Introductions

In Hushed Whispers

"Get up" Baekhyun said quickly, as Jong In felt himself be torn away from sleep.

"What?" He snapped tiredly as he rolled  over on the small cough and pushed Baekhyun away.

"You're girlfriend is here" Baekhyun said excitedly and Jong In's eyes flickered open as he sat up.

"Here? What?" He asked swinging his legs off the couch and standing up.

"I saw her coming into the building!" He said with a grin as he watched a myriad of emotions cross Jong In's face and he ran into the bathroom next to the lounge. He laughed as he heard water running and then splashing as Jong In' washed his face.

"I thought you hadn't called her yet?" Baekhyun asked as he waited.

"I hadn't..." Jong In said his excitement quickly dying out. He dried his face and stepped out of the bathroom with a frown on his face. Ever since that night... he honestly hadn't had the guts or the face to call her.

"How come every time she comes up you frown like that? I thought we talked about it last week? You were supposed to call her" Baekhyun said prying once again. Something had happened and Jong In hadn't said one more word about Sun Ae since that night and on top of that every time the subject was even broached he would sharply steer conversation away from it.

"Let's just go" He said quietly and he followed Baekhyun out. They walked through the company hallways, heading down to the lobby where he had last seen her.

"She was here..." Baekhyun said as he craned his neck and look around, "Oh there—" He started before cutting off suddenly.

It was too late to pretend he hadn't seen her though. Jong In followed his eye line and found her. He knew it was her even though she wasn't facing him. It was everything from the color of her hair to her posture, or even the bag she had that told him it was her. He felt relieved. As if he had finally been able to apply some sort of salve to an open wound. It hadn't hit him the magnitude of how much he just wanted to see her until he actually saw her. She turned slightly to face the person she was talking to, her lips were curled in a smile and she look excited as she held onto the strap of her bag tightly. Jong In stepped to the right, forcing Baekhyun to move a step over even though the latter resisted. His smile dampened, but didn't fade. Besides her, Taemin talked animatedly complete with hand gestures and everything as he pointed to the other side of the room and said something that made her laugh.

He wanted to get mad, but did he even have the right?

A man, someone who Jong In recognized from the upper level offices approached them and he found himself wanting to overhear what he said as both Taemin and Sun Ae bowed respectfully and had introductions. He motioned them forward and they both followed after the man as he starting saying something that was too far out of range to overhear.

"What are we doing?" Baekhyun whispered as Jong In started walking forward.

"Act normal, but be quiet" Jong In whispered as they kept their distance, every so often inching just a little forward.

The man pointed some things out and Sun Ae paid carefully attention. Every so often she would look at Taemin and he would say something or add something. The worst thing though, was the small displays of affection Taemin did freely. They were tiny really, something that could be normal amongst friends, but when it came to him, Jong In felt weary. A touch on the elbow, a small tug to one side, or even a much too excited smile. Once again, the voice of accusation and guilt reminded him to simmer down. He had no right.

"Jong In! You were here all this time!" A voice echoed loudly down the hall and he turned almost in horror as Krystal came down the hall.

He silently hoped this was a cruel nightmare, but reality proved to be as cruel as he thought as she came up to him with a smile and casually threaded her arm with his. Baekhyun's eyes widened nervously as he glanced in Sun Ae's direction and Jong In tried to politely pull away before looking back in her direction. Krystal had started to say something, but he drowned her voice out as he met her eyes.

She was looking straight at him, how could she not when Krystal had been loud enough when she had found him. As much as he had tried, he couldn't avoid Krystal forever and they still hadn't really talked about what had happened. He thought if he avoided it, it would have been forgotten, but as her playful eyes reminded him, it clearly hadn't. It was his fault really for giving in, he thought miserably as he met Sun Ae's eyes. Her gaze briefly flickered to Krystal and to the grip she had on his arm before she simply smiled. She gave him a slight nod of acknowledgement and turned back. Taemin shot him a pitiful glance and smirked as he also turned back to Sun Ae.

Jong In felt like time had stopped. He had expected anything, but a simple smile. Anything besides a polite smile with no feelings behind it. Anything besides the type of smile you gave to strangers. He looked over at her once more, she hadn't turned back even once and she seemed to be normal. It wasn't like he had wanted to see her suddenly weep or something, but there had been no reaction. Was... she over him? He couldn't understand. It hadn't been that long... and they had never made a decision though that damn voice piped in that he had sort of made that decision for the both of them by not returning her calls.

