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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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Anti-Romantic, Part 4.5

(credit to the original owner of the image)

Character | Jaehyun x reader

Genre | nonidol!au, Mutual Pining, Slowburn, Fluff, Angst

WordCount | 1.2 k

Author'sNote | This entire part is in Jaehyun's POV, thought it was important before the grand finale.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 4.5

Jaehyun was livid. But he didn’t know at who, all he knew was that he was beyond frustrated with the situation. With the way he felt. He had told you he was tired, and he truly was. But not at you, never at you. He was tired of feeling like this. He felt like he was suffocating back there, with the way you were looking at him. He almost couldn’t recognize you, that gaze, he had never seen it on you.

When he thought of you, he thought of a passionate, hard-working, self-assured woman. Back there, you looked broken, unsure, and hurt. Did he say something that painful?

Fuck, he can’t remember. He was so angry, he wasn’t thinking of what he was saying.

He stops at a nearby bench on the park near his complex. He should go back and apologize, you didn’t deserve to be treated that way. He really messed up. He almost didn’t leave when he heard the first of your sobs but he was too emotional himself to offer you comfort. Now he feels like a dick. He usually had a better grip on his control, but after everything that was said and wasn’t said, it was too much.

He vaguely remembers promising to forget everything if you did leave. Is he capable of that? He’s loved you for too long, literally for most of his life.

He thinks about what happened, maybe if he goes in order, he can untangle the mess of thoughts in his head. God, he can feel a migraine coming. In retrospect, a lot of what was said included what he’s been wanting to confess for a really long time. Except, it was in the worst way possible, he groans at the revelation.

It’s hard to tell when the line was first crossed, not that it mattered, because neither of you stopped. You did mention that he would excuse every time he crossed the line. He can see what you meant by that seeming like excuses. But couldn’t you see what those excuses were? They were so weak, they’re almost laughable. Alas, he should come clean with that and clear it up before it’s too late.

He wished you could see how weak he was for you. He wished you could see that when it comes to words, he was never comfortable. He was a man of actions. He’d much rather show you than tell you because he’s never had to explain himself before, and because you were the first person that had elicited these strong emotions from him. He’s been in love with you before he even knew what love was. His feelings have grown and cultivated for years, and he’s not sure if he could even find the words to explain just how deep your grip was on his heart. It’s also been all he’s known, how could he compare it?

Maybe that’s what he was so frustrated about, he felt like confessing to you was almost like pulling teeth. He doesn’t know how people do it, how you do it. You always seem to find the right words in every situation. So then, why wouldn’t you say anything either? I’m just going in circles at this point.

And then, there’s the gift. He glances down at the shiny accessory, a heavy weight landing in his gut. You don’t exactly give jewelry to just anyone right? Especially when engraved, is it appropriate to gift a friend that? He guesses there is some sort of gray area for it. You also mentioned that you got it for him because you thought of him. Does that mean you think of him often? He supposes it’s plausible since he’s the only friend you have in the city. That’s another apology, maybe he did read too much into it.

Here comes the tricky part, the root of his migraine. The argument.

It seemed that every time he pushed you to say something he needed to hear, he fucked up. Maybe that’s the problem. He was pushing you into a corner you didn’t want to be pushed. Lord knows you never do something you didn’t want to do. He vaguely remembers some of the hurtful things you said to him. He knows that you said it in a fit of anger, but just like there was truth to his words, there must have been some truth in yours. Even if you did have feelings for him, he knew it wasn’t fair to hold his feelings over your head like that. To taunt you with them, he feels his stomach clench just at the thought of it. You’d said that you were going along to his pace, but what did that mean? He had been going on your pace! He can’t recall a time where he would take a step forward and you didn’t take a step or two backwards. So, what did you mean by that?

But if you didn’t want to be his, if you didn’t feel comfortable with that, then why the fuck did you kiss him back?

That’s something he’s not sure if he wants to delve into, much less dissect. That kiss was the best kiss he’s ever had. You didn’t just let him kiss you, so it’s not like you didn’t also enjoy it. No, you gave as mush you took. And god, did you give. Friends definitely don’t kiss like that. You had been so into the kiss that he literally had to place you against the counter to stand.

