Title: On (un)warranted Jealousy and other heartaches.
By: Kanae
Featuring: Junhyung & 4minute’s Hyuna (Junah / JokerQueen) + Doojoon. Mentions of Dongwoon, Yoseob, G.NA, MBLAQ's Lee Joon and T-Ara's Hyomin.
Genre: Drama - Romance - General.
Rating: G 
Word Count: 5.458
Author’s Notes: I picked Hyomin to be Junhyung's partner because back when I posted this, most of us were expecting them to be paired up for this special stage.
Summary: SBS' Gayo Daejun is just around the corner and Junhyung doesn’t quite know what’s worse. Hyuna pretending that everything was fine or Hyuna not bothering to pretend at all.

(It sounds like an accusation. It is an accusation.)

Hyuna has been quite moody lately.

That usually would be just fine with Junhyung; he was more than used to her mood swaps and knew damn well that they would come to pass as swiftly as they came.

Except that it’s been about two weeks and Hyuna isn’t giving any signs of getting better, and for some reason whenever he gets near her Junhyung feels like he's walking on ice. A very, very unstable, slippery ice that can split with the slightest of movements (or wrong words) and then Junhyung would sink down in its freezing depths. The uncomfortable sensation was only heightened by the feeling that were it to happen, no one would be willing to help him out.

Like that time when he and s had been sitting with 4minute in the practice room, talking about anything and nothing in particular while they rested their tired limbs and stabilized their own breaths. By then Hyuna was already acting weird, but that afternoon it didn’t show in the guarded looks she gave him but rather in her cautious smiles. That didn’t sit too well with Junhyung, but he thought that it at least was a step forward; so he let her be and even entertained the thought that the storm within her (between them) was starting to dither.

Or so he thought.

At one point Junhyung had been exchanging text-messages with a friend and one of the replies was particularly humorous, so he shared it with the whole room, amusement still present in his voice. The leftover amusement died down however, as Hyuna faked a yawn and stood up, leaving the room with a half-hearted excuse of wanting to spend some time with Hong CEO.

Dongwoon had shot him a reproving glance that made him look too old for his age, and Yoseob had shook his head in much the same manner.

The jovial atmosphere went to hell then and Junhyung found himself thoroughly confused. What was up with everyone? Had Hyomin’s text not been funny enough? Or did they know something he didn’t?

No one bothered to explain, so he never asked.

Whatever it was, there was one thing that was clear. He had been wrong.

The storm was nowhere near done. If anything, it was picking up its pace.

-

His subsequent encounters with Hyuna hadn’t gone nearly as bad—or perhaps they had. Junhyung doesn’t quite know what’s worse. Hyuna pretending that everything was fine or Hyuna not bothering to pretend at all.

Lately, he has been getting more of the later. And truth be told, confusion aside, it was starting to grant on his nerves.

It would be more bearable if at least everyone was subjected to the consequences of her bad mood, but he’s positive he’s the one having it worse.

Hyuna will simply bite at him for the smallest things. Or he will make a joke and she won’t laugh or worse, she would roll her eyes and soon enough 4Minute as a whole would fall silent. She either avoided him, ignored him or was overly polite with him, as if he were a stranger. And bottom line, she just… she just treated him with such indifference, that Junhyung couldn’t help but be staggered.

So he has taken to let her be.

I’m just giving her space he tells himself to get over whatever it is that is annoying her. Because he gets the feeling that its related to him, even if he doesn't remember doing anything that could've possibly set her off this bad.

At a given point he even thought about asking her. Just straight dropping all pretenses and face her once and for all, look her in the eye and ask "Hey, what's up with you? Are you mad at me or something?" but he aborted and deserted that thought immediately the moment her cold eyes met his as her laughter died down.

Junhyung had frozen then, and decided that he didn't want to know.

And it wasn’t just because he dreads her reply, no—moreover, the thing is—if he gets her to talk, there were chances the anger would subside. And what he dreaded the most was finding out what was left underneath that coat of scalding ice.

He would rather see that glare on her eyes than the emptiness he has gotten glimpses of lately.

That awful void would show up when she thought no one was looking or when she was resting or even while she was dancing, and that was new because Hyuna wasn't Hyuna when she danced. She was invincible, untouchable, worry-free and joyful. It was like she shed her skin whenever she danced; and she was so swift, so unreachable that her worries and aches just couldn’t catch up with her.

Or at least that’s how things used to be.