"Are you listening?" Krystal's voice cut in and he frowned, remembering her existence.

"No" He answered honestly as he pulled his arm free and frowned, "Can we talk?"

"Sure" She said calmly and Jong In gave Baekhyun a look.

Baekhyun stared for a second longer, suddenly remembering the night that he had left with Chanyeol and how when he had returned there had been no one left in the training room, but Krystal. His eyebrows shot up as he realized that there might have been a reason as to why Jong In kept putting of calling Sun Ae. It couldn't have been guilt could it?

"Ah, can you find out that thing we were wondering about?" Jong In added as a last thought, quickly glancing in the direction where Sun Ae and Taemin had gone.

"Oh yeah, I was curious about it too. I'll see you back upstairs then" He said as he left the two of them  on their own and walked away.

Jong In waited until Baekhyun had disappeared from their sight before he turned to Krystal. She stared at him with an amused look as if this had all been a joke.

"Why did you do that?" Jong In asked quietly.

"I was just being friendly" She said with false innocence, then looking in the direction Baekhyun went she added, "Also, I really wanted to see Baekhyun's reaction to it too. See he wasn't too surprised. Should we tell him?" She whispered leaning in.

"That was a mistake" Jong In said, adding emphasis to the word mistake and she raised an eyebrow.

"Well that's unfair. It wasn't a mistake on my part" She said, "I thought it was fun"

"I have a girlfriend"

"So just break things off. I already told you it won't last"

"I'm serious. I'm sorry about what happened, but it won't happen again. I think it's better if we just stay away from each other" Jong In said seriously. If he couldn't take it back, he could at least make sure it never happened again. That way, Sun Ae would have to believe him when he said it hadn't meant anything.

"What if I want it to happen again" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Why was he even acting this way over some girl he had met pre-debut?

"It won't" He snapped, "I love her"

"Jong In, don't be stupid. You're famous now and that girl is a nobody. Dating her will be near impossible and if you get caught, every single thing you've worked for will be taken away from you" She explained and she smiled at how transparent he was as her words struck him.

"I don't like being too pushy though so just think about it. I'm telling you, you're going to be saving yourself and her, a lot of pain if you just move on already" She said as she gave him a pat on the back and stepped back with a smile, "Oh, also we're all going to have dinner later tonight so I'll see you then!"

He stood almost in surprise at what just happened. He turned just in time to catch a last glimpse of Krystal as he recalled that night...

The music was still playing loudly as she suddenly went off the choreography he was helping her with and moved swiftly in front of him. Her right hand ran up his arms as he tripped over his own feet and he came to a firm stop. He was about to say something when she ran her free hand up along the back of his neck and pressed her lips to his. He had gone completely still, as her body pushed against his and her fingers tangled in his hair. He felt a rush of adrenaline run through him as he instinctively placed his hand at the small of her back and walked her forward until her back hit the mirror.

He knew it was a mistake, but he wondered how many times Taemin had Sun Ae like this as his lips trailed inches lower, his chest rising with agitation, not passion.

"Jong In..." Her voice said softly and he jolted back to reality.

That wasn't the voice he was so used to hearing. That wasn't the voice he wanted to hear.

". . " He said quickly letting her go as if she burned him and staggering backwards.

"What's wrong?" She asked, stepping towards him.

"I'm sorry that was a mistake"

"No it wasn't"

"I have a girlfriend!"

"So?"

