♥
 

It didn’t take long for the others to arrive at Jeju;
 

As it turned out, Sehun had been planning to bring Jina here as well so she and Jong In would finally make up and reunite. Jina resisted at first of course, but my call had convinced her to go.

Not without her repeatedly saying sorry from our phone conversation until they finally found their way to the Kim’s vacation house.

“Minji,” she half-whispers, as if she is only talking to herself. After a rather awkward but mostly lively dinner (Jong In and his friends kept the conversation entertaining by their constant bickering and trade of mock insults), Jina and I had decided to try the jacuzzi located at the top most floor of the house. For some reason both of us couldn’t talk to Jong In, who had been so elated when she saw Jina hiding behind his friends earlier today, but was too shy to talk to her. I on the other hand, wanted to say something that could force them to interact, but I couldn’t speak when Jong In walked over to me instead to say thank you. His voice was so quiet I initially thought I was only imagining things, but the joy in his voice was so palpable and real. Jina’s surprise appearance has clearly brought him so much delight I couldn’t think of what to say back anymore.

Anyway.

“Hmm?” I say, unsure of what to tell her, but at the same time hoping that she wouldn’t apologize again.

“Thank you,” she grins slightly as she reaches for the knot of her top behind her neck, her eyes purposely avoiding me. “I know the Lady has intended for the two of you to get closer, but now it seems like...”

“Eh,” I cut her off, crinkling my nose  as I give her a look of disapproval for trying to say sorry for something all of us had no control over. “Jong In is a bore to be honest, I just knew I had to call you guys the moment our plane landed in Jeju to prevent this weekend from being a total snoozefest.” I am lying through my teeth (Jong In is anything but a bore in my rather dull life), but not because I hate that Jina actually came -- I just don’t want to make things harder for the two of them, for I am already fully aware how my mere presence is already causing a huge strain in their relationship.

Jina takes this information in silently; she must have detected my lie. She moves closer to me and asks, “But...when I saw you and Jong In together last time, I...in the rain, when he was dancing with you and lifting you up...”

Jina’s description of that time she caught us dancing and playing in the rain isn’t exactly detailed, but I turn red as a tomato just the same. I give out a sheepish sigh as I let my shoulders submerge in the inviting water, the underwater jets hitting my skin relaxing my nerves little bit. How do I even begin to explain that incident to her?

“We should talk about this,” Jina speaks before I could, obviously thinking what I have been thinking as well all along. “You’re a good person Minji, and I don’t want to cover this thing about the three of us by being friends with you. I want our friendship to be genuine, and not a flimsy excuse for the complicated situation we’re in.”

There is nothing but openness in her voice and in her words. To be honest, I want to be a real friend to her, too.

“You’re really a good person too, Jina, and honestly I...” The jets under the water must be making my heart beat faster than it should normally does so I rise a little again before continuing, “...I totally understand why Jong In loves you so.”

She laughs at this, but I cannot read what kind of feeling is masked behind her mirth.“And I could totally see why it was so easy for Jong In to show his true self to you.” she says, suddenly pensive. “The Lady sure knows what she’s doing this time around.”

“What do you mean by that?” I ask, totally ignoring her comment about Jong In and I. “I feel the Lady won’t succ --”

“She got it this time around because you...you make it so hard...you’re just...too...” Jina closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath, her hands adjusting her top once again; I notice that her fingers are trembling a little. “Minji, how could I ever think of disliking you?”

She says this with feeling, compelling me to stare at her in a mixture of shock and disbelief. No one has ever told me this. Often times, people would say I’m difficult - stubborn, childish...a brat. 

I tell Jina this, but she is having none of it.

“You’re definitely...loud,” she admits softly, her eyes averting my gaze once again. “But it’s mostly in a good way. I guess the better word to use is vivacious. You’re spirited and so full of life. I’ve met a ton of girls who belong to your class; believe me Minji for I actually study in the same school as most of them do -- they’re so different from you. Either they’re shallow and mean-spirited, or always looking jaded and depressed.”

“Thanks?” I offer, unsure of how to respond. “I mean, I’ve met those kinds of girls too, but I think that’s how other people view me as well. Maybe if you got to know them you’d realize that they’re not that bad?”