Seeing this new side of Hyuna—a Hyuna who danced but still had cracks—was new to Junhyung and quite honestly it frightened him.

What was wrong with her?

He really, really wanted to ask.

But there were brief moments when she would smile at him or not be able to hold back her laughter at something he said and he would enjoy them so much—that feeling of normalcy, that feeling of 'this is how things always were and how things should always be'—that he wouldn't dare do anything to risk them.

Except that they would always dry down on their own and Hyuna would soon go back to giving him the cold-shoulder.

Everyone around them seemed to think that they had gotten into an argument, and most seemed to know what this was all about; all except Junhyung, who apparently had missed the memo. But no one was bothering to help him catch up.

He thinks it's unfair. And he also thinks it's a pain in the . And uncomfortable as hell.

It also makes him angry.

Why was Hyuna behaving like this and why couldn't she just be upfront about it? He has done nothing. Nothing. He shouldn't have to seek for explanations or apologize when he's not at fault, damn it.

And then it happens.

-

He’s able to notice her frustration from the moment he steps in the mirror-covered room and finds her dancing. He isn’t sure if more people would’ve been able to tell; it was easy to dismiss that bottled up roughness as part of her usual feral stage presence. But to his eyes it was obvious that there was more to it than just that. Because he knows her better than most people do.

And that’s part of the reason why he isn’t able to stop himself from asking, “Something wrong?” as he steps in the room

Hyuna halts straightaway. For a moment he thinks that she’s going to ignore him (again) but then she reaches out and turns off the stereo. Once the song stops Junhyung recognizes it as the one 4minute and MBLAQ had chosen for their special stage.

“What are you doing here?”

The girl asks without looking at him, and her question helps Junhyung remember what had brought him there in the first place. So he replies as he makes his way towards the back of the room, in search of the article of clothing he had forgotten earlier after Beast finished their practice.

"I forgot my sweater. It's cold outside so I'll need it. We're going to Core Contents Media to practice with T-Ara."

The words simply slip. One after another, ideas closely chained together that Junhyung doesn’t trouble himself in holding back. He has never been one to mind his words with Hyuna, and a part of him just hasn't gotten used to this new her. He just keeps waiting for her to go back to normal.

Except that instead of going back to normal Hyuna presses play again and walks towards the center of the practice room without sparing him a single glance.

"Ah, right. Have fun!"

Junhyung arches an eyebrow and bites back the 'why are you being such a ' that wanted to slip through his lips. Instead he watches her, and the choreography, and he realizes that this is the first time he has gotten a good look at it.

"This is for your stage with MBLAQ, right?"

This time Hyuna doesn't halt and Junhyung thinks she's not going to answer. But she does.

"Yeah. Everyone's working really hard, so I want to make sure I get a hang of this"

He watches her performance with critical eye, just like he has done many times before. He doesn't think there's anything wrong with her movements, but there's definitely something amiss. In her expression and posture and demeanor too. What was up with her, seriously? What was it inside of her that had taken a vacation?

It's only then that Junhyung notices that Hyuna's movements seemed to be part of something bigger; like there was someone else meant to be holding her. Someone invisible she was flirting with, dancing with.

With a start, Junhyung realizes that someone was Lee Joon.

Right. He had almost forgotten it.

"You and Joon hyung have most of the work, huh?"

He should be leaving. But his feet are grounded to their spot and his lips are dry, so he them.

For an instant he thinks Hyuna's eyes meet his through the mirror but it’s so briefly that he may as well have been imagining it.

"We're the main couple. The stage revolves around us, so we need to do things right" She gives another turn, a sensual wave, and Junhyung almost loses the track of the conversation. "I'm glad we've been talking a lot more lately, because otherwise this may have been hard"

She doesn't say 'harder'.

That sticks out to Junhyung like a hot-pink dot in a sea of black and he feels something heavy drop in his stomach. So he pushes onward, determined to remain unfazed.

"So you're having an easy time acting lovey-dovey with Joon hyung? Heh, that's good.” He even throws in one of his signature smirks for good measure. “I remember you were awkward with skinship back when we had to do Change"

Hyuna almost loses her footing. Or it looks like she does. She's back in charge a millisecond afterward so Junhyung can't be too sure.

"That was different" She replies, finally. "This is different. Joon oppa is different"

Now—that Junhyung doesn’t like. At all. She was trying to imply something, and it made no sense to him.

