T H R O U G H    B R E A K U P    A N D    J E A L O U S Y

Lee Taemin    |    Song Jaehee    |    Kim Jongin

requested by Primrose0930

Jaehee's POV

"You lied to me."

Taemin looked up from where he was sitting on the couch. I stormed into his living room, tossing my umbrella in the doorway.

"What?"

"You know what I'm talking about. You said your mother was sick and so you couldn't make it to our date."

"She was sick!"

I scoffed, appalled that he could lie so easily in front of me.

"No, she wasn't. I called her this morning to see how she was, and she said she hadn't been sick in a long time!"

When there was no response, I pressed on.

"You went out with another girl. Alone. What was that?!"

"It was nothing! She's just my cousin!"

"Oh, and I guess I'm just your girlfriend. No one important. Right?"

He tousled his hair in frustration.

"This is why I didn't tell you. Cause I knew you would make a big deal about it! All she wanted was for me to take her sight-seeing! I couldn't say no!"

"And was it that hard to tell me the truth?" I couldn't help the tone of disgust in my voice.

"I...just didn't want you getting jealous."

That only added fire to my temper.

"JEALOUS?" I spat out. "Is this who you think I am? After all this time? Just some jealous and overly-attached girlfriend?"

He sighed, and I stood there waiting for an answer, even though it was rhetorical.

"Jaehee...look...us fighting all the time? It's tiring...Let's just forget about this...ok?"

"Well if it's so tiring, then let's break up."

I was still angry, and it came out naturally. His eyes didn't have the usual sparkle in them, and he looked at me tiredly.

"Okay."

"...What?" Even though I had suggested the idea in the first place, I still hadn't expected him to actually agree. And so easily too.

"Let's break up."

"...F-fine. This is what I want. I don't care. We're through, Lee Taemin." I turned around and made my way to the door, telling myself not to cry in front of him.

I waited for him to stand up and say he was sorry. Give me a hug and tell me I wasn't a bad girlfriend. Kiss me and tell me to stay.

But he never did.

I ran outside, slamming the door. It was pouring, but I didn't care. All I wanted to do was to get away from his house. Blinking back hot tears, I ran towards the park and collapsed on the bench. Finally, I let the tears flow, and I cried silently, even though there was no one around to hear me.

Why did it come to this?

We were a happy pair, and everyone labelled us as the cutest couple. But recently, I felt our relationship getting distant, and we slowly drifted apart. Although we argued before, they became more serious and lasted for longer.

Until, it went to the point of breakup.

Realisation kicked in, and it numbed my heart. There was no 'Jae and Tae' anymore. No girlfriend and boyfriend. No 'us' anymore.

As I sobbed on the bench, the rain pelted my back, soaking me to the skin. I would have stayed like that all night; a pathetic, broken mess, until he appeared with an umbrella and stitched me back together.

* * * * * * * *

Kai's POV

Come on, Kai. You can do it! Just reach out and grab her hand. It's right next to you!

I mustered up my courage and extended my hand to hold hers. Jaehee looked at our intertwined fingers then at me and smiled shyly, a blush on her face.

I'd liked her since two years ago, only to find out that my best friend also had his eye on her. I didn't want to ruin our friendship over a girl, no matter how special she was, and so I encouraged Taemin to ask her out behind a bitter smile. He never knew, not even now.

As much as I was sincerely happy for them, it wasn't easy to let go of her. A year and a half ago, I'd stepped aside. Now, maybe I had a chance.

Over the few weeks after her and Taemin's breakup, I'd gotten to know her better, and we'd become a lot closer. I tried my best to comfort her when she felt down, and I would be there when she needed a shoulder to cry on.

Finally, I decided to take our relationship to the next step and I asked her to go on an 'outing'. To my relief, she had agreed, and so there we were, sitting side by side on a bench enjoying the cool night breeze. Hand in hand.

Encouraged by the fact that she didn't pull away when I held her hand, I decided to confess my feelings.

I placed a hand on her cheek, and leaned in.

Jaehee's POV

I thought that I was starting a serious relationship with Kai, and although I felt butterflies whenever he smiled at me, a kiss never lied. And right now, with his lips pressed against mine, it somehow didn't feel right. Something told me that he wasn't the one for me.