The chemistry was definitely there.

He runs a hand through his face, now is not the time to get cocky. He admits that he might have come too strong, and you were right. You had both said some pretty hurtful things prior to the kiss, no matter how amazing it was. That’s another apology.

He sighs, slouching down in the bench. Seems like he owed you a lot of apologies. Some of the light-poles began turning on around him, breaking his train of thought. Checking his watch, he decides it’s been enough time to let you decide and begins walking back.

Deciding on what to say, he realizes that if he really wants to make this work, he’s going to have to work on being better at voicing his thoughts. To let his wants known, to stop going in circles. If he really thinks about it, the root of his problems had always been that he’s never let you know that his way of caring and showing love is by actions. If he dismisses those actions with words, which is what you use to communicate, then he understands why you’re also confused.

Shit, why didn’t I dwell on this sooner?

Stopping at a convenience store, he picks up a single rose. He doesn’t know why he does it, or why he doesn’t go for a flower arrangement. A single rose seems appropriate for what he needs to say to you. Hopefully you give him the chance. Leaving the store, he continues his journey back home. Praying you’re still there, he starts jogging.

EndNote | I really don't have much to say right now... should I keep the angst? Or do they deserve a happy ending? The song Anti-Romantic, is it a happy song or an angsty song?

Previously: Part 4 | Next: Part 5

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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Drum solo

(via)

#nooooooooooo #my heart 😭😭😭😭

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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do you like friends to lovers because it’s a cute trope or because you’re desperate to be loved by someone who knows you inside out and would show up at your door at 2am in the morning to take you on a road trip while also packing your favorite snack and then kiss you good night as you snuggle up in their arms at some dingy motel while watching bad rom-coms which they hate because the characters doesn’t communicate with each other and communication is the most important thing in your relationship and the trope of rom-com women behaving erratically over an easily resolvable misunderstanding needs to die

#i feel #oddly seen #help 😃

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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look the reality is that stan culture is unhealthy. period.

and i’m not talking about being a fan of someone and wanting to go see them on tour. im not talking about being happy when they drop something new or reach a cool milestone. im not talking about writing fanfiction and using them as a face character. im not talking about making edits/gifs of them, or anything like that.

im talking about dedicating your life to this person. seeing them as some sort of deity who can do no wrong. monitoring their every move and always being ready with a comment/opinion/statement. feeling like you owe them something and that you alone are the key that will make or break their career. feeling like you need to defend them no matter what. attacking strangers just because they may not necessarily agree. creating drama day after day to the point where your online presence is just a steady stream of negativity with no end in sight.

the internet has desensitized us to stan culture, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not wrong. it’s dangerous and gross and at this point, im afraid that most people are too far gone to recognise just how much of a horrible impact it’s made on our lives.

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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White lilacs -> purity and innocence

#wow #jaemin x flowers #serving visuals as always #🐰

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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BYE👋GUYS😌HI✋LADIES😏MWAH💋

#saw this on tiktok a few days ago #I literally had to replay it LIKE 10 TIMES #how can someone be so cute???

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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Next part of Anti-Romantic will be up Thu (7/15) at noon CST! With the final part up by Friday (fingers crossed).

I'm thinking this fic will probs end with Part 5. Any thoughts on what I should write next?

#anti romantic #anti-romantic #jaehyun x reader #since dreamies just had a comeback #should I write for Jeno?#Jaemin?#Haechan?#Mork?#Renjun?#Lele?#Idk if I wanna write for Jisung #I know he's 20 but #it feels wrong since he's still young

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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Anti-Romantic, Part 4

(credit to the original owner of the image)

Character | Jaehyun x reader

Genre | nonidol!au, Mutual Pining, Slowburn, Fluff, Angst

WordCount | 1.5 k

WARNING | Mentions of verbally abusing relationships! It's brief, but there. If you or anyone is going through something similar, please seek outside help!