He arches his eyebrows really high.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"For one, I'm not his 'little sister'. And it wasn't just obligation. He actually picked me as his partner"

There was a certain tone, like pride in her voice. She sounded like a little kid flaunting her newest doll to her neighbor, and Junhyung would have none of it. Because what the hell was going on?

"So what? That's nothing special. I picked Hyomin myself."

Hyuna does stop dancing then, and this time Junhyung is sure she's looking at him through the mirror because her eyes meet his with such seriousness that he's actually taken aback.

Very rarely has he seen Hyuna with such a glint in her eyes.

"Right. Dongwoon oppa told me you did. He also told me you wouldn't stop flirting, like a perfect fit"

Junhyung ignores the last part of her comment—and along with it the many things he could've said in reply—and says something that even takes him by surprise.

"You've been hanging out a lot with Dongwoonnie lately"

It sounds like an accusation. It is an accusation.

He would like to believe he doesn’t know where that came from—

But the truth is that he does. He does because wherever it was 'Junhyung and Hyuna' before now is 'Dongwoon and Hyuna' and he can still remember all too clearly the disapproving look Dongwoon shot him when Hyuna left the room the other day, and how much they've been talking on the phone, and how now whenever Doojoon or Yoseob want to know what she's up to they would ask the maknae instead of him.

That's not how it used to be a month ago.

And Junhyung has accepted it without question. But that doesn’t mean he’s okay with it.

And he knows it.

"Yeah, and what is it to you?” Hyuna’s clearly on the defensive, but then her voice adopts a tone just as accusing as Junhyung’s had been mere moments ago. “You've been busy with Hyomin unnie, haven't you?"

"I'm not with her all the damn time!" Junhyung shots back, frowning. Where was she going with this? Junhyung hoped to god this wouldn’t go down the road he thinks its heading towards—because he was not that kind of guy. So if Hyuna thought that he would be up for having some kind of best-friends banter where they were jealous about the other spending time with other people, she was dead wrong. Seriously, what the hell?

However Hyuna says nothing of the sort—and with her next words Junhyung’s theory promptly crashes and burns.

"I bet you wish you were"

It’s a mere whisper, but Junhyung hears it all the same, somehow. And he can only blink perplexedly, because suddenly it was all becoming clearer—and he just couldn’t believe it.

"Wait, what?"

Hyuna just shakes her head roughly and throws herself headfirst into practicing again.

"Aish, just go already! Didn't you have to go to CCM? Go and leave! MBLAQ will be arriving soon and I need to keep practicing this!"

Junhyung frowns. He's annoyed—or actually no, that was the understatement of the year—he's downright pissed. Indignant. Confused.

And he's also hurt. He feels like something inside of him has been wounded, and he’s too hesitant to find out just what that something is.

So he throws her a low blow made of things he doesn't even believe in.

"Isn't it the other way around? Aren't you a little too eager to meet with ‘Joon Oppa’?" He does such a poor imitation of her voice that for a moment he thinks Hyuna will throw something at him.

"Yah! And what if I am? What is it to you?"

Hyuna has finally exploded and Junhyung yells right back. They've been constantly raising their voices because the music is loud but Junhyung doesn't think it's entirely due to that anymore.

What is it to you, what is it to you—everything seemed to revolve around that question, and Junhyung has had enough of it—

"Nothing! That's what it is! Just like it's nothing to you if I want to hang out with Hyomin or not!" And before he could stop himself he throws another dagger disguised as an advice. "Jeez Hyuna, if you really want Joon hyung to like you so much you'll have to grow up and stop acting like such a kid"

That does it.

Hyuna turns towards him with her face contorted in a feral frown and Junhyung is scandalized to see there are tears in her eyes. Suddenly he's not seeing red anymore.

"AISH, JUST GET OUT!" She yells at him, voice coarse. "I don't want to see you again, Yong Junhyung-ah! Just leave me alone!"

Junhyung wants to do anything but that. Especially while seeing her like that. He knows that as soon as he leaves the room she will break and he wants to stay there to hold her together and help her pick up the pieces. But he also knows he can’t because he was the one who broke her in the first place.

So he leaves without another word, swallowing down I'm sorrys that he knows will fall on deaf ears.

-

That afternoon his core is out of the practice. Everyone is doing their best and laughing and fooling around but Junhyung can't bring himself to. Not even when Hyomin tries to argue with him in order to make him stop dozing off, does Junhyung manage to give a genuine smile.

His mind is still back with Hyuna. Remembering how he left her. Retracing their conversations and the things they've said and not said in the last couple of days, and he's piercing things together now—because he remembers that it all started when their Special Stages were announced.

