the mere thought of it sent Tzuyu’s heart dropping.
“Are you going somewhere?” she asked, wincing at how shaky her voice was from the fear and worry she was experiencing. Not that Jihyo noticed. She was too focused on her phone as usual.
“I have a dinner date with Yerin,” she replied, the bright smile on her face as she texted only gave Tzuyu a sinking feeling in her stomach. Just hearing the word “date” was nearly enough for her to throw all logical thinking out the window.
“Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say. Her heart wasn’t in its place anymore. Should she stop her? Tell her to not go? She didn’t think she had the right to. She wasn’t even mad; just very very disappointed.
“Tzuyu?” She barely heard the older girl call out to her. “What’s wrong?” Jihyo cupped her cheeks as she spoke, her voice laced with concern. But said girl just shrugged the hands away and refused to meet the leader’s gaze.
“Nothing. Just go enjoy your date,” she replied, her monotonous response, stunning the older girl who looked more confused than anything..
“Tzu—“
“Just go.” She didn’t know what came over her but she just snapped at Jihyo, slapping away her girlfriend’s hands when she reached out to her. And only, after she had watched her lover walk out the door with the slight hurt on her face, did she notice what she had done.
The silence that remained was overbearing. She clenched her fists, ignoring the heaviness in her chest and the streaming tears as her walls came tumbling down brick by brick. She messed up.
Tzuyu gave up, letting her worries take over.
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Mina was perceptive, able to notice the minor changes in her members behaviour.
Being the homebody that she was, she tended to watch the girls go about with their as she stayed on her spot on the sofa, completely unmoving, just letting her eyes wander around the room. Most of them weren’t home at the moment, having gone out for supper, but sometimes she’ll be able to spot Momo sneaking a bite from Dahyun’s not-so-secret chocolate stash or Chaeyoung attempting to sketch another portrait of the members, maybe even Jeongyeon finally giving into Sana’s advances.
This time however, it was Tzuyu who caught her eye.
She took the opportunity to observe the group’s youngest, raising an eyebrow at the lack of perfect posture. Slumped shoulders, fidgeting fingers, hair like a curtain hiding her face. This wasn’t the Tzuyu they had grown accustomed to seeing and Mina was finding this pretty alarming. There was something tormenting the younger girl and it didn’t look good.
She’s quiet. Too quiet.
“Isn’t it illegal to make girls as pretty as you frown?” Mina rolled her eyes at the words as she turned her gaze to the girl on her lap, Nayeon in turn greeted her with a toothy grin and a wriggle of her eyebrows, eliciting laughter from the both of them.
“So what’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours?” The older girl asked as their laughter tapered down, her eyes so full of care that Mina could feel her heart flutter, reminded of how she first fell in love with the group’s eldest. And although she didn’t want to, Mina had to turn her attention away to address the more important issue at hand.
“Tzuyu’s quiet,” she states simply, motioning to the young girl sitting alone across them. But Nayeon only shot her a perplexed look, not fully understanding what Mina had meant. “But she’s always quiet?” she pointed out and Mina could only sigh, nudging Nayeon and telling her to get off her lap.
Of course she was the only one who noticed.
They were alike, Tzuyu and she, near identical backgrounds, minds that think alike and similar personalities. This allowed them to understand each other even when the others couldn’t. If Momo could claim Sana as her twin, then Tzuyu would be Mina’s, minus the height; and that was probably why it hurt Mina to see Tzuyu in this state.
Rising from her seat, Mina walked over to the maknae yet Tzuyu showed no sign of sensing the older girl’s approach. “Tzuyu?” Mina called out softly, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder and frowning when she instead, flinches away from her touch.
“Hey, is everything alright?” She smiled kindly at her, but the smile was quickly replaced when she saw the red-rimmed eyes or the tear tracks across her cheeks.
“Were you crying?” Mina could hear alarms going off in her mind.