Author'sNote | I'm not giving excuses as to why it took so long to update, but I'm trying my hardest to be consistent! Let me know if you like how the story is going so far!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 4.5

Sorry I’m an anti-romantic, I don’t believe in romantic

I am afraid that it will burn my whole heart, It will only leave behind ashes.

When you were younger, your family used to call you ‘spitfire.’ They said you were too fiery, argued too well, and too passionate. They had never meant it as an insult, in a way, it was a form of flattery. You grew up as the only female cousin in your family, but you were always leading your cousins on whatever diabolical plan it was that you had come up with: sneaking off to kitchen in the middle of the night to eat all the pastries meant for the morning after, convincing everyone that leaving your grandma’s territory and into the forest in the middle of the night to see if you can find the fairies, racing along the town’s border to see who was the fastest on their bike, and many other child-like plans. You were tough and you were proud, you never allowed yourself to lose.

Later on in life, that same nickname evolved to a less loving version. As you grew older and started to date, your partners always called you out for having strong opinions and for not bending at their will. They never saw you for what you wanted to be; which was an equal. If they said something against one of your friends, they expected you to throw away the friendship. All because they were the opposite sex and made your partner insecure. How could a girl and boy only be friends? Later on, when rumors would spread about your partner and other girls, they would get exasperated with you. If they’d get caught, they would only blame you for being too stiff.

“Why couldn’t you be more passive? If I want to kiss you, I’ll kiss you. You’re my girlfriend, why the fuck would I need permission? Is that what your ‘guy friends’ do? I bet you’ve let them all have a run at you, huh? Keep acting like a bitch, get treated like a bitch. And you wonder why I cheated? What a joke.”

You had to admit, you didn’t really date the greatest of guys. But you could say that now, because you knew now. Back then, you really thought you deserved those kinds of relationships. Like how they say, you only accept the love you think you deserve. However, in a way, it was why you were the way you were now. You always made it a point to communicate and avoid misunderstandings because you didn’t want your partners to throw your words back at you or your actions. It’s why you treaded carefully and avoided one-night stands. You’d rather get to know a person first and then start dating. It’s the exact reason the date you had with that other barista didn’t go through, majority of the guys you talked to thought you were too much work and therefore, not worth it.

Now that you’re an adult, you’d rather be too much work than let a guy walk all over you. Boundaries were important to you because how else were you supposed to gauge their respect for you? You had a tight grip on your morals and rules.

But damn, you’re only human!

The moment your lips crashed, it’s as if the only thing you could keep in mind was one word.

More.

You needed more of him, needed to breathe the same air as him, needed to feel every ridge of his hard body against your soft one, needed to cling to him as close as possible and for as long as possible.It’s as if his lips were the only reason you needed to dive into whatever this was. You were tired of keeping a strong hold on yourself. All that boiling anger turning into dangerous tension, and the only way to release it was to give into the passion between you two.

You settled your arms around his neck, taking that last step closer into him as he cradled your face and deepened the kiss. His other arm wound tightly around you, hand sliding dangerously close to your ass. You feel a deep groan against your chest, one of your hands wandering down his torso, enjoying the shiver you feel as you move lower. His tongue swipes at your bottom lip, a question, so you reply by opening your mouth, tongues fighting for dominance. For every move you delivered, he retaliates just as ardently. You feel your head grow lightheaded as you bring your hands to hold on to his shirt, anything to stabilize you. His hand finally squeezing your ass, shifting you closer to his hips. Oh, lord.

You let out a moan as he bites your lower lip, his kisses descending as you fight to catch your breath. You involuntary let out a whimper as he finds your pulse point and sucks the skin, soothing it with light kisses. Leaving behind a trail of purple blotches, beautifully contrasted against your skin. You’d never been into marking, had it always felt this good?

“Jae…” you can’t think, you can’t even stand properly as he pushes you with his hips against the counter for support. You don’t even know what you wanted to say, do you want to ask for more? What do you want?

