seokjin feels his phone buzzing nearby, and he fishes through his bag to search for it. finally, when he finds his device, his breath hitches as he reads the name flashing on the screen.

incoming call: irene bae

there are two possible reasons for why she's calling him, he thinks. a) it worked out. b) it didn't. 

he's thinking it's option a that's most likely to be proven true. but deep down, he feels like an utter for secretly hoping it were option b.

his assumptions are proven wrong.

as soon as he receives the call, he can hear her distressed words, muffled occasionally by an unidentifiable sound which he can only presume is a warped sob. she's speaking, but seokjin doesn't really hear what she's saying. however, it's not hard for him to feel the desolation that resonates from her tone of voice. he catches, barely, her asking if he can come over. 

he agrees to, and he doesn't hesitate. not even a second.

-

the door creaks open when he rings her doorbell, her small voice greeting him weakly. seokjin jerks the door further, to see her facing the floor. she refuses to look up. it's clear she doesn't want him to see the tear stains on her cheeks. 

the act makes his heart ache even more. 

it takes all of his self control to not throw her arms around her and whisper that everything is going to perfectly fine, or anything that would soothe her.

they sit on the couch for a while, in a tranquil silence that is almost unbearable. but seokjin waits for her to speak first, he's waiting until she sorts out her emotions and is comfortable enough to talk.

"he said it was meaningless."

seokjin's head jerks up in shock at her words. "he actually said that? straight up to your face?"

"no, but he might as well have been, it was him talking to his new fling," her voice is laced with bitterness. "i was stupid. i don't know what kind of change i was hoping for. maybe i wanted a difference."

"you tried, and he didn't. that's a big difference."

"well, i guess," but the comment doesn't seem to be helping her at all. "he admitted to his new girl that he wasn't serious about getting back together with me anymore. quote: 'it's all meaningless and she'll always be an ex anyway, no matter how hard she tries'. he thinks i'm some sort of try-hard for attempting to mend things between us."

honestly, seokjin's sure his commentary wouldn't help. so he just listens.

"i can't believe he moved on so fast though," she says in wonder, close to disbelief. "it's like he never cared as much as i ever had for him."

that's because he was always an , seokjin wants to say. i knew it from the moment. that moment.

she buries her face in her hands. "it's just all so frustrating," she's shaking. "and upsetting. and the stupidest thing..."

seokjin holds his breath.

"i miss kim jonghyun," she whispers. "i miss him, so bad." a tear rolls down her cheek; raw and true.

he feels his world crumbling down slightly as he hears those words, even though it was expected. he merely presses his lips together and remains composed. there's not much he can do about it anyway. 

but he feels so terrible, so horrid. he knew jonghyun wasn't supposed to be trusted, at the very moment he revealed his true nature to seokjin.

----

seokjin stood still. he remained perfectly motionless. but his eyes blinked slowly, continuously, at the sight that was illustrated before him.

jonghyun paused his little intimate session with the girl in his arms, and slowly turned around to see the intruder. he raised his eyebrows as he saw seokjin standing not too far away from him. 

"hello, seokjin," he said casually, in a tone one would say 'good afternoon'. "what brings you here?"

the taller refused to reply.

"so, are you going to tell irene?" jonghyun asked, in a carefree voice. "it's fine, you can do it. go ahead. tell her what an i am. tell her i'm a cheating, lying son-of-a-. it's what you've always wanted to do anyway, no?"

seokjin balled his right hand into a fist in an attempt to contain his vexation. maintaining his composure, he took in a deep breath and turned around, heading for the door.

he didn't speak a word of that incident to her.

----

seokjin reckons jonghyun knew he wasn't going to tell her. sadly, he knew of seokjin's protective- and selfish -nature when it came to irene.

the guilt washes over him. she's now crying, though silently; the tears drop without a sob or cry of disbelief. he hates how when her heart breaks, his does as well. 

he hates how there is just so little he can do for her.

without a word, he embraces her, soothing her with an occasional pat on the back- hoping this would at least make her feel a little better. he wants to know that he's here, always, though not forever.

she shakes in his arms, on the verge of a complete breakdown. she surprises him by hugging him back- it's a very short, brief moment of bliss, until he realizes it's nothing of the same sentiment. he doesn't dare to be upset though. this is what he deserves, for what he has done to her.

a melancholy smile graces his lips.

but it's okay. as long as she's okay, he'll be too.