When Junhyung catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he’s not surprised to see there's a certain and noticeable void in his eyes.

Just like in Hyuna's.

-

"Hey, Junhyung-ah. We need to talk"

"What about?"

"You. And Hyuna. Hyuna and you"

Junhyung represses a groan, his back still turned towards his friend. "Who told you?"

Doojoon blinks. "Who told me what?"

Junhyung does turn to look at him then. "Huh? Isn't this talk about the argument she and I had earlier today?"

Doojoon arches his eyebrows for a long moment and then his face turns solemn. Beast’s leader sits down in front of him and clasps his hands together in a gesture Junhyung knows only too well. There was no way to avoid this conversation now.

"What argument?"

So Junhyung doesn’t try to escape, and just like that he begins his tale. He tells the other boy everything, because this is Doojoon he’s talking to and he doesn’t bother to keep anything from him anymore. Plus it always helped him to sort his thoughts more clearly whenever he voiced them out to him.

When he's done, Doojoon is leaning back on his chair and shaking his head.

"Seriously, Junhyung. Did you have to tell her that?"

"I couldn't hold it back, okay? I don't know what came over me" Except that he does. But ‘what came over him’ is not like the usual him, so he lets the truth slide.

Doojoon expertly catches it anyway. Junhyung sees the knowledge in his eyes.

"For someone who has so much experience, you sure are dense as hell sometimes"

Junhyung frowns, resenting the comment a bit and not hiding it. "What do you mean?"

Doojoon mirrors his expression and gives him a look, and suddenly Junhyung felt like a child being lectured. All Doojoon needed to do to complete the picture was put his hands on his hips. Or smack him. "Don't what-do-you-mean me, man. You know it darn well. You just don't want to face it, but it's time for you to do it.” His voice and expression soften. “You're hurting Hyuna, Junhyung"

He was right.

Doojoon was right, and Junhyung hated every second of it.

His throat felt clogged up. He felt almost ashamed. Apologetic, even.

"I never did anything to get her to like me in that way, Doojoon"

He says finally, voice low but sincere. It was the very first time he acknowledged aloud the fact that he was aware of Hyuna’s feelings for him; hell, it was the first time he acknowledged it. Period. It has always seemed easier to just pretend he was unaware, because that way he didn’t have to second-guess himself every moment he was with Hyuna. And eventually he had gotten so good at pretending, that he had just... kind of forgotten. Or convinced himself that he had, at least.

He was an idiot for it. A selfish, blind jerk. And he felt like one.

God, did he feel like one.

"Did she ever do anything to make you care so much about her?" Doojoon asks, eyebrows raised. Junhyung thinks that there are a hundred or more possible replies to that—her smile, her laughter, her concern, her jokes, her pouts—but he remains silent because he knows what Doojoon means. He gets his point. "Things just happen, Junhyung. You can't change them."

The older boy pauses to let Junhyung digest his words and mull over them for a while. But the pause doesn’t nearly last long enough and his next words are like drills on his brain.

“Look at it from Hyuna’s side.” He starts, and begins to count off his fingers. “First she gets paired up with a guy; the guy the media turned into her supposed ‘ideal type’ at that, and the guy she actually likes doesn’t seem to care. And then this guy she likes choses to be paired up with the girl he shamelessly flirted with even on twitter.” The way he says it, Doojoon makes it sound as if it were the most unbelievable thing in the world. “To make matters worse, she actually likes that girl”

“We were not—” Doojoon’s eyebrows raise for the umpteenth time and Junhyung drops the act and sighs. “Okay. Maybe we were. But it was harmless flirting! We didn’t really mean anything by it. Plus, Hyuna didn’t even have a twitter back then!”

“But she was into you even back then. Did you really think she wouldn’t find out? Plus Hyomin and Hyuna are friends, man.”

He has a point. A very good one at that. And the tone he had used only helps Junhyung feel like even more of an idiot.

“… She never said anything about it” He feels defeated and sounds the part.

“She was probably too scared of the reply. Or waiting for you to tell her. Or willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.” Doojoon suddenly reaches out and pushes Junhyung’s knee, his expression reflecting the fact that his mind was running a mile per hour and he wasn’t happy with that. “I don’t know man! You are the Hyuna expert here!”

“By now that may be Dongwoon” Junhyung has no hold over the words or the way they sound. But he still feels uneasy when he hears himself.