When she didn’t get a reply, Mina took Tzuyu by the hand and pulling her to her feet and bringing her over to the room MIna shared with the three other members, knowing that Tzuyu would appreciate the privacy it offered, and that included Nayeon whom was trailing behind them.
“Unnie, can you leave us alone for a bit?” she asked, blocking the entrance and stopping the eldest in her tracks. “But—” Mina gave her a look, immediately silencing any argument that she planned to bring up. Despite her reluctance, Nayeon nodded with a sigh and headed towards the living room, leaving them alone.
Closing the door behind her, Mina turned to Tzuyu wearing a frown as she observed the younger girl standing by Jihyo’s bed, eyes downcast, looking a lot like a lost puppy.
Mina took a seat on her own bed, thinking through her next moves as she patted the spot next to her and waited for Tzuyu to join her on the bed. In all, honesty, she was nervous. She rarely ever had the need to initiate a conversation and wasn’t sure what she had to say or to do to help the younger girl. But she was going to try and hope for the best.
“Tzuyu, what’s wrong?” She reiterated her earlier question, hoping that the lack of spying eyes would get her to speak. However, just as she was about to give up and get Nayeon for backup, Tzuyu finally spoke, her question catching Mina off guard.
“Mina unnie, what do you think about Yerin unnie?” Yerin? GFriend’s Yerin? Mina was confounded. What did Yerin have anything to do with this? “She’s a nice person? I don’t really know her that well.” Nor did she know how she was supposed to answer the question.
“Then, do you think Jihyo unnie is better off dating her?” That was when it finally clicked. So that’s what this is about.
She took hold of Tzuyu’s hand, making the younger girl look at her. “Tzuyu, I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to answer honestly.” She paused, hesitating, worried how the maknae would take her question. “Is Jihyo cheating on you?”
“Yes…” she answered with uncertainty, then changed her answer almost immediately. “No… Maybe… I don’t know.” Tzuyu buried her face into her hands, Mina simply remained silent and waited for Tzuyu to explain her side.
“Jihyo… She’s always with Yerin. They’ve been out for dinner together and now they’re recording together. They’ve been spending so much time outside and we barely even see each other anymore.” Tzuyu paused to take a breath, her lower lip trembling as she tried to hold herself together. “I really love her and I know I’m overreacting, but what if she did lose interest?”
“Tzuyu, listen to me,” she began, wiping away the maknae’s tears and making sure to maintain their eye contact. She had to get this message across. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two. But one thing I do know is that the both of you are too in love with each other to do something like this.”
“Thanks unnie.” Tzuyu finally gave her a smile, a small one, but a smile nonetheless; and it was enough for Mina, who pulled the young girl into her arms with a soft “You’re welcome.” She was just glad she give the younger girl the reassurance she needed.
“Also,” the duo jumped apart, turning to Nayeon as she spoke from the doorway, the anger in her eyes was nothing they were used to. “I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t dare to after I’m done with her.” They watched as Nayeon stormed off and within seconds everything began going downhill.
Mina could hear the muffled sound of their leader’s voice announcing her return, a pounding of footsteps, and soon enough she heard the shouting, and that was enough to send both Tzuyu and her running to the site of the commotion.
Mina could only hope that Nayeon knew what she was doing.
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Nayeon couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Going against Mina’s request, she had stayed outside the door, eavesdropping on the conversation Mina and Tzuyu were having in her room. Seeing the state Tzuyu was in had triggered her protective instincts, and she felt the need to know what had made her feel that way.
She listened in, making mental notes on the important points of the conversation; but all she ended up with is a lot of confusion and pieces of information she couldn’t comprehend.
First of all, Tzuyu rarely lies. She wasn’t very good at it and didn’t like the idea of deceiving others. But Jihyo cheating, with Yerin of all people; Nayeon nearly laughed at the thought. It was impossible to believe that Ji hyo, who was as loyal as they come, would do such a thing.
Then again, Tzuyu wasn’t one to overreact. Meaning that Jihyo must have really done something that would make the maknae think that.