“God, I’ve wanted to do this for years.” You pause at that, your hands freezing on their tight grip on his shirt. You feel as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water at you, your rationality finally catching up with you.

He leans back to look at you, “if you’re going to stop me, do it now because if you don’t say anything I’ll keep going. And I don’t think I can stop on my own.” His hands drawing gentle, tantalizing circles along your hips where your shirt had ridden up.

You gasp at that; finally bring your eyes to his. He looked exactly how you felt, desperate. His lips were red and puffy from your kisses, his hair messy after running your hands through it. In the light of the kitchen, you could still see how his pupils were blown wide. You’re pretty sure you’re not in any better condition.

“Jae,” you whisper, brining your hands to his shoulders, either to support yourself or to brace yourself for what you were about to say, “if we do this, there’s no going back.”

He lets out a deep breath, “I know, and I’m ok with that.” He offers a gentle smile, “I want that.” His heart drops as he notices how you drop your gaze and bite your lips.

“if we do this, can you guarantee that it won’t ruin our friendship?” for some reason, you can’t bring yourself to speak higher than a whisper or to look at him. “can you promise that you won’t run away again?”

You wait for his response. When it doesn’t come you finally look up, only to find a frown forming on his brow. You don’t expect when he takes a step back, “is that all I am to you? All this is? Just a risk you’re not willing to take just because you don’t want to ruin the ‘friendship’?”

“I don’t know…Am I supposed to forget what you just said a few minutes ago?” He gives a humorless laugh as he paces around the small kitchen.

You’re frozen in place, spaced out at his words. It’s like as if you’re watching yourself from somewhere else. But you think about it, is that what it is?

Before you can respond or come to a conclusion, he stops at the entrance to the kitchen, back towards you. “Are you really not understanding what I’m saying or are you avoiding it?” his shoulders sag but he keeps going, “If loosing me is what you’re so worried about, then let me make it simple for you.”

Your body grows number by the second, what’s wrong with you? You’ve finally done it, burned away the last semblance of security and friendship. Just like a thoughtless spitfire.

“I can’t go back to this back and forth bullshit. I’m tired. I don’t think you even know what you want, so until you do, I think I need my space.”

He motions towards his front door, “I’m gonna go, if you’re still here by the time I come back, I’ll take it as a sign that you do want us…to happen. If you leave, I’ll pretend the last two days didn’t happen and we can go back to how we used to be. I’ll never cross the line again, and I’ll do everything to move on.”

You only notice you’re sobbing when you tears blur your vision. What have you done?

You don’t even hear him leave, only when the door slams after him.

I can clearly see the end, Worse than a hangover

It will be hard, Now, Just end it somewhere here

EndNote | Damn, I've never written a kiss scene before. Hopefully it wasn't too awkward. This is a lot of angst too, which I'm not a big fan of reading, but wow... who hurt me lmao. Promise the next chapter won't be as bad, or will it?

Previous: Part 3 | Next: Part 4.5

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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Haha so... I lied. I know. I suck, trust me, I know.

BUT

I have like three cups of caffeine on me, so let's see how much I can type in on Anti-Romantic before I pass out. Or who knows, maybe I'll end up staring at the word doc again like I did last week...

#I'm a liar #and I am sorry #Anti-romantic

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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#this post...#lmaooo this post called me out #But I mean #doesn't everyone wish this happened at least once??

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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There are two types of people...

#I love my aqua men SO MUCHHH #Literally the opposite sides of the aqua spectrum #Doyoung is so p r e c i o u s #🐰#Johnny has always been part of the frat boy line wbk #🐱

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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As a way to pressure myself...god knows I only work well with deadlines

I promise to update part 4 of Anti-Romantic tomorrow (6/28). I've got a pretty good idea of what the next two parts will consist of, so for those of you who have been waiting patiently:

#anti romantic #jaehyun x reader #nct jaehyun #Anyways...Doja's album is god tier #But I legit cannot wait for NCT Dreams comeback tomorrow #if i postdump about them tomorrow #please don't judge #until then!