I pulled away from him. "I-I'm so sorry Kai...but I can't accept your feelings…"

He ducked his head slightly, but I could see the hurt and disappointment in his eyes. I felt regret eating away at me. I had agreed to go out with him, even though I was a little hesitant. My feelings were still muddled up, but Kai had been there for me when I needed someone the most.

I weakened and agreed, and all I did was hurt him. I messed up again.

Sensing the anger I was starting to feel at myself, Kai creased his eyebrows in worry.

"N-no, I'm the one who should be sorry. I pushed you too far. I-I shouldn't have tried so early in our relationship."

"No, that's not the problem. It's just, I don't know. I'm so confused. I don't think I'm ready for another relationship."

I waited for his response, but I never got one. Silence settled around us, and we sat like that for a few minutes, lost in our own thoughts.

"Jae. Look at me."

He had a serious expression, his eyes fixated on me.

"It's not that you aren't ready."

"What?" I didn't understand where he was getting at.

"You still love him. Taemin. He still holds a place in your heart. You just haven't realised that."

"No, no. I don't. He hates me! He's tired of me! Tired! He thinks I'm clingy and and and jealous and-"

"First things first, he definitely is not tired of you. If anyone, I should be the one who's tired of you. Ever since he started dating you, you've been the centre of everything he talks about. Anything that leaves his mouth is 'Jaehee this, Jaehee that'. I think I've heard about the way your hair smells like rose petals a billion times."

"R-really? But so what if I still love him? He doesn't love me anymore. There's no going back!"

Exasperated, he gave an exaggerated sigh.

"Goodness! Both of you are like this. You guys still love each other, and are the most lovey-dovey couple ever. How long is it going to take for you to realise this? Gosh! Just the other day, Taemin called me saying how much he missed you and how much he wished he had stopped you from walking out the house."

"Wait, he doesn't know that you...um...like me?"

"No, he doesn't. But that's not the point! Focus, Jae! The point is tha-...waaait…"

"What?"

"I think I have an idea."

I leaned in, eagre to hear what he had in mind, but all he did was chuckle at me with a knowing look.

"Go on another date with me?"

Taemin's POV

"Hey, Tae!"

"Kai! What's up?"

"I'm going to watch a movie with someone. Do you wanna come?"

"Nah, I need to do something. Sorry."

"Oh, okay. See you tomorrow then!"

I smiled at him, and was about to turn away when I saw someone familiar run towards us. That childish laughter, that awkward but awfully cute way of running. It could only be Jaehee.

Surprisingly, she ran up to Kai and wrapped her arms around his. I tried to hide the frown that was threatening to show on my face. I struggled to look nonchalant as I watched the two.

That should be me…

"A-are you two...dating?"

Kai nodded, and I couldn't help but feel a little angry. Angry that Kai, out of all people, was dating my ex-girlfriend. That Jae had so easily moved on, whereas I was still wishing she would come back to me. That they actually looked good together. That I let her go in the first place.

But I was also relieved that Kai was her boyfriend. Not some random person off the street who would take advantage of her. And as long as they were happy, I would be happy.

"What do you think of us two? Do we suit each other?"

I forced the words out of my mouth. "Yeah...like a match made in heaven..."

Even though I had told myself I had, no, would, let go of Jaehee, and that as long as it was Kai, I would be fine with them two, I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

"Well, see you tomorrow then!"

He waved at me, Jaehee not even bothering to look in my direction. I gave a bitter smile and waved back, my attention more on my ex-girlfriend than my best friend.

The least she could have done was to have acknowledged me. I pouted, even though I knew it was childish to be upset by such a trivial matter. I puffed out my cheeks, my eyebrows fixed in a little frown, but it immediately curved upwards when I got an idea.

Pulling out my phone, I dialled my friend's number.

"Hello? Sorry, but I can't make it tonight...Something came up."

Kai's POV

I tried to hold in a chuckle. Did Taemin seriously think wearing a pair of ridiculous glasses, a scarf, and a long coat would really make him blend in with everyone? It wasn't helping him either, the way he had followed us within a 2 metre radius.

But he was pretty impressive, considering how he had managed to buy the seat right behind us.

Even better. It would make part 2 of the plan much easier to achieve. I leaned in towards Jae, speaking loud enough for Taemin to hear.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom, okay?"