Doojoon gives him a look and a comforting pat on the arm that Junhyung rejects out of pure reflex. “You don’t mean that.” He says with as much propriety as if he were Junhyung himself. Then he pauses, and soon after he’s arching an eyebrow. “I sense some bitterness there though. Are you sure you’re okay with Joon hyung and Hyuna?”

“Of course I’m—” A look into Doojoon’s concerned eyes makes Junhyung give up on the thought of playing pretend anymore. The rapper heaves in a sigh. “Not” He finishes finally, weakly, and massages the back of his neck as he avoids Doojoon’s knowing eyes. “I’m not okay with it, alright? It’s just… weird. I’m used to Hyuna being friendly and touchy with other guys but this is new. This time she actually has to act lovey-dovey and—and—” Junhyung flails, suddenly at a loss of words. He knows there’s something he wants to say, but whenever he tries to voice it out it slips away from his grasp.

“You think it should’ve been you with her?” It’s more of a statement rather than a question, but Junhyung still frowns.

“Wha—? No I don’t!”

"But you still feel the spot belongs to you”

“Well… it’s something like that, I guess”

“Isn’t that the same damn thing?!”

Junhyung says nothing. No matter how hard it was to admit it… it really was the same damn thing.

Doojoon simply shakes his head, rightly interpreting his friend’s silence. “You know, I’m trying to look at this from my own perspective. You know how I’m always paired up with G.Na, right? So I’m placing myself in your shoes, but I just don’t get it man. If she were to be paired up with someone else I’d be happy for her. Because she’s just my friend. If I liked her though… If I liked her, then I would feel the way you do about this”

Junhyung glares.  “Don’t go there, Yoon Doojoon”

Doojoon sighs. “Look, Junhyung-ah… the important thing here is that Hyuna likes you. And she likes you a lot”

The glare softens and melts. “… I know”

"No, you don't. You've only seen glimpses of it, but do you really know how bad all this is making her feel? Gayoon told me she's even all closed up on herself when they’re at their dorm. And she tries to hide it, but the girls are sure she hasn’t been sleeping much.” Doojoon suddenly stops and gives him a frantic look. “Don't tell Gayoon I told you though. She would kill me"

Junhyung is way too preoccupied by that revelation to pay attention to Doojoon’s begging.

"Is that why Hyuna looks so exhausted? She hasn't been sleeping?"

"Not much.” Doojoon admits and gives him a sympathetic look. “You're really affecting her, buddy"

Junhyung ruffles his hair, distressed.

"Ugh, what can I do?"

"You need to be honest with her. If you like Hyomin—"

He almost groaned. Did everyone think that? He was more than sick of the question and his tone reflected just that.

"I don't like Hyomin! Sure, she's attractive, but I'm not interested in dating her"

Doojoon smiles and Junhyung gets the feeling that's exactly what he had wanted to hear. "I know. But given the way you two act, it's easy to get the wrong impression. Especially when you're Hyuna and your feelings make you feel even more insecure"

"So, what's your advice? Should I avoid Hyomin or something?” The notion sounded ridiculous even to his ears. “I can't exactly do that, we're going to perform together remember? Plus I’m not that type of guy"

"More than that, I think you should stop leading Hyuna on"

Junhyung is appalled.

"I'm not leading her on"

Doojoon deadpans at him, but his eyes are intense. "Then you like her back?"

"Huh?"

This time leader sounds impatient. Frustrated even. "Come on, Junhyung-ah. We aren't blind. Do you think we don’t see the way you treat her? It’s different. It’s… special.” A small smile starts to draw itself on the corners of Doojoon’s lips. “Like that time you waited until 4minute were done with practice to take her out to eat. Or when you bought her that sweater she loves so much. When was the last time you gave a gift to a girl just because you felt like it? And I’m not talking about your mom, here” He gives Junhyung an encouraging grin as he laughs, amused by his own joke and by his friend’s expression. “Seriously, you don’t treat any other girl the way you treat Hyuna, Junhyunggie. The 4minute girls and G.Na would be the first ones to tell you that”

Junhyung can only stare. "I've... never thought about it like that"

"You're unbelievable" Doojoon shakes his head and sighs, partly amused. “But somehow I’m not surprised.” He raises his eyes and waits for Junhyung’s gaze to meet his before continuing. “You need to start doing it. Now. You need to look inside yourself and find out whether you like her or not. If you don't, then you need to stop treating her like you do, because Hyuna is obviously going to get her hopes up and that's only going to hurt her more"

An amiable silence falls over them. Both parties had said everything there was to be said; at least for the time being.

