15

water under the bridge

“–so I asked him who that girl was, but he said it was just a friend. I mean, ing bull, right? Who the hell goes clubbing with girls other than his girlfriend? !”

Seulgi patted Joy on the back, letting her friend cry her heart out. Joy had arrived at the villa an hour before and darted straight to one of the empty rooms, breaking into tears the moment the door closed. It was code blue for everyone in Red Velvet, with the other four girls abandoning their posts to come to her rescue. They sat around her in a circle, each trying a different method of comfort.  

“What a jerk,” Yeri concurred, nodding her head vehemently. As the youngest and also most prone to funky Gen-Z relationships, Yeri always identified best with Joy.

“But it really could be his friend,” Wendy chimed in, trying to defuse the situation. “You’ve been with Sungjae for years, Sooyoung. Why on earth would he go out with someone else in the open, it just seems so ridiculous–“

“Let her finish,” Irene cut in, silencing Wendy before she could babble endlessly and lure them all into the abyss of digression.

Joy sniffed, dabbing her eyes with the tissue Seulgi kindly proffered. “Well, after that, we just got into a shouting match. The usual, you know – he said I was always suspecting him of something, I called him out for all the things he annoyed me about, I asked him why he was busy fooling around instead of focusing on the future of our relationship, and it was just… horrible. And I couldn’t take it, so I just… I just…”

Irene furrowed her brows, concerned. “You just what?”

Joy took in a breath. “I just said,” she hesitated, “that this is why we’re going nowhere, and that I wasted the best years of my life with him. Then, he– He just stood up and left.”

Joy immediately burst into another round of remorseful sobbing. Yeri jumped onto the bed, wrapping her arms around Joy and offering her best words of consolation. Wendy was tearing up herself, leaning on Irene’s shoulder for support. Seulgi sat quietly next to Joy, rubbing her knee reassuringly.

After Joy had calmed down and –mostly– stopped her crying, Seulgi opted to exit the room. She would have laid next to Joy for the whole night if her friend needed it, but Seulgi could tell that she probably needed a moment on her own to think things through.

Upon stepping out, Seulgi’s eyes fell on Jaehyun, back against the wall and arms folded. His glass was empty, save for a few melting ice cubes. It was highly uncharacteristic of him – Jeong Jaehyun wouldn’t be caught dead without a drink at a party. He turned to her, wearing a small smile and shallow dimples.

“Hey,” he said, giving her a wave, “took you a while.”

“Sorry,” she said apologetically, moving towards him. “Needed to be there for Sooyoung.”

Jaehyun nodded. He had heard. Joy had been the talk of the party for the past two hours – for all the wrong reasons. “How is she? Something happened between her and Sungjae?”

Seulgi pressed her lips together. She stood between Jaehyun’s legs, absentmindedly fiddling with the lone zipper at the bottom of Jaehyun’s jacket. “Yeah,” she sighed. “They’ve broken up. Seems to be serious, this time.”

“Is it?” Jaehyun raised an eyebrow. “You sure it’s not just her being dramatic?”

“Well, it feels different from their previous fights,” she said, trying to reason it out.

Jaehyun chortled. He moved the glass to his lips. “I’ll bet you she’s just starting , as usual,” he said, crunching on an ice cube. “Probably sick and tired of waiting around for Sungjae to get down on one knee. What has it been – close to ten years now?”

“Don’t say that,” Seulgi said. “She’s really upset.”

“Yes, but she’s also a grown-up,” Jaehyun reminded, putting a hand on Seulgi’s waist and tugging her to him. “She’s ruined the mood of the entire party. If this is how she behaves around Sungjae, I wouldn’t be surprised that he’d be done with her too.”

Seulgi flinched. Jaehyun could be brutally direct, especially after a drink or two. He used to be silent, but Seulgi figured that it was probably because they had spent most of their years in the company as cursory acquaintances. It was likely that he had always been forthcoming, just selectively so.

Seulgi was fine with his lack of a filter. As a lover, she didn’t need him to constantly sugarcoat things around her. She herself took pride in being as straightforward as possible. It enabled them to go about with little to no arguments, because everything was laid out in a practical and logical manner. There were just times where his sense of calm rationality often rendered him somewhat… cold. Cold and insensitive.

Jaehyun pinched her nose, jolting her from her thoughts. “Seul-bear,” he called sweetly, “you mad?”

She quickly shook her head. “No, no,” she replied. “Just tired.”

He ran his fingers through her hair, tucking the stray strands behind her ear. “Well, maybe you should get an early night, then,” he advised. “It’s going to be a long drive back tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I might,” she nodded. “You?”

“Some of the boys moved downstairs to drink by the beach.” He stretched out his arm, shrugging back his sleeves and checking his watch. “Why don’t you head back first? I’ll check on them for a bit, then I’ll join you?” he offered. “Unless you want to come with me?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll probably just hang around here for a while more, then head back.”

She gave him a weak, tired smile. He raised his hand to her cheek, caressing her face softly. He craned his neck, leaning towards her. Seulgi closed her eyes.

“Hey Jaehyun, is Joy still–“ There was a patter of footsteps, followed by Doyoung’s loud, booming voice. Seulgi and Jaehyun swiftly moved apart, putting some space between them. Doyoung stopped, biting his lips apologetically. “Oops, sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Seulgi said. Trying to diffuse the awkwardness, Seulgi gestured towards him. “Are you looking for Sooyoung?”

“Oh, yeah,” Doyoung said, scratching the back of his head and trying to avoid Jaehyun’s steely glare. “Is she alright? Just wanted to check on her.”

“She’s in her room. I think she might still be awake. I can take you to her?”

“No, it’s okay, I mean, wouldn’t want to trouble her if–“

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Seulgi said, turning to Jaehyun. “I’ll take Doyoung to Sooyoung – I’ll see you back at the room later?”

Jaehyun gave her a nod, eyes following them as Seulgi knocked on Joy’s door, entering the room with Doyoung. Since they had found that they were joined by pretty much all of their company for their weekend getaway, they hadn’t had much time together, just the both of them. They could barely have a minute alone, let alone hours for them to talk, to spend some much-needed quality time. And then there was Rosé, Kai, Jongin–

Jaehyun stifled a sigh. He stepped out of the corridor and into the night, heading towards the beachfront.

Seulgi wandered down the boarded stairway. Somewhere in the middle of her conversation with Joy and Doyoung, she realized that she was more of a silent ornament rather than a value-adding contributor. She figured she would search for Jaehyun, lest the boys leave him drunk on the beach.

“I’ll bet you she’s just starting , as usual. Probably sick and tired of waiting around for Sungjae to get down on one knee. What has it been – close to ten years now?”

She sighed. She didn’t want to admit it, but Jaehyun had a point. Sungjae and Joy had been together well before Irene and Wendy had even considered Sehun and Johnny as options in their lives. Theirs was a reel-to-real romance that weathered through the tidal waves of change in the entertainment industry. For a moment in time, Seulgi had thought that she would want a relationship like theirs – long-lasting, full of shared experiences and mutual u