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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Life is a bitch sometimes. That's it, that's the post ✨

#I've been gone for a while #from all socials #I was trying to find a new job #adulting is 👹#I've been through at least 10 video interviews and no luck #Alexa play I will survive by the queen Gloria Gaynor

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sagemusesoutloud · 3 years

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Anti-Romantic, Part 3

(credit to the original owner of the image)

Character | Jaehyun x reader

Genre | nonidol!au, Mutual Pining, Slowburn, Fluff, Angst

WordCount | 2.5 k

Author'sNote | I know I promised this would be up Monday, but life has a funny way of getting in the way sometimes. I honestly don't know what came over me, but I woke up at 3 am and just HAD to write this down. Hope you like it ^^

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Sorry I’m an anti-romantic, I want to run far away

My heart that already chases after you, Blazes up with a small flame

You begin to regain consciousness as the pain in your neck increases. Ugh, this is why you brought your pillow from home. Rolling your neck in the other direction, you reach your hand over from the warmth to fluff the pillow when you feel movement under you.

You freeze and open your eyes, the light so bright that you immediately shut them again. Once your watery eyes calm down, you try opening one at a time. The sun was shining directly on you from the window behind you, you’d guess it was probably early morning. What shocked you into panic mode was the fact that you were still on the sofa and not in the guest bedroom like you had planned last night. Lightly lifting your head, you peek over at Jae to find him still sleeping.

Sometime during the night, both of you must have shifted to a laying position on the couch. Jae was still under you, his arms wrapped around your lower back. Well, there are worse things to wake up to. But now that you were up, so was your bladder. Do you just get up and leave? You didn’t drink that much water; you eyed the half empty water bottle on the coffee-table. Yeah, you could hold it. You relax your body and plan to drift off again when you feel Jae’s chest move with a deep breath, stretching an arm over his head. Crap, maybe I should have moved earlier…is it gonna get weird? Will he be mad?

You’re so deep in thought, it takes you a while to realize he’s not pushing you away but pulling you closer. He places his arm back, this time cradling your head as he peeks at you. “You’re awake?”

“No, I’m sleep-talking.”

You feel him rather than hear him chuckle. He rolls you both over so that you’re lying side by side and able to see you better.

“We fell asleep on the couch…did you sleep ok?” the sun hits half of his face, one of his eyes shining a deep honey color. Even the dust motes help make him look ethereal. Curse him for looking so beautiful first thing in the morning.

“hmm, yeah. Don’t get too close though, I have eye-boogers,” you try to bring the blanket up from your waist but it’s stuck so you opt to covering your eyes with your hands.

“shut up, as if it weren’t normal,” he groans as he pulls you into his chest. “It’s still early, just go back to sleep.”

“I can’t”

“…You can’t?”

“no”

“oh…” he lets you go and scoots as far back in the sofa as he can, “sorry.”

“I’m just gonna go freshen up,” you say as try your best not to fall flat on your face trying to untangle from the blanket, “I’ll be back.” Your only response is a groan before he presumably falls right back to sleep.

As you take care of your business, you can’t help the heavy feeling in your chest. What you were both doing, was it wrong? Did something change or are you overthinking things? It’s happened to you before, where you get too ahead of yourself and end up in misunderstandings. You wanted to enjoy whatever step it was that you both took together last night, but you needed that reassurance or confirmation that it wasn’t all just in your head. Jaehyun would never hurt you, not intentionally. But his cold exterior had been known to break a few hearts here and there throughout your childhood. Heck, even at work nowadays. Now that you think about it, the only times he’s hurt you he hadn’t even been aware of it. You desperately wished you could just waltz right up to him and demand answers; you just didn’t want to make yourself look like a fool for diving straight in to the ‘something more’ stage.

Up until the night before, you had been content with the game of push and pull and if someone would have told you yesterday that what transpired the night before would happen, you would have thought they were joking, but…they do say that the body makes known what the heart wants. You were still in a mess when you realize that you’d been washing your hands for long enough that the water ran cold. You decide that now was a good time as any to wash your face and brush your teeth, combing your fingers through your hair. If he wasn’t going to say anything, why should you? Yeah, this is all probably too much too soon to mean something more, so you were just going to enjoy it while you can. If anything, this could be like a free trial before committing to the long-term subscription. Yeah, that’s simple enough.