Doojoon gets up and stretches loudly. Then he reaches out and ruffles Junhyung’s hair fondly, giving him a warm smile. This time Junhyung doesn’t even try to refuse his leader’s shows of caring.

“I think I’ve been hard enough on you for tonight, so I’ll drop this here. But think things carefully, okay Junhyunggie? And don’t worry about us or 4minute. Just focus on yourself and Hyuna”

And just like that Yoon Doojoon walks away and Junhyung is left alone with his cluttered thoughts.

-

-

Keke you’re the worst, Junhyung oppa!

Yah! How can you say I’m the worst?!

Aigoo because if I tell you you’re the best, it’ll get to your head~ kekeke

You little—yah! Come back here, Kim Hyuna! I’m not done with you!

You’ll have to catch me, oppa! Unless you’re too slow, like a granny! Should I call you Junhyung ajumma from now on? kyakyakya

Oh, just wait until I get my hands on you!

Kyaaa! Kekeke

-

-

He misses her.

No that it is an astounding realization; of course he misses her. He misses her on a daily basis whenever they spend more than 5 hours without talking to each other. He doesn’t know how things got to that point, but they just did and there was not much he could do about it anymore.

Just like there wasn’t any way to backtrack and stop matters from getting so out of hand. If he could though, he would do it in a heartbeat.

Things wouldn’t have gotten to this point had he acknowledged Hyuna’s feelings from the start. But it just had been easier not to, because it kept the status quo of their relationship and Junhyung didn’t have to think of what he feels about her in turn.

But he does think about it, now. He thinks about it until his mind slows down and goes blank like an overused battery. And then all it can do is replay them.

Replay his moments with Hyuna. Their moments.

And what greets the sight of his memory is so blatant, so spelled out across even the little things like his body language that Junhyung is angry at himself for allowing his awareness to play dumb for so long.

He should’ve done something about this a long while ago. If not for himself, then at least for Hyuna.

But the damage was done and now was not the time to let down his guard and speak to her with his heart on his hand.

That is a conclusion that requires him little to no thought to reach. He wouldn’t talk things through with Hyuna yet, not until their special performances were over.

Hyuna is an artist, and not any kind of artist; she has talent in spades. But she was still too young, and she hasn’t completely matured yet, and sometimes her emotions kept her back from reaching her full potential. People are swimming in a sea of nothing but expectations when it came to her and what she could become, and she needs to learn how to deal with personal matters without letting them affect her stage. Junhyung thinks this may give her the chance to do just that.

And if there’s the chance of something positive coming out of all this… then, who was he to say no?

Regardless, he does think he should at least start to make amends. If only to carve the path that would eventually lead to their real conversation.

His attempt at a white flag takes the form of a short text message that contains nothing more than a few but meaningful characters.

I’m sorry

He doesn’t add anything else. He was usually the type to thoroughly explain something to make sure people didn’t misunderstand him, but he doesn’t think there’s any need for extra words this time. Hyuna would either get what he meant, or she would chose to ignore it—and if she did then Junhyung would take the hint that their relationship has taken more damage than it could sustain.

He doesn’t know what he will do if that turns out to be the case, but he’s practical and so he acknowledges the possibility all the same. Even though it makes his throat ache and his stomach feel ominously heavy.

Luckily his fears turn out to be unfounded and Hyuna’s reply reaches him with such a speed that Junhyung can’t help but wonder if she had been thinking of doing the same thing herself.

He can even picture her, her fingers ghosting on the keys of her mobile as she had an inward battle with herself. Should she or shouldn’t she?

But Junhyung had decided the turnout of that battle for the both of them.

Me, too… I don’t know what came over me…ㅜㅠ

But she does. They both do. But Junhyung lets it slide and offers her an easy way out.

You’re just stressed kyakya We all are. I can’t wait until all the gayos are over. Maybe things will go back to normal then.

There’s a vast variety of things that someone can infer from his words. Junhyung knows this, and that’s why he doesn’t say anything else; he knows Hyuna will get just what he meant to imply.

I miss normal~~~

Is Hyuna’s reply, which takes longer than the previous ones and makes Junhyung let out the breath he had been holding. Makes him smile as he replies—

Me too.

And Hyuna probably doesn’t have a clue of how much he means that. But that was okay with him.

He would make sure she finds out when the time comes.

.✰♔