She whipped out her phone, intending to call the leader back to the dorm and confront the her about the accusations. However, she wasn’t expecting to see the flood of notifications on her social media feed nor was she expecting to receive a text from Sowon about how cute their members looked together. And looking at the pictures, Nayeon could see why she would think that way.
Jihyo and Yerin sitting so close together, their shoulders practically bumping with every move they made, staring intently at each other as they giggle over whatever they were talking about.They looked like lovers in every way. They were even sharing spoons and everyone knows that that was essentially indirect kissing.
Nayeon nearly crushed the phone in her hand, her face twisting into a scowl, her temper rising with every moment she looked at those picture. How could she… Only now she could see where Tzuyu was coming from.
Tzuyu… Nayeon still couldn’t believe Jihyo would do something like this; it made her uneasy. Tzuyu, despite her calm and cool image, was a lot more sensitive than one would expect. She cried easily and was still as innocent as a child.
Nayeon was going to get her revenge. Tzuyu may be an adult, but she was still Nayeon’s baby. And no one messes with her baby, even if said person is her best friend of eight years.
Park Jihyo better watch her back. She was going to pay for hurting Im Nayeon’s baby.
As if on cue, she heard the front door creak open and Jihyo's voice announcing that she was home. In an instant Nayeon found herself towering over the younger girl, cornering her against the wall as she stared her down.
“You.” She hissed, stabbing a finger at Jihyo’s chest. “How could you!”
“Nayeon unnie? What’s going on?” Seeing Jihyo's obliviousness only caused Nayeon’s anger to soar. She seized the younger girl by the collar and spoke through gritted teeth. “Don’t you dare ‘Nayeon unnie’ me. You know what you did.”
“B-But I don’t.” The desperation in Jihyo's voice and the tears welling in her eyes made Nayeon falter a bit. Tzuyu wasn’t the only member she had a soft spot for.
“You’re cheating on Tzuyu with Yerin aren’t you!” She finally burst, eyes burning with anger as she shouted at Jihyo, bringing everything to a standstill.
Silence. All Nayeon could hear her own loud breathing ringing in her ears. “I.. what?” Shocked and confused, Jihyo wasn’t even afraid anymore. “Nayeon unnie, what are you talking about?” she asked, careful not to stoke the older girl’s anger any more, flinching away when Nayeon opened to speak.
“Unnie, that’s enough.”
Nayeon felt Mina’s hand on her shoulder, stopping her from continuing, and she calmed down, stepping back but not without a glare. Before she could do anything though, Tzuyu swooped in, taking Jihyo away with her and leaving an angered Nayeon with Mina.
“I messed up didn’t I?” Nayeon slumped onto the couch, burying her face into her hands once the realisation of what she has done finally dawned on her..
“You meant well.” Mina gave her a peck on the cheek as she joined her girlfriend on the couch. “They’re both adults now. They can handle their own problems.”
“How about spend some time together and watch a drama?” The younger of the two offered, and Nayeon finally smiled. After all she’s already done what she could. “I would like that.”
Nayeon could only hope that Mina was right.
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Jihyo felt like a fool.
She allowed Tzuyu to drag her into her bedroom, watching in worry and confusion as the younger girl slammed the door shut behind her before leaning her forehead against it, refusing to meet her eyes. The sight made her heart wrench and her guilt began to eat at her.
She felt as though she had just failed, both as a leader and as a girlfriend.
It hurt; it really did. It hurt to know that Tzuyu did not trust her. It hurt to know that she hadn’t notice any of the odd behaviours that Tzuyu had apparently been showing. But most of all, it hurt to know that she had hurt Tzuyu, even if it had been unintentional.
Seconds turned to minutes and the couple still hadn’t said a word to each other. They simply stood there, too afraid to confront one another in fear of hurting each other. But with the tension growing thicker by the second, Jihyo knew she had to make the first move.
However, she never got the chance to.