You get back to the living room to find Jae still on the couch. An arm covered his face blocking the sun and the other splayed out next to him, an invitation. Or was it? Stop it. You can’t be the one to blame when he’s taking up the whole space. You pick up the blanket from the floor and lay it half on him, leaving an opening for you to slither into. Leaning over the sofa, you move the sheer curtains to cover half the window. they didn’t do much but Jae did move his arm in alarm at the change of lighting, “oh, you’re finally back.”

“yup, all good now.” You nudge your way back into his chest as you laid down facing the room. If you really were going to sleep, you don’t know how much rest you’d be getting if you were facing him again. “good, we can sleep an hour or two more,” his arm reaches around you to pull you even closer, “don’t want you to fall off.”

And there it is, the ‘excuse.’ Is that all this was?

It all felt so intimate and personal. Jaehyun wasn’t sure if the excuses he kept giving you since last night were even believable anymore. He just couldn’t get enough of your closeness. Like a man starved, he kept drinking in the sight of you next to him, the feel of your body along his. This had officially been his best birthday to date.

He was aware that some deep, deep part of him was tensed up waiting for something to go wrong or to bolt at the first chance. But for once, his heart was louder than those thoughts. He wanted this, he wanted to have you. All of you. In turn, he wanted to give you all of him as well. That’s what scared him the most, he’s known he’s wanted you since forever, but the fact that he needed to you to embrace all of him? That he needed you to be his safe space?

In a way, he’s always known about all of this. It’s why he’s kept you at a distance for so long, but maybe he was finally ready to open up to you and be completely honest and vulnerable. Fuck, he can’t even believe it took him this long to actually do something about it.

You both wake up later in the morning. Jaehyun’s preparing coffee while you whip up breakfast, an easy pattern you both fall into. He’s not sure if the silence is a comfortable one or a heavy one, but you did seem to be in a good mood. While he’d gone to freshen up, you had connected your phone to the Bluetooth speakers and had a light melody playing. He makes a mental note to ask you over more often, he would gladly become a morning person just to see you fit so seamlessly in his home.

As you both settle down to eat, he hears you let out a gasp, “I forgot!”

“What is it?”

You whine, “aww, I wanted to give it to you on your birthday. It’s the whole reason I needed to see you.” You get up and dash over to the guestroom before he can even stop you.

“So you didn’t come just to spend time with me? Ouch,” he zeroes in on your form, hiding something behind your back. “Don’t tell me you got me flowers.” Your smile drops.

“No, they’re not flowers,” you roll your eyes. You pull his arm out, guiding your hand down until you grasp his hand. He hopes you don’t see the way he shivers at the contact. “Here,” you place the red-velvet heart-shaped box in his palm. He gasps, “oh.”

For a moment, he doesn’t know how to react. Is this what he thinks it is? No, you couldn’t possibly have, you for sure would be way more nervous if you did. But it did look like jewelry, expensive jewelry. “well, are you gonna open it?”

He wordlessly lifts the lid and finds an exquisite bracelet inside. Jaehyun wasn’t much of a guy for jewelry, but it was simple enough to be worn as everyday type of accessory. It was a thin silver type of chain, the clasp had his initials and a heart hidden on the inner-side of it. “Just so you know, the heart was part of the model,” you begin explaining, a nervous shake to your voice, “but I did ask them to engrave your initials on it to personalize it. You don’t have to like it, like I said, I saw it while out shopping and thought of you.” He glances at you to find your ears red but your expression was drawn. Fuck, were you even real?

He hands you the box back, for a second, he sees your shoulders deflate before clarifying, “I’m gonna need some help to put it on.”

“Why do you always tease me?” but you concede his request, taking out the chain carefully and pulling his wrist closer to you. Because I love you…

Because this is the only way I can show you affection without scaring you…

“Because I love your reactions.”