“Maybe,” she whispers, allowing herself to sink a little under the water. “I don’t think I’d try again though. The last time I did I got framed for something I didn’t do and Jong In and I almost broke up.”

The last part of her remark basically confirms what kind of relationship they have, as well as where they stand now. Guilt ripples along with the jets beneath us, and suddenly I feel like our conversation is suffocating me, never mind  that only half of my body is submerged in the water.

Realizing her slip through my abrupt silence, she begins to apologize and clarify, “Don’t even think for a second that you’re making things hard for us, Minji. I mean Jong In and I --”

“You and Jong In are together,” I finish for her, although obviously this isn’t what she wants to say. “Jina, I thought both of us want to be honest with each other so we can be friends?”

“Jong In broke things off between the two of us the moment the Lady introduced you to him.”

“Okay, but did he say that? Did he break things off properly, Jina?”

She looks away at this, confirming my suspicion. Of course, Jina only assumed that Jong In ended things between them the moment he met me.

But I know Jong In can never do that to her.
 

“He didn’t, but I know that that’s where our relationship is going.”

“I don’t think so.” I say rather stubbornly to Jina, who now appears to be a little pale. “At least, not with the direction you’re thinking right now.”

“If he truly loved me, he wouldn’t do even half the things he’s doing with you.”

“Well, I can assure you that the things we’re doing so far are forced. Jina,” the pain in my voice is evident to the two of us, but both of us ignore it. “He loves you.”

“He doesn’t,” she argues, her voice weak. And then her eyes widen as she gasps, as if she had seen a ghost, before slumping beside me, unconscious.

“Oh my God!” I scream, holding both her arms to keep her from slipping further in the water. “Jina, are you okay?!”

I shake her body a little, but I fail to elicit a reaction from her.

“Jina!!!” I say her name louder this time, panic slowly gripping my voice. “Jina, wake up!!!” I frantically turn my head towards the glass door, hoping that someone will come and help us. “HELP! Can anyone hear us?!!! Jong In!!!!”

I do this for a few minutes, all the while shaking Jina’s limp body every now and then until my voice becomes hoarse from all the yelling. Just as I am about to bring Jina myself out of the jacuzzi, the guys led by Sehun barged in, running towards us. Jong In is almost right beside him, with Baekhyun and Chanyeol trailing behind them.

Just as Sehun is about to reach out for Jina, Jong In gets in his way by jumping in the water, arms wrapping around Jina’s unconscious body as he took her away from my grasp.

“What did you do to her?!”  His eyes have a hint of hatred in them as he glared at me. “Are you planning to hurt her, Minji?!”

“I -- I --- we, we -- we’re t-talking and...” I stammer, but Jong In cuts me off by moving away from me with Jina in his arms. With the help of the others, he and Jina are able to leave the jacuzzi together.

I’ve never seen him look so angry at me before this. Shame wraps itself around me instead of indignation, and I can’t help but feel that the others are giving me accusatory looks instead of feeling mad that none of them has seemed to care about my side of the story.

“If something happens to her, Minji, trust me, I don’t think I can ever forgive you.” With one last menacing glare aimed at me, Jong In makes his way out, carrying Jina with him.

“Minji?” Sehun calls my name softly, his hand reaching out to me. “I think you should get out of the jacuzzi, it’s getting cold and you might get sick, too.”

He must have seen how rattled I was with the whole thing, and his kindness makes me feel even more pathetic.

“I -- I, I didn’t do anything,” I defend myself, the sting in my eyes becoming harder to control as I speak. “We were just talking and then she...”

“I know,” Sehun says, his voice gentle. He stares at me in understanding as he helps me hoist myself up. “Jong In can be overdramatic sometimes, don’t pay attention to what he says.” I nod at him feebly, letting him wrap a big fluffy towel Chanyeol just passed to him around my shoulders.  “He doesn’t mean those words.”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol both bob their heads in agreement. “Forget it, Jina would probably be okay anyway,” Baekhyun reassures me with a small smile, trying his best to lighten up the mood. “Come on now, it’s already freezing up here. You look like you badly need to drink some hot chocolate, Minji.”

Jong In might not mean those words, but one thing’s for sure.

He truly does love Jina.

He loves her very much.