Jong In shuddered at the memory and for the millionth time he regretted his stupidity. He just didn't know how to fix it. What could he even say? Hey, while I was mad at you for lying to me I kissed another girl. He felt like for making Sun Ae suffer so much, for hurting her so much when in the end he turned around and did something worse. That's why he couldn't call her. That's why he couldn't see her. He wouldn't have been able to face her.

~~~~~~

"Are you ok?" Taemin asked and Sun Ae nodded as she took another bite of the fruit parfait she had. She looked around at the large cafeteria as she finished the food in .

"Why do you ask?" She said, a small smile on her face as he rolled his eyes.

"Because... of him" He said, his voice dropping to a whisper and she raised an eyebrow as she leaned over to him.

"Why are we whispering?" She teased and added more seriously, "I cried it all of my system. Besides why should I let a jackass who would rather ignore a girl until she takes the hint than talk to her stop me from taking a good job opportunity. I wasn't going anywhere at that portraits place and here, well here I can get some experience at actual photo shoots" She said, a hint of excitement at the prospect of taking photographs that didn't involve families cheering her up.

"Well I'm glad then" Taemin said, grinning even though he knew her words were lies and that there was no way she would have forgotten about Jong In this fast.

Regardless, he took advantage of her good mood and talked to her excitedly about the different types of things she would be able to do and he enjoyed the spark of happiness he put in her eyes. It made that warm feeling on the inside of him grow every second longer her smile last.

"Taemin! Who's this?" Suho said with a grin as he set a tray of food down in front of them and Sun Ae glanced up in surprise.

"This is my friend, Sun Ae"

"Nice to meet you uh...?"

"It's Joonmyeon, although I guess technically now it's Suho?" He asked with a grin and she made a small sound as she recognized the name.

"You're in EXO right?" The words slipped out accidentally.

"Yeah! You know us!" He exclaimed excitedly and she smiled despite the knowing look Taemin gave her.

"Yeah I'm going to be an assistant to the lead photographer so I figured I should get studying on who I'll actually be seeing" She said with a small laugh.

"That's great! And we—" He started before glancing behind her and waving someone over, "Jong In come meet our new photographer's assistant!" He called and looking back at Sun Ae he added, "You're going to see a lot of him probably he's our visual so I'm betting you're going to be taking a lot of pictures of him!"

Sun Ae cleared her mind as she kept her face from betraying any emotions and instead greeted Jong In with a polite smile. She recalled for a second the girl that had been with him earlier today and felt her mask cracking slightly before she shoved all of that deep into her subconscious.

"Actually we—" He began before she cut him off.

"Nice to meet you Jong In" She said, even bowing slightly and he tensed before he glanced at the smug smile on Taemin's face.

"Nice to meet you too" Jong In replied as he sat across from her.

As they continued to eat, Suho doing most of the talking, he kept glancing over at her. She avoided his eyes most of the time and on the times he did manage to catch it she acted as if it was nothing before moving on with the conversation. It was only after Suho had excused himself and while Taemin had gone to clear their trays that Jong In finally found the chance to speak.

"Sun Ae..." He began quietly.

"Hm?" She said, looking up from her phone.

"Can we... talk sometime soon?"

"Nope. People don't work on your schedule Jong In" She said calmly as she saw Taemin come back and got up, "We don't have anything to talk about anyways. You realize we're done right? Let's just pretend it never happened. This time I'll make sure to keep it to myself" She said, her voice turning icy as she left.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I forgot to post this ._.

Sorry.... and thanks for reading!

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CherryBlossoms86
I'll post two updates tomorrow (8/26)! I haven't gotten around to editing them so I have to hold them until tomorrow! Sorry!

Comments

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wedseaday
#1
OMG AGASHI IM WAITING FOR YOUR RETURN

HEHEHE
Samantham #2
Chapter 23: Oh boy, please update soon, I can't wait any longer!
OppaJjang98 #3
Chapter 23: I really like this story!!!!! I love the love triangle!;) Can't wait for the next chaptr!!!! Update soon pleaseee!!!
xoxo<3
hoinseok
#4
Chapter 23: Dude, you need to update this! The drama is intense as heeeell! I always love me a drama with Krystal as the antagonist. Can't wait for the next chapter :D
lululemon_lover24 #5
Chapter 23: Jongin has been such a selfish jerk...he doesn't deserve Sun Ae at all.
Taemin - make your move, buddy
BeTrue #6
Chapter 23: I am still angry at the kiss though
I don't think I support her to be with him so soon, just a couple of drama
Anna_Jongin
#7
Chapter 23: So perfect!
Ok, i can't deny that Kai is my Bias, so I'm always by his side. But Taemin is also one of my favourites, so.................. GOD I don't know what to do!!!
Sun Ae I know what you are felling! hahahaha

I'm really loving your story! Authornim keep on writting!
Hwaiting!!
WinterRain #8
Chapter 23: sun aexkai ...its ok right ?? if i want theiy to be together ...
aythornim update soon !! thanks to u :)
WinterRain #9
Chapter 16: i dont like when sun ae feel something uncomfortable between her and taemin, i want jongin and sun ae together ..is that wrong ??