“I’m sorry.” Tzuyu apologised before Jihyo got the chance to. “I got worried. I got jealous. And I got Nayeon unnie and Mina unnie involved,” she continued, finally finding the courage to face the older girl. The expression she wore showed she was expecting, waiting for the older girl to burst into anger. “I just wished we could have spent more time together.”
“It’s stupid, I know. And I’m sorry.”
“Tzuyu…” Ridden with guilt, Jihyo called out to the younger girl, slowly and carefully approaching her, stopping inches away from the trembling girl. “Look at me. Please.”
“You’re not the only one that should be apologising.”
Seeing Tzuyu in such a delicate state tore Jihyo’s heart to shreds. Just what has she done. From what she could see, Tzuyu wasn’t actually jealous; she was afraid and she was upset that Jihyo would betray her trust. Jihyo could feel the sadness radiating off her girlfriend in waves. It was no wonder Nayeon was so angry and even Mina had looked at her which such disappointment in her eyes.
“This is my fault too. I didn’t think about how you would feel. You’re my girlfriend, I should have given you more of my time and attention. I’m sorry I ever made you think that way. But I can promise that I would never do that. I would never ever cheat on you.”
She slipped one hand into the gaps between the fingers of Tzuyu’s clenched fist and with the other, Jihyo caressed her cheeks, using her thumb to wipe away the tears. “Is there any way I can make it up to you?”
Jihyo could see the cogs turning in Tzuyu’s head. She could feel her heart pumping as she waited for the younger girl to say something, anything. “Just stay here and cuddle with me,” she asked and Jihyo was more than glad to comply.
She led them to Tzuyu’s bed where they lay, pressed up against each other. Tzuyu wrapped her arms around the older girl as she buried her face into her neck, enjoying the warmth and protection the leader provided. Finally she could relax, the tensions in her muscles going away.
“You know,” Jihyo mumbled into Tzuyu’s hair, rousing the younger girl from her relaxed, half-asleep state. “Yerin called you cute on the broadcast earlier.”
The piece of information surprised her. She was not expecting the other girl to see her that way. “Really? And what did you say?” she asked, curious to know how Jihyo felt about that.
“I agreed with her,” Jihyo responded almost nonchalantly. “Then I told her that you were mine.”
Tzuyu smiled, a blush spreading across her cheeks, much to Jihyo's amusement. “There’s that smile I was looking for,” she cooed, poking at the dimple on the maknae’s cheek.
Embarrassed, Tzuyu grabbed at Jihyo's hands. She did however, took the opportunity to pull the older girl down towards her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and the nose, and maybe even one on the lips.
Jihyo grinned. It was cute how Tzuyu got a lot more affectionate at times like this.
“So are you free tomorrow?” Jihyo asked. “I heard there’s a new dog cafe in town with a lot of cute puppies. We could go there if you want.”
Tzuyu smirked. She could see the nervous glances the older girl was giving her and a plan forming in her mind. “And what if I’m not interested?” she teased, hoping to fluster the older girl to see her sulk. Instead, her scheme backfired on her.
“Then I’ll take Seunghee with me. I’m sure she won’t mind,” Jihyo quipped, bursting out in laughter when Tzuyu glared at her before sulking, pouting at her and then turning her back to the older girl. “I hate you,” she muttered, playfully trying to shove Jihyo's arms off her when she reached over to bring her back into their hug.
Chuckling, the leader simply snuggled up to the younger girl, staring up at her with her large, round eyes in an attempt to soften her girlfriend’s heart. “I love you too,” she confessed as she practically spooned the taller girl.
Rolling her eyes at the older girl, Tzuyu groaned at her cheessiness but the corners of her lips quirked up anyways as she let Jihyo pull her closer into her embrace, her fingers finding Jihyo's, linking them together.
Never again, Jihyo thought as she held onto the younger girl and reflected on the events that had happened that day. It may have just been a small misunderstanding this time.
But Jihyo isn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
A/N: Thanks to seofanylove for the idea. Really sorry it took so long.
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