I stood up, knowing fully well that he had heard. I made my way outside the cinema and out to the corridor, waiting a while so that he could catch up to me. When I saw the doors to the theatre swing open, I deliberately walked in the opposite direction of the bathrooms to a more secluded place.

Having known him for so long, I was sure Taemin had come out to give me a talk about how I needed to treat Jaehee nicely, what she liked and disliked, etc. Either that, or he was coming out to interrogate me.

I flipped open my phone and pretended to call someone.

"Hey babe, how are you?"

I spoke in a voice loud enough for him to catch, and pretty much anyone within a few metres range.

"Me? I'm watching some dumb romance movie with my friend's ex. It's so boring."

"Yeah, Taemin. She got dumped. And I found her crying in the rain. Pathetic, right? But that's not even the worst part. She looks up to me like I'm some amazing person. Ever since her heart got broken, she thinks I'm like, the one who is right for her. She's so clingy. Ugh."

By the time I'd hung up, my heart was heavy from all the horrid remarks that had left my mouth. I sighed and leaned against the walls, sliding down to meet the ground. 

Now, all I could do was wait and hope Taemin had heard enough, and would go do the right thing.

"Go get her."

Jaehee's POV

"Follow me." Someone hissed in my ear.

Before I could react, they grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me out of the cinema. I stumbled after them, confused and slightly disorientated as the lights from outside the doors hit me.

"Wha-what?" I rubbed my eyes with my free hand, squinting at whoever had rudely disturbed my movie.

"Who the hell are y-...oh. Tae." I coughed awkwardly. "Taemin, I mean. What do you want?" I tried to sound hostile, not wanting to weaken at his sight so easily.

Kai had never actually told me what he was planning on doing, and it had me wondering all week. But whatever it was, it must have worked because Taemin looked annoyed. Very annoyed.

"Why are you dating him?"

I was a bit taken aback. Now I was really curious as to what had happened. And it seemed to have happened all in the span of Kai's 'toilet break'. I tried to play along to whatever Kai had set up, hoping I wouldn't blow the fact that this was fake.

"What do you mean?"
 

"Kai. He's an absolute jerk. Why are you dating him?!"

"What's wrong with him? He's an amazing person. He's kind and actually treats me like I'm his girlfriend.  And when I was hurt by the person I trusted the most, he was the one who was there for me."

Although this was just an act, my real emotions started pouring out of my mouth.

"Why are you so difficult? Do you know that he's cheating on you?"

"Yes, I'm difficult! Ok? I know I'm not perfect and I don't have the best attitude. But you don't have to rub it in!"

His expression softened, and I could feel tears threatening to spill.

"I didn't mean that…"

I sniffled, rubbing my nose. "Yeah, whatever."

I looked away, avoiding his eyes. Whatever fire I had a few seconds ago had been completely extinguished. So much for not wavering.

Before I could do anything, Taemin dropped down onto his knees.

"Taemin! What are you doing?! People are looking. Stop it!"

"No, I'm not going to get up until I tell you this. If I don't say it tonight, I won't forgive myself."

I looked around, uncomfortable. Although I was beginning to be touched by his actions, they were bringing unwanted attention.

"Please, Jae. I'm so sorry for everything. I didn't care about your feelings, and I didn’t take the time to understand you either. I didn't treat you the way you deserved. This whole time without you has made me think. I realised how much you actually mean to me. I-I...I miss you. So much. And, I love you. Please, can we start again?"

I choked back a sob, but it didn't stop the tears from running down my cheeks. I brushed them away with the back of my hands, but they were quickly replaced by others. Although I didn't say it out loud, it was clear that I had forgiven him.

He got up from his knees, and wiped my continuous tears with his thumb.

"Hello, beautiful lady. My name's Lee Taemin. What's yours?"

I let out a little laugh, and muttered back, "Song Jaehee…"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"But we've only just met. I don't know you."

"I don't care."

He pulled me into his arms, and engulfed me in a warm hug. The stress of the past few weeks and the sudden relief was too much for me, and fresh tears stained my cheeks and Taemin's shirt.

Further down the corridor, I saw Kai watching us with a smile on his face. 'Thank you', I mouthed at him. He simply nodded and gave me the thumbs up.

Reminding myself to treat him out for dinner another day, I closed my eyes and shifted my attention back to the person hugging me.

Resting my face in the crook of his neck, I sighed in content, and breathed in the familiar scent of my boyfriend, Lee Taemin.