October 2017

Now that he was fully aware of the extent of his feelings for Yeri, Jaehyun was doing a terrible job trying to hide it. At least according to his group members.

It all started when she called him the day after his little epiphany. He was riding home with Johnny and Doyoung after their radio show and the other two got front row seats to witness Jaehyun being a blubbering mess while he struggled to have a coherent conversation with the girl he now knew he was in love with.

Yeri did not seem to think much of it and simply laughed at him, attributing his strange behavior to sleep deprivation. When he ended the call, Jaehyun was met with two pairs of prying eyes. Figuring he had done enough denying to last him a lifetime, Jaehyun finally told them everything he had been through over the last few weeks.

He talked nonstop for almost 15 minutes and when he was done, Johnny and Doyoung blinked at him for a few seconds before they both burst out laughing.

"I knew I should've talked to Taeil hyung instead." Jaehyun grumbled resentfully "You guys are the worst friends ever!"

"Como on, man. You have to admit this is all pretty funny." Johnny said while wiping away his tears "I mean, you are usually so smart, but when it comes to Yeri, you are as dense as a block of cheese."

"One of the hard cheeses, by the the way." Doyoung felt the need to clarify "like sharp cheddar or gouda. Brie would not work for this analogy."

Johnny gave him an appreciative nod "I could totally go for some cheese right now..."

"Can we please focus and get back to my problem?" Jaehyun said in exasperation.

"What problem? From what Jungkook told you, Yeri is head over heels in love with you." Doyoung reminded him "Now that you are sure you like her too, just tell her how you feel and be done with it."

"It's not that simple." Jaehyun argued "Even if she does feel the same, not only is she still a minor, you know dating is against the rules."

"Wrong. Dating publicly is against the rules." Johnny corrected cleverly "Everyone has managed to get around this, except for you. You were too busy playing house with Yeri."

"Look, the year is almost over anyways." Doyoung weighed in "Why don't you wait until New Year's? Yeri will be an official adult and you can confess then."

"As for the dating ban, just make sure you're not caught." Johnny added in warning "If people still haven't caught onto the fact that you guys are best friends after all this time, I doubt they will notice if you were secretly dating."

Jaehyun had to admit that Doyoung's idea seemed like a solid way to start off the new year. However, he still had doubts on how Yeri would react to all of this. Even though all signs pointed to her reciprocating his feelings, there was still the possibility that she would reject him, essentially ruining their friendship in the process.

Maybe it had something to do with his more reserved personality but, when given the choice, Jaehyun would always go for the safest route. The only exception was when Yeri was part of the equation. Confessing to his best friend was without a doubt a risky move, but if that meant he would get Kim Yerim in the end, Jaehyun would gladly throw all caution out the window.

~~~~~~

"What the hell am I looking at?" Jaehyun asked incredulously.

"Our Taeil hyung cosplaying as Belle," Yuta started to describe the scene "talking to the love of your life, who also happens to be dressed up as Belle."

Today was the day of the company's annual Halloween bash, gathering all artists and staff. They were all in costume, but this year Taeil decided to go all out. What he didn't count on, was the fact that a certain someone had chosen the same theme as him.

So now the NCT boys were sitting at their table, observing Taeil and Yeri conversing animatedly and taking pictures together.

Mark laughed at the look of horror on Jaehyun's face "Your brain must be in overdrive right now."

Instead of replying, Jaehyun focused his attention solely on Yeri, a goofy smile adorning his features.

Johnny cleared his throat and elbowed him discreetly "Dude, stop being so obvious."

Jaehyun knew he shouldn't be openly staring at her like this in such a public setting but, he honestly could not help himself. This was the first time he saw Yeri in weeks and the fact that he was now so much more aware of everything about her was starting to overwhelm him.

Letting out a shaky breath, Jaehyun excused himself from the table in order to get some much needed fresh air. Turning around, he did not see 'Moon Belle' alerting his belle of the his sudden departure.

~~~~~~

Jaehyun was leaning over the balcony's railing and admiring the Seoul skyline when he heard Yeri's soft voice calling out to him, making him turn around to face her.

"Oppa!" Yeri said joyfully while running up to him "What are you doing here all by yourself?"

Jaehyun did not say anything in return, instead choosing to take a few steps forward so he could meet her halfway and wrap his arms around her petite frame.

"Oppa, is everything alright?" Yeri asked in concern when she felt him breathing sharply.

"I just missed you, that's all." He mumbled into her hair.

"I missed you too." She replied with a smile and tightened her grip around his waist "It's been a while."

Jaehyun pulled away slightly and stared at her "Are you feeling better? After... you know."

"You mean the Jungkook fiasco?" She said jokingly "I'm fine. I guess my pride was more wounded than anything else. It's not like I was in love with him or anything."

Her last statement brought him immense relief. That meant he had a chance. Should he take it now? They were alone and she looked so incredibly beautiful.

Just tell her, Jaehyun. "Yerim, I..."

"But I decided to just give up on dating for now." She stated firmly, unknowingly undermining his resolve "It turned out to be quite distracting and so not worth the trouble."

Okay, abort mission.

"Oh, I see." Jaehyun stated coolly.

Yeri nudged him playfully "At least you no longer have to go all 'overprotective brother' on me anymore."

"Awesome." He said with a grimace.

~~~~~~

November 2017

Part of the 97-line was in Hong Kong to attend MAMA with their respective groups and they took the opportunity to arrange a get together before the awards show the following day.

After debating on where to go, they eventually decided to meet at BamBam and Yugyeom's hotel suite.

"Look, it's international superstar BTS's Jungkook!" BamBam blasted as soon as he spotted his friend entering the room.

"OPPAAAAAA!!!" Yugyeom joined in with a high pitched squeal.

"Haha, very funny." Jungkook responded dryly.

"Don't lie, you secretly like it." BamBam stated with a wink.

Jungkook just laughed it off and looked around "So, is it just us tonight?"

As if on cue, the door to the lavatory opened and Jaehyun appeared before him, looking as uncomfortable as he was feeling right now. The rest of their friend group was aware of the two's falling out involving one particular Red Velvet member, but they chose not to meddle in their business.

"Jaehyun." Jungkook said in a curt manner.

"Jungkook." the other greeted just as stiffly.

"Come on, guys!" Yugyeom said while puting his arms around each of them "I know you two butted heads not long ago, but don't you think it's time for you to kiss and make up already?"

Bambam let out a snort "You know they both want to kiss the same girl, not each other."

Hearing his comment, the other boys all turned to BamBam stupefied.

"Bam, JB hyung already talked to you about this," Yugyeom lectured through gritted teeth "You have to say those things inside your head BEFORE saying them out loud."

"Let's just have a drink." BamBam suggested, completely dismissing the subject.

Eager to get rid o