You let go of him as you finish your work, inspecting the way it looks. “I’m glad I knew your size,” you mumble, “it fits you perfectly.” He doesn’t miss the way he feels it weighing down his wrist. Was it a comfortable weight?

“Of course it does, you got it for me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” your eyes are piercing his, no doubt that your thoughts are probably going a hundred miles per hour. “What I just said,” his eyes are staring you down, “anything you give is perfect to me.” You weren’t going to make him spell it out for you, right? Not after last night.

You frown at that, “what if I don’t want to ‘just’ give you this?”

He finally looks away as he finds the courage to say, “what are you willing to give?” He’s treading carefully, he can’t mess up now.

“I don’t know.”

That stings. Are we back to playing games? So soon?

He’s tired of it. Forget tired, he’s exhausted from it. And all it took was one night to help him realize that he really doesn’t want to continue playing, not when it comes to you.

“Then, I would be happy for the time you spent together with me last night. I would be grateful it happened but I probably wouldn’t feel comfortable being that close to you again.”

Did he just say that? Maybe this was all a dream still. A cruel nightmare.

So he doesn’t want to move things further, is that what he’s saying? After all the moments you just shared, that’s all he’s got to say to you?

“I’m sorry I crossed the line then,” you need to go. Before you say something more and before he sees the tears that are just itching to be released.

You force out a laugh, “but thank you for being honest, I guess.”

You grab your plates and move towards the kitchen. Almost there, please don’t fall. He will not see you cry. God, you knew this was getting too good to be true. You knew it had to be a trick, you were back to square one! Man, you felt so stupid now. Did you really think one night would change everything?

You don’t realize he’s quick to go after you, grabbing your arm to face him. You let the plates crash on the sink, the sound startling him as you push his hold off you. You almost make it out the kitchen when he pulls you back again, this time pushing you against the counter standing chest to chest.

“No, you’re not listening to me.” He grabs you by the shoulders. Your heart is pounding furiously against your ribcage. You finally break down, “No, you’re not being honest.”

“If you had told me last night that I make you uncomfortable, I would have respected your boundaries, Jae.” You push down a sob, “If you had no intention of—of being that close—” You can’t even find the right words to express yourself. You spent so much time thinking about what you wanted to say earlier and now you couldn’t recall a single sentence.

He cuts you off with groan, “How can I make myself any more clear? What do you want me to say?” He lets go of you and takes a few steps back, “that it scares me? How much you know? How much you hold over me?”

“Hold over you?? You keep me at a distance! You always draw the line! Even last night, all you could do was excuse each and every one of your actions. What, you thought I wouldn’t catch that?? You don’t leave room for misunderstandings; you are crystal clear.”

You get close enough to poke his chest, “YOU—it was always you! I’ve always just been happy to go along at your pace. FOR YOU. And for years, too. So no, YOU don’t get to throw it back in my face like that. YOU—”

He pushes your hand away, “Me?! Ok no, you’re joking right? This push and pull cycle? I’m not the only one to blame and you know it! What about all those relationships you’ve been in? All those relationship questions you’d ask me, literally just a few weeks back! This is not entirely my fault either. Because guess what sweetheart, it takes two to tango.”

You’re so angry at upset, because how dare he?! Was he not the one that would sleep around in high school? The one that decided to study in a different freaking country?! Leaving you and your friends behind? Leaving the sport he oh so loved behind? He’s just running away again.

You don’t realize how hard you’re breathing and how close you’re standing until you can literally feel his breath on your lips. It’s the whisper you barely catch against the loud ringing in your ears, “You want me to be honest?”

You freeze.

“I’ll be honest with you, you can’t fault me for what I honestly need to do.”

Who made the first move, you’re not sure. But the moment his lips touched yours, it was game over.

EndNote | hahahaha... and there it is. Will there be more tension or are they finally gonna stop being so stubborn?? I honestly don't know, but this has to have been my favorite chapter to write 🙊

In the future, is it ok to post short but daily? Or would people rather I post the whole story in a single post?

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